Lifelong career mobility and change options in knowledge occupations: career pathway implications of initial degree choices

Abstract

Because of the social, personal and financial benefits of paid work activities, occupational choices, and lifelong career options warrant careful consideration. Rapid social, technological and organisational change is theorised to produce changes in the world of work where future, or ‘new careers’ will be characterised by high levels of mobility; and the demand for knowledge workers (with a university qualification) in a ‘knowledge economy’ with be high. Paradoxically there is some agreement that the level of mobility varies between levels of occupations, and is inversely related to education level, so that mobility would be lowest in knowledge occupations. However, from inadequate definitional precision, the type of workforce mobility referred to in these predictions and observations is unclear. In the ‘new careers’, individuals are increasingly seen to have the freedom and opportunity to construct and manage their own careers lifelong by adding skills and knowledge to an existing set, changing sets, or changing mode of practice, for example to self-employment, or relocating. However knowledge occupations tend to be bounded by mandatory qualifications and other controls, which could make the option of mobility by changing skills and knowledge sets at level, costly in time and money. Factors such as age and gender have also been found to affect choices of field of study and employability on graduation. Information about the level and nature of future mobility options is important for individuals contemplating high initial investments of time and money in their education for labour market entry and lifelong career development. The populist current and future mobility discourse propagated politically and in the media, has the potential to misinform university aspirants about the type and level of their lifelong career pathway options, and warrants clarification. The present study examined the current situation regarding skills and knowledge- set adjustments and changes in knowledge occupations by Australian university graduates, by focusing on skills-and-knowledge-based mobility and change among knowledge occupations. Fields of qualifications, rather than self-reported names of occupations were used as more accurate indicators of actual skills and knowledge sets. The fields of past and recent qualifications of individuals who had undertaken further credentialing were compared to determine the extent to which people with qualifications in a particular field actually chose further study in a different field, as an indication of future occupational intent and of perceived change options. This research also explored the motivations for studying a different skills and knowledge- set, and the influence of demographic, contextual and social factors. A mixed method design was employed and undertaken in two phases. Phase 1, a quantitative study, sourced the Australian Graduate Survey responses as a large secondary data base iii from which patterns of change between educational fields were examined together with their association with demographic and contextual factors such as age, gender, and cost. In phase 2, a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of nine individuals who had undertaken extra credentialing in a field that was different to that of their past study, to examine the reasons for their decision, and issues surrounding the undertaking. Significantly more than half of the questionnaire respondents had not changed field. Of the others, patterns of change varied between fields of study, age and gender with many suggestive of add-skilling for career advancement in the initial occupation rather than reskilling for occupational change. Most change was from generic to specific type degrees. Interview participants had changed field because of dissatisfaction with the outcomes from their initial qualification, and chose their field of second study to remedy those problems. The financial aspects of undertaking the change-in the context of life stage tasks were prime considerations in the change decision. Thus actual reskilling among knowledge occupations was costly, disruptive and relatively rare. If as this research indicates, skills-and-knowledge-based mobility options in high knowledge occupations are limited by their unique features, the predictions of a future of ‘new (very mobile) careers’, developing concurrently with a ‘knowledge economy’ warrant further careful consideration and empirical exploration to determine their combined practical and universal applications in the world or work. This research has contributed a more evidenced-based understanding of skills-and-knowledge-based mobility in knowledge occupations, and of factors influencing related lifelong occupational options to the field of career development; and has raised questions about the future predictions for mobility in a changing world of work. Implications for theory, practice and policy are discussed together with the contributions of the study and suggestions for further research. Limitations are acknowledged.