Career Shock: a Study of Late Baby
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CAREER SHOCK: A STUDY OF LATE BABY BOOMERS PURSUING CAREER CHANGE THROUGH FORMAL LEARNING BY Chris A. Woodard Bachelor of Science Oklahoma Wesleyan University Bartlesville, Oklahoma 1995 Master of Science Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 2001 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May, 2005 CAREER SHOCK: A STUDY OF LATE BABY BOOMERS PURSUING CAREER CHANGE THROUGH FORMAL LEARNING Thesis Approved: Gary J. Conti Thesis Advisor Robert Nolan Lynna Ausburn Koiuder Mokhtari A. Gordon Emslie Dean of the Graduate College ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is dedicated to my wife Julie Woodard. Without her encouragement, grace, patience, and sometimes prodding this project would have never been completed. A very special thank you goes out to my advisor and chair Gary Conti. First of all, the reason I am in this program is because of his advise and counseling on an open advisement day a few years ago. Because of his enthusiasm and love for adult learning I decided right there that was something of which I wanted to be a part. Without his guidance this study would be a vague idea scribbled on an old piece of notebook paper. I would also like to thank my committee: Dr. Robert Nolan, Dr. Lynna Ausburn, and Dr. Kouider Mohktari. This idea was born in Dr. Nolan’s class and I thank him for his encouragement and endless supply of references. I thank Dr. Ausburn for her enthusiasm for the topic and for providing me with contacts that really got the project rolling. I also thank Dr. Mohktari for his suggestions and really making me think through the process. Dr. Anne Ghost Bear also deserves a great deal of credit. Her comments and recommendations on my proposal draft enabled me to turn in a tight draft to Dr. Conti that only needed one revision. Finally, I would like to thank my classmates who were encouragers and helpers throughout the entire process. Their endless amount of help, support, and advise really carried me through the program. Thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION..................... 1 Introduction .................... 1 The Baby Boom ................... 2 Adult Development ................. 4 Career Development . 7 Intentional Change . 10 Changing Socioeconomic Factors . 11 Adult Learning ...................12 Problem Statement .................14 Purpose Statement .................17 Research Questions . 17 Definitions ....................18 Significance of the Study . 20 Limitations of the Study . 22 2. LITERATURE REVIEW . 23 The Baby Boom ...................23 Groups of Baby Boomers . 23 Portrait of a Boomer . 26 Changing Global Factors . 31 Longevity and Health . 31 Global Forces ..................36 Part-Time Workers . 39 Technology ....................41 Adult Development .................41 The Individual ..................41 Developmental Theories . 42 The Middle-Aged Individual . 46 The Transition to Mid-Life: The Impetus of Change . 47 Changing Careers at Mid-Life . 49 Women and the Mid-Life Transition . 51 Other Reasons for Career Change . 53 Career Development . 56 Career vs. a Job .................56 Career Development Theories . 57 The Impetus of Career Development . 62 Career Development: Mid 1960s to Early 1980s . 66 iv Intentional Changes . 69 Adult Learning ...................75 Philosophy of Adult Education . 75 Role of Learning .................77 Andragogy ....................78 Self-Direction ..................81 Transformative Learning . 83 Learning How to Learn . 85 Relationships of Concepts . 87 Developmental Tasks . 87 Crisis ......................89 Change in Behavior . 90 Contemporary Theories of Adult Learning and Development .................91 3. METHODOLOGY .....................95 Design .......................95 Population .....................95 Procedures for Collecting Data . 98 Interview Protocol . 104 Data Analysis .................. 108 Comparing Incidents . 109 Integrating Categories . 112 Delimiting the Theory . 113 Writing the Theory . 115 Internal Validity . 116 Peer Examination ................ 117 Member Checks ................. 119 Focus Groups .................. 120 4. FINDINGS: PREPARATION FOR FIRST CAREER . 125 Introduction ................... 125 Profile of Late Baby Boomers . 128 Age Change Began ................ 129 Gender ..................... 129 Educational Level . 130 Career Path .................. 131 Building a First Career . 133 Childhood Career Aspirations . 134 Career Development . 137 Career Development Type . 141 Choosing a First Career . 145 Reasons for Ruling Out Potential Initial Career ................ 146 Reasons for Choosing Initial Career . 148 Learning for the First Career . 151 Learning for the First Career . 