In this paper the authors attempt to explain and sharpen unresolved issues and questions that have evolved in the study of careers, especially since the concept of "careers" has received increased theoretical and empirical attention across disciplines. The issues discussed involve (1) conceptualization and measurement of careers; (2)…

Job satisfaction has been identified as one of the most important antecedents of turnover, although it rarely accounts for more than 16% of the variance in employee withdrawal. Several data sets collected on the Mobley, Horner, and Hollingsworth (1978) model of turnover were reanalyzed with path analytic techniques. Data analyses revealed support…

Most governmental or organizational efforts to influence the retirement decision have used financial incentives. The extent to which job attitudes are predictive of early retirement decisions beyond the predictions by income, health and demographic characteristics is an important consideration. Michigan Civil Service employees (N=379) who were…

A study investigated the determinants of success in occupational entry for persons trained specifically for work in mass communications. Two separate criteria were used to judge success in entry: actual employment and salary and fringe benefits, earned upon employment. Subjects, 2,171 recipients of bachelor's degrees from 77 programs in journalism…

A theoretical model of turnover in work organizations was applied to the college student dropout process at a major midwestern land grant university. The 854 freshmen women subjects completed a questionnaire that included measures for 14 independent variables: grades, practical value, development, routinization, instrumental communication,…

A total of 1,994 students (approximately 70% of those who participated in the American College Testing Program's Nationwide Study of Career Development) who were working more than half-time three years later responded to an extensive mailed questionnaire followup study seeking to describe the predictability of actual job choice from expressed…

Reanalysis of a standard set of data for 16 nations has brought new insights into the leading issues of comparative social mobility. The reanalysis provides considerable support for the Featherman-Jones-Hauser hypothesis, which claims that there is convergence in mobility processes once conditions of occupational supply and demand are controlled.…

Income predictions that provide some indication of the potential value of attending college are considered. Standard multiple regression analysis of data describing the income experiences of men 25 years old and older were used to determine differences in incomes of high school and college graduates. Information on the gross national product was…

The use of a modified training opportunities approach for predicting the number of graduate enrollments and degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is considered. Data concerning graduate assistantships and faculty staffing levels were used to predict, with a high level of accuracy, the number of graduate enrollments and degrees.…

A study using the 1980 High School and Beyond senior cohort was undertaken to assess the relative impact of socioeconomic status (SES), parental attention, mother's working patterns, and family structure on student achievement. More specifically, this report describes the relationship between educational attainment and the components of the SES…

This document contains four symposium papers on work force development. "Effects of Two Different Learning Paths on School-to-Work Transition" (Esther Van Der Schoot) discusses a Dutch study documenting that the following items make a difference in the school-to-work transition: learning path, curriculum characteristics, individual…

A study analyzed mitigating conditions and factors that prevented the uptake of apprenticeships and traineeships among young people aged 15-19 years of age who had left school in Victoria, Australia. Data were based on a thesis completed in May 2000 involving analysis of theoretical research, observation in the field, and case study interviews…

The factors influencing the educational-vocational pathways of Australian school-leavers were examined through a study of a representative national sample of Australian school-leavers. The study sample consisted of 2,709 pupils from the 1970 Youth in Transition cohort, who were first tested as part of the Australian Studies of School Performance…