Abstract:
This study is an attempt to determine the stability versus changeability of career anchors, based on a comparison between orientation and professional career, preferred and disclosed by students at the threshold of the end of their studies - at the preparation stage for a career, and by university graduates - at the stage of an early career. The theoretical basis is Edgar H. Schein's concept of career anchors and selected divisions of professional life into stages. Although career anchors are permanent conditions for determining directions of a professional career, changes in the environment may cause changes within them. Therefore, an attempt was made to verify the stability or changeability of career anchors at different stages of professional careers. To this end, a two - fold survey of the same respondents was conducted. The article presents their results, which showed that in the majority of the cases examined career anchors are relatively stable. In addition, the study shows that the realization of the most preferred (dominant) career anchors in professional life, and the possibility of developing a professional career on the basis of the orientations which are predominant in a given person, is associated their experiencing work satisfaction.
