The treble ladder revisited: why do engineers lose interest in the dual ladder as they grow older?
by T.J. Allen, R. Katz
International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD), Vol. 12, No. 5/6, 1991

Abstract: Earlier research by the authors showed that when asked about their preferred career track, older engineers and scientists overwhelmingly chose interesting project assignments over promotion-based tracks. The proportion preferring either technical ladder or managerial careers declined steadily with age. That study, being cross-sectional in nature, had all of the limitations of cross-sectional studies. In particular, it left the question of whether the age-related differences were really the product of aging or whether they might be a generational or cadre effect. In the present study, 84 respondents from the original study were asked their career preferences again, nine years later. Responses at the two points in time were analysed and compared. These were found to shift in the directions predicted by the original study, thus favouring an aging over a generational hypothesis. Promotion or its absence, has a significant effect on career preference, albeit not always in the direction that one would predict. Other individual attitudes toward work and task preferences are found to be remarkably stable over time.

Online publication date: Tue, 27-May-2014

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