Collaborative Research: The Career Implications of Life Course Opportunities and Planning

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This is a project to study career advancement over the life course of men and women, testing the relative efficacy of human capital and social capital. Human capital is defined as the acquisition of cognitive competence and the ability to signal that cognitive competence has been achieved. Social capital is defined as social resources acquired from social background and network contacts that aid in the acquisition of favorable adult roles. In particular, this study examines how career advancement and mid-life success are determined by: 1) human and social capital among adolescents and young adults, 2) the opportunity structure surrounding adult roles, and 3) life course planning. Data are from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey, a representative sample of 10,317 men and women first interviewed in 1957 in their senior year in high school, with subsequent data collection representing their experiences in early adulthood and mid-life. The project integrates recently developed methodologies for the measurement of human and social capital, occupational career lines, and occupational success. The models developed for the study will be applied to data on men and women who were high school students 15 years later to determine the extent to which the findings of the 1957 cohort of high school seniors hold true under much less favorable economic circumstances and following marked changes in gender roles. The research also examines the extent and dimensions of inequality between men and women, to determine whether social capital is more critical for women because it may overcome blocked opportunities, or conversely whether the stronger career performance of men is accounted for by social capital. %%% This research will test fundamental scientific theories about the factors that govern an individual's career, thus contributing to an understanding of the stratification system of industrial society, which is an issue of great importance for sociology. The knowledge gained also can contribute to gre ater efficiency and justice in the American economy, because factors that prevent people from gaining the jobs for which they best suited are both inefficient and unjust. Increased understanding of how information and planning can contribute to good career choices will also result from this research.