Some things never change: Youth and occupational preferences

The purpose of this article is to study patterns of occupational preference s among young people in Norway. What do they consider important when they a re planning their future occupation? Are their preferences the result of ge nder, residence or the education of their father? There are different ways of understanding the formation of individual preferences and values. Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus is a perspective where such preferences are considered to be the products of structural variables such as educational b ackground, geographical background and gender. As an alternative, a perspec tive is presented where the underlying assumption is that such determinants have ceased to function and individual freedom is central. In the second p art of the article, empirical data are used to test the hypotheses posed by these two opposing perspectives. The data are from a survey conducted amon g upper secondary school pupils in Norway. The pupils were asked what they regarded as important and less important when choosing their future occupat ion. The results indicate that, although many pupils embrace post-material values such as self-realization, others think differently. Some of the diff erences may be explained by educational background and gender. This leads t o the conclusion that both perspectives, structural reproduction and indivi dual freedom, are justified when modern society is being discussed.