Reinforcement learning-based multi-stage decision optimisation in career path planning

In a career development environment that is very dynamic and complicated, standard career path planning approaches can’t really deal with the uncertainty of the environment in multi-stage decision-making because they rely on static models and expert expertise. This research suggests a reinforcement learning (RL)-based career path planning model that uses a Markov decision process (MDP) to simulate multi-stage decision optimisation and deep Q network (DQN) to perform adaptive iterative optimisation of strategies. A cumulative reward normalised score comparison experiment and a learning rate sensitivity analysis experiment show that the model works best at a medium learning rate (0.01) and that it reaches its highest cumulative reward score during the training period of 25,000 to 35,000 steps. In conclusion, the RL algorithm suggested in this research provides both theoretical and technical support for making an effective career planning system.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering
Published
2025-07-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/14727978251361399
Primary Topic
Scheduling and Timetabling Solutions
Type
article
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article

Reinforcement learning-based multi-stage decision optimisation in career path planning

Minghan Guo
Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering
Scheduling and Timetabling Solutions
article

Reinforcement learning-based multi-stage decision optimisation in career path planning

Minghan Guo
article en

Abstract

In a career development environment that is very dynamic and complicated, standard career path planning approaches can’t really deal with the uncertainty of the environment in multi-stage decision-making because they rely on static models and expert expertise. This research suggests a reinforcement learning (RL)-based career path planning model that uses a Markov decision process (MDP) to simulate multi-stage decision optimisation and deep Q network (DQN) to perform adaptive iterative optimisation of strategies. A cumulative reward normalised score comparison experiment and a learning rate sensitivity analysis experiment show that the model works best at a medium learning rate (0.01) and that it reaches its highest cumulative reward score during the training period of 25,000 to 35,000 steps. In conclusion, the RL algorithm suggested in this research provides both theoretical and technical support for making an effective career planning system.

Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering
Shanghai Normal University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 80%
Scheduling and Timetabling Solutions
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Reinforcement learning-based multi-stage decision optimisation in career path planning — Minghan Guo · Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS