Highlighting altruism in geoscience careers aligns with diverse US student ideals better than emphasizing working outdoors

We surveyed students enrolled in College Algebra at a large, urban, Hispanic-serving, R-1 public university in the southwestern United States. The data span five semesters, from Fall 2018 through Spring 2020. The survey was composed of demographic questions as well as questions using the Likert scale, in which students rated how much they agreed or disagreed with a particular statement regarding descriptions of their “ideal career.” Students were also asked to rate statements about careers in different science fields and engineering. Demographic questions were included at the end of the survey in order to mitigate stereotype threat.

Our study tests (i) whether altruistic factors, personal achievement, or work environment are most important to college students (early in their undergraduate program) for their future careers, (ii) whether the ratings of these ideals differ between male/female, URM/non-URM, and first-generation/non-first-generation college students, and (iii) how student perceptions of the geosciences are in regard to those ideals compared to other STEM fields.