CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the study

The reason behind the choice of career among undergraduate students is to provide a room, so students can select the appropriate career based on different surrounding factors in order for them to have a better and brighter future (Adamu, 2019). These factors may include salary and occupational benefits, anxiety, occupational stress, family background, academic performance, passion for study, creativity and natural skills or talents. Students are always faced with a complex and rapidly evolving society where it is difficult to get jobs whilst unemployment hinders the development of our nation, Nigeria (Utibe, 2020). Despite the efforts of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government organizations, and families, many students struggle to transition from school to work (Pilot and Regis, 2012). Researching and understanding the factors that contribute to career choice is a reoccurring topic of constant interest in Nigerian schools today.

The choice of career is a predetermined process that every individual must go through, whether educated or not. Undergraduates are exposed to career counseling and career opportunities from their first year in school until they graduate (Chai et al., 2013). The choice of career takes deep extensive research and thought, accompanied with several barriers and complications. According to a report released by Statistical bulletin of Nigeria (2019), the unemployment rate was projected to increase by 0.1 percentage points (3.4%) up to January 2020 compared to the previous year, which was 3.3% in 2017 (Statistical bulletin of Nigeria, 2019). This has hampered the economic growth and development of Nigeria, with the steady increase in level of unemployment daily. This incident can occur for many factors or reasons.

Many decisions are behind the reasons why students choose their careers. In the context of this study could be due to renumeration, anxiety that comes with the job or the stress involved in executing the job diligently. Other factors influencing career choices among undergraduates are passion, family, experience, and salary. In addition to the just-mentioned factors, gender and race can also affect which career a student can choose and be productive. Some careers have a higher percentage of a specific gender or race. Another factor that plays a significant role in the decision of an undergraduate on which career to focus on are their role models or people in their life. These role models could be teachers, parent, employers, celebrities and so on.

In the view of undergraduates, Brogen and Hiebert (2016) revealed that career choice indecision is regarded as an inability to choose a career. Newly admitted undergraduates are faced with many challenges, including adapting to higher educational standards and overseeing the transition from secondary school to Higher institution. According to Morgan and Ness (2013), many newly admitted undergraduates experience career indecision designed as a construct that characterizes the challenges undergraduates face in making career choice. Some students may be more decisive than others, but those struggling with making a career choice will find it difficult to harness the challenges faced in careers.

When undergraduates make choice of career, they may possess very little information about the chosen career. The profession may involve more brainstorming, science or stress than they are willing to work under. Undergraduates may prefer an aspect of a particular profession. Thereby, not looking deep into the other aspects of the profession (Delap, 2020). Most individuals only look at the positive prospective of a career or profession and disregarding the negative phases that may accompany the job. For instance, some student may choose to become Engineers because they love mathematics but fail to understand that Engineering is beyond just Mathematics, calculations and formulas. Another instance is that a student may decide to become a veterinarian simply because of his/her love for animals and pets, but may have little or no knowledge on how much school related work would take to become a veterinary doctor. Furthermore, undergraduates may not be open to all professions in their area of ​​interest.

Various studies have showed that career choice is an essential part of an undergraduates’ life (Authur, 2010; Hairston, 2010; Eweniyi, 2015; Douglas, 2016; and Adamu, 2019). The choice of career of a student affects how he/she will live the rest of their lives. Many undergraduates gain admission into Higher Institutions without having a foremost knowledge on what career they want or desire. Therefore, it is pertinent for a study to understand what career is before choosing a career.

Over the years, certain professions have peaked compared to other occupational fields which have also led to students choosing those professions for their careers. Some of these professions are medical practitioners, engineers, lawyers and so on (Abotsi et al., 2018). Internships, Job hunting and career fairs are some major tools that may influence the career choices of undergraduates. These tools expose students to areas within a particular profession that the student may not have been aware of.

