Career anxiety and uncertainty: an empirical study of young Australian voices

As transitions from school to further education, training or work have become more unpredictable, and employment markets more competitive and fluid, career uncertainty in young people, both in Australia and internationally, is increasingly common. Career indecision and uncertainty have been shown to be associated with young people’s career concerns and anxiety, and can manifest in a range of negative feelings such as helplessness, depression, stress, lack of purpose and despair. While greater attention is being paid to young Australians’ mental health, there has been little recent investigation on the influence of career decision-making processes on secondary school students’ mental wellbeing.

Drawing on survey responses from nearly 2,800 secondary school students from five Victorian schools, this paper shows that feelings of uncertainty and stress are commonplace for young people. For example, over one-third reported that they did not know what careers best suited them (33.8%), and more often felt that they had no career direction (40.5%). Additionally, just under one-half worried that their studies would not lead to a ‘real’ career (41.5%), and approximately one-third worried that they would not be employable when they had completed their studies (34.3%). Nearly two-thirds felt, to some extent, down or worried about selecting a career (59.3%).

Using the theoretical frame of ‘possible selves’ to unpack respondents’ education and career aspirations, the paper also shows that young Australians continue to aim for careers within ten professional and prestigious occupational fields – a trend that has persisted in recent decades despite the emergence of new occupations. Findings suggest that these aspirations, alongside the influence of others (such as parents or carers, peers or teachers), are connected with young people’s feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. For example, approximately one-half of all respondents worried that others would not approve of their career choices (50.4%), felt that they were choosing careers to please others (52.1%), or felt that they were basing their choices on what others expected of them (46.2%).

The paper concludes by suggesting a need to examine more closely the critical years of senior schooling when career choices are formed and the influences of such choices beyond school. It is argued that careers educators – and educators in general – need to engage in the changing workforce and to find ways of bringing ‘significant others’ (parents and carers) along the careers education journey, ideally starting earlier in life.