My ongoing PhD research aims to enhance our understanding of university students’ career-related uncertainty through a multiphase design integrating qualitative and quantitative methods. This work comprises three studies, each contributing to the understanding of the career-related uncertainty among university students, offering insights that can also be instrumental for career counsellors.
The first study explores social representations of career planning, identifying six distinct frameworks, with one focused specifically on uncertainty (Itkonen & Kosonen, 2024). These diverse representations shape students’ thoughts, behaviours, and actions in career planning and can be instrumental for career counsellors.
The second study examines the interplay between students' background factors, clarity of future plans, and career adaptability in enhancing graduate employability. We framed our research with the understanding that career adaptability reflects varying levels of uncertainty, where lower levels indicate reduced future orientation, planning, risk-taking, problem-solving, and proactivity, along with increased indecision. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed age and enrolment in professional programs as significant positive factors influencing employability capitals. Additionally, clarity of future plans and higher scores in career adaptability dimensions positively impact employability.
The third study addresses how university students describe and make sense of their career-related uncertainty. We identified eleven themes, further categorized into five experiential domains: self, social relationships, education, careering, and society. Our findings illuminate how students experience uncertainty within these domains, offering insights into the complex interplay between individual experiences and societal influences.
Leena Itkonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
What Chair are you Sitting in? (requires translation)
Careers by Rie Thomsen and Tristram Hooley
