Design Process

We began with extensive user research, including interviews and focus groups with graduating students and stakeholders, such as career center staff, to understand their needs and challenges. A literature review provided insights into existing solutions and identified gaps in career decision-making tools.

In the definition phase, we synthesized our findings into key problem statements and hypotheses, guiding our design direction. Ideation involved brainstorming sessions to explore how VR technology could address these issues, leading to the conceptualization of the "Career Simulation Hub." We created prototypes and iteratively tested them with users to gather feedback and refine the experience.

Finally, in the implementation phase, we developed realistic VR simulations of various professions, incorporating interactive elements and real-world insights from industry professionals. Continuous evaluation and improvement ensure that our solution remains relevant and effective, adapting to the evolving needs of students and the professional landscape.

‍

Research Methodologies

Target Audience Research

To gain insights into the project's users, interviews are conducted with graduating students at the university campus. The participants include two seniors, two master's students, and two doctoral students. Additionally, a focus group consisting of four seniors is interviewed. The discussions cover reasons for the loss of direction in future careers, factors influencing career choices, and the challenges faced during previous career explorations.

Stakeholder Interviews

To better understand the needs and characteristics of the target users, interviews are conducted with relevant stakeholders, including Huang, the head of the career center at the Tsing Hua university. The focus is on assessing the career center's assistance in students' career development, identifying pain points, and gaining the center's perspective on students' career development.

Literature Review

The literature review explores existing research and scholarly work relevant to the identified problems and research questions in the field of assisting university students in career exploration and reducing career decision anxiety. The review encompasses key themes such as career development, self-efficacy, virtual reality (VR) applications in education, and the intersection of these areas.

‍

💡Based on the research analysis, a design perspective and hypothesis statements are formulated to guide the development of the service.

‍‍

Service Concept and Design

The service utilizes VR technology to develop a "Career Simulation Hub," presenting the real ecological conditions of different professions within the system. Users, equipped with HTC VR headsets, enter the virtual workplace environment from a first-person perspective. The system offers an immersive and interactive experience, allowing users to operate key skills relevant to the chosen profession. Users can freely choose the profession they want to experience, deepening their learning impressions through diverse and immersive perspectives.

Once upon a time, students grappled with difficulties and self-doubt in the exciting transition from university to the vast world of career choices 🤯.
Employed to ease fresh graduates' confusion and need more confidence in making career decisions. Through a meticulous analysis of the needs and characteristics of the target users, a core objective emerged – to resolve the dilemmas and boost the self-efficacy of these graduates when navigating career choices.

As the world progressed and new industries flourished, the professional landscape expanded, offering many opportunities. For most individuals, the university years marked the final stage of formal education, with the imminent transition to the workforce. The focus on career development explored the process of personal career decisions, a daunting task due to the myriad professions available. The impending challenges of entering the job market or pursuing further education often lead to anxiety and uncertainty among graduates, causing them to lack confidence in their decisions and encounter roadblocks in career planning.

Students had a directional sense regarding their future career choices but needed help understanding the true nature of each profession. The pivotal concept of "self-efficacy" became crucial – the perception of one's ability to perform well in specific situations. This self-efficacy significantly influences career and life decisions, shaping an individual's self-assessment of their career development and decision-making performance.

The research aimed to explore and address the following problems:

1. How can we assist university students in exploring careers and reduce their anxiety about future career planning?
2. How do we enable students to experience the real situations of various professions, narrowing the gap between reality and imagination and enhancing their decision-making abilities in career exploration?
3. How do we help students understand the skills required in the workplace, boosting self-efficacy and confidence in their career decisions?

‍

‍

The 10 target audience for the research included two senior students, two master's students, and two doctoral students, 1 Focus group ,and data was collected through interviews and questionnaires, aimed to understand their uncertainties about future careers and the factors influencing their career decisions.

‍

Stakeholder interviews were conducted with the career center at the university to gain insights into the support provided for students' career development and the challenges faced by the career center in assisting students.

