Motivation of choice as a resource of early professionalization in the engineering and technology field of graduates of general and secondary professional education

   Introduction. The motivational component of the process of professional self-determination in the engineering and technological sphere of students of schools and colleges is today an urgent and timely direction of theoretical and experimental research in the field of education. With the obvious interest of society, business and the domestic education system itself in the training of qualified engineering and technological personnel, there is an acute shortage of conceptual models for diagnosing professional and personal readiness for self-realization in the engineering and technological field of school and college graduates.

   Materials and methods. The study involved 264 respondents, including school students and college students from various fields of study. The study was conducted using a questionnaire titled "Motivation for Choosing an Engineering and Technology Profession," which was designed by the authors and has been tested as part of a theoretical and experimental study.

   The questionnaire aims to assess the overall level of motivation for choosing an engineering and technology profession, as well as to identify the primary motivation (internal, mixed, or external) for choosing an engineering and technology profession.

   Results. As the results of the study showed, the majority of respondents have little internal motivation (understanding the meaning of their future profession or specialty, awareness of the importance of their chosen profession, positive attitude and interest in their chosen profession, etc.). The expression of external motivation only shows that students are more focused on the motives of social prestige, salary, career growth, or the desire to receive recognition, status, and approval from others.

   Discussion and conclusions. The results obtained not only showed the need to increase the motivation of students of schools and colleges to choose and acquire engineering and technological professions within the framework of psychological and pedagogical support for the process of early career guidance for students, but also the need for all stakeholders to work together within the framework of "school – college – university – employer".

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