Developing career aspirations of Information Technology

students at Deakin University

Sophie McKenzie
Deakin University, Geelong, 75 Pigdons Rd
[email protected]

Associate Professor Jo Coldwell-Neilson

Deakin University, Geelong, 75 Pigdons Rd
[email protected]

Associate Professor Stuart Palmer

Deakin University, Geelong, 75 Pigdons Rd
[email protected]

It is important for students to develop informed and realistic career aspirations to gain the
most value from their university studies towards achieving their initial career goals.
However developing students career aspirations, goals, and expectations is a complex
and discipline-specific process. In Information Technology (IT) no clear career
development framework is evident in the literature. Recent research in Australia argues
that electronic portfolios are a useful way for students to develop, articulate and
document career objectives to enhance their employability. IT students at Deakin engage
in formal training and assessment with respect to developing their professional skills and
career understandings. Currently electronic portfolios feature as a useful method for
evidencing professional competencies for employability. Through a combined
quantitative and qualitative analysis of 306 students articulated current career
aspirations, qualitative analysis of 7 staff opinions of desired student career
competencies, and a quantitative analysis of 28 students current work personality traits
assessments (Work Personality Index), this work presents an analysis of the current state
of IT students career development. The results indicate that while students reported
short-term career aspirations, navigating to their long-term career goals is going to
require addressing difficult barriers such as confidence (self-perception) and motivation.
This research will influence a larger program-wide endeavour to build student career
competencies for employability in IT at Deakin University.

Keywords: Career Development, Information Technology, Higher Education.

Introduction

Preparing graduates for employability is now, more than ever, a key goal for higher education
(Docherty, 2014). Providers of higher education constantly grapple with the notion of
employability and the discipline of Information Technology (IT) is not exempt from
significant employability challenges despite the continued growth of IT jobs in the economy.
IT as a computing discipline is in a state of constant change due to the pace of technological
development. Additionally as argued by Koppi and Naghdy (2009, p. 14) in contrast to more
established disciplines such as arts, engineering and science, there is no unified definition of
the ICT discipline and the employment opportunities it offers. Only as recently as 2005 was
a formal IT curriculum defined by the ACM as a part of their computing curricula (Lunt et
al., 2008).

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It has become increasingly important to produce graduates that are best prepared for
employment in the IT industry. Evidence continues to assert that employers, including those
in IT, recruit for skills/competencies and experiences rather than grades (Graduate Careers
Australia, 2013). The dynamic and ever-changing world of IT requires students to possess not
only current technical skills, but also the professional skills to adapt and respond to changing
technological developments. Yet the IT industry continues to report that graduates are exiting
university without the required skills for effective employment (Qenani, MacDougall, &
Sexton, 2014). In an attempt to better prepare graduates, universities have been required to
re-focus on how best to support students to build graduate employability and career
competencies. As Oliver (2014, p. 1) stated, graduate employability is not solely determined
by obtaining an academic qualification; the way employability is currently measured puts
too much emphasis on universities' ability to get graduates into employment that matches
their degree discipline, rather than on their readiness for a career.

Preparing graduates to be career ready requires higher education to assist in suitably

preparing graduates to decide upon their career path (Qenani et al., 2014; Samarasekera,
2012). It is anticipated that at the university level students should be constructing career
competencies that help them to understand, engage in and manage the career building process
(Ministerial Council for Education Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, 2010).
Furthermore, students at university should have a reasonably well formed understanding of
career development and should consider their time at university as focusing their skills and
expectations to match their chosen career path. To assist students in demonstrating their skills
for employability many universities are incorporating a portfolio (often electronic) as a way
for students to collect evidence during their course which demonstrates their learning and
skills development.

Evidence continues to mount that supports a portfolio as an effective teaching and career
preparation pedagogy (Eynon, Gambino, & Torok, 2014). Since the early 2000s many
universities in the US and UK have encouraged students to produce a portfolio to
demonstrate relevant skills, experiences, knowledge and competencies (Tubaishat, Lansari, &
Al-Rawi, 2009). In 2012 Deakin initiated the use of an electronic portfolio tool within the
online learning management system (internally branded as CloudDeakin), with the goal of
students using their portfolio to evidence learning outcomes and skills. The university hopes
to utilize portfolio to develop graduates who can present their key employability skills and
attributes (or graduate learning outcomes) in addition to discipline-specific skills. In IT the
portfolio is being used across all courses, with each assessment task mapped to learning
outcomes that can be evidenced by students.

