For noncollege-bound youth, swiftly finding a satisfying job upon exiting compulsory schooling might support adjustment. Yet, youths' own job perceptions have rarely been considered in school-to-work transition research. Sequence analysis of monthly occupational status over 4 years (ages 16-20) in a low socioeconomic status Canadian sample…

Young people today face a great deal of uncertainty regarding their career opportunities, yet relatively little information is known about the correlates and consequences of uncertain aspirations. Drawing upon the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) born in 1989/90, this study examined a pathway model investigating whether…

There is a lack of longitudinal research linking adolescent career aspirations to adult outcomes other than career and income attainment. Drawing on Nurmi's (2004) and Salmela-Aro, Aunola, and Nurmi's (2007) life-span model of motivation and using quantitative survey data at ages 16, 23, 33, 42, and 50 years, combined with retrospective interview…

This article examines the role of rapid social change for human adaptation, focusing in particular on uncertainty in educational and career-related goals of young people born between 1970 and 1990. A review of the research evidence suggests that although most young people want to continue in higher education, more young people in the later-born…

Relatively little is known about adolescents who hold uncertain aspirations, that is, those who do not know what they would like to do in the future regarding their educational or occupational plans. Drawing upon the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England born in 1989-1990, the authors tested a pathway model to investigate the antecedents…

In this paper we examine the associations between gender, family background, general cognitive ability (g), teenage career aspirations, and career attainment in mid adulthood drawing on two large representative samples of the British population born in 1958 (N = 6,474) and in 1970 (N = 5,081). A developmental-contextual model of career development…

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in…

Drawing on data collected from two longitudinal Cohort Studies following the lives of over 20,000 individuals born in the United Kingdom 12 years apart in 1958 and 1970, respectively, this paper examines antecedents and outcomes of educational and occupational aspirations of young men and women, covering the transition from dependent childhood…

Comparison of two British cohorts (11,016 born in 1958 and 6,417 born in 1970) indicated that teenage aspirations predicted their occupational attainment. Differences between the cohorts demonstrate the key role of sociohistorical context in shaping careers. The importance of educational credentials has increased for the younger cohort. (Contains…