Socio-demographic Factors Influencing Career Decision-making among Undergraduate Psychology Students in South Africa

The study explored the socio-demographic factors that anchor career choice among psychology students at the University of Venda in South Africa. Ex post facto research design was employed. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The chi-square and t-test were used to test differences in the data profiles. Response frequencies and corresponding percentages were calculated. Results showed that the participants attended rural-situated public schools. Most had either both parents with post secondary education or both parents with below secondary education. The majority of the participants made delayed career decisions. The participants were mainly influenced by parents, teachers and friends to choose psychology as a career. The most common method of funding was the bursary. The majority of students chose psychology after completing their secondary education. The present study needs to be replicated with a larger sample drawn from diverse academic disciplines and institutions of higher learning for generalisability of the findings.