The Career Implications of Life Course Opportunities and Planning

这是一个研究男性和女性一生中职业发展的项目，测试人力资本和社会资本的相对功效。 人力资本被定义为认知能力的获得和表明认知能力已经实现的能力。 社会资本被定义为从社会背景和网络关系中获得的有助于获得有利的成人角色的社会资源。 特别是，本研究探讨了职业发展和中年成功如何由以下因素决定：1）青少年和年轻人的人力和社会资本，2）围绕成人角色的机会结构，3）人生规划。 数据来自威斯康星州纵向调查，1957年在高中高年级首次采访了10，317名男性和女性的代表性样本，随后收集的数据代表了他们在成年早期和中年的经历。 该项目整合了最近开发的衡量人力和社会资本、职业生涯线和职业成功的方法。 为这项研究开发的模型将应用于15年后高中生的男性和女性的数据，以确定1957年高中生队列的研究结果在经济环境不太有利的情况下以及性别角色发生显著变化后的真实程度。 研究还审查了男女不平等的程度和层面，以确定社会资本对妇女是否更为重要，因为它可以克服受阻的机会，或者反过来说，男性更强的职业表现是否是由社会资本造成的。 %%% 通过本研究，可以验证关于决定个人职业的因素的基本科学理论，从而有助于理解社会学中的重要课题--工业社会的阶层体系。 所获得的知识也有助于提高美国经济的效率和公平，因为阻碍人们获得他们最适合的工作的因素既无效率又不公平。 这项研究还将使人们进一步了解信息和规划如何有助于良好的职业选择。

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.