The Distribution of Job Satisfaction among Young European Graduates: Does the Choice of Study Field Matter?

Autor/inn/en	Vila, Luis E.; Garcia-Aracil, Adela; Mora, Jose-Gines
Titel	The Distribution of Job Satisfaction among Young European Graduates: Does the Choice of Study Field Matter?
Quelle	In: Journal of Higher Education, 78 (2007) 1, S.97-118 (22 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-1546
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Job Satisfaction; Models; Course Selection (Students); Family Characteristics; Objectives; Units of Study; Surveys; College Graduates; Education Work Relationship; Employment Opportunities; Austria; Czech Republic; Finland; France; Germany; Italy; Japan; Netherlands; Norway; Spain; Sweden; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Labor; Labour; Satisfaction; Arbeit; Zufriedenheit; Analogiemodell; Course selection; Student; Students; Kurswahl; Goal definition; Zielsetzung; Lerneinheit; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Hochschulabsolvent; Hochschulabsolventin; Berufschance; Beschäftigungschance; Österreich; Tschechische Republik; Finnland; Frankreich; Deutschland; Italien; Niederlande; Norwegen; Spanien; Schweden; Großbritannien
Abstract	A student's choice of a field of study is a personal decision that combines individual tastes, inclinations, preferences, and prospects related to the working life with a number of financial and academic constraints. Therefore, the analysis of the effects of degree field on job satisfaction should also address the unobserved heterogeneity among graduates from different fields. The process of choosing a field of study needs to be analyzed before its endogenous influence on graduates' job satisfaction is assessed. Within this conceptual framework, these authors aim to clarify two main research questions: (1) What are the elements determining the choice of a given field of study?; and (2) Whether and how does field of study influence the distribution of job satisfaction among higher education graduates (HEGs) after controlling for individual heterogeneity? This article is organized as follows. One section provides summaries of literature both on the elements influencing the choice of degree field and on the determinants of job satisfaction. The next section is the empirical section. First, it establishes a choice of field criterion in terms of graduates' family background, earlier education, and life goals. Second, it discusses both the direct and instrumental variable estimation results for the effects of field of study and other determinants on the distribution of job satisfaction among HEGs. The final section provides a summary and conclusions. (Contains 5 tables.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Ohio State University Press. 180 Pressey Hall, 1070 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1002. Tel: 614-292-1407; Fax: 614-292-2065; Web site: http://www.ohiostatepress.org.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10