Journal of Career Development

Volume 32 Number 1
Journal of Career
10.1177/0894845305277043
Singaravelu et al. Development
/ International/Students
September 2005

September 2005 46-59

© 2005 Curators of the
University of Missouri

Factors Influencing 10.1177/0894845305277043

http://jcd.sagepub.com

International Students’ hosted at

http://online.sagepub.com

Career Choice
A Comparative Study
Hemla D. Singaravelu
Saint Louis University

Lyle J. White
Southern Illinois University–Carbondale

Tammy B. Bringaze
Truman State University

This study examines the career development behavior of Asian international,

non-Asian international, and domestic students, specifically the certainty of
career and major choice and environmental factors that have influenced their
choices. Environmental factors include family, school counselors, teacher,
friends, and government. The results show no difference in the level of career
certainty between the three groups. In contrast, influences of family, school
counselors, and friends varied among these three groups. Furthermore, only the
Asian international students exhibited a positive correlation between level of
career certainty and intent to persist. Implications and recommendations for
counseling are given based on the research findings.

Keywords: international students; international students’career; foreign stu-

dents’ career development; career decision making; career certainty; career
development of international students

T he United States is the premier provider of tertiary education for interna-

tional students. According to Open Doors (Institute of International Edu-
cation, 2001), 547,867 international students attended universities and col-
leges in the United States for the 2000-2001 academic year. These students

46
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 47

spent more than $11 million in non-U.S. funds on living expenses, tuition, and
fees. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Commerce statistics describe U.S.
higher education as the country’s fifth largest service-sector export (Institute
of International Education, 2001). Even though international students are
assets to the U.S economy, their contributions and needs are not widely
known. Attempts have been made to identify various needs of this student pop-
ulation; however, few studies have focused on career-related issues (Leong &
Sedlacek, 1989; Yang, Wong, Hwang, & Heppner, 2002).
Studies on international student populations have primarily concentrated
on adjustment and acculturation issues (Cheng, Leong, & Geist, 1993; Mori,
2000; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994) and academic needs (Rai, 2002). Thus far,
articles on career-relevant issues have focused on job search readiness
(Spencer-Rodgers, 1998, 2000) and academic majors of international students
(Leong & Sedlacek, 1989). Research related to factors influencing interna-
tional students’career decision, their level of career certainty, or persistence in
college has been scarce. This scarcity in research may be related to a com-
monly held belief that international students have come to this country with
well-defined educational and vocational objectives (Carter & Sedlacek, 1986;
MacArthur, 1980; Manese, Leong, & Sedlacek, 1985), when in actuality,
international students may have a sketchy or unrealistic rationale for their
career decisions (DeAntoni, 1972) as well as difficulty with program selection
(Frost, 1991).
Some international students may arrive from countries where formal career
guidance systems do not exist and, hence, opportunities for career exploration
are limited. Formal career guidance systems are typically a product of eco-
nomic development. Countries in their early stages of economic development
tend to encourage individuals into professions that benefit the national econ-
omy and are guided by informal systems, such family, caste, or class (Watts,
1996). As countries move toward industrialization, division of labor expands,
creating increased career opportunities (Cahill, 1995).
On arrival to the United States, international students must make personal
and social adjustments in addition to coping with familial pressures to succeed
in their chosen field of study (Cheng et al., 1993; Pedersen, 1991; Sandhu &
Asrabadi, 1994). Some international students will find it necessary to reassess
their majors or career choices, especially if incongruence develops between
their interest and abilities. This incongruence can become especially problem-
atic in the context of cultural and parental expectations. The combined stresses

Authors’ Note: Hemla D. Singaravelu, Counseling & Family Therapy Department, Saint Louis
University, 3750 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108-3412; (314) 977-2483, fax: (314)
977-3214; e-mail: singarh@slu.edu.
48 Journal of Career Development / September 2005