‍

The results revealed that graduating students had a primary direction and imagination for their career plans. However, their understanding of careers remained superficial due to insufficient familiarity with professions and doubts about their abilities. The interviews highlighted the need for students to bridge the gap between their theoretical knowledge and the real-world challenges of their chosen jobs. Students faced a lack of confidence in aligning their professional skills with industry requirements, leading to anxiety and uncertainty in career decision-making.

‍

‍

Building on the insights from the research analysis, a design perspective and hypothesis statements were crafted to guide the development of a solution.

‍

Brainstorming Ideas:
Virtual Reality emerged as a promising solution, given its advanced interactive capabilities to simulate natural environments. Previous studies showcased successful applications of VR, such as anti-smoking education for teenagers and emergency scenario training for airplane safety. These applications demonstrated the potential of VR to engage users and create immersive learning experiences. In addition, past research on STEM students' use of VR career experiences has pointed out that VR has the potential to be used as a career development tool after the content in virtual reality and the scaffolding planning to support student learning are improved.

‍

The proposed service would leverage VR technology to create a "Career Simulation Hub" – a virtual environment presenting the authentic ecology of various professions. Users could explore real workplace scenarios and actively engage in interactive tasks related to their chosen work. VR's immersive and interactive nature aims to provide users with a firsthand perspective, reducing the gap between their expectations and the reality of different professions.

When entering the system, users can have a targeted experience based on their interests ,needs and deepen their learning impression through multiple and immersive perspectives. Situated learning is brought into the design. Situated learning is a method proposed by Lave and Wenger (1991). The learning experience through inquiry can allow learners to apply and increase thinking, which can be used during learning. Construct knowledge in the process, so users can cooperate with situational learning design to reduce the gap between reality and ideal to achieve the goal.

‍

Service Scenario and Presentation:

The service would utilize VR technology to craft a "Career Simulation Hub," offering users an immersive experience of real workplace situations. Users would wear VR headsets and use hand controllers to navigate virtual environments, providing a first-person view of the chosen profession. The system would offer a variety of professions for users to explore, allowing them to tailor their experiences based on their interests and needs.

The VR environment would simulate critical skills required for each profession. Users could face special situations within the virtual workplace, presenting them with two options based on the context. This interactive learning environment would empower users to actively participate in their chosen profession, making decisions and experiencing the consequences within the virtual space.

‍

The service design addressed the common challenge of students needing more practical knowledge about different professions. By providing a realistic and interactive virtual experience, users would gain insights into the daily challenges and tasks associated with their chosen career paths. The goal was to reduce users' uncertainties and instill confidence in their career decisions.

‍

The service would incorporate real-world Insights and involve insights from industry professionals and former practitioners in the chosen field. Inviting experienced individuals to share advice and future predictions would help users connect their virtual experiences with real-life scenarios. This would include perspectives from success in the field and insights from those who faced failed challenges, providing a comprehensive view to assist users in making informed career decisions.

‍

Service Evaluation and Improvement:
The service's success will be evaluated through qualitative and quantitative measures. Surveys and interviews would assess users' satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and confidence in their career decisions after using the VR simulation. Additionally, tracking users' career decisions and paths post-graduation would provide insights into the long-term impact of the service.
Continuous improvement would be achieved through user feedback, iterative design, and updates to the VR scenarios based on evolving industry trends. The goal was to create a dynamic and growing service that adapts to the changing landscape of professions and provides ongoing support to students as they navigate their careers.

📌 Addressing Career Transition Challenges: The study focuses on the challenges and lack of confidence faced by college students on the brink of graduation as they approach career choices. The goal is to alleviate confusion and self-doubt, ultimately enhancing self-efficacy in career decision-making.

📌 Virtual Reality for Career Exploration: Employing a mixed research method, the study proposes the use of virtual reality technology to create immersive simulations of various professional scenarios. By combining realistic workplace situations with authentic stories, the aim is to provide students with a firsthand experience of different occupations, bridging the gap between theory and reality.

📌 Evaluation and Feedback Mechanism: After the virtual experiences, the study plans to conduct interviews and utilize the Kolb Learning Style Inventory to assess the impact. Additionally, a virtual space presence questionnaire will be employed to gauge whether students effectively understand diverse professions through virtual reality and if it enhances their self-efficacy.