Music career calling and employment anxiety among final-year music performance undergraduates in China: an indirect association involving career decidedness

Objective The transition from specialist music training to professional life can be accompanied by employment-related anxiety and uncertainty about future career directions, yet limited research has examined how commitment to music as a meaningful career domain and clarity of career choice are jointly associated with employment anxiety. This study investigated the associations among music career calling, career decidedness, and employment anxiety among final-year music performance undergraduates in China. Methods Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 498 final-year music performance undergraduates recruited through convenience sampling across seven higher education institutions in China. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to examine the measurement structure and the direct, indirect, and total associations among the study variables. Bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were estimated using 5,000 resamples. Results Music career calling was positively associated with career decidedness ( β = 0.359, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [0.269, 0.442]) and negatively associated with employment anxiety after career decidedness was included in the model ( β = −0.144, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [−0.240, −0.043]). Career decidedness was negatively associated with employment anxiety ( β = −0.246, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [−0.339, −0.143]). The standardized indirect association between music career calling and employment anxiety through career decidedness was −0.088, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [−0.134, −0.050]. The total association between music career calling and employment anxiety was also negative ( β = −0.232, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [−0.320, −0.139]). Conclusion This study provides correlational evidence that stronger music career calling is associated with greater career decidedness and lower employment anxiety among final-year music performance undergraduates. The findings distinguish domain commitment from occupational resolution: experiencing music as a meaningful career domain was related to, but not equivalent to, having reached a clear occupational choice. This distinction may help clarify career-related psychological experiences during the transition from specialist music education to professional life.