of dealing with familial pressures to perform well (Wehrly, 1988), career

uncertainty, and the high cost of U.S. education may put many international
students at risk for poor academic and career performance.
Given the aforementioned dearth of research regarding international stu-
dents’ career development behavior, a brief review of cultural influences and
differences between minority American populations is warranted. Investiga-
tions on minority populations in the United States show parental influence as
being a major factor in career decision making. Gim’s (1992) study of African
Americans, Asian Americans, Chicano and Latinos, and European Americans
indicated that Asian Americans are the only group to rank parental pressure as
one of the top five factors affecting their career preference. Similarly, Tang,
Fouad, and Smith (1999) found parental acceptance, not necessarily interest,
as a major component in Asian Americans’career choices. Leong (1991) iden-
tified extrinsic values, such as money and status and prestige, as being more
important for Asian Americans’ occupational decisions.
Environmental factors, such as family, culture, and community, have been
found to influence the career development behavior of some ethnic minorities
in the United States (Gim, 1992; Leong, 1991, 1995). Researchers (Kim,
Atkinson, & Umemoto, 2001; Triandis, 1995) have long contended that soci-
eties in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of rural Europe generally
emphasize collective identity, emotional dependence, and the importance of
family. Hence, for some, academic excellence brings honor to the family, and
failure brings dishonor.
The research relating to U.S. minority populations raises interesting ques-
tions regarding international students. What role does the family play in inter-
national students’ career decisions, and how certain are they about their
choices? International students are required to select an academic major prior
to entering the United States. Would the above requirement provide an impres-
sion that international students have clear vocational objectives?
The literature is also limited on the consequences of international students’
academic major decisions and effects on persistence toward completion of
their degrees. Fuertes, Sedlacek, and Liu (1994) studied Asian American stu-
dent retention and discovered several noncognitive variables, such as positive
self-concept, the availability of a strong support person, and having long-term
goals related to retention in school. Furthermore, Beal and Noel (1980)
described factors such as interaction with students, faculty, and staff; career
planning; and participation in campus activities as affecting students’ persis-
tence level. Vocational uncertainty and pressures from home may constitute
feelings of alienation and dissatisfaction in college and lead to reduced self-
confidence and therefore affect persistence.
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 49

To help shed light on the career development behavior of international stu-

dents, a comparative study was conducted at a Midwestern university to exam-
ine international and domestic students’ certainty of academic major and
career choice in the context of the environmental factors that have influenced
these choices. Participants in this study were placed into three major cultural
groups—Asian international, non-Asian international, and domestic—to
reflect the common characteristics described in the collectivistic-individualistic
dimension. The goal was to establish parameters for broad cultural compari-
son and examine differences between international students and domestic
students.
Based on the literature, the following research questions were generated:
(a) Does the degree of certainty of career decisions vary between Asian inter-
national, non-Asian international, and domestic students? (b) Do factors that
influence career decision (interest, family, teachers, counselors, government,
and finance and status) vary between these three groups? (c) Is there a differ-
ence in the role of family in the degree of career certainty of these groups? (d)
Is there a difference in career certainty between men and women across these
groups? (e) How do career certainty and the intent to persist toward degree
completion vary across the three groups?

Method

Participants
Two hundred fourteen undergraduate students were sampled for this study:
144 were international and 70 were domestic. The international students were
categorized as Asian (n = 94) and non-Asian international (n = 50). Of the
Asian students, 28% were Japanese, 28% Malaysian, 20% Taiwanese, 13%
South Korean, 5% Hong Kong, and 6% Singaporean. Of the non-Asian inter-
national students, 44% were Middle Eastern, 22% African, and 34% South
American. There were 94 female and 120 male participants (Table 1). All par-
ticipants had registered for at least one semester at the university.

Procedure
The primary research investigator attended the English department faculty
meeting to discuss the study and request permission to administer the survey
in the classrooms. Subsequently, international students were recruited from
five sections of a linguistics course (n = 144) required for all international
undergraduates, whereas domestic students were chosen from five sections of
a required English course (n = 70). Students were informed of the voluntary
50 Journal of Career Development / September 2005

Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations for Family,
School Counselor, Friends, and Father
Asian Non-Asian Domestic
(n = 94; (n = 50; (n = 70;
49 Female, 18 Female, 27 Female,
45 Male) 32 Male) 43 Male)
Influence M SD M SD M SD

Family 2.86 0.87 3.28 0.90 2.69 0.94

School counselors 2.27 0.96 1.79 0.84 2.00 0.90
Friends 2.43 0.96 2.04 0.85 1.95 0.81
Father 3.04 0.97 3.14 0.90 2.60 1.14

nature of their participation and provided their written consent. Three students
from the linguistics course and five from the English course did not participate
in the study. The process of administering and collecting the survey in both
courses was similar. After collecting the surveys, they were then hand sorted
into Asian international, non-Asian international, and domestic student
groups. The researchers’ Institutional Review Board approved this study.

