Career decision-making self-efficacy, occupational preferences, and gender: A study of undergraduate students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

After many years of substantial investments by the Saudi Arabian government in the education of its citizens, the results, especially in the area of employment, are felt by many to be less than satisfactory. While various factors may be contributing to the rising problem of unemployment in the country, the one focused on in this study was the relationship between self-efficacy and career choices. Specifically, the study examined the relationships between career decision-making self-efficacy, occupational preferences, and gender. Career decision-making self-efficacy was measured with an existing scale (CDMSES-SF). An instrument was designed in this study to measure occupational preferences. The surveys were administered to 476 male and 424 female undergraduate students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The results of the study found no significant relationship between gender and career decision-making self-efficacy. There were, however, a significant relationship between gender and career preferences for such occupations as accounting/finance, administration, computer technology, engineering, security, and social services fields; while in the education, health, and law fields no significant relationships were found. Career decision-making self-efficacy was not related to occupational preferences for any of the fields in this study. The relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and occupational preferences is not affected by gender. The results show that, for males and females, there is no relationship between career decision-making self-efficacy and occupational preference within gender for traditionally male-dominated fields, for traditionally female-dominated fields, or for the neutral fields. The negative results of the study provide evidence that the general level of CDMSE is low for males and for females. The study concluded that the results of this study were inconsistent with previous studies that have reported gender differences in career self-efficacy in general and in self-efficacy for the female-dominated versus the male-dominated occupations. The study concludes with policy recommendations directed at helping students improve their CDMSE scores. These recommendations are career development programs, career counseling, job fairs, database information, and government financial support. Further research is suggested to enhance the findings and validity of this study.