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to Social Forces
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CAREER CHOICE PROCESSES 149
HARRY W. MARTIN
Uiliversity of Texas Medical Centter
ABSTRACT
It is postulated that there exist patterns of career choice which are 'based on a series of situa-
tional decisions which, individually, have no rational connection with the choice of a- particular
occupation but, nonetheless, comprise the process of embarkation upon a career. The data are
from a study of student nurses.
T his paper investigates career choices he weighs various satisfactions), and finally,
among student nurses. It explores the a realistic period (when he makes compromises
possibility that entry upon an occupa- between his individual wants and the actual op-
tional career, such as nursing, may be pre- portunities which exist for him). We are in
dicated less upon a deliberate choice of nursing broad agreement with Ginzberg's basic thesis
than upon a series of limited decisions focused that "occupational choice is a process," that
upon immediate problems encountered at the "the process is largely irreversible" (that is,
stage of the life cycle in which the adolescent decisions once made cannot be "unmade," anld
girl finds herself. The view which is here that they affect the subsequent career life), and
adopted is that the process of entry into an that the process "ends in a compromise." Our
occupation may be looked upoll as the cumula- main divergence from Ginzberg is one of em-
tive product of a series of specific acts, whichi phasis. Whereas his focus is upon career
may or may not be directly focused upon a choices as seen in the context of the individual's
deliberate career choice. In the present paper miaturation, we suggest conceiving career
the emphasis is primarily upon non-career choices as courses of action which are com-
oriented acts. It is not suggested that such acts posites of adaptations-by individuals, to be
characterize all types of career choice. sure-to meet the exigencies of particular, im-
Eli Ginzberg has done pioneering work in mediate situations.
the study of decision-making processes involved Our study deals with students at the School
in career choice. In his Occupational Choice' he of Nursing of a southern university. The study
took as his point of departure Lazarsfeld's ad- spanned a four-year period. It was possible,
monition to seek a genetic approach to the therefore, to obtain data on one class from the
topic.2 Ginzberg and his colleagues build a time of admission to the time of graduation.
theory based on an evolution of increasing self- The questionnaires on which the present paper
determination as well as increasingly realistic is largely based included some questions which
attunement of the individual to his environment Columbia University researchers asked medical
as he matures. The individual is thought to go students;3 this provides an opportunity of com-
through a period of fantasy (when he cannot
paring career choice behavior of student nurses
assess his capacities), a tentative period (when
with that of student physicians.
*This investigation was supported by a grant, The thesis of this paper is as follows: The
2M-6157, from the National Institute of Mental
decisions which underlie embarkation on a
Health, United States Public Health Service.
-1Eli Ginzberg and Associates, Occupational nursing career for at least some persons revolve
Choice: An Approach to a General Theory (New around limited, situational contingences-in
York: Columbia University Press, 1951).
which the matter of nursing-as-career enters
2Paul Lazarsfeld, fugend und Beruf (Jena: G.
Fischer, 1931). Cited in R. K. Merton, G. G. 3 R. K. Merton, G. G. Reader, P. L. Kendall,
Reader, P. L. Kendall, Editors, The Student Editors. The Student Physician., op. cit. We are
Physician (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, particularly referring to N. Rogoff's article entitled,
1957), p. 110. "The Decision to Study Medicine."
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150 SOCIAL FORCES
only tangentially or not at all. Such "situa- dicate that they had made a "definite decision."
tionally delimited" decisions, we are suggesting, Unfortunately this type of question assumes
do not involve definite career decisions in terms that there was a "definite decision"-that it
of a subjective career commitment,4 but none- is only a question of finding out when it oc-
theless these decisions constitute the active curred. The real question, we suggest, is to
steps toward entry upon a career. what extent were there actually definite deci-
We first began to formulate the thesis when sions or, conversely, to what extent are the
a perusal of answers to open-ended questions "dec,isions" artifacts of the research pro-
suggested that the student nurses exhibited cedure?7 Do we not have to reckon with the
much vagueness as to the time and occasion likelihood that a student-or -any individual,
when they first began to consider becoming for that matter-is inclined to give a reply
nurses. In response to the open-ended question within the scope of the framework provided for
"In your own words, what were the main him? And, more pointedly, we are inclined to
reasons that let you to choose nursing for your ask to what extent and in what manner are the
career ?" We received such answers as: "I "decisions" related to a desire for a career of
really don't know exactly, but for a long time nursing, or are they merely decisions relating to
I wanted to be a nurse... ."5 and, "As do many the solutions of problems which may be quite
little girls, I had an early childhood ambition removed from the notion of a career of
of becoming a nurse-I never became dis- nursing?
