Career Goal Profiles of Early Career Scientists: A Person-Centered Approach

Journal of Career Development, vol. 49, pp. 1048–1062

Abstract

Obtaining a doctorate offers various career options. This study takes a person-centered approach to identify interest profiles. Career goals (professorate, entrepreneur, etc.) were assessed at two time points (1-year interval) in a sample of doctoral students and doctorate holders from the STEM fields in German-speaking areas ( N T 1 = 2,077). Latent profile analysis revealed that a four-profile solution provided the best data fit: At T1, 33.0% of the participants aimed for a management position in industry, 16.9% pursued an academic career, 30.1% were interested in activities without leadership responsibilities, and 20.1% had a relatively flat career-goal profile. Latent transition analysis indicated that most changes occurred for those classified into the flat profile, while strong interest in a management career was very stable over time. Additionally, the attainment of the doctorate seemed to be a good predictor for profile membership: Doctorate holders were more likely to be clearly dedicated to an academic career.

Authors 3

1. Ruth Noppeney corresponding Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Germany

2. Anna M. Stertz Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Germany

3. Bettina S. Wiese Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Germany