Providing curriculum, learning activities and assessment that can build students skills for
employability is a key issue. While this issue is not new, finding the appropriate ways to
build employability skills across varying disciplines is a challenge. This study is addressing
career development for employability from the perspective of an IT student. Koppi and
Naghdy (2009) argued that more IT higher education research should consider the student
experience of careers and employability. With that in mind, the starting point of this research
is to understand student expectations and aspirations of their career goals, so that future
career development activities are better aligned with student beliefs and needs. With an
understanding of the student experience, we can better educate our graduates to be responsive
and adaptable professionals. This paper presents stage one of a multistage project that is
building a framework to improve support for career development during students studies at
Deakin University.

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Background
Preparing graduates for employability is a complex and discipline specific issue. To ensure
students can achieve their career goals it is important to understand how the discipline of IT
impacts issues on employability, electronic portfolio and career development.

Employability of IT students
Knight and Yorke (2003) defined employability as a set of achievements, skills,
understandings and personal attributes obtained through successful education, that may lead
to a job. Employability does not equate to successful acquisition of a job however. Qenani et
al. (2014) argued that to increase chances of employability it is critical for students to
improve their self-efficacy and self-perception. Since early 2000s, models of IT curriculum
have been discussed in the literature (Alford, Carter, Ragsdale, Ressler, & Reynolds, 2004;
Davis, Ein-Dor, King, & Torkzadeh, 2004; Ekstrom et al., 2006; Floyd, 2004; Hawk et al.,
2012; Koppi et al., 2013; Lunt et al., 2008; Nagarajan & Edwards, 2009; Reichgelt, Zhang, &
Price, 2002). Local and national economics, as well as institution specific issues, often direct
curriculum models and teaching practice, however the underlying theme across the literature
is a preference for flexible and competency-based approaches to higher education course
construction (Floyd, 2004). Furthermore, many authors have asserted the value of an
internship or work integrated learning as a part of an IT students course (Koppi, Edwards,
Sheard, Naghdy, & Brookes, 2010). In IT at Deakin, competencies for employability are
grounded within institution graduate learning outcomes (e.g. communication, teamwork)
(Deakin University, 2014a) as well as professional society guidelines (e.g. systems analysis
and design, project management) provided by the Australian Computer Society (Australian
Computer Society, 2014).

Electronic Portfolios in IT
In education a portfolio, in its most basic form, is a collection of artefacts relating to the
abilities of students or pupils (Meeus, Questier, & Derks, 2006). Although the idea of a
portfolio is not new, the application in the electronic domain has seen the concept expand to
many disciplines not previously associated with portfolio work. With digital literacy now a
big part of all levels of education, it is not surprising that electronic portfolios are now a
common implementation of portfolio pedagogy. Blackburn and Hakel (2006) describe many
uses for an electronic portfolio such as: assessing classroom learning, a tool for job
applicants, and a tool for facilitating learning.

Deakin IT students are introduced to evidencing skills via an electronic portfolio in their first
year of study. A dedicated online portal provides templates, examples and guidance on how
to construct a portfolio for employability. Additionally, during class students work on
assessment activities which directly link into the portfolio tool. Thus using a portfolio
becomes part of the career development of all IT students.

IT Career Development Framework

Patton (2005, p. 219) defined career development as a spectrum of career related processes
which include the provision of information, counselling, curriculum and program
interventions such as career education, structured experience such as work experience. In
Australia, career development education lacks a formal program and the provision of services
varies from state to state. Since 1977 career development education has been on the agenda
for the Australian Government. As a result programs such as the Australian Blueprint for
Career Development (Ministerial Council for Education Early Childhood Development and

3
Youth Affairs, 2010) were produced on the back of Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) (2002) recommendations. Recently the National Career
Development Strategy (Australian Government, 2013) asserts the governments
recommendations to bring forward career development as an educational objective. At
Deakin career development is considered a key skill for increasing graduate employability
(Deakin University, 2010).

In the role of career development, Lent, Brown and Hacketts (1994) work on social
cognitive career theory (SCCT) describes socio-cognitive mechanisms that influence career
development. Smith (2002) described SCCT from an IT perspective as a framework for
describing both academic and career behaviours. Figure 1 shows the framework and variables
included in SCCT, with particular reference to the choice/goals model as described by Janz
and Nichols (2010).

