| Summary: | This research increased the understanding of Extension professionals’ career commitment by measuring the relationship between their job satisfaction and how they perceive their relationship with their supervisor using the Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX 7) and their career commitment. Montana State University Extension (MSUE) experiences periods of higher turnover among field-based professionals. The reasons for leaving are not well understood. Herzberg et al. (1959) identified intrinsic job satisfaction as a motivation factor and the extrinsic relationships with supervisors as one factor that influences employee dissatisfaction (Strong & Harder, 2009). Thirty-six early career Extension professionals at MSUE were surveyed regarding job satisfaction (Benge & Harder, 2017; Smerek & Peterson, 2007); LMX 7 (Graen & Uhl-Bien,1995); and original questions designed to establish the career commitment of Extension professionals to MSUE. Pearson’s r was calculated for the job satisfaction and LMX 7 scores with career commitment (the predicted percent of career worked for Extension). The research found a strong positive correlation between job satisfaction and career commitment (r(22) = .76); and a weak positive correlation between LMX 7 and career commitment (r(22) = .15). An additional question provided insights into the reasons why Extension professionals might leave their career.
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