A socio-spatial dimension of career choices in veterinary education

ABSTRACTIn this article we report the outcomes of a study on career choices of rural veterinary students during the educational process. In accordance with social representations theory, we studied how the representational project that students build during their curriculum is influenced by the socio-spatial elements of their biography (including childhood and work locations). To do this we designed a quantitative survey (N = 1508) using an approach incorporating multiple methodologies. Our results highlight a network organisation of rural veterinarian job representation with a socio-spatial dimension of rural areas. We recommend that career guidance counsellors take into account the socio-spatial dimension of the life course in order to help students with their professional choices.