Goals, Constraints and Occupational Choice: The First Twelve Months in the Belfast Labour Market

A central assumption of occupational-choice theory—that young people enter the labour market with initially unrealistic occupational goals which are eventually modified by their subsequent experience of the market, changing from less to more realistic—is critically examined on the basis of data deriving from detailed interviews with 34 school-leavers between May 1978 and June 1979. Two conclusions emerge. Firstly, when one examines the occupational knowledge and experience of the working class and their own perceptions of the careers of their peers and elders, there is no reason why their goals should be described as 'unrealistic'. Secondly, although the time-scale of the data is limited, there is evidence that some school-leavers may eventually adjust their occupational horizons downwards. Equally important, however, is the evidence that some school-leavers may refuse to do this.