Too Many Choices: How To Be Satisfied With Your Decisions

In America, people are faced with more and more decisions every day, whether it's picking one of 31 ice cream flavors or deciding whether and when to get married. That sounds like a great thing. But as research from a Swarthmore College psychology professor has shown, too many choices can make us confused, unhappy--even paralyzed with indecision.

That's particularly true when it comes to the workplace, says Barry Schwartz, an author of six books about human behavior. Students are graduating with a multitude of skills and interests, but often find themselves overwhelmed when it comes to choosing an ultimate career goal.

In a study, Schwartz observed decision-making among college students during their senior year. Based on answers to questions regarding their job-hunting strategies and career decisions, he divided the students into two groups: "maximizers" who consider every possible option, and "satisficers" who look until they find an option that is good enough.

You might expect that the students who'd undertaken the most exhaustive search would be the most satisfied with their final decision. But it turns out that's not true. Schwartz found that while maximizers ended up with better paying jobs than satisficers on average, they weren't as happy with their decision.

Why do these people feel less satisfied?

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Comments

[Triangle1]

The problem with colleges is that they don't put a focus on getting a job once you've attained the degree. After all, in most cases, you're going to college because you want a higher paying job than say assistant manager at McDonald's. People think just by learning more, you'll then be able to easily move into the job market, become successful, and everything will be great. Students need to be actively involved in the work force throughout college, in their chosen field. They also need aggressive coursework on creating outstanding resumes, personal communication and interviewing skills, portfolio development, internships, etc. Sitting in a classroom for 4-6 years while your student loans pile up isn't cutting it. Then you have people graduating who can't find the right job, who don't have any real world experience, who haven't really acquired the skills businesses need, who send out resumes with typos. The entire concept of a college education needs to be completely rethought.

[framante]

I apologize for not having read the whole article, but I read your comment and I feel a need to reply. The fact that colleges "don't put a focus on getting a job" is correct. However, the reason is not neglect. The purpose of colleges is to educate students. Getting a good job may be the objective of some students, but an education is the ticket, and college is a good place to get one. In an ideal world, students choose college to acquire knowledge for its own sake. Of course the world is not ideal. But if students focused more on getting truly educated and not on getting a job, they wouldn't be making those typos. It is a proven fact that graduate degrees result in a lot more money over the course of a career. However, I have had polled many graduate students in my career and I never knew one -- not one -- who went to graduate school to make more money.