Factors Influencing Career Choice Among Final Semester Undergraduate Students of a Business Management Faculty in A Malaysian Public University

Abstract

The topic of undergraduates and recent graduates’ career choice has sparked the interest of many people these years. This paper aims to study the factors that influence students’ career choices. Among the variables included in this study are personality, parents or guardians, peer groups, career guidance counsellors, environment, opportunity, and economic considerations. The targeted population was 436 final semesters of undergraduate students at the Faculty of Business and Management, UiTM Puncak Alam. Email questionnaires were distributed to all the respondents using a census to ensure a good response rate. A minimum sample of 205 was identified. This study used a multiple regression analysis to identify the relationship between personality, parents or guardians, peer groups, career guidance counsellors, environment, opportunity, economic considerations, and career choice. Findings revealed that only five (5) variables significantly influence students: personality, parents or guardians, peer groups, career guidance counsellors, and environment while economic consideration factors were not significant. However. Peer groups showed a negative relationship with students’ career choices. Besides, the result of independent samples t-test revealed a significant difference between the mean group of residencies during the study regarding career guidance counsellors and opportunity. Thus, it is recommended that every party involved need to play a significant role in making a precise career choice so that they may not feel dissatisfied when they pursue a career, especially when the career is not up to what they really want.