Self-Efficacy

Interest Choice/ Goals

Outcome
Expectations

Figure 1: Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) Framework

Applying SCCT to this study, we can define self-efficacy as a students ability to judge how
their possessed skills apply to performance (Lent et al., 1994). A strong sense of personal
efficacy creates self-directed, life-long learners and influences aspirations (Smith, 2002).
Qenani et al. (2014) contend that self-efficacy should be combined with self-perception to
build the construct of self-perceived employability. Outcome expectations include a students
personal beliefs about a probable response outcome. Interest is defined as the curiosity and
positive emotion in forming IT career development (Janz & Nichols, 2010). Choice/goals
result from a combination of self-efficacy, outcomes expectations and interest contributing to
the self-regulation of behaviour towards career development (Lent et al., 1994).

Methodology

To understand students career aspirations and level of development, both qualitative and
quantitative data were collected from staff and students. All data collection for this research
has ethics approval from Deakin University.

Data Collection: Students

Data collected from students in this study were sourced from students studying within a unit
(class) called IT professional skills offered as a part of the Bachelor of Information
Technology at Deakin University.

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To better understand the student experience of career development, 375 IT students current
career aspirations were collected. Students presented their short- and long-term career goals
and listed skills required to achieve these. The information was provided by students during
assessment tasks within the unit. The assessment was based around career development
activities as recommended by Deakins career advisors (Deakin University, 2014b). 336 male
and 39 female students career aspirations were available for analysis. Some data were
removed from the set as they were incomplete, resulting in 306 assessment documents being
available. Quantitative count analysis as well as qualitative thematic analysis were performed
on the data.

The work personality index (WPI) (Psychometrics, 2014) is a validated psychological tool for
measuring an individuals preferences and their work behaviour. The index assesses 17
primary scales which generates five categories of student work personality. The categories
include: working with others, energy and drive, work style, problem solving style, dealing
with pressure and stress, and identifying and managing change. In this study the WPI was
offered to students as a tool to supplement their studies in the unit, as it allowed them to
receive a formal report which gauged their personality traits relative to their potential future
career. By completing the WPI the students also voluntarily submitted their results for use in
this study. Due to the voluntary nature, the number of respondents relevant to the population
was 7.5% (28 of 375). Data were analysed using quantitative methods, with analysis of each
WPI generated by the provider (Psychometrics, 2014). Significance testing of the student
sample was undertaken to ensure that it was representative of the population.

Table 1: Work Personality Index demographic characteristics

Gender Sample Population Fishers exact test

Male 22 336
p > 0.109
Female 6 39

Campus Sample Population Fishers exact test

Burwood 17 286
p > 0.072
Geelong 11 89

Table 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the students who completed the WPI
compared to the overall unit population. No significant difference was found in the
proportions of the responses between the samples and the overall populations for gender
(Fishers exact test: p > 0.109) or campus (p > 0.072). While the number is small, the good
match between the respondent sample and overall population enables extrapolations to be
reasonably made about the overall population.

Data Collection: Staff

To gather staff opinion on the level at which career development needs to be facilitated for
students, a needs assessment survey was deployed. Seven staff (both teaching and
administrative) from Deakin University responded to the survey. The needs assessment
survey asks staff about the level of student attainment of knowledge, skills and attitudes for
career development. This information can assist those responsible for career development to
understand the maturity of students career competencies. The needs assessment survey is
drawn from the Australian Blueprint for Career Development (Ministerial Council for
Education Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs, 2010). The data were analysed
5
qualitatively to group responses and produce themes which assert staff opinions of student
career competencies.

Results

Career Aspirations of IT Students

Table 2 shows the outcomes of the count analysis of student reported short- and long-term
career goals.

