Career Cognitions among U.S. Adolescents in Military and Non-Military Families

The vocation an individual engages in as an adult has several important implications for both the individual and their family and multiple factors influence their career decisions. Gender has been shown to have a significant relationship with career cognitions from childhood into adulthood. When gender is seen as a career barrier, individuals may choose a career path that suits their gender, rather than their talents. Until 2013, the U.S. military expressly prohibited women from serving in a significant percentage of key positions; this institutional sexism may make gender a more salient factor in the career cognitions of individuals developing within a military context. The actual impact of military context on career cognitions, however, has not been investigated. This ex post facto study explores the association between developmental context (military or non-military) and future-oriented career cognitions (occupational aspirations and occupational expectations) among a sample of high school students. Girls from military families were found to have higher career aspirations but their career expectations did not differ from their civilian counterparts. No differences were found among the boys. Findings of this study have practical implications for career guidance given to high school students from military families.