Attitude of post-graduating agricultural students towards career opportunities
Abstract
Agriculture offers diverse career opportunities in farming, agribusiness, research, extension, education, government services and the private sector. However, students' attitudes towards these opportunities play an important role in shaping their career aspirations, preparedness and decisions. The present study assessed the attitude of post-graduate agricultural students towards career opportunities and examined the relationship between selected profile characteristics and their attitude, along with the factors influencing their career decisions. An ex-post facto research design was adopted, and 173 respondents, representing approximately 30 percent of the post-graduate student population, were selected from the College of Agriculture, Parbhani, College of Agriculture, Latur and College of Agriculture, Badnapur through proportionate random sampling. Data were collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire administered through Google Forms and analysed using frequency, percentage. The findings revealed that 62.56 percent of the respondents had a medium level of attitude towards career opportunities, while 18.96 percent had a low level and 18.48 percent had a high level of attitude. It is revealed that practical training ranked first, with 85.63 percent of respondents reporting its influence on career choice. Course curriculum ranked second, with 85.06 percent of respondents indicating that it prepared them for agricultural careers. Family expectations ranked third, with 79.31 percent reporting their influence on career choice, followed by faculty guidance, which ranked fourth with 75.29 percent. Peer influence ranked fifth, with 60.34 percent of respondents reporting its effect on career decisions.
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Introduction
Agriculture is an important sector providing employment and livelihood opportunities through farming, agribusiness, research, extension, education, government services and allied activities. With the diversification of the agricultural sector, post-graduate agricultural students are exposed to a wide range of professional opportunities. Their perception and attitude towards these opportunities are important because they influence their willingness to explore, evaluate and pursue different career pathways. Attitude is an important psychological component that influences how individuals perceive situations, evaluate alternatives and respond to opportunities. In the context of agricultural education, students' attitudes towards career opportunities may be shaped by their academic experiences, family background, achievement motivation, decisionmaking ability, career guidance and practical exposure. Despite the availability of diverse agricultural career opportunities, students may differ considerably in their attitudes, preparedness and career decision-making. Understanding these differences is therefore important for agricultural universities, teachers, career counsellors and policymakers to design suitable interventions for improving students' career preparedness. Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, provides postgraduate agricultural education through its constituent colleges at Parbhani, Latur and Badnapur. However, empirical assessment of the attitude of postgraduate agricultural students towards career opportunities and the factors associated with their attitudes is important for strengthening career guidance and employability. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the attitude of post-graduate agricultural students towards career opportunities and to identify the factors associated with their career orientation. Objectives 1) To assess the attitude of post-graduating agricultural students towards career opportunities. 2) To identify the factors influencing the attitude of postgraduating agricultural students towards career opportunities.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted at Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Parbhani, covering the College of Agriculture, Parbhani, College of Agriculture, Latur and College of Agriculture, Badnapur. An ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study, as the investigation examined existing characteristics and attitudes www.extensionjournal.com without manipulating the study variables. A proportionate random sampling technique was followed for selecting the respondents. Thirty percent of the postgraduate student population from the three constituent colleges was selected, resulting in a sample of 173 post-raduate agricultural students. Data were collected using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire administered through Google Forms. The study considered selected sociopersonal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics as independent variables, while attitude towards career opportunities was considered the dependent variable. The collected data were coded, tabulated and analysed using frequency, percentage, Pearson's coefficient of correlation and multiple regression analysis. Respondents were categorised into low, medium and high levels based on the respective score distributions.
Results and Discussion
Attitude towards career opportunities of postgraduating agricultural students
The distribution of respondents according to their attitude towards career opportunities is presented in Table 1.
Factors influencing career decisions of post-graduating agricultural students
The major factors reported by the respondents are presented in Table 4. (2024) [3] , who reported that agricultural experiences, mentoring and curricular and co-curricular experiences played important roles in agricultural career decisionmaking.
The present findings are also in agreement with Purohit et al. (2021) [4] , who identified internal, external, interpersonal, institutional and socio-demographic factors as important determinants of graduate career choice. Similarly, Joy and Pillai identified personal, social, employment and economic factors as major themes influencing students' career choice decisions. This supports the present finding that family expectations, academic curriculum, practical training and faculty guidance can contribute to students' career decisions.
Conclusion
The present study revealed that the majority of postgraduate agricultural students possessed a medium level of attitude towards career opportunities. This indicates that although students generally demonstrated a moderately favourable orientation towards agricultural careers, there is scope for further strengthening their career preparedness. Among the factors influencing career decisions, practical training ranked first, followed by course curriculum, family expectations, faculty guidance and peer influence. These findings emphasize the importance of practical exposure, relevant curriculum, mentoring, family support and career guidance in developing students' career preparedness. Therefore, agricultural universities should strengthen experiential learning, career counselling, mentoring, industry exposure, skill development and awareness programmes to enable post-graduate agricultural students to make informed career decisions and explore the diverse opportunities available within and beyond the agricultural sector.
References
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