Evolution of Occupational Interests in First-year College Students from 1971 to 2012

Abstract

Since the 1970s, the roles of women and men in the workforce have evolved. Crossing traditional gender barriers in occupational choice has become more commonplace, particularly for women who have seen domestic role changes interact with professional progress. The 1971 through 2006 data for college students from the Higher Education Research Institute's The American Freshman: Forty year Trends, and The Freshman Survey annual reports from 2007 to 2012 are analyzed to determine trends in first-year college women's and men's occupational aspirations classified according to Holland's occupational types and level of complexity and to determine whether first-year college students have increasingly crossed traditional gender career barriers. The results indicate that the aspirations of female and male first-year college students follow similar trends over time, and the gap between the occupational aspirations of female and male first-year college students has decreased from 1971 to 2012, although it still exists.