interested (sic) in this field although I had no Support for the thesis comes from statements
specific reasons for entering nursing. . . ." It by girls concerning uncertainty and vagueness
is conceivable, of course, that the events which as to when they first thought of nursing as a
are crucial in the "decisions" have been forgot- career for themselves. We combined answers to
ten or repressed. This is the customary ex- the two open-endled questions: "Which occupa-
planation of answers of this kind. It is sup- tions or professions (lid you consider (before
ported by the fact that wlhen we posed the
deciding on nursing), and why did you decide
question "When did you definitely decide on
against them?" and "In your own words, what
nursing?"6 over 99 percent of the nurses did in-
were the main reasons that led you to choose
4 By "subjective commitment to a career" we nursing for your career ?" from a class of fresh-
refer to an individual's incorporating conceptions
man students. Twenty-six percent (17 out of
about practicing the career into himself; we do
not know, at this stage, what conceptions are in- 65) made statements to the effect that they did
volved, and we do not wish to make statements
7 The senior author's present thinking was affect-
about the degree of "depth" of personality and
ed by another study on which he has been engaged.
emotional involvement.
This involves case studies of practicing physicians.
Although there may be no subjective career
One of the subjects of that study stated that it was
commitment, the situationally-delimited decisions
only in his second year of medical school that he
are likely to involve action commitments for the discovered that he really wanted to become a
individual. For example, enrolling in nursing school physician. We would venture the opinion that if
carries a degree of commitment to complete nurs- the above question concerning a definite career
ing education-the third year student may feel that decision had been asked of this man in his first
she has "invested" in nursing education and, if year in medical school, he would probably have
lacking other motivations, she may continue in indicated a "definite decision" in his past. One
nursing because of this investment alone. In Ginz-
must of course reckon with retrospective bias here.
berg's terms we might say that the situationally-de-The older man may feel that his basic decision was
limited decisions are not "realistic" in terms of a
made after he entered medical school-on the basis
career.
of his current perspective. To the young man, how-
5This is the type of response which is often ever, an earlier decision may have appeared
discarded in the analysis of data. crucial and definitive (rationalization may or may
6 This question is a replica of the question not have been involved). But another explanation,
asked by the Columbia researchers (Merton, et. al., the one we are here exploring, is that there was
op. cit., p. 14 ff). The question is worded thus: no definite career decision before the person entered
"At what age did you definitely decide to study professional school, and that this can be objectively
nursing ?
demonstrated.
Before the age of 14
At 14 or 15 years of age Between 18 or 20 years of age
At 16 or 17 years of age Since the age of 21"
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CAREER CHOICE PROCESSES 151
not know when they began to be interested in though they have not definitely decided that
nursing, or that they "had always" wanted to they wish to become nurses, they must, at this
do the sort of work which they felt nursing stage of their life, make decisions about their
entailed (helping the sick, alleviating suffering, occupational future (including the type of
being around hospitals, etc.). We were persuad- course they wish to follow in college). We are
ed to think that students' statements to the suggesting that what many of these persons
effect that they could not recall specific oc- reported as "definite" career decisions were
casions on which they first entertained the really decisions revolving around such things
idea of becoming nurses might point to an ab- as the choice of college education-rather than
sence of specific career decisions. We asked a definite desire to be a nurse. (The corollary
ourselves whether it is not likely that for some to this postulate is that persons who have made
of the students, the expressions of vagueness definite career decisions are no more likely to
about career decisions constitute relatively ac- place themselves in the "16 to 17" and "18 to
curate descriptions of a series of unplanned, 20" age categories than in any other category
situation-bound acts-acts which were not of the above question.) We would then expect
specifically and explicitly tied to a conception a greater proportion of the persons with definite
of a career of nursing but which, in their commitment to nursing to fall in the "under 16"
totality, added up to the girl's entering a nurs- age category. If we can take successful com-
ing training program. pletion of nursing school as an index of "com-
This is amplified by responses to the ques- mitment" to nursing,8 we would expect that a
tion: "At what age did you definitely decide to greater proportion of the persons stating that
study nursing ?" The following results emerged: they made a definite career decision before
Group 1 Nunber Percent the age of 16 will complete the nursing program
Before 14 . ............. 7 10.6 than persons placing themselves in the "16 and
At 14 or 15 . ................ 8 12.1 over" categories. This is, indeed, borne out
At 16 or 17 . ............ 41 62.1 by the data Table 1.9
Between 18 and 20 ......... 10 15.2 The question regarding age of definite deci-
Since 21.
sions was asked of medical students by the
Total . ........... 66 100.0
Columbia researchers.10 The findings were
Group 2 Number Percent quite similar to ours: 67 percent of the students
Before 14 .............. 17 13.0 8 This is an admittedly crude yardstick.
