Why Do Undergraduates Majoring in Languages Other than English (LOTE) Switch to Another Career after Graduation? A Qualitative Exploratory Study
Abstract
The study investigates the influencing factors of undergraduates majoring in Portuguese choosing to change careers into non-language-related ones after graduation, and how they strategically use their undergraduate learning experiences for career preparation. This study draws on semi-structured interviews with 26 undergraduates majoring in Portuguese from six universities in Beijing. The study found that the most important factor influencing students’ career change was the loss of interest, the increasingly unbalanced relationship between supply and demand for the Portuguese job market, the high entry threshold of lang-related jobs, low returns, and uncertain career prospects of Portuguese jobs. However, undergraduate learning experiences in Portuguese major helped them explore career opportunities with intercultural communication skills, and open up new paths for the industry to find their ideal careers. Finally, this paper provided pedagogical implications for LOTE majors and how to help students of humanities and social sciences find new ways of career choices.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bainbridge C. (2015). What is extrinsic motivation? About Parenting. available from: http://giftedkids. about.com/od/ glossary/g/extrinsic.htm (accessed August 7, 2022).
Busse V. (2013). Why do first-year students of German lose motivation during their first year at university? Studies in Higher Education, 38(7), 951-971.
Flores LY, Robitschek C, Celebi E, Andersen C. and Hoang U. (2010). Social cognitive influences on Mexican Americans’ career choices across Holland’s themes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(2), 198-210.
Frassinelli PP. (2019). Crisis? Which Crisis? The Humanities Reloaded. Critical Arts, 33(3), 1-15.
Guo Y, & Ayoun B. (2022). Starting a Career During a Global Pandemic: Telling Stories of Hospitality Management Graduates’ Decision Making. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 34(1), 15-32.
Hao, Y., & Pym, A. (2022). Where do translation students go? A study of the employment and mobility of Master graduates. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 1-19.
Hodkinson P, & Sparkes AC. (1997). Careership: a sociological theory of career decision making. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18(1), 29-44.
Huang Y. & Wang S. (2022). A study of the impact of the epidemic on the further education and employment of undergraduate students majoring in LOTE. Employment and Security (03),112-114.
Lent RW, Brown SD. and Hackett G. (1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45(1), 79-122.
Miles MB, Huberman AM, and Saldana J. 2013. Qualitative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mok KH, Xiong W, & Ye H. (2021). COVID-19 crisis and challenges for graduate employment in Taiwan, Mainland China and East Asia: a critical review of skills preparing students for uncertain futures. Journal of Education and Work, 34(3), 247-261.
MYCOS. (2022). Chinese 4-year college graduates’ employment annual report.
Ng YH, Lai SP, Su ZP, Yap JY, Teoh HQ. and Lee H. (2017), Factors influencing accounting students’ career paths. Journal of Management Development, 36(3), 319-329.
Ryan RM. and Deci EL. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.
Saito E, & Pham T. (2021). A comparative institutional analysis on strategies deployed by Australian and Japanese universities to prepare students for employment. Higher Education Research & Development, 40(5), 1085-1099.
Suryani A., & George, S. (2021). “Teacher education is a good choice, but I don’t want to teach in schools.” An analysis of university students’ career decision making. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47(4), 590-604.
Wang B. (2021). The Enrollment System Reform Strategy of Minor Language Majors in Colleges and Universities. China’s Education: Research & Review (01),85-129.
Zhu L. (2011). Survey and Analysis on the Employment Situation of Foreign Language Graduates in Universities in Henan: Taking Xinyang Normal University as an Example. Journal of Tianzhong (05), 83-85.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/ahe.v6i14.6106
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
