Subjective Measures of Career Outcomes from National Surveys in the United Kingdom and Australia

Abstract

This article considers various subjective and qualitative measurements of career outcomes and success found in national-level graduate surveys in the United Kingdom and Australia. It reviews how these measures might add to our broader understanding of career success aligned with social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 2002) and reflects on the concept of “scarring” (Borland, 2020). These considerations help assess the value of measuring subjective and qualitative information on graduate career outcomes and how such insights might inform career and employability services and inclusive and integrated career-focused activities in higher education.