Why do college students switch their majors, most of the time, to majors that are not related to their first choice in career? Do students change their majors because they simply realized they could not see themselves in that career? Or is it because they want a better paying job? As someone who came from immigrant parents, I know my parents do not want me to do a job that pays very little.
However, I do not want a job in which I am unhappy, I would prefer a job in the arts which is where my strengths are. Unfortunately for my parents and I, a job in the arts, specifically music, does not pay well usually, unless you are Beyonce. Job security and job satisfaction are not always on the same page. Job security can be defined as, ”Assurance (or lack of it) that an employee has about the continuity of gainful employment for his or her work life. Job security usually arises from the terms of the contract of employment, collective bargaining agreement, or labor legislation that prevents arbitrary termination, layoffs, and lockouts.
It may also be affected by general economic conditions.”(In contrast, job satisfaction can be defined as, “the feeling of pleasure and achievement that you experience in your job when you know that your work is worth doing, or the degree to which your work gives you this feeling” As teenagers, we are told from a young age to choose jobs with security and satisfaction. Now they are searching for jobs that can provide for their family and both make them happy. According to research done in 2002 by the University of Wisconsin, students are influenced by their environment when it comes to choosing careers.
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Students should begin to research what they want to study and how much money they could hypothetically make because ”Much of the literature concerning career choice discusses the need for students to investigate.”(Borchert 31) Students should research ahead of time to know what jobs can provide what they are searching for in a job. If a student is searching for a job that they can maintain and it won’t be easy to lose and can pay well. In contrast to job satisfaction to which a student to should pay attention to careers that involve school subjects and or hobbies that they are both good at and make them happy.
The topic of Job Security v.s Job Satisfaction is important to everyone. It is the basis as to why we are in school and the foundation of what we build our lives around. As mentioned previously, “Students must know what they want in order to choose careers,”(Borchert 35). As humans we spend most of our lives working. People work for many different reasons: providing for family, paying off student loan debts, and or simply just providing for themselves. Having a job is an essential part of life.
In order to get a job you must know what kind of jobs you would be good at, how competitive the market is, and if you can see yourself working that job for a long period of time. However the issue is that students do not always venture out of their comfort zones. It is human nature for students to want study or explore careers they are familiar with or hear a lot about. Financial stability is also a factor in their choice of jobs, “…students are motivated in their choice of major by the possibilities of acessing high earning streams”(Montmarquette 544)
