AI Insight
This study examined how career expectations and job preparation influence job satisfaction among 9,627 employed youth aged 18-35 in underdeveloped regions of China's G Province. The research found that career expectations positively correlate with job satisfaction, with salary level serving as a partial mediator. Notably, better job preparation strengthens the link between career expectations and higher salaries but paradoxically reduces the satisfaction gained from those expectations, likely because preparation raises reference standards for career success.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that employment programs for youth in underdeveloped regions should balance practical job preparation with realistic expectation management. The results highlight potential unintended consequences of comprehensive career preparation and reveal important gender and urban-rural disparities in how career expectations translate to outcomes.
Understand the Science
Against the backdrop of intensified labor market competition, youth in underdeveloped regions face heightened structural constraints. It is crucial to understand the specific characteristics of their career expectations and job preparation, as well as the underlying mechanisms influencing their job satisfaction, to support higher-quality employment among this group. This study employs a moderated mediation model, drawing on questionnaire data from 9,627 employed youth aged 18–35 across all prefecture-level cities (prefectures) in G Province, China. Objective salary level (measured by actual monetary income brackets) is incorporated as a mediating variable to explore the pathways linking career expectations and job preparation with overall job satisfaction (defined as the overall subjective evaluation of current employment). The findings indicate that career expectations significantly and positively correlate with job satisfaction, and salary level partially mediates this relationship. Furthermore, job preparation positively moderates the effect of career expectations on salary but negatively moderates their impact on satisfaction. Specifically, better preparation strengthens the translation of career expectations into higher salaries but diminishes the satisfaction gained from career expectations. This phenomenon may stem from the fact that comprehensive job preparation not only elevates actual salary levels but also raises youths’ reference standards regarding career development, social recognition, and related factors, resulting in a comparative gap. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a slightly stronger positive correlation between career expectations and job satisfaction among rural youth compared to urban youth. Moreover, career expectations significantly and positively correlate with salary levels among males, whereas this correlation is not significant among females.