Pursuing Careers Inside or Outside Academia? Factors Associated With Doctoral Students’ Career Decision Making

Abstract

A lack of empirical research on career decision-making experience of doctoral students prevents them from developing relevant career competencies to achieve desired career goals. Understanding career experiences and diverse career needs of doctoral students is crucial to better prepare them for varied career paths inside and outside academia. Grounded in social cognitive career theory’s career self-management model, we investigated the association of the personal and contextual factors of doctoral students with their career decision making. To gain a comprehensive understanding of career choices of doctoral students, comparisons are made between academic and beyond academic career groups. Data were collected from 313 doctoral candidates from a research-oriented public university located in the U.S. Midwest. The results of logistic regression analysis show significant associations between career support, marital status, and major and career choice of doctoral students. Implications for graduate education to support doctoral students for diverse career paths are discussed.