Occupational Aspirations: Exploring the linkage with Parental Education and examining the gender differences

The paper examines the relation between parental education level and occupational aspirations of undergraduates belonging to different streams of study. Discrepancy between the occupational aspirations of males and females is also explored. Related studies have suggested significant role of father‟s education level in shaping the aspirations of young adults. However, role of mother‟s education level in shaping occupational aspirations of undergraduates has mixed results. It was observed that a large percentage of both males and females have average level of occupational aspirations and only a negligible percentage fell in „very high‟ and „very low‟ level. The results have also highlighted positive and significant role of father‟s education level on occupational aspirations of both male and female undergraduates. There exists a significant difference between occupational aspirations of males and females. Males have significantly higher occupational aspirations than females.