THE
HIDDEN MOTIVATIONS
OF
PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Insight into prospective students’ core motivations, personality style, and triggers that drive buying decisions. Compiled from over 250,000* prospects in North America.

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What motivates people to go to school?

Join us while we explore the lesser-known factors that motivate prospects to seek further education. We will explore factors like employment status, age, education history, social styles and more. Our data represents the hidden motivations of over 250,000 prospective students and was gathered using our Career Training Readiness Pathway; a quiz-style self-assessment and lead generation tool that was placed on the websites of a variety of career education schools across the U.S. and Canada between 2018 and 2022.

Career Motivation

What would you change about your current employment situation?

Prospects were asked what they would change about their current employment situation. Responses involved with upward mobility such as earning more and opportunity for promotion rank highly. But more than earning more money, respondents express a desire for work that interests them. Prospects know they need to work in order to survive, but they are tired of putting so much time into work that doesn’t offer any personal fulfillment.

Work that interests me (64%)
Opportunity for advancement (62%)
Better pay (61%)
Different work environment (45%)
Better schedule (38%)
Be more respected (26%)

* Prospects were able to select more than one response

Does employment status affect motivation?

When prospects identified themselves as either working or not working, there was an interesting distinction between the answers of "what you would change with your current employment situation". An assumption could be that unemployed prospects would be motivated by money, but, in fact, it was the opposite.

Employed prospects are more likely to be externally motivated; they are more likely to indicate an interest in better pay and advancement over work that is fulfilling or interesting

Unemployed prospects are more intrinsically motivated; they are more likely to indicate an interest in work that interests them over better pay

If you know a prospective student has been out of the traditional workforce for a while, it’s important to communicate the personal aspects of the career or careers they may be considering. Things like personal accounts from working professionals in the field will carry more weight than things like employment stats and wage data. This is relevant both in admissions interactions and marketing materials.

How does age affect motivation?

Exploring the same question of "what you would change in your current employment situation", age also influenced changed the top motivations for prospects. Where prospects are at in their life will influence their motivations for career training.

Prospects between 25-34 tend to be more extrinsically motivated choosing motivating outcomes such as: "better pay", "better schedule", "different work environment" and "opportunity for advancement" than younger or older prospects.

Younger prospects between 18-25 tend to be more intrinsically motivated. They were more likely to choose "work that interests me" than older prospects.

Accurate local wage data for professionals in their field in your area and real job posting examples with posted work schedules will help some prospects in their buying decision.

Goals

Which goals are important to you?

Prospects were asked to indicate which goals were important to them. The overall highest shared goal amongst prospects of all ages across all demographics is a desire for a career that provides opportunity for personal fulfillment.

I want a career where I feel fulfilled (84%)
I want a career where I feel I am making a difference (72%)
I want to make more money (72%)
I want to be more independent (63%)
I want to own a home (62%)
I want a career where my loved ones will be proud of me (58%)
I want to give my kids a better life (48%)
I want to travel (47%)

* Prospects were able to select more than one response

The desire for fulfillment

Prospects across demographics indicate a strong desire for work that is personally fulfilling. It’s crucial to cultivate a robust collection of stories, case students and real-life “before and after” examples to share with prospective students. A major job of EDU marketing and admissions departments is to relatably communicate to prospective students how they can achieve fulfillment.

Making a Difference

Not surprisingly, careers in public service tend to attract individuals with a strong drive to make a difference. These prospects are motivated by a desire to serve their communities and to make a positive impact. It’s important to remember this altruistic drive when working with prospects in these fields. While practical details like job opportunity and potential wages etc are still important, for these prospects it's important to emphasize the way in which their future career will not only benefit them but also allow them to make an impact in the world around them.

Desire to make a difference by career field

Beauty (66%)
Business, Management and Adm. (64%)
Community and Social Services (88%)
Health and Medicine (82%)
Hospitality (64%)
Medical Administration (67%)
Science and Technology (63%)
Trades (57%)

"I want a career where I feel I am making a difference" is significantly more common among Career Fields: Community and Social Services, Health and Medicine, and Law and Public Policy.

Earning More Money

Health and Sciences, Trades, Technology and Beauty indicate a higher than average interest in earning more money as a desired goal and motivation for career training.