Instrumentation
Because of the lack of instruments available to assess international stu-
dents’ career decisions, a 53-item survey with Likert-type scale (1 = strongly
agree, 5 = strongly disagree) was developed specifically for this study. The
items in the questionnaire were primarily based on ethnic Americans’ career
development literature and attempts to measure the following: (a) career cer-
tainty, (b) factors influencing career decision, (c) the influence of each family
member, and (d) persistence level. For career certainty, survey items were con-
structed to elicit how strongly participants agreed or disagreed with sentences
about the certainty of their academic major and career choice. Interest, family
(Tang et al., 1999), government and financial sponsors (Watts, 1996), friends,
teachers, counselors, and income (Leong, 1991) were identified as factors
influencing career decision. The role of each family member (i.e., father,
mother, brother, sister, grandmother, and grandfather) was further explored to
elicit the influence of each individual (Triandis, 1995). Participants responded
to how strongly they agreed or disagreed to the above influencing factors in
their career decisions. Items to elicit participants’ persistence level were also
based on literature (Beal & Noel, 1980; Fuertes et al., 1994). The remainder of
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 51

the questionnaire included a demographic section and questions regarding

years in the United States, sources of financial support, and knowledge of
university career services.
A pilot study was conducted to evaluate content and face validity, reliabil-
ity, and the readability of the questionnaire. The survey was given to 10 inter-
national and domestic students and 3 faculty members. Modifications were
made based on this feedback. Once the final data were collected, the internal
consistency reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) were calculated to be as
follows: certainty = .70, influencing factors = .71, family influence = .74, and
persistence = .61.

Results

Analysis

Does the degree of certainty of career decision vary between Asian interna-
tional, non-Asian international, and domestic students? An ANOVA was used
to examine the differences in career certainty. The result did not reveal signifi-
cant differences between the degree of career certainty of Asian international,
non-Asian international, or the domestic students, F(2, 211) = 0.94, p = .39.
An alpha level of .05 was used in all tests.

Do factors that influence career decision vary between the three groups?
Seven one-way ANOVAs were performed to illicit the between-group differ-
ences of factors influencing the degree of career certainty of Asian interna-
tional, non-Asian international, and domestic students. These influencing fac-
tors (dependent variables) were the students’interests, family, teachers, school
counselors, friends, government (sponsor) of home country, and future finan-
cial success. Family, school counselors, and friends had significant influence
in the degree of career certainty across the three groups. Tukey’s post hoc test
(Kiess, 2002) indicated that domestic students had a lower family influence
mean compared to Asian and non-Asian international students (Table 1). Non-
Asian international students showed lower means, that is, less influence for
school counselors compared to Asian international and domestic students.
Domestic students scored a little lower in the influence of friends compared to
the Asian and non-Asian international students.

Is there a difference in the role of family members in the degree of career

certainty of these groups? Family influence was measured using five
52 Journal of Career Development / September 2005

ANOVAs to see the importance of each family member’s role (i.e., mother,
father, siblings, grandparents, and other relatives) in the student’s level of
career certainty. Tukey’s (Kiess, 2002) post hoc test for mean differences
between the three groups indicated that fathers play a significant role in the
students’ level of career certainty compared to that of other family members
(Table 1).

Is there a difference in career certainty between men and women across the
three groups? An ANOVA was performed with level of certainty as the
dependent variable and male and female as the independent variables. The
results did not reveal any significant differences in career certainty between
men and women across the three student groups, F(6, 207) = 0.52, p = .52.

How does career certainty and intent to persist toward degree completion
vary across these groups? Correlations between career certainty and intent to
persist were conducted to examine their relationship on the three groups.
Pearson correlation coefficient results for all three groups (N = 214) were posi-
tive and statistically significant, indicating, not surprisingly, that students who
were most certain about their career were more likely to persist in their educa-
tional endeavors. Separate correlations were then performed on all three
groups. Only Asian international students showed a significant relationship
between career certainty and intent to persist (r = .36, p < .05). No significant
relationship was found between level of career certainty and intent to persist
for non-Asian international and domestic students (r = .07 and .06,
respectively).

