Authors:

Abstract

Career indecision that refers to the inability to make a decision about an occupational field one wishes to pursue has been a focus of academic research over the last few decades. Career indecision, especially among university undergraduates, is a dynamic phenomenon that is being vicariously explored presently. Research has drawn attention to explore the determinants and consequences of career indecision among undergraduates. However, little is known about whether there is a significant difference of career indecision particularly among state university management undergraduates in Sri Lanka based on their gender and location. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore whether there is any significant differences in career indecision among state university management undergraduates in Sri Lanka, when it comes to the segregation of the target population based on the gender as well as the geographical location of the state universities. A sample of 153 final year management students were selected using stratified sampling techniques from two metropolitan and two rural state universities. Both physical on online self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. Independent sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses. As per the key findings of the study, it was revealed that career indecisiveness was higher among males and the difference in career indecision between male and female management undergraduate is significant. Moreover, this study found that there are no significant differences in career indecision between students studying in peripheral or urban universities. These findings would be beneficial to undergraduates, policy makers and government institutions as well as for the society at large, when it comes to devising human resource development programs, related policies etc. As this study found empirical support for significant differences in career indecision between male and female management undergraduates, the authorities who design career counseling interventions need to pay attention on this. As male undergraduates experience relatively high degree of career indecisiveness, separate strategies are required to address the differences.

Keywords: Career indecision, Management undergraduate, State university, Gender, Location