The Impact of COVID-19 as an Unforeseen Crisis on the Career Anxiety in Final Year Students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives drastically in the past year, it has affected all aspects of our lives, from economics to the education sector (Hiscott et al., 2020). Mode of education had completely shifted online for almost an entire year and now that many institutions are turning to a hybrid (online and offline) mode, the unrest and uncertainty caused by a global crisis such as this continues to affect everyone. This study explored career anxiety among final year students through a qualitative method. Eight college students participated in a semi-structured interview. The content gleaned from the interview was analyzed through the method of thematic analysis. The results discussed the themes of Uncertainty, Situation of Job Market and Economy, Personal Skills and Abilities, Role of Peers and Role of Parents, which were identified and their sub themes. After making recommendations for the phenomena discussed, this study also discusses the need of a tool measuring career anxiety within the context of unforeseen crises to better help the populace in the future.