Table 2: Count Analysis of students short- and long-term career goals

Developers or Programmers (Games, Web, Mobile) 136 Developers or Programmers (Games, 79

Web, Mobile)
Networks and System Administration 40 Higher Management 56
IT Security 32 Networks and System Administration 37
Not sure - General IT 30 Not sure - General IT 29
Help Desk and IT Support 24 Own Business 26
Other 17 IT Security 21
Interactive Media designer 14 Project Management 15
Business or Systems Analyst 9 Other 12
Higher Management 3 Interactive Media Designer 8
Database Developer and Administrator 2 Business or Systems Analyst 5
Sales (Pre and Post) 1 Achieving work life balance 4
Telecommunications 1 Help Desk and IT Support 3
Testing and Quality Assurance 1 Database Developer and Administrator 2
Expert in my field 2
Self-employed 1
Technical Writing 1
Telecommunications 1
Testing and Quality Assurance 1

Students listed the top four skills they need to achieve their career goals now, and in the
future. See table 3.
Table 3: Count Analysis of students skills requiring development

Top Four Skills Short-Term Long-Term

Analytical or Problem Solving 151 144
Communication 229 108
Initiative and Enterprise 47 123
Interpersonal 46 91
Management and Leadership 21 211
Planning and Organisation 96 158
Self-Management 109 67
Teamwork 159 98
Technical (IT Skills) 203 146
Time Management 130 83

Students were asked in the career assessment how they will know that they have progressed
towards their career goals. Qualitative analysis resulted in 15 common attributes generated
from the data. See table 4. To represent the spectrum of student views, a response was coded
into more than one attribute where needed.

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 Table 4: Count Analysis of students progression towards career goal

Achieve long term career goal 72

Educational qualifications 71
Built on experience from university 49
Self-analysis - career planning 40
Adequate portfolio of work incl. software programs 21
Increased technical knowledge 20
First job in an appropriate industry 19
Received promotion 12
Reviewing job advertisements 12
Feedback from peers 10
Gaining sufficient employment 10
Solving problems and comprehension 7
My own business 6
Networking with peers and industry 5
Graduate employment position 3

Students were also asked in the assessment what may stop them from achieving their career
goal. Qualitative analysis resulted in 16 common attributes in the data, see table 5.

Table 5: Count Analysis of barriers to career goals

Motivation and enthusiasm 79

Confidence 51
Limited knowledge 48
Poor self-management 36
Issue with university or education 36
Personal problems 35
Job climate 34
Unable to secure an IT job after graduation 23
Change in direction 20
Emotional barriers 18
Financial barriers 18
Limited opportunities 14
Insufficient work experience 10
Limited industry experience 10
Poor working environment 7
Lack of self-study 6

From students reporting on career aspirations the results in table 2 indicate that the short-term
career goal of developer or programmer (games, web, mobile) is an aspiration for many
students. Table 2 also shows that the long-term goal of developer or programmer is less of a
career goal, rather students aspire for progression to a role of seniority such as higher
management. While students aspired for higher management their responses did not provide
specific role information. For example a student commented regarding their long-term career
goal that they would like a management or executive position.

Table 3 shows that students reported communication skills as most highly required in the
short-term to enable them to reach their career goals, with management and leadership skills
required in the long-term. Table 4 shows that students will know that they have progressed

7
towards their career goal when they have completed their university (or further) education.
While some students mentioned that they will know that they have achieved their career goal
when they have an adequate portfolio of work, it was not a frequent comment. Finally, table 5
shows that students reported a common barrier to achieving their career goals as motivation
and enthusiasm or confidence related.

Work Personality Index

Tables 6-11 inclusive summarise the WPI results for the respondent sample across the 5 work
personality categories with the average score and standard deviation presented for the
contributing scales. The scoring on a WPI test is presented as a Sten Score from 1 to 10. The
numbers represent the following level, which is relative to a larger sample of working adults:
1 to 2 low, 3 to 4 low mid, 5 to 6 mid, 7 to 8 high mid, and 9 to 10 high.
Table 6 WPI Working with Others

Working with Others

Concern for
Outgoing Teamwork Democratic
others
AVG 5 6 4.5 7
SD 2.19 2.35 1.98 1.95

Table 7: WPI Problem Solving Style

Problem Solving Style

Innovation Analytical Thinking

AVG 5 6
SD 1.90 1.62

Table 8: WPI Energy and Drive

Energy and Drive

Energy Ambition Leadership Persistence

AVG 5 5 6 6
SD 1.83 1.99 1.80 1.58

Table 9: WPI Work Style

Work Style

Dependability Rule-Following Attention to detail

AVG 5 6 6
SD 2.00 2.19 1.66

Table 10: WPI Dealing with Pressure and Stress

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 Dealing with Pressure and Stress

Self-Control Stress Tolerance

AVG 6.5 6
SD 2.10 2.10

Table 11: WPI Identifying and Managing Change

Identifying and Managing Change

Imitative Flexibility

AVG 5 5
SD 1.95 1.57

The results from the WPI, while more effective on an individual basis, show that across all 17
scales the students scored at the mid level in comparison to the adult working population.