At 14 or 15 ............... 27 20.6 9 We would also expect drop-out rates during the
At 16 or 17 . ........... 72 54.9 school program to reflect this differential rate of
Between 18 and 20 ... 14 10.7 graduation. The questionnaire was administered
Since 21 ... . 1 .8 to the first group at the beginning of their freshman
year when no students had yet dropped out of the
Total .. 131 100.0
program. When the second group took the ques-
tionnaire there had been a drop-out of 27.5 per-
The first group is comprised of a freshman
cent-based on the initial freshman enrollment of
class. The second is made up of a freshman, a the respective classes. As we compare the responses
sophomore, and a junior class. (The members of the two groups we note that in the second group
of the first freshman class are not included in the "under 16" age categories make up 33.6 per-
cent of the responses (as against 22.7 percent of
the second group.) It is apparent that in both
the first group) and the "16 and over" categories
groups the responses concentrate heavily in the account for the remaining 66.4 percent of the re-
period immediately preceding entrance to sponses of that group (as against 77.3 percent in
college and during the early years in college. the first group). This would seem to suggest that
more of the "under 16" persons are remaining in
On the basis of our conceptualization, we pro-
the program-that is, "drop-outs" of the second
pose that persons who have made only situa- group seem to follow the same pattern as the "non-
tionally-delimited decisions will be more likely graduates" in the first group. Our conclusions must
to place themselves in the "16 or 17 years of be tentative, however, since we do not have the dis-
age" or "18 to 20 years of age" categories of tribution of responses from the second group at an
earlier neriod of time.
the above question than any other category. 10 The Student Physician, op. cit. See N.
Our thinking is based on the notion that even Rogoff's "The Decision to Study Medicine."
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152 SOCIAL FORCES
TABLE 1. RELATION BETWEEN GRADUATING FROM that those students who have not made definite
NURSING SCHOOL AND AGE WHEN DEFINITELY
career commitments are likely to place them-
DECIDED TO STUDY NURSING*
selves in the 16 to 20 year age group because,
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CAREER CHOICE PROCESSES ; 153
TABLE 2. RELATION BETWEEN GRADUATION FROM A significantly high proportion of those who
NURSING SCHOOL AND AGE WHEN FIRST THOUGHT OF first thought of nursing before age 10 re-
BECOMING A NURSE
gard their definite decisions as having been
made at age 16 or later. The latter age cate-
Age at time of first tbinking of becoming a nurse
gory has been postulated to have a high pro-
Under 10 10 and over Total portion of non-committed persons (in compar-
ison with the "under 16" age category). On
Graduated 20 16 36 this basis it would seem that the "vagueness"
57.1% 50%
regarding the occasion of initial interest in
nursing bespeaks an absence of commitment.
Not Graduated 15 16 31
But the evidence cannot be claimed to be con-
42.9% 50%
clusive.
Total 35 32 67 An inspection of the distribution of students
by age of "definite decisions" and "first think-
X2= .167, corrected for
ing" about contiDuity;
nursing yields further insights. not si
When using the same age breakdown as in Table 1-"under 16" and
"16 and over"-the X2 is .087.
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154 SOCIAL FORCES
port of the thesis that is possible to demonstrate who has chosen nursing training.) Such
the existence of a type of career choice process "situationally delimited" actions are deemed to
which does not involve subjective career-orient- be basic ingredients in this process. It is felt
ed decisions. This formulation involved the that this conceptualization might fruitfully be
postulation of being able to distinguish between applied to areas other than career choice.
subjective career commitment and compliance The data for our formulations are based on a
with the institutionalized process leading to em- small sample-one professional school. Hence,
barkation upon a career.16 It also involved
it is probable that refinements in the thesis
postulation of a form of sequential process,
will need to be made as data from broader
where embarkation on a course of action-in
samples become available. In practical terms,
the present case, entry upon a particular oc-
understanding career commitments17 has ob-
cupational career-may be the end result of a
vious importance. Ultimately, one would wish
series of steps which, individually, are not
to be able to correlate patterns of commitment
teleologically oriented to that course of action.
which develop in the course of actual career
(Thus, for a particular young woman, the
decision to enter a nursing school and, sub- choice behavior with patterns of performance by
sequently, to be a nurse may rest primarily occupational practitioners. Also, a clear under-
upon following her immediate desire to be standing of occupational commitments might
in the proximity of young, eligible physicians, enable streamlining of career training pro-
or to remain close to a friend of her own sex cedures.
16 In this study, completion of professional train- 17 We hope that our paper, an essentially theore-
ing has been used as an index of subjective com- tical discussion, will not lead to exaggerated
mitment-and non-completion as an index of ab- notions as to the actual proportion of non-commit-
sence of such commitment. Yet it must be pointed ted persons in occupations. We make no claim to
out that it is by no means claimed that all persons have assessed what this proportion is in the nursing
who lack subjective commitment are likely to fail profession. There is also indication that some
to complete their professional training, and thus be nursing students may loose commitment in the
excluded from the ranks of professional prac- course of the experience in nursing school. See Ida
titioners. What is claimed-and used in the present Harper Simpson, "The Development of Professional
study-is that there is a greater likelihood, statis- Self-Images among Student Nurses" (Unpublished
tically, that those who lack a subjective commit- doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina,
ment will not complete their professional training. 1956).
ABSTRACT
Research among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians would indicate that visible differences
among the people in matters of health and education are not only a result of acculturation.
Social class behavior seems to figure prominently as a factor in disparate behavior manifested
by nonconservative Cherokees.
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