Career Choices of Business Administration Students: A Turkish Case

Özet

The purpose of the study is to understand the reasons of students’ choosing business administration department, to identify these students’ career expectations and concerns, and to realize the changes and the reasons of the changes in their career choices and expectations through the education process. The study was conducted at business administration department of a state university located in a small city in Turkey. In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 volunteer undergraduate BA students both at their freshman and senior years. The university entrance exam scores and family socio-economic status of the students are the main factors influencing their choice of BA education. It has been observed that students are mainly affected from the opinions of their friends and the social environment they are in when deciding the field of work they will be choosing upon their graduation and that internships and part time work usually help them reach clarity where their career objectives are concerned. The data collection process has been performed in the freshmen year of the students and repeated in the senior year they graduate from university. The fact that the study has been completed in a period of 4 years adds to its authentic value.