Date of Publication :20th May 2021

Abstract: This research is a study on the career plans of under graduate and post graduate students studying in various educational institutions offering formal under graduate or post graduate programs located in East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya. Although the state witness a literacy rate of 74.43% and East Khasi Hills District in particular has literacy rate of 84.7 %, the current trend of unemployment, under employment and lack of self employment among educated youths in the state is still a concern (Rao, 2016). The overall greater unemployment rate (GUER) in Meghalaya state amongst those with atleast a graduate degree as of 2019 is 13.09 of the labor force (Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, 2019). It is commonly observe that unemployment and employability related issues among educated youth in the state were directly related to conditions of labor market and scarcity of jobs. However, this initial perception fails to take into account the career planning and career development resources for a student at the undergraduate (UG) and post graduate (PG) level as they prepare themselves for starting a career. In this study, mixed qualitative and quantitative research was applied aiming at identification of career plans among the under graduate and post graduate students. Variables such as gender, socio-economic status, and other socio-cultural dimensions that may be influencing their plans were explored. Following convenience sampling, a total sample size of 385 having 223 UG and 162 PG students, participated in this study with an average age of 20 for UG and 23 for PG. There were six faculty, 2 Heads of institutions, and 3 representatives from job providers in Meghalaya who were interviewed for this study. Both undergraduate and post graduate students shows average to good career planning, however data from the qualitative research reveals that most of these students do not seem to have plans after their studies. There are also variations of the findings across gender, socio-economic status but not in the type of institution, level of study and ethnicity. This paper discusses at length the gaps between the student’s perception of career planning and their expression of need for structured career services in the higher educational institutions.

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