PERCEPTIONS OF SERENDIPITY - CAREER PATHS OF PROMINENT ACADEMIC WOMENIN COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

Consensual qualitative research was used to investigate the impact of chance events on the career choices of prominent academic women in cou nseling psychology and to examine the contextual factors surrounding t he chance events. The results suggest that chance events affected care er choices most often by changing women's career paths altogether or b y altering their self-concepts. The results also suggest that both int ernal characteristics (e.g., ability to take risks, self-confidence, e tc.) and external factors (e.g., a strong support system, few external barriers, etc.) helped women take advantage of chance opportunities. The implications of integrating the concept of serendipity into our ex isting understanding of career development is discussed.