Women and U.S. racial/ethnic minority students are underrepresented in engineering graduate education and engineering practice. Demographic homogeneity in engineering research teams can negatively affect individuals, innovation, and research outcomes. Thus, it is important to explore factors that influence student intentions to complete engineering degrees, particularly for groups historically underrepresented in engineering. Social Cognitive Career Theory guided the development of new items to evaluate self-efficacy, feeling welcome and included, relationship with principal investigator, and research group environment. Results with 295 engineering graduate students found that female sex, engineering self-efficacy, and feeling welcome and included were independently positively associated with commitment to complete an engineering degree. Feeling welcome and included operated 30% through self-efficacy and 70% directly. The effects of female sex were unmediated by self-efficacy. Results suggest that proximal and distal contextual factors may operate independently from self-efficacy to influence retention in graduate engineering programs.

This research examines the effects of a class-level intervention for career indecision variables. A repeated measures intervention study was used to examine the efficacy of a 16-week career exploration course on decreasing career indecision variables. Results showed significant improvement in lack of readiness, choice/commitment anxiety, and neuroticism/negative affectivity. Interpersonal conflicts remained stable. Overall, we found the class-level intervention had a significant effect on decreasing college students' career indecision. K E Y W O R D Scareer, class-level intervention, college major, decision-making Selecting a major or career is one of the primary stressors for individuals entering college (Samide et al., 2019). This struggle affects a large portion of college students as 25%-50% are undecided on a major when entering their university (Freedman, 2013). Even among those who have declared majors when they enter, approximately 30% will switch majors prior to graduation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017), which may contribute to financial stress and increase the time students must invest to access their chosen career. Class-level interventions have consistently shown positive effects on career decision outcomes, such as persistence, degree attainment, and job satisfaction (

In the following rejoinder, we respond to Betz, Phillips, Flores, and colleagues’ reactions to Fouad et al.’s major contribution (2023 [this issue]) on women’s career development. Particularly, we respond to comments highlighting the importance of studying individual differences along intersectional lines in explaining vocational behavior. We contend that this level of nuance in understanding people’s career decisions is necessary in order to build a diverse vocational science capable of informing multiple levels of intervention.

W e begin this chapter on person-environment (P-E) fit with a case presentation that demonstrates the meaning and practice of the theories we discuss. THE CASE OF NICOLENicole is a 42-year-old White woman living in the southwest United States. 1 She seeks career counseling because she is struggling to determine whether she should change careers from nursing. Nicole went to nursing school right after her high school graduation. She wanted to help others and liked her science courses in high school. Her original goal was to have a job that she could easily blend with her strong desire to stay home with children. After college, she married and had two children in 5 years. After her children were in school full-time, she began to look for work as a nurse and took a third shift position so she could be home when her children came home from school. Although she did not get to interact much with her patients, she liked the camaraderie of the regular group of nurses working third shift. She also appreciated the quiet time in the hospital, and she enjoyed the opportunity to get out of the house but also be with her children when they got home from school. But, as they got older, her children were more independent, budget cuts meant fewer people working on third shift, and the reality of third-shift work was taking a toll on the rest of 1 This case example is a fictitious account.

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