A Longitudinal Examination of Career Expectations and Outcomes of Academically Talented Students 10 and 20 Years Post-High School Graduation

The purpose of this study was to examine career expectations and outcomes for individuals who were identified as academically talented high school students. Data for this study were collected at two different time periods: 10 years and 20 years after participants' high school graduation. A decade after graduation from high school, participants described how their careers were similar or different from their expectations and projected where they expected to be in their careers in 10 more years. Twenty years after high school graduation, participants reported on their careers and their reports were compared with their expectations from 10 years after graduation. The majority of participants were accurate in their career predictions. (Contains 3 tables.)