2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This complete paper uses Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) as a guiding framework to investigate the intersection of demographics, prior experiences, and career perceptions in Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) operations. Given the unique attributes and evolving nature of ROV operations as an emerging career, new vocational psychology research is needed to meet workforce needs more systematically and equitably. SCCT provides a comprehensive framework for examining the interplay among personal, contextual, and psychological constructs, making it a valuable tool for understanding the career development process. Using a cross-sectional survey design with a sample of 156 first-year engineering students, the research examines how personal and contextual factors (i.e., gender, ethnicity, academic major, career awareness, gaming, and robotics experiences) relate with the core SCCT constructs of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, career interest, and intention to pursue a career in ROV operations. The findings reveal that male students report higher career awareness, gaming, and robotics experiences than female students, though no significant gender differences emerged in the core SCCT constructs. Notably, robotics experience exhibited a gender-specific pattern, primarily associated with female students' lack of career awareness but demonstrating broader links with self-efficacy, career interest, and career intention for male students. Moreover, gaming experience contributed to career awareness among male students but had minimal influence on core SCCT constructs for both genders. Despite these differences, the comparable levels of core SCCT constructs across genders suggest that female students, while underrepresented in STEM, have equivalent cognitive foundations for pursuing ROV-related careers. However, gender-specific differences in the influence of prior experiences highlight potential mediating factors not examined in this study, warranting further research. These findings emphasize the importance of inclusive learning strategies, particularly in robotics activities, to foster equitable engagement and support for developing self-efficacy, interest, and intentions in engineering-related careers among all students.