Career indecision among adolescents in German prevocational programmes
Drawing on the Career Resources Model and survey data from 1,389 German adolescents, this study reveals that career knowledge, skills, and management activities significantly reduce career indecision, while also demonstrating that social inequalities in indecision are largely mediated by disparities in these career resources upon program entry.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Every young person faces a pivotal moment when leaving school: the choice of a career path. In many parts of the world, this transition is not a single step but a complex journey through a landscape of training programs, apprenticeships, and educational certificates. For some, the path is clear; for others, it is foggy. This uncertainty, known as career indecision, is a common developmental challenge, but it becomes a significant hurdle for those who have struggled academically or who are navigating a new country. When a young person cannot commit to a specific job or training route, they risk falling behind, facing unstable employment, or suffering from anxiety about their future. To understand how to help, researchers look at "career resources." Think of these not as money or tools, but as the internal and external assets a person carries: what they know about the job market, the skills they believe they have, the active steps they take to explore options, and the support they receive from family and teachers. The central question is whether having more of these resources helps a young person move from confusion to clarity.
A team of researchers in Germany set out to investigate this very question among a specific group of young people: those entering "prevocational programmes." These are special educational tracks designed for students who have not yet secured an apprenticeship or who need to improve their basic skills before entering the formal vocational system. The study focused on 1,389 students across three German states who had just begun these programs in the 2025 school year. The researchers wanted to know two things: first, whether the resources these students brought with them were linked to how undecided they felt about their futures; and second, whether these resources could explain why students from immigrant backgrounds or less privileged social situations often felt more uncertain than their peers. By surveying these students right at the start of their programs, the team could see what they had in their "backpack" before the program began to shape them.
The results revealed a clear picture of what helps and what does not. The study found that the most powerful factors in reducing career indecision were practical knowledge and active behavior. Students who entered the program with a solid understanding of what different jobs require, who knew which companies were hiring, and who felt they possessed the necessary soft skills were significantly less likely to be undecided. Similarly, those who were already taking steps to explore careers—such as gathering information about different professions or reflecting on their own interests—felt more certain about their future. Interestingly, the study found that having high motivation or feeling emotionally attached to the idea of having a job did not, on its own, clear up the confusion. Many of these students were highly motivated to work, but without the specific knowledge or the habit of exploring options, that drive did not translate into a clear decision. Furthermore, while having supportive parents, teachers, or friends is generally good, the data showed that this external support did not directly lower career indecision in this specific group when compared to the power of personal knowledge and action.
The research also shed light on why some students face greater uncertainty than others, particularly regarding their background. The study confirmed that students born outside of Germany entered these programs with fewer career resources; they knew less about the local job market and had engaged in fewer career exploration activities. This lack of resources, rather than their immigration status itself, was the primary reason they reported higher levels of career indecision. In other words, the uncertainty was not an inherent trait of being an immigrant, but a result of having fewer tools to navigate the complex German training system. The researchers also looked at social background, using the number of books in a student's home as a marker for family resources. While students from homes with more books reported slightly less indecision, the study could not fully explain this link through the specific resources measured. This suggests that family background might influence career decisions through other, more subtle pathways that go beyond just knowing about jobs or having a supportive network.
Ultimately, the findings suggest that the key to helping these vulnerable young people lies in equipping them with the right tools early on. The study indicates that simply hoping for motivation to solve the problem is not enough. Instead, effective support must focus on building concrete knowledge about the labor market and encouraging active exploration of career options. For students entering these transitional programs, the path forward becomes clearer not just by wanting a job, but by understanding what is available and taking the steps to find it. By diagnosing and strengthening these specific resources at the very beginning of a student's educational journey, educators and counselors can help turn uncertainty into a confident plan for the future.
Drowning in papers in your field?
Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.