Job preferences of agricultural students in Germany – A choice-based conjoint analysis for both genders

Abstract

Knowledge of the job preferences of agricultural students is essential for the competitiveness of the industry. Yet no study is available in Germany. Other studies mostly used direct questions for the preference measurement, which raises possible concerns about a socially desirable response bias. For this reason, the present study combines a quasi-experiment (choice-based conjoint analysis) and direct questions (Likert scales) to measure the job preferences of 568 agricultural students in Germany and compares the results. In addition to finding gender differences, the study found that ‘income’ and ‘future perspective’ are the most important job characteristics for the job choice of agricultural students, and that they also prefer an increasing ‘work-life-balance’ as well as a ‘rural location’ for their future employer. Insights about job characteristics’ attractiveness lead to a more transparent environment in which employers and (potential) employees make better-informed decisions, resulting in increased job satisfaction, performance and career sustainability.