Chemistry as a major and career choice: Trends vs. personal and environmental themes

Researchers and organizations have been calling for increasing qualified workforce in STEM and STEM education, with an emphasis on unrepresented groups. Shortage of appropriately skilled workers can become a threat to any country’s future achievements and society’s advancements. As a case in point, the choice of career in chemistry is not popular among boys and girls in many countries. High school students tend not to choose chemistry as a subject to study in high school, and less students choose to pursue chemistry in higher education. Our research strives to understand individual`s choices and career paths through the focus on the personal and environmental themes of the Social Cognitive Theory that affect chemists, teachers, and undergraduate students, when they choose a career in chemistry. Within these stakeholders, gender and sectors differences are examined. The research population includes 196 participants from whom there where 70 industrialists, 72 teachers, and 54 third-year undergraduate students. After receiving the appropriate IRB approval, we collected our data through questioners as well as data obtained from the Israeli Bureau of Statistics, which included a larger sample. The data analysis shows that there is a decline from high school to higher education in choosing chemistry as a profession. Women tend to choose chemistry in both levels of education more than men, and sectors other than Jewish tend to choose it more in high school but less in higher education. Self-efficacy task oriented was found as the highest factor contributing to the choice in all stakeholders. External Motivation was found as more significant for men than for women, and the influence of Family and Friends was found to be more significant for sectors other than Jewish. Theoretically the research elaborates the Social Cognitive Career Theory and practically draws recommendations for encouraging the choice of a chemistry career.