In a study conducted by Heinz (2015) conceptual and systematic overview of related studies that examine the factors leading to peculiar choice of careers across 30 selected countries in the world. This broad research illustrated that highly valued career goals play a motivating role in the choice of the individual, and that the expectations that come with future goals plays an essential mediating role in the interconnecting relationship between planned perseverance, planned effort, intrinsic career value, ability, and desire contributes to the satisfaction in choosing a career (Eren and Tezel 2010).

Some studies have also assessed the image of career in health education choice of students and pupils in schools and colleges, based largely on opinions collected from constructed questionnaires and interviews (Babatunde, 2014; Ejike, 2016; Ahmed, 2017; Bassey, 2017 and Newson, 2018). However, no direct attempt was made in those studies to compare the views of aspirant teachers with those who did not aspire to be teachers.

Renumeration is a pay, salary or financial benefit given to an employee for services provided. According to Herzberg’s theory, renumeration is essential for continuous operation and progressiveness because it contradicts the employee’s disappointment. Renumerations such as salary is a basic obligation of an organization to the employee which in turn affects the employee’s short- and long-term financial position for the company (Wen, et al., 2018). Renumeration is carried out when a company or organization give bonuses or increases wages, salaries, benefits, employers direct financial rewards to high achievers and other forms of payments (Pay and Benefits Magazine, February 2016).

Oyebamiji (2013) found that the dimensions of job satisfaction collectively and independently predict job performance, e.g. For example, remuneration, the quality of the relationship between supervisors and subordinates, and the opportunities for employee promotion, all of which have a significant impact on career satisfaction.

Most undergraduates make career choices based on the amount of salary attributed to a profession (Utibe, 2020). For instance, many students choose to become Petroleum Engineers simply because oil company workers are known to earn a lot of bonuses. Others go into politics due to the amount of money allocated to politicians (Utibe, 2020). In terms of teaching in Nigeria, most teachers are not paid well. Especially in public secondary schools. According to a research conducted by Moses and Obi (2020), the average salary of a primary school teacher in Nigeria is about N10,000 while the average salary of a secondary school teacher is about N20,000 to N45,000. This is the main reason why teachers go the extra mile of performing extra lessons just to balance up the payment. An undergraduate from University of Benin, Benin-City for instance may likely not graduate after four years and choose to become a secondary school teacher.

Anxiety is one of the components of emotions in human life. It is said that fear occurs when the individual is too afraid and feels unable to control their fear. Fear is also known as fear. Fear is therefore seen as a common psychological problem in people with its physical, emotional, and social manifestations (Okechukwu, 2014).

In general, we can say that anxiety has recognizable characteristics. Denga (2009) categorized anxiety characteristics such as generalized autonomic nervous system discharge, elevated blood pressure, hyperpnea, sweating and dry mouth, tachycardia, and anxiety. He posits that the persistence and severity of these traits or reactions depend on the severity and duration of the fear. High or intense anxiety can have unpredictable effects on a learner’s performance or on the performance of a task. Mandler and Sarason, cited in Nurmi and Wright (2010), found that very anxious subjects in stressful situations tend to evoke self-directed reactions, which distracts their attention from the learning / memory task.

Studies of anxiety in the classroom have focused primarily on general concerns and problems faced by teachers rather than subject-specific concerns and problems. Given the definitions and conceptualization of the term fear, teaching is viewed as a stand-alone construct that causes fear.

Stress is a common element in all types of work and people deal with it in almost all areas of life. Stress has been given various definitions over the years. According to Robbins and Sanghi (2006) “A dynamic state in which an individual is faced with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what they want and the outcome of which is felt to be both uncertain and important”.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 6th Edition, stress can refer, among other things, to pressure, tension, or worry arising from problematic situations in a person’s life. If the occurrence of such stress is due to a job or work situation; It is known as occupational stress (Narayanan et al., 1999). He also found that stress at work is actually linked to almost every aspect of a job or work situation, extreme heat, noise and light or too much or too little responsibility.