Science Attitudes and Career Goals at an Urban Community College

Student attitudes toward science and their identity as scientists may play a role in their success in pursuing science education and choice of careers. These elements are particularly relevant for students from groups traditionally underrepresented in science, as some of these students may experience "imposter syndrome" that can lead them to doubt their own abilities or choices. Considering that 50% of STEM undergraduates complete some of their scientific studies at two-year schools, and that two-year schools have high diversity, it is imperative we understand the motivations of two-year students to increase the numbers of diverse students completing STEM majors and careers.

We initially investigated: 1) What are student career and educational goals? 2) what are students' self-assessed scientific motivations and scientific self-efficacy? And 3) What are students' identities as scientists? We used a mixed-methods approach with a combination of student demographic, course outcome, and survey data from students in first- and second-year science courses collected 2019-present. These students are taking science courses, but many are not pursing science as a major or career path.

Surprisingly, our initial survey results revealed that motivation, science self-efficacy, and science identity were not correlated with career choice; but gender and race were highly correlated with career choice. This suggested that there are other factors that influence career choice. To further investigate, we have added a Science Scholarship program, a career exploration program, and faculty mentoring. We plan to report if participation in any of these co-curricular activities correlate with changes in career or major choice. To change the STEM workforce and better educate STEM students, we need to use these results to decide what the most beneficial interventions are for students to consider science careers.