FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ CAREER CHOICES AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

One of the most important decisions in an individual's life is career choice. The choice of a profession according to his/her own abilities and criteria is especially important for all persons and institutions that will be affected by this disorder, especially for themselves and their families. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the attitudes of the students to career alternatives and to explain the factors affecting these preferences. It is also important to understand their approaches to entrepreneurship as a career alternative that has received more attention recently. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the factors that may affect the career alternatives evaluation of the students and the relative importance of these criteria. In addition, these factors were evaluated on the basis of alternative career preferences. Especially, the role of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education in this process is examined. In line with the aims of the study, a questionnaire was applied to the students of Mu？la S？tk？ Ko？man University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. Of the questionnaires collected using the face-to-face survey method, 292 were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel and SPSS 22 programs. According to the results of the study, the most preferable profession for the students is academicianship and it is followed by entrepreneurship. When assessed in the context of criteria, students have a negative attitude towards the private sector. The main criterion for students in career preferences is job security and high income under this criterion. In the study, although entrepreneurship indicated as an important career alternative, entrepreneurship education is not seen as an important career choice criterion by students. Taking these findings into consideration, it can be said that the efforts for entrepreneurship education should be increased and these efforts should be focused from the early stages of education