The Effect of Salary Perception and Career Opportunities on Final-Year Students' Interest in Working Abroad: A Case Study of Private Universities in Bengkulu City

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of salary perception and career opportunities on final-year students' interest in working abroad at three private universities in Bengkulu City. A quantitative causal-survey approach was applied. The population consisted of 590 final-year Faculty of Economics and Business students from the 2023 cohort, and 118 respondents were selected as 20% of the population using proportional sampling. Data were collected through observation and a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS 27 using descriptive analysis, instrument testing, classical assumption tests, multiple linear regression, t-tests, F-tests, and the coefficient of determination. Salary perception had a positive and significant effect on interest in working abroad (t=12.470; p<0.001), as did career opportunities (t=13.812; p<0.001). Both variables simultaneously had a significant effect (F=208.819; p<0.001). The adjusted R² of 0.780 indicates that the model explains 78% of the variance in students' interest, while career opportunities is the more dominant predictor (β=0.607).