Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students
The increasing flexibility and rapid, profound changes in the labor market require employability skills from graduates, dem1anding greater attention from higher education institutions to training opportunities that foster the development of these skills among their students. Using a sample of 373 fi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/787 |
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| author | Marina Sousa Alexandra R. Costa Leandro S. Almeida Eunice Fontão |
| author_facet | Marina Sousa Alexandra R. Costa Leandro S. Almeida Eunice Fontão |
| author_sort | Marina Sousa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increasing flexibility and rapid, profound changes in the labor market require employability skills from graduates, dem1anding greater attention from higher education institutions to training opportunities that foster the development of these skills among their students. Using a sample of 373 first-year engineering students, this study analyzed, through regression analysis, the impact of sociodemographic (gender, age), academic (work, program choice, average grade), and psychological (life satisfaction, perseverance of effort, consistency of interests) variables on students’ confidence in achieving their professional career project after completing their degree. The results indicate that women and younger students show lower levels of confidence in achieving their future vocational projects, as do students with lower academic performance and those with less consistency in their interests. These findings suggest the need for specialized support services for students, starting from the first year, in career development provided by higher education institutions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3e657dd841b94ed2b51359a07bb3f3d1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-3e657dd841b94ed2b51359a07bb3f3d12025-08-20T03:36:18ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022025-06-0115778710.3390/educsci15070787Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering StudentsMarina Sousa0Alexandra R. Costa1Leandro S. Almeida2Eunice Fontão3ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalSchool of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Edifício 14, 4710-057 Braga, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, PortugalThe increasing flexibility and rapid, profound changes in the labor market require employability skills from graduates, dem1anding greater attention from higher education institutions to training opportunities that foster the development of these skills among their students. Using a sample of 373 first-year engineering students, this study analyzed, through regression analysis, the impact of sociodemographic (gender, age), academic (work, program choice, average grade), and psychological (life satisfaction, perseverance of effort, consistency of interests) variables on students’ confidence in achieving their professional career project after completing their degree. The results indicate that women and younger students show lower levels of confidence in achieving their future vocational projects, as do students with lower academic performance and those with less consistency in their interests. These findings suggest the need for specialized support services for students, starting from the first year, in career development provided by higher education institutions.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/787higher educationengineeringcareer projectcareer indecisionemployability skillsvocational confidence |
| spellingShingle | Marina Sousa Alexandra R. Costa Leandro S. Almeida Eunice Fontão Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students Education Sciences higher education engineering career project career indecision employability skills vocational confidence |
| title | Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students |
| title_full | Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students |
| title_fullStr | Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students |
| title_short | Are You Sure About Your Career? Predictors of Vocational Confidence in Engineering Students |
| title_sort | are you sure about your career predictors of vocational confidence in engineering students |
| topic | higher education engineering career project career indecision employability skills vocational confidence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/15/7/787 |
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