Discussion

Career Certainty
The lack of difference among Asian, non-Asian, and domestic students
regarding career may be the result of the small sample size. It is also possible
that the economic development many countries are experiencing is having an
impact on the career exploration process of their young people. When a soci-
ety shifts from an agrarian to an industrialized-based economy, the range of
occupational opportunities increases (Cahill, 1995; Watts, 1996). The result-
ing increase in career options has the potential to increase career confusion
and uncertainty in career goal formation.
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 53

Gender
The lack of difference found in career certainty between genders may also
be attributed to the small sample size. Nevertheless, the literature does indicate
that traditional values regarding education for women are changing (Leong,
1995) in that educational attainment is as important for women as it is for men.
This change was observed in the present study as women accounted for 52% of
the Asian international student population.

Factors Influencing Career Decisions

Given the finding that Asian Americans are more influenced by parental
pressure in their career preference compared to African Americans, Chicano
and Latino, and European Americans (Gim, 1992; Tang et al., 1999), the
results of this study, indicating more family influence among non-Asian inter-
national students than among Asian international students, is somewhat sur-
prising. The economic growth experienced by the Asian countries represented
in this sample may have something to do with the phenomena. Economically
developed nations, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and
Malaysia (“Special Report: East Asian Economies,” 2002), have greater afflu-
ence and may resemble the United States more than the sampled non-Asian
countries. With greater affluence comes the opportunity for individual devel-
opment (Super, 1985) and exploring one’s career options. As individuals
focus on self-development, there is a tendency to move away from the
collectivistic perspective. Therefore, the role of family might become second-
ary to personal choice. Conversely, domestic students faired the lowest in
mean score for the influence of family in their academic major and career
choices. This result was somewhat predictable and indicates that domestic stu-
dents’ career interest precedes familial expectations.
Family influence was most prominent in non-Asian international students.
As noted above, these students originated primarily from Africa, Latin Amer-
ica, and the Middle East, where economic growth is relatively slower than in
the Asian countries represented by this sample (“Special Report: East Asian
Economies,” 2002) and where stronger social structures with lower levels of
social mobility exist. This social structure is consistent with the collectivistic
culture described previously, where familial goals precede individual goals
and where informal networks play an integral part in the individual’s choice
(Watts, 1996).
Asian international and domestic students scored higher means for the role
of school counselors in their choice of an academic major and career, indicat-
ing the influence of a formal guidance system. Non-Asian international stu-
54 Journal of Career Development / September 2005

dents, however, did not place importance on school counselors confirming

that choices are made within socially circumscribed limits (Watts, 1996). Con-
sequently, the role of school counselors might not be as important as the role of
family and friends in non-Asian international students’ career choices. It is
interesting that Asian international students had the highest mean score for the
influence of friends. This phenomenon is partly explained by Furnham
(1997), who stated that friendship with conationals, who have similar cultural
backgrounds, provides social support to sojourning students. This study sug-
gests that Asian international students rely more on their friends, who may be
studying or have studied abroad, for advice regarding their choice of a major
or career than the other groups surveyed.

Family Influence
Among family members, the father seems to play the most significant role
in the career choices of all three groups, particularly the non-Asian interna-
tional students. This is consistent with the literature on Africa, Middle East,
and Latin America, where decision making is influenced by family values
expressed mostly by the father.

Persistence
Only the Asian international students exhibited a positive correlation
between career certainty and intent to persist. This positive relationship was
consistent with the literature on retention stating clear career goals, certainty
in degree expectation, and selection of a major promote persistence in college
(Astin, 1975). However, the present study did not reveal a significant differ-
ence between the levels of career certainty among the three groups. Asian
international students were most satisfied with their experience in college,
whereas non-Asian international students were the most dissatisfied and felt
the faculty and staff had no interest in their welfare. One explanation for this
finding is that the majority of Asians sampled were Japanese students from a
sister campus in Japan and therefore may be more committed because of this
relationship. Second, non-Asian international students may feel isolated
because there are fewer conationals on campus for social support.

