Reasons for choosing a career and workplace among occupational therapists and speech language pathologists

The purpose of this study was first to determine internal consistency reliability of the Ono Decision Making Career and Workplace (ODMCW) questionnaire. Next, a comparison of the reasons for a professional career and workplace choices of occupational therapists (OTs) and speech and language pathologists (SLPs) was evaluated.

Participants consisted of 174 women (89 [51%] OTs and 85 [49%] SLPs).

The ODMCW questionnaire contains 17 items each scored on a 5 point scale in 2 parts (Career Choice and Workplace). The ODMCW was distributed to participants of both professions.

Analysis of the questionnaire revealed 4 factors that together explained 56.87% of the variance of Career Choice with moderate to good Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.524-0.789. The findings for both career and workplace choice show differences between the two professional groups, where SLPs give more weight to the factor of employment terms and benefits (p< 0.01) as well as work conveniences (p< 0.001), while OTs give more weight to professional and academic stature (p< 0.05).

These initial findings should lead to more studies within these professions and others, as well as in different cultural groups to further understand the reasons and motives for Career Choices.