Desire to make more money by career field

Beauty (75%)
Business, Management and Adm. (70%)
Community and Social Services (57%)
Health and Medicine (70%)
Hospitality (51%)
Medical Administration (74%)
Science and Technology (73%)
Trades (80%)

Financial goals ("I want to make more money") are more common among Career Fields: Medical Administration, Science and Technology, Trades

In marketing and admissions it’s important to remember that individuals who are interested in getting into a new career in order to earn more money, the actual money isn’t the end goal. Important questions to ask are things like “what would earning more money mean to you?” or “how do you think your life would look different if you earned x amount per year?” These types of questions can help prospective students to envision their desired future and can help to contextualize their training and career goals. It can also help to put in perspective the cost/benefit ratio of your training.

Seeking Independence

The goal of seeking independence trends higher than average for career paths that attract a younger demographic.

Desire for independence by career field

Beauty (79%)
Business, Management and Adm. (60%)
Community and Social Services (53%)
Health and Medicine (59%)
Hospitality (63%)
Medical Administration (60%)
Science and Technology (60%)
Trades (65%)

"I want to be more independent" is significantly more common among Beauty prospects.

If you run a beauty school, it’s important to realistically speak to the ways in which beauty training can offer the prospect opportunities to assert their independence.

The struggle of imagination

More than 30% of prospective students indicated that they "want a better life for sure" but "have trouble imagining the details." This represents an exciting opportunity for schools to step up and provide real stewardship for these students. Platitudes around achieving goals and "reaching for your dreams" get thrown around a lot, but there’s often a huge disconnect between "reach for the stars" rhetoric and the actual practical steps that go into achieving a goal.

Admissions professionals are in a unique position to help break down the practical steps that can go into building a better future for a prospective student. It’s terrifying to take a step if you don’t know what you’re walking into. As admissions professionals, it’s crucial to remember what it was like to NOT know all the ins and outs of your school and things like education financing. If 3 in 10 prospects struggle to picture the details of a brighter future, as an admissions professional you have an opportunity to be an ambassador to that better life by taking the time to help individual prospects to fill in the details that can make up the path to their brighter futures.

Education History

87%

Have high school equivalency
5%

Still in high school
8%

No high school equivalency

When did you graduate high school?

Prospects were asked what year they graduated high school, and if not, if they had a GED or equivalent. 8% of prospects across programs indicated that they are not in high school and do not have a high school diploma or GED.

If you offer programs that do not require a high school diploma/GED, there is opportunity to emphasize that in your marketing. Make it clear to interested individuals that a lack of high school diploma/GED is not a barrier to entry.

Have you attended post-secondary education?

Overall, 39% of prospects indicated they have had some type of post-secondary education. Programs that attract a younger demographic were lower than average for post-secondary experience whereas programs such as business, social service, and hospitality trend higher with a post-secondary background.

61%

39%

No post-secondary

Attended post-secondary

Understanding a prospect's previous education experience and general perception of post-secondary education can help you set your school apart and explain ways your school and programs are different.

Social Styles

I would best describe myself as...

Prospects are asked a series of self-assessment questions that determines which “Social Style” they most closely identify with based on the following profiles. Knowing the Social Style of an individual prospect before you pick up the phone/reach out to them can provide incredible insight and allow admissions representatives a map in terms of how to best engage with that prospect.

Expressive (48%)
Analytical (23%)
Amiable (15%)
Driver (12%)

Analytical

Analyticals love data, facts and figures. As ‘no-nonsense’ people, they’ll look past a fancy pitch and get straight to the facts. Be prepared to field several detailed questions, and don’t be surprised if it seems like an analytical prospect already knows the information you are covering.

Amiable

Amiables value personal relationships and want to trust those they do business with. They like the excitement of new challenges and are enthusiastic about formulating creative solutions. However, they might not conduct thorough research before meeting with you and will be looking to you to guide them through the buying process.

Driver

Drivers are assertive, goal-oriented and competitive. Results are more important than personal relationships to these prospects. They might not be the customers you get a holiday card from, but if you can deliver on your commitments, you will maintain a healthy relationship. Drivers care deeply about the bottom line.

Expressive

Expressives are also sometimes called "humanists" for a good reason -- like Amiables, personal relationships are very important to this personality type. Expressives are concerned with others’ well-being. Whether it’s their employees or their customers, the expressive personality type will want to know how decisions they make affect the people around them.

Do you know your prospect's motivations, goals, and desires? Find out!

Get access to 42 pages of in-depth research and how to apply to your marketing and admissions improvement process. Delivered to your inbox for easy reference.

Learn how:

motivations and goals differ by program
social styles influence prospects perceived value
to use your prospects voice to help them overcome obstacles

*Survey data collected between 2018 - 2022 from Virtual Adviser's lead generation tools used by a variety of career education schools across North America.

THE HIDDEN MOTIVATIONS OF PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS