Below is a question I prepared for a questionnaire about labor market issues that will appear online in the US. The purpose of the question is identifying the career paths of respondents. Please consider the question as if you are a survey respondent. Then please tell me what was not clear to you in the question. I am asking your help to see the problems of the question and improve it. You help will improve the scientific research I am working on.
**
People follow different career paths. Many work full time for some years and then enter into full retirement. Others work full time for some years and then work part time for several years before they enter into full retirement. Yet others follow some other type of path. In fact career paths
can be diverse. Below we present several simplified career paths. We would like you to choose the path that is most close to the path you will actually realize/have realized. The career paths we present can be oversimplified and be different than yours. Still, we would like you to choose the path that is most close to the path you will realize/have realized throughout your work life.
When answering the question
- ignore the periods of your career when you were unemployed, temporarily sick, temporarily retired, or temporarily on other leave
- if you have held two jobs at the same time, consider the total number of work hours in considering yourself a full time or a part time employee
- ignore if you have changed jobs but consider only if you have changed your number of work hours
1. If you are currently a full time employee or self employee consider this part only
Which of the following career paths are you more likely to have realized?
Please base your choice as much as possible on your opportunities rather
than on your preferences.
a. After many years of full time work I will enter into full retirement
b. After many/some years of full time work I will work part time for
many/some years and then I will enter into full retirement
c. After many/some years of part time work I am currently working full time
for many/some years before I enter into full retirement
2. If you are currently a part time employee or self employee consider this part only
Which of the following career paths are you more likely to have realized?
Please base your choice as much as possible on your opportunities rather
than on your preferences.
a. After many years of part time work I will enter into full retirement
b. After many/some years of part time work I will work full time for
many/some years and then I will enter into full retirement
c. After many/some years of full time work I am currently working part time
for many/some years before I enter into full retirement
d. Reversals
3. If you are currently a full time retiree consider this part only
Which of the following career paths most closely represents the path you have realized?
a. After many years of full time work I entered into full retirement
b. After many/some years of full time work I worked part time for many/some
years and then I entered into full retirement
c. After many years of part time work I entered into full retirement
d. After many/some years of part time work I worked full time for many/some
years and then I entered into full retirement
4. If you are currently a part time retiree consider this part only
Which of the following career paths are you more likely to have realized?
a. After many years of full time work I entered into part time retirement
b. After many years of part time work I entered into part time retirement
c. After many/some years of full time work I worked part time for many/some
years and then I entered into part time retirement
d. After many/some years of part time work I worked full time for many/some
years and then I entered into part time retirement
5. If you are currently unemployed, temporarily laid off, sick or on leave consider this part only
Which of the following career paths are you more likely to have realized?
Please base your choice as much as possible on your opportunities rather
than on your preferences.
a. After many years of full time work I will enter into full retirement
b. After many/some years of full time work I will work part time for
many/some years and then I will enter into full retirement
c. After many/some years of part time work I am currently working full time
for many/some years before I enter into full retirement
d. After many years of part time work I will enter into full retirement
e. After many/some years of part time work I will work full time for
many/some years and then I will enter into full retirement
f. After many/some years of full time work I am currently working part time
for many/some years before I enter into full retirement
**