These authors have previously conducted extensive research on the motivation of graduate students. With a firm understanding of these students’ levels of motivation the next step in research inquiry is to now examine the available theories in workplace, or professional, motivation in order to determine if these realms of motivation are connected or if they are to be treated as separate areas if inquiry. The seed of this direction of research stems from the idea that one pursues graduate school in order to develop one’s professional career, therefore motivation theories in these areas should display interconnectivity. A basic tenet is that a person chooses a career path which holds interest to them either from an intellectual or personality perspective. The level of interest and motivation an individual then has can serve as an indicator of their professional success levels.
Various theories have been developed, tested, and reviewed covering different aspects of motivation inherent in people both in workplace and educational settings. These theories and the research produced tend to focus on niche areas in the examination of motivation. Motivation research in the work environment has examined such areas as success, stress, leadership, and employee retention among others while educational research has focused on motivation at various grade and collegiate levels. This current research seeks to examine production from both fields to gauge any cross-discipline relevancy which would help us understand the motivational connection, if any, between graduate school and professional employment.