Career Choices of Students in the Light of Individual Profiles Drawn at the Time of School Exit: A Follow-Up Study

Abstract

At the time of school exit, aptitude testing helps the student make an appropriate career choice. A follow-up was done for students identified as gifted and non-gifted, who had been administered aptitude tests at the time of school exit. The research aimed at comparing the career choice and job satisfaction of gifted and non-gifted students. Also, the predictive validity of the aptitude test battery used was studied. For this purpose, data were obtained from 78 non-gifted and 35 gifted students using two questionnaires developed by the researcher. The results indicated that there was no difference in the career choices of gifted and non-gifted students. The average job satisfaction was significantly higher for the non-gifted students (t=2.53, df= 77, p<0.02). The predictive validity of the battery as seen through the correlations between graduation performance and ability scores was satisfactory.