Exploring the Ties between Career Satisfaction and Education: Trait versus Situational Approaches

Brian K. Payne, Brenda Blackwell, Sue C. Collins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Many studies have considered the influence that education has on career satisfaction. This literature typically has treated education as a trait—something a person has, perhaps in varying degrees. The authors suggest that education should instead be treated as a situational factor that varies between individuals, particularly given that individuals differentially define the quality of their education. Using a sample of 151 criminal justice graduates, this paper explores how education, measured both as a trait (focusing on quantity) and a situational characteristic (focusing on perceptions of quality of the education) influences career satisfaction. Results showed that level of education did not influence career satisfaction, but the measures assessing perceived quality of education did influence satisfaction. Criminal justice graduates who rated higher on satisfaction with skill development, satisfaction with social science/criminal justice knowledge, program satisfaction, and overall satisfaction were more likely to be very satisfied with their careers than those who scored lower on these measures. Furthermore, males were more likely to be very satisfied with their careers than females. Implications focus on balancing skills and social science frameworks in criminal justice curricula and expanding future career satisfaction research to more broadly define and measure education.
Original languageAmerican English
JournalJournal of Criminal Justice Education
Volume21
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 18 2009

Keywords

  • Career Satisfaction
  • Education
  • Situational approach
  • Trait

DC Disciplines

  • Criminology
  • Criminology and Criminal Justice

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