Motivated Behavioral Choices of Young Technological Talents - From Adolescence to Career Success

Abstract

Technical abilities are fundamental to human existence. At each stage within the cycle of life, humans continuously strive to acquire new skills or to refine existing ones in the hope that productivity and quality of life are enhanced. Despite the fact that skilled behavior underlines nearly every human activity, our understanding about the factors that contribute to the attainment of expertise in technology education is far from complete. Not to mention, that we do not really know what is needed in career success for technological professions. This article builds on earlier research that defined and assessed technical abilities among adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine determinants of technological competence and try to predict student potential for career success. It tracks the students whose technical abilities were assessed in a study twenty five years ago. The follow-up study was carried out as a qualitative case study. Although, we must be cautious about final conclusions because of the limited number of research subjects, the study shows that it is possible to predict student potential for career success in the technical professions. However, the process in making motivated behavioral choices in the area of technology seems to be much more complicated for technologically talented females than for males.