University Students' Perceptions of Unplanned Events as a Factor in the Process of Career Choice

Abstract

The unplanned events that individuals encounter throughout their lives may either positively or negatively impact their careers. Hence, the authors aimed to reveal what is perceived as chance in university students' career development stories and how these students view the effects of the events perceived by them as chance. The theoretical framework for this study is Happenstance Learning Theory developed by Krumboltz. Participants in this study consisted of a total of 102 senior students, with 68 women (66.7%) and 34 men (33.3%), attending a medium-size public university in southeastern Turkey. The participants were randomly selected. Conventional content analysis among qualitative analysis methods was used in this study. A form including personal information and chance situations in career choice was used to collect data. Findings obtained in the study indicated that chance events in university students' career choices were found in three themes: social factors, individual factors, and political/legal factors. Results of the study were discussed in the light of relevant literature and suggestions for researchers were included.