Career decision-making of the gifted and talented

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how gifted and talented students think about future careers with regard to both the awareness and especially process of such career decision-making. Particular attention is given to their perceptions about having the best career they can imagine. A qualitative research model is used in this study. The study group consists of eleven gifted and talented high school students, studying in congregative gifted class in a private college. Students were contacted via phone or email, and appointments for interviews were arranged. The interviews were conducted by the researcher within a two-month period. Participation in the study was voluntary. A semi-structured interview form was used as data-collection tool, and data analysis was conducted through a content analysis. According to the results of the research, occupation that gifted and talented students want to have mostly expressed as doctor. As factors influencing their decisions regarding preferred occupation, gifted and talented students stated that their families, academic achievements, sense of social responsibility, and desire to manage the world, are the factors affecting their career decisions. Expectations of gifted and talented students regarding the countries in which they want to work were: feeling secure, offering business environment and opportunity, being developed, economically stable, a rich history, and affordability. The meaning of having good career for gifted and talented students was stated to be spending money and having prestige. Gifted and talented students visualise themselves in terms of their career ten years later as being tortured by their occupation, becoming the leader of their occupations and working oversees.

Keywords: career; career decision-making; gifted and talented