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ERIC Number: ED477496
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2003-Apr
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Learning in the First Professional Job: The First Year of Full Time Employment After College for Accountants, Engineers and Nurses.
Eraut, Michael; Maillardet, Fred; Miller, Carolyn; Steadman, Stephen; Ali, Amer; Blackman, Claire; Furner, Judith
Learning in the first professional job was examined in a study of 40 nurses, 27 engineers, and 16 accountants who were in their first full year of full-time employment after college in hospitals and firms located in the United Kingdom. Data were collected through the following activities: (1) interviews with the respondents; (2) 1- to 2-day visits to their workplaces; and (3) interviews with their managers/mentors and significant others in their workplaces. The first few months of full-time employment presented very different challenges and experiences across the three sectors. The accountants had 3-year contracts that included both training for professional examinations and work-based induction into the profession through a tightly structured apprenticeship system. Although the nurses had already qualified for their profession, they still faced a difficult transition because of their sudden assumption of extensive responsibility and immersion into a highly demanding, high-pressure environment with a very heavy workload. The engineers' workplaces all had accredited graduate training schemes. Across the occupations, informal support proved more important than formal support and social relationships were a significant factor in learning. (The bibliography lists 13 references. Appendixes constituting approximately 50% of the document contain excerpts from the field notes on and discussions of the experiences of new accountants, nurses, and graduate engineers.) (MN)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A