Occupational Preferences Analysis

Abstract

Vocational or occupational preference, studied under vocational psychology, is an important construct in determining students‘ career decision and career success. These vocational preferences are built during an individual‘s development process across his or her life span. The initiating point of their preferences begins from an early childhood and starts taking shape during the adolescence period. It is during this period of adolescence that individuals come across many career barriers. On the other hand, along this development route, a number of personal-interest, psychosocial, socio cultural and personality factors also affect these occupational preferential decisions. An understanding of factors that interfere with the career development process, either by hampering it or by complementing it, is pivotal for career decisions and career success (Lucas and Epperson, 1990); and this precisely is the main focus of this study. Individuals‘ work or occupational preferences or interests have long been a centre of attention under career interventions (Larson, Bonitz, and Pesch, 2013) which definitely have implications for work attitudes. Vocational interests and choices have been held important characteristics of human behavior and their perceptions in educational as well as organizational settings (Rounds and Su, 2014).Occupational choices congruent with one‘s interest demonstrate educational and professional success (Lee, Lawson, and McHale, 2015), organizational commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991), and job satisfaction (Smith et al., 1969), identity development, vocational counseling and educationists for policy making, with the ultimate aim of pursuit and happiness and satisfaction. This is because occupational identity allows one to pursue a creer of choice which leads to job satisfaction and consequently life satisfaction. It is important for individuals that they choose a vocation (calling) or career that brings out the best in them and who they are. This is possible only if they do what they truly and deeply believe in, they make a living out of something they enjoy and thus contribute to society in their own unique way. According to research, work definitely impacts relationships, families, personal life, and surroundings. It is also the sphere of life in which one invests maximum time and energy. Hence, making one‘s careers count is a critical ingredient to long lasting satisfaction and addresses the roots of employee engagement (Kumar and Lavanya, 2015).