Dr. Daniel Goering’s path to academia was not a straight line. There were twists and turns along the way.

Then, he found his career fit in 2018 — as a faculty member in the department of management at Missouri State University.

“Missouri State attracted me for many reasons, one of them being it is balanced. I wanted to teach and do research, and I felt I could do both well and bring my research into the classroom,” said Goering, an associate professor.

His personal experience influences his research efforts. He explores various topics related to career fit and success. To date, he has published nine articles in peer-reviewed journals.

“One big question I look at is: How do people find career success, especially in today’s work life when so many things seem to be in upheaval?”

Success can be intrinsic like having a job that aligns with your values or a higher purpose. Or it might be extrinsic like earning a high salary. Most people seek a balance of both.

Related to that, Goering also examines the mindsets or strategies people use to achieve success; how people define success; and what makes some people more intrinsically and/or extrinsically successful than others. The focus is on what individuals do, not how smart they are or whom they know.

“The reason careers interest me is because many of us spend most of our adult lives working. So, it’s important to know: How can we enjoy what we do? How can people be successful? How can they reach the goals they have for their lives? That stems from my own desire to know the answer for myself.”

Dr. Christina Li is an assistant professor of management at the University of Oklahoma. She has worked with Goering on several research projects over the years, starting when they were doctoral students together.

“I’m most impressed by Dan’s ability to connect academic research with real-world application,” she said. “His approach enhances both research and practice. It gives students, employees and organizations the tools to succeed in a rapidly changing work environment.”

The link

One of Goering’s articles was published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior in 2022. Goering, Li and two other researchers conducted a meta-analysis of contemporary career attitudes. The goal was to identify which career mindsets seem to work for different types of success.

Meta-analysis reviews published data from many studies on the same topic. Using statistical methods, it identifies patterns and flaws and offers valuable conclusions. Their research involved a comprehensive search of databases, citations, journals and reviews to identify studies on contemporary career attitudes. The process included 175 independent samples from 154 papers, corresponding to 63,425 individuals in different careers worldwide.

“We wanted to know if some career approaches can lead to being more or less successful,” Goering said. “We discovered there are.”

What works

Based on the data, the researchers identified four of the most common career approaches: self-directed, boundaryless, mobility and values driven. Then, they evaluated the four approaches’ impact on three factors: objective success (salary, status, promotions); subjective success (career satisfaction, well-being); and job outcomes (satisfaction and performance, organizational commitment, turnover intentions).

They found the most rewarding approach is a self-directed mindset.

“This means owning your career and taking personal accountability,” Goering said. “I tell students: don’t think a bachelor’s degree will magically get you a high-paying job. It will help put you in the running for one, but you still need to take ownership over your professional growth to find a role that’s rewarding for you — don’t assume an employer is going to do so either.”

He suggests taking a proactive approach. Pursue training opportunities to strengthen your knowledge and skill set. Or talk to your boss about how the company can help promote your growth.

A boundaryless mindset — building networks outside of one’s department, organization or even industry — also proved useful. For example, attending a conference unrelated to your area of expertise.

On the flip side, Goering and his co-authors found mobility and values-driven mindsets may harm career success. The former focuses on planning to change jobs frequently and making the next career move. The latter is about pursuing your passion.

Goering notes the negative effects of passion were the most fascinating.

“This finding is the opposite of what I was told growing up. But the reality is finding and applying to jobs or getting a degree only based on what you love is risky,” he said.

“The results show this mindset on average just doesn’t really matter, contrary to many of us being told this is the only thing that matters. Its relationship to different forms of career success is basically zero. For most people, it’s a dud. It doesn’t work.”

Why? One reason is because your personal values and interests might not align with the demands of your work environment or with what is valued in the economy.

“You’re not likely going to get the return on it that you think you’re going to get. That’s super surprising to me,” Goering said. “I remember being told in high school, ‘If you follow your passion, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ It turns out it’s not great advice. We think for this approach to work, it needs to be balanced with other considerations.”

He adds this approach can work well for people like the Brad Pitts of the world. But he believes the narrative does a disservice to many people because it can give them false hope.

This research paper has garnered considerable attention since its publication. According to global publisher Wiley, it is one of the top 10 most cited papers for 2022 and 2023.

Digging deeper

The meta-analysis project inspired two related studies by Goering and his co-researchers. The first one examines how career attitudes influence success in today’s changing career landscape.

The second is a qualitative study on people enduring the pain of pursuing their passions. The researchers interviewed over 50 individuals in modern do-it-yourself careers. Among them were a professional cuddler, a lead singer of a platinum-selling rock band and a conlanger who created a new language for a fantasy blockbuster TV series.

Making research matter

Goering is determined not to do research just for the sake of it. He wants his work to help others, including his students. So, he integrates the insights into his teaching and mentorship.

For example, he created a career journey map for students in his human resources class. It guides them in figuring out how to set themselves up for future success.

“The map helps students simulate some career paths before they go into them,” Goering said. “By doing this, hopefully they can avoid some of the ‘School of Hard Knocks.’”

In all his research efforts, Goering wants one thing to be clear.

“I want to uplift the lives of others by improving the workplace,” he said. “That’s my professional mission.”

Further reading

Read “Putting Common Career Advice to the Test”

Explore the department of management

• Story by Emily Yeap
• Photo by Jesse Scheve