Marlena Bednarska
Poznań University of Economics



Major and professional career choice -
an empirical study


The basis for contemporary career success are competencies, which are developed, to a large extent, through education. The objective of the paper is to identify factors that determine students' decisions to pursue professional careers in their major. The study was conducted on the group of 353 undergraduates enrolled in tourism studies in Poznan. The research revealed that potential employees considered tourism jobs as the stepping-stone to a career elsewhere. Students' intentions to apply for a job in tourism are affected by tourism employer image, satisfaction with studies, work experience in tourism, gender, and year of study.