Environmental Influence on Career Choice of Undergraduates at University of Ilorin: Implications for Counselling

Abstract

Career choice is an important choice that is influenced by numerous factors, some of which are environmental in nature. This study, therefore, investigated environmental influence on the career choice of undergraduates at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The study also examined whether moderating variables such as gender, age, level and religion affect the respondents’ opinions. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The sample was made up of 415 undergraduates selected at random from the various faculties of the institution. The instrument used for data collection was a self-designed questionnaire entitled “Environmental Influence on Career Choice Questionnaire (EICCQ)â€. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test were used to test the null hypotheses formulated for the study at 0.05 alpha level. The findings revealed that undergraduates at the University of Ilorin expressed that environmental factors have influence on their choice if career. Also, there was no significant difference in the influence of environmental factors on the career choice of undergraduates at the University of Ilorin based on gender. However, there were significant differences in the influence of environmental factors on the career choice of undergraduates at the University of Ilorin on the bases of age, level and religious affiliation. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that undergraduates should be informed on the various environmental factors that may influence their choice of career and guided by professional counsellors so as to make accurate career choices.

Keywords: Environmental Influence, Career Choice, Undergraduates, University of Ilorin.