Career Development Challenges: The Role of Interest-Based Personality and Systemizing

Choosing a career path is an important decision made in the course of life, a developmental task which every individual faces. Career indecision, however, is a challenge that has plagued young people who do not know the career options they have, or lack vital information on oneself that will help them make a course choice. Some factors that play a role in career decision including career guidance, interest-based personality and systemizing were investigated to predict students’ course choice. The study involved 248 participants who completed the survey online. Results revealed that both the utility and deficiency subscales of career guidance did not predict the course choice. Enterprising personality type predicted course choice only when career guidance and interest-based personality were considered (OR = 6.36, p = .03, 95% CI = [1.11, 36.41]). However, topography subscale of systemizing predicted course choice, noting a decreasing odds of falling within the humanities category (OR = .64, p = .01, 95% CI = [.44, .91]). The study shows that career indecision is still one of the major developmental challenges that an individual faces while growing up, thus career counsellors are expected to play a vital role in providing solutions to these challenges by providing insightful guidance to individuals from an early stage.