Career Planning Expectations of Maritime Vocational Students: A Case Study From Iskenderun Technical University, Türkiye

This study investigates the post-graduation career planning preferences, influencing factors, and expectations of 138 students enrolled in maritime education programs at İskenderun Technical University in Türkiye, using a structured survey administered to students from the Maritime Technologies Vocational School to examine career intentions, sectoral awareness, salary expectations, and perceptions of institutional support. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis). The findings indicate that 41.3% of students reported no specific sector preference, while 26.1% preferred the public sector, 21.0% the private sector, and 11.6% were undecided. Among students favoring public employment, Port Authorities, Customs Directorates, and the Coast Guard/Marine Police emerged as the most preferred institutions. Salary expectations were largely concentrated in the 30,001-50,000 TL range. No statistically significant differences were observed across gender and education level (p > 0.05). However, significant differences emerged for the third empirically derived factor among students with prior sector knowledge and internship experience (p < 0.05). These findings highlight the importance of strengthening internship opportunities, career guidance services, and industry–academia collaboration to support more informed and sustainable career planning among maritime vocational students. Overall, students attached high importance to promotion opportunities, job security, and employment in international companies. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the single-institution design, which limits broader generalizability. These findings suggest that integrating compulsory internships and strengthening career counseling services may significantly enhance students' career readiness and alignment with labor market needs.