151 Perceptions of Initial Learning Experience . 155 v 5. FINDINGS: TRANSFORMATION TO NEW CAREER . 159 Initiating Career Change . 159 Intrinsic Reasons for Change . 160 Extrinsic Reasons for Change . 166 Tactics for Choosing a New Career . 170 Reasons for Ruling Out Potential New Careers . 173 Career Path .................. 176 Learning for a New Career . 180 Learning as a Means for Career Change . 181 Learning Organization for Career Change . 185 Perceptions of Learning Experiences for Career Change ................ 190 6. REFLECTION ON CAREER CHANGE . 195 Differences Between First Career and New Career . 195 Differences in Learning Experiences . 195 Learning Beyond the Formal Learning Program . 201 Support ..................... 206 Recommendation for Career Development in High School .................. 209 Retirement .................... 214 Gender and Age .................. 219 Validation of Emergent Themes . 221 Adult Development . 223 Career Development . 224 Learning for First Career . 227 Choosing a New Career . 230 Career Path .................. 230 Learning for New Career . 232 Retirement ................... 235 Application .................. 237 Field Notes .................. 238 7. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 242 Summary of the Study . 242 Summary of Findings . 245 Preparation ................... 248 Transformation .................. 256 Reflection .................... 265 Recommendations ................. 270 Career Development Training . 270 Adult Development . 273 Career Path .................. 273 Learning ..................... 276 Women’s Issues ................. 277 Implications for Business . 278 Satisfaction Survey . 279 vi Recommended High School Career Development Program ................... 279 Related Study ................. 293 Final Commentary ................. 293 REFERENCES ...................... 295 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: Career Paths . 131 Table 2: Distribution of Career Path in Learning Type . 178 Table 3: Percentage of Career Path and Reasons for Career Change . 179 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1: Proposed Adult Career Path Model . 274 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction People have in common a tie that will not be broken. This tie links together people of different ages, race, gender, economic status, and political affiliation. This tie does not necessarily link young to old, woman to man, or even Democrat to Republican, but all share the same driving force; the force is change. The key to a successful life may very well be accepting or adapting to change. Some may even purposefully initiate change in the pursuit of happiness. Denying change or fighting to stave it off can literally lead to physical and emotional problems. Even if one is willing to accept change and the rate at which technological advances and global communications are increasing, merely keeping up with change has become a full-time endeavor. It is easy to become overwhelmed. In 1970 Alvin Toffler penned a book titled Future Shock in which he wrote about what happens to people who become overwhelmed by change. The book is about the ways people either adapt or fail to adapt to the future (p. 1). Although this book was written about the future; the future is now. In 2004, the effects of change on society that Toffler wrote about in 1970 have either happened or are on the cusp of 1 coming to fruition. His prophetic writings underscore the crisis many people find themselves facing today. Future shock happens when humans simply cannot tolerate an accelerated rate of change (Toffler, 1970, p. 326). Future shock is distress both physical and psychological; “it is the human response to overstimulation” (p. 326). Because of the current technological advances, the rate of change has increased so much that people cannot keep up (Toffler, 1970, p. 22). Change is likely to continue accelerating to the limits of human and institutional capabilities (p. 35). The accelerated rate of change Toffler writes about does not always happen from outside forces. Sometimes future shock happens from deep within a person who hears an inner voice calling to become more, to do something more meaningful, or to choose a career that is in line with their true personality. To service the incredible rate of change, or future shock, humans will have to adapt more than ever before. To do this, people must understand the impact such change will have on our lives (Toffler, 1970, p. 35). The Baby Boom Nine months after the end of World War II, the United States experienced the beginning of a population explosion that would last through 1964. During this period, over 76 million babies were born. Labeled the Baby Boom by 2 demographers in the early 1950s, this statistical anomaly remains