Analyzing changes in college students’ career decisions: using LCGA

The purpose of this study was to identify career decision groups based on the career decision trajectories of college students over a 3-year period, and to examine the factors influencing group classification and differences. To achieve this goal, a latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was conducted on longitudinal data collected from 867 college students from 2018 to 2020. As a result of the analysis, a total of four groups were identified based on the change in career decision status of college students: a group that retained previous career decision, a group with a significant increase in career decision, a group that maintained career indecision status, and a group that reduced career decision. A college student’s self-directed learning experience and ability, which are predictors of latent group classification, significantly affect their chances of belonging to each group based on their change in career decision level. Also, a significant difference was found in college students’ understanding of their desired job based on the changing pattern of their career decisions.