Graduates from Nova Scotia earn about $60K per annum five years after completing their first degree (about 96% of them anyway) according to research conducted by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission in 2018. This is a useful measure, but it begs the question what are the most appropriate ways to measure graduate success? Surely some more subjective factors are considered relevant.

It is generally accepted that careers have an internal and an external dimension. The external dimension relates to the career as perceived by others where the internal dimension relates to notions of self. In addition to compensation, other common objective/ external measures include the number and rate of promotions, span of control, hierarchical level or rank, and perceived importance of job outcomes. Subjective/ internal career success outcomes commonly include career satisfaction, happiness, emotional well being, physical health, and work engagement.

The external career dimension gets the most attention although increasingly research is focusing on the internal dimension. Post-industrial society has experienced changing notions of career success that have coincided with, and may be influenced by a transition in values to a post-materialist view.

An increased focus on self-expression values, subjective well-being, self-expression, and individual spirituality has emerged (Dries, 2011). These values differ across cultures but the transition to a post materialist view has been most evident in affluent societies, such as North American. This transition has challenged ideology, such as “the American dream” and its influence on notions of success.