Career Goals in High School - Do Students Know What it Takes to Reach Them and Does it Matter?

Oct 15, 2026

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Investigates whether high school students understand the level of education required to achieve their career objectives and whether this knowledge connects to their education pathways. Student perceptions of the education needed for their intended job at age 30 are compared with requirements identified by professional job analysts. Findings show most students targeting university-degree jobs know the requirement, and that earlier awareness increases university attendance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Résumé

Introduction

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 40, No. 3, 2010, pages 43-58 Career Goals in High School: Do Students Know What it Takes to Reach Them and Does it Matter? Marc Frenette Social Research and Demonstration Corporation ABSTRACT Do students know the level of education required to achieve their career objectives? Is this information related to their education pathways? To address these questions, I compare high school students’ perceptions of the level of education they will require for the job they intend to hold at age 30, with the level required according to professional job analysts. About three out of four students intending to work in a job requiring a university degree know the level of education that is required to obtain the job. Moreover, students who know that a university degree is required are more likely to attend university. Finally, higher university attendance rates are observed when students learn earlier (rather than later), that a university degree is required for their intended job. RÉSUMÉ Les élèves savent-ils quelles études leur permettront d’atteindre leurs objectifs de carrière? Ces renseignements sont-ils associés à leur parcours scolaire? Aﬁn de répondre à ces questions, je compare, d’une part, la perception qu’ont les élèves du secondaire quant au niveau d’instruction qui leur est requis pour travailler dans la profession qu’ils souhaitent exercer à l’âge de 30 ans avec, d’autre part, le niveau réellement requis selon les analystes du marché professionnel. Ainsi, environ trois étudiants sur quatre ayant l’intention d’exercer une profession qui nécessite un grade universitaire sont conscients du niveau d’instruction requis. Par ailleurs, les élèves qui sont conscients de lanécessité d’un grade universitaire ont plus de chances de fréquenter l’université . Enﬁn, on observe un taux de fréquentation universitaire plus élevé chez les élèves qui ont pris conscience, plus tôt dans leur parcours, de la nécessité d’un grade universitaire pour réaliser leur aspiration professionnelle. CJHE / RCES Volume 40, No. 3, 2010 Career Goals in High School / M. Frenette 44 INTRODUCTION There has been a surge in research over the last decade investigating factors associated with access to university studies in Canada. Several important conclusions can be drawn from this work. First, prior academic performance matters considerably (Frenette, 2007): it is hardly surprising that students who are already high achievers are more likely to pursue more schooling. Moreover, academic performance tends to explain other well-known facts about post-secondary attendance. For example, females are more likely to pursue university than males largely because of higher performance and greater effort in high school (Frenette & Zeman, 2007) . It is also well known that the gap in university attendance between males and females has been rising rapidly over the last two decades. A study by Christoﬁdes, Hoy, and Lang (2006) suggests that women are seeing rising economic returns to completing a university degree and this explains most of the evolving gender gap in university participation. Higher academic achievement also plays a large role in understanding why university attendance rates vary by place of birth (Finnie & Mueller, 2008) . Another important factor is parental education, although the causal mechanism is not well understood (Finnie, Sweetman,& Lascelles, 2005) . Frenette (2007) ﬁnds that self-reported ﬁnancial constraints only play a small role in explaining why lower-income youth are less likely to attend university. This does not mean that money is irrelevant since academic performance may itself be a function of family economic resources (e.g. tutoring or cultural activities may be more accessible to well-to-do families) . Furthermore, changes in university costs have been shown to alter the composition of the student body along socio-economic

FAQs

How does the study compare students’ knowledge of education requirements?

It compares high school students’ perceptions of the education needed for their intended job at age 30 with the level required according to professional job analysts.

What proportion of students aiming for university-degree jobs know the required education level?

About three out of four students who intend to work in a job requiring a university degree know the level of education required to obtain that job.

Does earlier knowledge of the required degree affect university attendance?

Yes. Higher university attendance rates are observed when students learn earlier (rather than later) that a university degree is required for their intended job.

Oct 15, 2026

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