Journal of Vocational Behavior 123 (2020) 103506

Available online 11 November 2020 0001-8791/© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The college-to-career transition in STEM: An eleven-year longitudinal study of perceived and objective vocational interest fit?

Michelle H. Kim 1, *, Margaret E. Beier Rice University, Department of Psychological Sciences, 6100 Main St, Houston, TX 77005, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O

Keywords: Vocational interest fit Career trajectory Major retention Career choice Career attitudes

A B S T R A C T

This 11-year longitudinal study investigates the effects of vocational interest fit measured in college on college-to-career trajectories. Vocational interest theories suggest that vocational in- terest fit will affect choices and attitudes about major and job. The expectancy value model is used in the study to describe how values assigned to an outcome (e.g., engaging in a major or a job) ultimately influence major and career choices. The current study tracks a cohort of students (N = 159) from 2007 to 2018 examining their vocational interest, matriculation major interest, degree, first job after graduation, and job seven years post-graduation. Results showed that vocational interest fit with major had a significant effect on major retention and first job choice, and the relationships were mediated by subjective task values (attainment value, intrinsic value, utility value, and relative cost). Vocational interest fit with job had a significant effect on career attitudes, and these relationships were mediated by perceived career fit. Additionally, job fit increased over time from first job after graduation to 2018 job. Results suggest that vocational interest measured in college is useful in predicting future career trajectories.

1. Introduction

Career choice is one of the most critical decisions people make in their lives, largely because ending up in a job with a bad fit can be a miserable experience. College students strive to find a major that is a good match with their interests, hoping that their major choice will lead to a job with a good fit. Previous studies suggest that genuine interest in a major as well as interest in the work relevant to that major are the main factors that influence students’ decisions to choose and change their majors in post-secondary education (Adams et al., 1994; Beggs et al., 2008; Collins & Giordani, 2003; Stanislaw, 2014). Furthermore, theories of career choice support the idea that vocational interest is an important determinant of career choice (Lent et al., 1994; Lent & Lopez, 1996).

? This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. * Corresponding author.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M.H. Kim), [email protected] (M.E. Beier). 1 This research was part of the lead author’s master’s thesis conducted at Rice University. Parts of this study were presented at the 34th Annual

Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Washington, D.C. in April 2019. The authors would like to thank the Rice University Social Science Research Institute for funding this research. We would also like to thank Dr. Ashley Hanks, the research assistants in the Adult Skills and Knowledge Lab, and Dissertation Committee members, Dr. Fred Oswald and Dr. Mikki Hebl, at Rice University for their assistance. Michelle H. Kim is now at the Army Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Vocational Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jvb

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103506 Received 1 August 2019; Received in revised form 13 March 2020; Accepted 19 October 2020

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