Abstract
This study examines the effectiveness of career counseling practices for engineering students in private universities in Vadodara, focusing on the impact of personalized counseling and industry collaboration on students' career decision-making and employability. The research investigates two key hypotheses: first, whether career counseling practices significantly influence students' employability and decision-making abilities, and second, whether the integration of personalized counseling with industry collaboration enhances career counseling outcomes. Using an ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) approach, data was collected from 516 engineering students in Vadodara, with the results revealing that career counseling significantly impacts students’ employability and career decisions, thereby supporting the first hypothesis. However, the second hypothesis, which explored the combined effect of personalized counseling and industry collaboration, showed no significant difference in counseling outcomes, indicating that industry collaboration, in its current form, does not significantly enhance career counseling results. The findings highlight the importance of personalized career counseling in fostering better career outcomes for students while suggesting that further improvements in industry engagement and technological integration could yield more substantial benefits. The study offers valuable insights for private universities to refine their career counseling practices, ensuring better career preparedness for engineering students. The research underscores the need for continuous adaptation of career services to meet the evolving needs of students in the competitive job market.

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Copyright (c) 2025 Priyanka KiritKumar Desai, Dr. Bijal Shah (Author)