Dietitians in the early establishment stage of their careers: I. Career selection and related variables

The subjects of an investigation into career development were dietitians in the early stages of their careers; factors studied were influences on career choice, levels of career involvement and psychological success, degree of career motivation and satisfaction, and the relationships among these variables. A 5-part research instrument was sent to 500 dietitians; response rate was 80.8%. Among the findings were that recruitment, career guidance, abilities, and interests were important to career choice; that there was professional pride among dietitians; and that goal achievement is manifested in scores for career involvement and psychological success. (cj)