Navigating the Career Maze: Factors Influencing Tertiary Students' Choices in Bangladesh

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine what impacts the career choice of tertiary students in Bangladesh.  Factors considered such as personal, social, educational, and economic aspects. The research indicates the intricate relationships between these variables. The current research article seeks to determine if any examined variables have a more significant influence than others on students’ career decisions and discover what motives they consider most important. Career decisions in any sphere are affected by a set of circumstances under which they are made. More specifically, several factors peculiar to Bangladesh can be listed regarding the career choices of its tertiary students. Nevertheless, the analysis of the relationships between these variables may help obtain a more extensive understanding of the phenomenon in question. In the current study, PLS SEM was used to analyze and examine the data of relationships between the considered variables in order to determine degree of influence on the career decisions of Bangladeshi tertiary students. The obtained results demonstrate that the examined item has the strongest connection with the variable of economic factors. Social factors influence students to choose their career, while the least degree of impact was observed for personal factors. In addition, the study revealed no significant connection between personal factors and students’ career decisions. The data obtained from the current analysis demonstrate that the career choices of Bangladeshi tertiary students are mainly affected by economic and social factors. This research shows valuable insight into the subject due to the consideration of several key variables and is expected to be used by different organizations to improve the students’ career counselling system in Bangladesh.