Career Success: A Comprehensive Study on its Determinants

This is career success essay and I want to review some studies regarding this topic. So, to start with there was one srudy about career success by using human capital resources, motivational career resources, environmental career resources, career management behavior, and career resource questionnaire to access key predictors of career success. The scales were translated in accordance with two different country languages English and German. The basic aim of their study was to validate the key predictors i.e the scales: confirming reliability and factor structure, convergent validity with existing scales and criterion validity involving both subjective and objective career success. They approached career success with both theoretical and meta-analytical research.

Barbara Buddeberg-Fischer, Martina Stamm, Claus Buddeberg and Richard Klaghofer conducted research for the development of career-success scale (CSS) for the assessment of young physicians career steps. The research was conducted in three German-speaking Switzerland medical schools and collected the data of 406 residents of these schools. The study was conducted over a period of 6 years from 2001 to 2007 involving 4 assessments. They developed the scale based on 7 instruments, of them the major ones are: career motivation, socio-demographic and personal situation, career aspired to and sense of coherence scale (SOC-13), support in career planning scale and personal attributes. The results indicated that males in the medical profession are more bent towards career growth and progress than females, the independent factor of mentoring should be done prior to choosing of a career in order to succeed at it.

There was one more interesting study which created a new scale for career success to measure the subjectivity of the matter. The aim of the study was to conduct research on comprehensive quantitative measures as the nature of career success in employees is changing globally. By developing a Subjective Career Success Inventory (SCSI) scale they wanted to create measures of subjective career success beyond career satisfaction and representation of success in modern career landscape. They conducted their research through nine psychology doctoral students and collected the data over 4 phases. The results indicated that career success is of high note in employees with notable authenticities in meaningful work, influence, and satisfaction.

Abele, A. E., & Spurk, D. studied the longitudinal impact of correlation between occupational self-efficiency and career-advancement goals in career success. They conducted research of over 700 fresh graduates at three levels: graduation year, 3 years in job and 7 years in the job. The results concluded that: 

• occupational self-proficiency tested positive at all three levels based on career growth, objective & subjective measures;
• career-advancement goals tested positive on objective measures such as salary and job status at all three levels but tested negatively on subjective criteria i.e job satisfaction after 7 years.

Moreover, there was conducted the study in comparison of orthodox career theory with modern age career success research. In order to develop a new rapprochement towards career success, they established a deeper and broader peer group comparison, subjective-objective career duality investigation of a career driven person through new dimensions and new connections of common ground between career theory and new age career success research. They attested in their study that career theory and career success research don not align with one another and suggested new dimensions to cope with this problem.

Last but not least, there was a research on the effects of career commitment on career success with the mediating role of career satisfaction. Using the 8-item career commitment scale, 5-item career satisfaction scale & subjective career success scale of 4-items they collected the data from manufacturing, IT and ITES organizations. The results indicated that redefinition of career success should be done by the organizations and employees must develop career aspiration by achieving the organizational goals collectively for career growth & success.