Objective: This study aimed to examine the sequential mediating effect of career adaptability and occupational engagement on the relationship between emotional and personality-related career decision making difficulties and life satisfaction in college students, based on the career adaptation model. Methods: An online survey was conducted with university students in Busan, South Korea. Data from 366 participants were analyzed using correlation and sequential mediation analyses. SPSS 21.0 and the PROCESS macro were used for the analysis. Results: First, the results showed a positive correlation among the variables. Second, career adaptability and occupational engagement had a significant sequential mediating effect on the relationship between career decision making difficulties and life satisfaction. Emotional and personality-related career decision making difficulties had a significant indirect effect on life satisfaction through career adaptability, whereas their indirect effect through occupational engagement alone was not significant. Conclusions: To enhance the life satisfaction of college students experiencing emotional and personality-related career decision making difficulties, it is important to implement a stepwise intervention that prioritizes strengthening career adaptability to directly promoting occupational engagement.