Modeling college major choices using elicited measures of expectations and counterfactuals

Arcidiacono, Peter; Hotz, V. Joseph; Kang, Songman

doi:10.1016/j.jeconom.2011.06.002

Cited by 355 publications

(288 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…There would be negative value in alluring students into a major which might not suit them and which they might later regret. (Arcidiacono, Hotz, & Kang, 2012) Aptitude in major Difficulty of major Subject self-efficacy (Alexander & Twinomurinzi, 2012) TRA experiential belief SCCT self-efficacy…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultant Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature on economic modelling for college career choice has shown that future expected earnings, preference for work and ability to do coursework are dominant career choice factors (Arcidiacono, Hotz, & Kang, 2012) as well as enjoying coursework, finding fulfillment in potential jobs, and gaining the approval of parents (Zafar, 2013). Differences between genders have been found with female students considering nonpecuniary outcomes at university as most important while pecuniary or financial outcomes realisedat the workplace are important for males (Zafar, 2013).…”

Section: Is Career Choice Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Difficulty with a major can cause students to reassess their academic standing and investigate steps to ensure that they are able to fulfil degree requirements. Ability to do course work has been shown to be an influencing factor on career choice (Arcidiacono et al, 2012). Research using TRA has mentioned difficulty of major as an experiential belief influencing career choice .…”

Section: Experiencing DI Culty With Previous Majormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering alternate options Performing well in introductory IS course Ability to do course work (Arcidiacono, Hotz, & Kang, 2012) Subject self-efficacy (Alexander & Twinomurinzi, 2012) Seeking IS information Seeking process prior to university (Mao, 2013) Experiencing risk and uncertainty in changing major…”

Section: Enjoying Introductory Is Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benefits of a course needs to exceed the costs of completing the course (Bosshardt, 2004) Perceiving high value of IS Status (Alexander & Twinomurinzi, 2012) Pecuniary outcomes (Zafar, 2013) Social image of major and job availability SCCT outcome expectations TRA normative belief Identifying IS interest / preference Interest in the IS field Interest in major (Alexander & Twinomurinzi, 2012) Preference for work (Arcidiacono, Hotz, & Kang, 2012) SCCT interest TRA normative belief Experiencing restrictions on choice of major / courses Financial aid constraints (Lassibille, 2011) Prerequisite courses (Riesen, 2011) …”

Section: Enjoying Introductory Is Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Events that lead university students to change their major to Information Systems: A retroductive South African case

Seymour

Serumola

2016

SACJ

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Shortage of computing skills is a global concern as it affects national development and business success. Yet, despite high job availability and high salaries in computing professions, insufficient numbers of students are choosing to study the various computing disciplines. This South African study looks at the Information Systems (IS) major which is misunderstood by high school students. This retroductive case study identifies the events which lead students to change their major to IS. The study confirms the importance of interest in a major as well as the perceived high value of a major, which feature as dominant factors in the literature. Yet these are not the initial events that lead to students changing their major to IS. Events that initiate the process include losing passion for a previous major, experiencing difficulty in a previous major as well as enjoying the introductory IS course. The paper has practical advice for IS Departments and argues for a generic first year for students as well as a focus on enjoyment and skills aligned to IS professional practice in introductory IS courses. These findings can be generalised to other majors and, hence, the theoretical contribution adds to the literature on career choice in general.

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Section: Discussion Of Resultant Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Is Career Choice Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experiencing DI Culty With Previous Majormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Enjoying Introductory Is Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Enjoying Introductory Is Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

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Events that lead university students to change their major to Information Systems: A retroductive South African case

Seymour

Serumola

2016

SACJ

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Effects of extending residencies on the supply and quality of family medicine practitioners; difference‐in‐differences evidence from the implementation of mandatory family medicine residencies in Canada

Strobel

2023

Health Economics

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I examine the impacts of extending residency training programs on the supply and quality of physicians practicing primary care. I leverage mandated extended residency lengths for primary care practitioners that were rolled out over 20 years in Canada on a province‐by‐province basis. I compare these primary care specialties to other specialties that did not change residency length (first difference) before and after the policy implementation (second difference) to assess how physician supply evolved in response. To examine quality outcomes, I use a set of scraped data and repeat this difference‐in‐differences identification strategy for complaints resulting in censure against physicians in Ontario. I find declines in the number of primary care providers by 5% for up to 9 years after the policy change. These changes are particularly pronounced in new graduates and younger physicians, suggesting that the policy change dissuaded these physicians from entering primary care residencies. I find no impacts on quality of physicians as measured by public censure of physicians. This suggests that extending primary care training caused declines in physician supply without improvement in the quality of these physicians. This has implications for current plans to extend residency training programs.

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What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements

Fleming,

Klopfer,

Katz

et al. 2024

J of Engineering Edu

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BackgroundEngineering curricula are built around faculty and accreditors' perceptions of what knowledge, skills, and abilities graduates will need in engineering careers. However, the people making these decisions may not be fully aware of what industry employers require for engineering graduates.Purpose/HypothesisThe purpose of this study is to determine how industry employer‐sought professional and technical skills vary among engineering disciplines and levels of education.Design/MethodUsing a large sample (n = 26,103) of mined job advertisements, we use the O*NET skills database to determine the frequencies of different professional and technical skills for biomedical, civil, chemical, electrical, environmental, and mechanical engineers with bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees.ResultsThe most frequently sought professional skill is problem‐solving; the most frequently sought technical skills across disciplines are Microsoft Office software and computer‐aided design software. Although not the most frequently requested skills, job advertisements including the Python and MATLAB programming languages paid significantly higher salaries than those without.ConclusionsThe findings of this study have important implications for engineering program leaders and curriculum designers choosing which skills to teach students so that they are best prepared to get and excel in engineering jobs. The results also show which skills students can prioritize investing their time in so that they receive the largest financial return on their investment.

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Modeling college major choices using elicited measures of expectations and counterfactuals

Cited by 355 publications

References 35 publications

Events that lead university students to change their major to Information Systems: A retroductive South African case

Events that lead university students to change their major to Information Systems: A retroductive South African case

Effects of extending residencies on the supply and quality of family medicine practitioners; difference‐in‐differences evidence from the implementation of mandatory family medicine residencies in Canada

What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements

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