Study Abroad and Career Progression: Exploring Students’ Career Outlook While Abroad

The purpose of this research is to identify common meanings and experiences of students regarding their career outlook within the retail, hospitality and tourism sector who had the opportunity to engage in a three-week study abroad as an experiential learning activity. Through an in-depth understanding using qualitative focus groups with 13 students (immediately prior and following study abroad) and students’ daily reflections, thematic analysis revealed three major themes were identified in the data: (1) experiences enhancing engagement with careers, (2) progression from career apprehension to appreciation, and (3) culture, passion, and lifestyle taking precedence. Our findings show that an experiential learning focused course design can be effective for helping students learn from the program activities and shape their career decisions. Abstract in Chinese 本文旨在考察零售，酒店和旅游管理专业的学生参加一个三周的海外游学项目的感受，以及这个经历对学生职业发展的作用。通过对13个学生的深入小组访谈（参加项目之初及之后）以及日记的主题分析，我们得到了三个主题：（1）游学体验深化学生职业规划参与度；（2）从对职业规划的忧虑到理解；（3）学生看重企业文化，个人兴趣，和生活方式。我们的研究表明体验式学习有效提升了学生对自身的职业规划。