A study of job attribute preferences among engineering graduates in China

Even there were an abundance of previous research on work behaviors and job attribute preferences, few studies focused on the engineering graduates in China. This study analyzes the job attribute preferences of 381 engineering graduate students in China to explain behaviors of Chinese graduates in job searching and career decision-making procedures and then to provide evidence for the mentoring practice of their career counseling. The methodology the study adopted is questionnaire and scoring method. Ten work attributes are studied: correspondence between work and interest, income, location, promotion, safety, work environment, social standing, interpersonal relationship, work intensity, and work autonomy. The study investigated individual differences include gender, grade, birth place, household economical class, and parental education background. Results present that promotion is preferred job attribution and working intensity is the lowest level of desire. There is a significant individual difference in gender and grade, but the difference is not obviously affected by birth place, household economic status, and parents´ educational background.