Demographic and Open-Ended Data

Previously, Asian international students predominantly selected the mathe-
matics and science fields (Leong, 1995); however, the frequency data revealed
that liberal arts (29%), business (25%), and mass communication (11%) were
the main academic major choices. This change is consistent with the economic
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 55

trends described earlier, where industrialization creates a broader range of

occupational opportunities (Cahill, 1995; Watts, 1996). Asian international
students may be selecting academic majors and careers to adapt to the chang-
ing occupational trends and to fulfill individual interest. Furthermore, 64% of
all international students expressed the need for assistance in their academic
and career decision making but did not seek career counseling services offered
at the university. This underuse of counseling services is consistent with other
findings that attribute this phenomena to the stigma associated with
counseling (Mori, 2000; Pedersen, 1991; Sandhu, 1994).

Limitations
Just as there are strengths in any research endeavor, there are also limita-
tions. The small sample size and not accounting for within-group differences
for the three survey groups are the main limitations of this study. The countries
representing the Asian and non-Asian international students, for example, are
profoundly different socially, economically, and politically. Regarding Asian
and non-Asian international students as monoliths might discount these dif-
ferences. A large portion of the variance in this research is probably caused by
the within-group differences. This study examined the career trends of inter-
national students at a large Midwestern university. Therefore, generalizing
these findings to other international students outside this institution should be
done with caution.

Implications for Counselors

Results of this study indicate that international students could benefit from
counseling. Counselors and other university officials need to take a proactive
role (Sandhu, 1994) in assisting international students with their career devel-
opment needs. There are several ways this role can be accomplished; some
may be relatively easy to establish, and others may take time and resources.
First, it would be prudent for counselors to increase their repertoire of skills to
include knowledge in working with international students and providing a less
threatening platform for counseling. The following paragraphs will describe
some helpful approaches.

Group Sessions
Conducting group career decision-making or counseling sessions can be a
safer alternative to individual sessions. Knowing that others in their group
have similar problems can provide a sense of security and safety, thus reducing
56 Journal of Career Development / September 2005

their inhibitions regarding sharing personal information. According to

Brinson and Kottler (1995), a group-based platform allows international stu-
dents to observe others before speaking on similar issues and provides a social
support system. This technique can not only educate the counselors on the
needs and changing trends of international students and their respective coun-
tries but also address some within-group variance of different cultures.

Narrative Techniques
It would be nearly impossible for a counselor to be familiar with all cul-
tures, as each country possesses its own unique socioeconomic, political, and
cultural character. Utilitarian methods, such as social construction and narra-
tive therapy, which emphasize the counselor’s role as a learner (White &
Daniels, 1998), can be used to explore the international student’s life experi-
ences in their home country while at the same time learning more about their
country and culture. As international students narrate their personal stories
using their own words, the counselor extracts meanings, themes, cultural
nuances, beliefs and values, and family roles and expectations (Savickas,
1995). Similarly, current socioeconomic and political trends might be
revealed, thus allowing the counselor to help identify occupational trends
within the client’s country.

Genograms
Developing genograms (McGoldrick & Gerson, 1985) during individual
counseling provides a structured format whereby information about clients
and their families can be elicited. Multigenerational themes concerning
education, careers, work values and beliefs, gender roles, familial decision-
making patterns, family rules about acceptable careers, family and societal
influences on career choices, loyalty issues, and aborted dreams can be
extracted through the process of constructing the genogram. Additionally, this
process facilitates rapport building between the client and the counselor, as the
counselor shows interest in the client’s life while simultaneously gaining
information about them. More important, the international student can gain
insights into how their upbringing, culture, and experiences have affected their
career choices (Gysbers, Heppner, & Johnston, 1998).

Outreach
In addition to the aforementioned suggestions for counselors, universities
and colleges should make a concerted effort to have in place specific programs
for promoting career counseling among international students. One way of
 Singaravelu et al. / International Students 57

accomplishing this is developing outreach programs through university career

services or counseling centers. Another option is having a career counselor act
as a liaison to the international student administrative office, someone who is
knowledgeable of the changing trends and occupational demands of various
countries.

Conclusion
Given the importance of international students to the social, economic, and
political development of the United States, it seems imperative that U.S. edu-
cational institutions actively explore and attend to the changing needs of inter-
national students. One such need is researching the international students’
career development behavior as it continues to change and providing appro-
priate support services.

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Hemla D. Singaravelu, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling &

Family Therapy at Saint Louis University, Missouri.

Lyle J. White, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and
Special Education at Southern Illinois University–Carbondale.

Tammy B. Bringaze, Ph.D., was formerly the director of university counseling services at Tru-
man State University and is currently an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University and in pri-
vate practice.