Current Trends in Career Choices Made by Students Studying at Technological Universities.

Aim. To study both motives of professional choices among students studying at technological universities and confidence in the professional future including labor exchange needs, and satisfaction with the choice of specialty. Methodology. The study involved 333 students studying at the RTU MIREA – 198 boys and 135 girls studying in various fields of technology. The sample distribution by year of study is 1st year (156 people); 2nd year (119 people), 3rd year (34 people), 4th year (24 people). The “Motivation Test for Choosing a Profession” (L. A. Yasyukova) was used, as well as a satisfaction questionnaire that involved the choice of profession. The research procedure consisted of three stages: informing and collecting consent, instructing and online testing, and statistical analysis of the results. Results. The dominance of the internal motivation for choosing a profession among technology students (interest in activity and cognitive activity) with a significant role of status motives has been revealed. Gender differences have been established – girls have a predominant focus on career and material aspects, while boys have a predominant focus on the substantive characteristics of the profession. In senior years, the importance of communicative and external motives decreases, as well as confidence in working in the specialty. At the same time, most students demonstrate high satisfaction with their professional choice. The relationship between intrinsic motivation and confidence in the right choice of profession has been confirmed. Research implications. The research contributes to the development of the theory of motivation for professional choice, expanding its application in the context of the development of engineering education. The work systematizes and clarifies the key characteristics that are important for choosing a profession. The scientific novelty of the research lies in a comprehensive approach to the study of the psychological characteristics of professional motivation and the degree of satisfaction with the choice of profession.