Desired Student Career Competencies

The staff assessment of students career competencies revealed that the majority of staff felt
that students had limited to moderate previous participation in career development activities.
Staff reported that career development activities are available to students during their time at
university, however student engagement with activities was considered low across the student
cohort. Engagement with certain units in the IT degree was seen as key to helping the career
development of students. The survey asked staff about students previous (prior to attending
university) career development activities. Staff reported that these have had a small impact on
building students career development. In regards to what career management competencies
that should be the focus during a students university education the staff reported the
following as most important to develop: interact positively and effectively with others;
participate in lifelong learning supportive of career goals; and understand, engage in and
manage the career building process.

Discussion

The data about students career goals and skills, staff opinion on students career
competencies, and results from the WPI build a picture of students career aspirations. While
students reported career aspirations it was evident that navigating to long-term career goals is
going to require addressing difficult barriers such as confidence (self-perception) and
motivation. In the short-term students want to build their professional skills in communication
and technical (discipline) skills, with leadership in the long-term. The barriers to career goals
indicate low self-efficacy, which makes it difficult for students to add to their choices/goals.
It is important to ensure that based on their university education students not only mature
during their studies, but also build a portfolio of skills for employability. It is the successful
combination of many components that ensures students can continue their career
development and be best prepared for the varied employment market of IT. In an effort to
summarise what constitutes the components that make up an IT students career development
the model in figure 2 is proposed. Figure 2 shows a proposed simplified view of the IT
students career development. The successful interaction of: internship, discipline,

9
professional skills, and community all influence a students identity and formation of career
choice/goals.

Internship Discipline

Identity

Professional Skills Community

Figure 2: Simplified IT Career Development Model

Table 12 describes the attributes that make up the career development model shown in figure
2.
Table 12: Description of IT career development attributes

Curriculum, assessment, guest Regulated by: University Affects self-efficacy,

lecturers/discipline and academic staff interest, and
DISCIPLINE professionals, industry advisory, choice/goals
professional society guidelines,
university reputation
Work integrated learning, Regulated by: University Affects outcome
experiential learning, reflection, academic staff and expectations
INTERNSHIP
professional networking, industry
Awareness of the labour market
Regulated by: University Affects self-efficacy,
PROFESSIONAL Graduate attributes/skills for
and Academic staff and outcome
SKILLS employability
expectations
Professional Regulated by individual Affects self-efficacy,
societies/networking, mentor, student and choice/goals
COMMUNITY
family and friends, social
networking
Personality, attitude, Regulated by individual Affects self-efficacy,
CV/Portfolio (Brand), interest, student interest and
vision, personal career planning choice/goals
IDENTITY
(face-to-face and online
service), employment services,
social capital, personal capital

As table 12 outlines, students in IT combine the components of: discipline, internship,

professional skills, community and identity, throughout their course to prepare for their
career. It is the successful combination of the components that enables students to engage
with and manage building of relevant career competencies. Each component has various
attributes that define what makes up the component. Qenani (2014) argued it is important for
opportunities to combine career development activities, such as careers counselling, and
taking advantage of internship opportunities. In addition it is noted in table 12 that the
components are largely regulated either by the university or by the student themselves, which
is reflective of the ways in which career development is influenced by all components of an

10
individuals life. Finally, the last column in table 12 demonstrates the ways in which the IT
students career development model interacts with SCCT (Lent et al., 1994). Overall, the
model reflects the students current stage of career development which is still maturing and
being built from their experiences during university.

Conclusion

The results presented in this paper are phase one of a multi-phase research project which is
implementing and testing a framework for IT students to build career competencies for
employability. This paper has presented a summary of the career aspirations of IT students. A
portfolio was a useful teaching tool to assist with career development, however the results
show that students did not consider portfolio as an important requirement for career
progression. Based on the results gathered a model of career development was proposed. The
model is being tested with students from Deakin University over a three-year period (2014 to
2016). Based on future research, refinements will be made to the model as required.

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Copyright 2015 Sophie McKenzie, Associate Professor Jo Coldwell-Neilson and Associate Professor Stuart
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