Career Choice

Verona Christmas-Best

Although career choice is influenced by internal factors (an individual's attributes, attitudes, and abilities) rooted in both nature and nurture, it is also dependent on the context within which a career choice is made, that is, on the micro- (or proximal) and macro- (or distal) environments with which an individual interacts. These environments, taken together, can be said to form an individual's structure of opportunity. This entry provides an overview of theories and data that show how differences in structures of opportunity are formed and how these impinge on career choice. Choice is based on both personal preferences and on the structure of opportunity, which is ordered according to the functioning and development of the social systems of which the individual is a part. In the framework of career choice, this means that the type of work available and to whom it is accessible will be largely dependent on the ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.