Abstract

Based on a survey conducted in Chile with 1,985 journalism students from 14 public and private universities, this article analyzes the students’ job expectations as well as the main factors that explain their career aspirations. The results show that 66% want to work in journalism, 15% in public relations (PR), 8% in teaching and research, and 11% in other areas. Logistic regression analyses demonstrate the importance of educational socialization in their job expectations. Each additional year in an undergraduate degree program increases the likelihood of being interested in working in public relations and teaching and research (rather than in journalism). Being a woman reduces the probability of wanting to work in journalism and increases the interest in having a position in PR. Finally, students with motivations based on job security are more likely to be interested in working in PR.