“Setting Up for the Next Big Thing”: Undergraduate Women Engineering Students’ Postbaccalaureate Career Decisions

• Published in: Journal of college student development Vol. 58; no. 8; pp. 1201 - 1217
• Main Authors: Smith, Kathleen N, Gayles, Joy Gaston
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Beliefs; Career Choice; Career Development; Careers; Case Studies; College Students; Constructivism (Learning); Decision Making; Employed Women; Engineering; Engineering Education; Epistemology; Extracurricular Activities; Females; Field Experience Programs; Gender; Gender Discrimination; Graduation; Higher education; Individual Characteristics; Information Processing; Internship Programs; Internships; Labor Force; Literature Reviews; Males; Metacognition; Occupational Aspiration; Opportunities; Persistence; Qualitative research; Role Models; Science Instruction; Self Efficacy; Semi Structured Interviews; Sex Fairness; Sex Role; STEM Education; Student organizations; Study abroad; Success; Undergraduate Students; Women; Workforce; United States > US
• ISSN: 0897-5264; 1543-3382; 1543-3382
• DOI: 10.1353/csd.2017.0094

Using social cognitive career theory and the cognitive information processing model as frameworks, in this constructivist case study we examined the career-related experiences and decisions of 10 women engineering undergraduate seniors who accepted full-time positions. From the data analysis 3 major themes emerged: critical undergraduate experiences, alignment of self-knowledge and occupational knowledge, and gender dynamics. These themes highlight important experiences and sources of information that shaped and informed participants' career decisions. The article concludes with practical implications and directions for future research in supporting women engineering students' transition into the workforce.