Overcoming Career-Entry Dilemmas: A Phenomenological Analysis of Graduating Psychology Students’ Perception Towards College-to Professional Transition

Abstract

The transition from education into employment is confronted with uncertainties and worries. Studies have been focused on investigating discrepancies between students’ skills and level of preparedness and the demands of the modern business landscape. However, little research has been done on the factors that contribute to these gaps on the individual level. The study aims to understand perceived dilemmas and describe strategies employed in the college-to-career transition. The phenomenological qualitative design was utilized, and five graduating psychology students were considered as participants in the study. Structured interview was used as the main research method and thematic analysis as the primary analytical tool. Based on the relevant findings, the study concluded that graduating psychology students perceive the shift toward the professional world as challenging and difficult as it is characterized by uncertainties and adjustments yet a fulfilling process that fosters a sense of hope that regardless of what the future holds, college have prepared them for the life that they are going to have after graduation. Additionally, the main career-entry worry of graduating psychology students in transitioning was finding a decent workplace coupled with the stressful urgency to land an entry-job position after graduation. Generally, graduating psychology students overcome these perceived difficulties by seeking work-based experiences to prepare themselves for how things work in the professional world and maximizing their time in the internship to expand their network. These findings would be of great benefit to the development of intervention programs that will better prepare students for the college-to-career transition.