Investigating the factors affecting the career choices of IT undergraduates in Sri Lanka

Choosing a career path is a lifelong process and a strategy for achieving goals and desires. When not in line with expectations, a person’s efforts and resources are directed in the wrong direction by their career decision, which is not only frustrating but also a waste of time and money. Investigating the variables that affect a student’s decision on their career was the driving force for this research study. This study measures the variables influencing Computer Science & IT undergraduates’ choice of career path in Sri Lanka. The structured questionnaire was distributed among Computer Science & IT undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities and data were collected from 200 participants and analyzed using SPSS. As statistical methods, correlation and multiple regression were used to evaluate the hypotheses. The study’s findings showed that “Interest in the subject”, “Self-efficacy” and “Job opportunities” are the most important elements determining people’s job decisions. “Family, peer and teachers influence” and “Income” were observed to have minor impact.