Hope is believed to be beneficial for vocational pursuits, but the question of how and why hope is
related to pivotal career development variables remains largely unaddressed. In a series of three
studies,we investigated the relationship between hope and career exploration. Study 1 examined
at-risk adolescents (N = 228) in Switzerland and showed that hope explains variance in career
exploration beyond the significant effects of generalized self-efficacy beliefs and perceived social
support. Study 2 found the same result among a group (N=223) of first-year students at a Swiss
university with a measure of state hope. Study 3 applied a one-year cross-lagged design with a
diverse group of students (N = 266) at a German university to investigate the mutual effects of
dispositional hope and career exploration over time. Although both variables were found to be
related within and over time, we could not confirm lagged effects in either direction. The results
suggest that hope is significantly correlated with career exploration because both are related to
personality and social-contextual variables.