Why Public Administration?

An Empirical Study of Career Motivation Factors at the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies of the University of Public Service

Abstract

Young people’s interest in public administration careers has shown a declining trend in recent decades, and the data of the Graduate Career Tracking System also shows
that a significant number of students who have acquired specialized qualifications do not work in public administration or leave it within a short period of time. In my current research, I examine how the career motivation of the young people concerned affects their intention to find employment in public administration. 114 students of
the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies of the University of Public Service participated in the research. 65 percent of the participants were women and 35 percent were men. 71 percent of the sample were full-time students and 29 percent were part-time students. In accordance with my hypotheses, the results of the research proved that the surveyed students have external rather than internal career motivations, which have a negative effect on their interest in the career. The participants’ interest in the public administration career showed a decreasing trend during their university years. This effect was the strongest for the youngest full-time respondents. During the research, I could identify three types of motivation: strong, identified, and external. As expected, those with external motivation had the least interest in the field, and those with strong motivation the most. Further research is needed to explore why external motivation strengthens in participants during the university years and how this trend can be reversed.