Rational

 

Current “dream jobs” among young people are no more necessarily about prestigious activities ratified by higher education, such as physician, lawyer, engineer or architect, for example. In the present context of disbelief in that obtaining a degree would fulfill dreams of high income, social status and employment stability, academic promises of employability compete with promises mediated by other, more informal, social contexts such as youth cultures and celebrity cultures.

 

In fact, activities developed within the spheres of peer groups, family, leisure and consumption have integrated the professional expectations and choices of a growing part of young people, promoting their foray into new educational and labor territories that need further in-depth knowledge. It is the case of areas as electronic music, fashion, football or cuisine, for example, cases studies addressed by the research project Making dream jobs come true: transitions to new attractive professional worlds to young people.

 

The research project Making dream jobs come true: transitions to new attractive professional worlds to young people was funded by Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CS-SOC/122727/2010), and was developed between March 2012 and October 2015 at the Institute of Social Sciences - University of Lisbon, under the scientific coordination of Vitor Sérgio Ferreira, PhD.

 

 

 

Objectives

 

The main objective of the research project Making dream jobs come true: transitions to new attractive professional worlds to young people is to better understand the aspirations, choices, projects and trajectories of transition to labor market held by young Portuguese people regarding to become a DJ, model, football player or a chef, occupations currently quite attractive among new generations.

 

These activities have been going through broad processes of social and symbolic reconfiguration, attracting young people with new social profiles and acquiring an unprecedented prestigious rate on the market of professions. Until recently a football player or a chef were modest professions and DJ or model were not promising jobs. But today these occupations have become part of the labor aspirations, projects and trajectories of more and more youngsters.

 

 

Research questions

 

Understanding “how” and “why” occupations like DJ, model, football player and chef have been establishing in the professional horizons of the younger generations as “new dream jobs” was the main purpose of the research project Making dream jobs come true: transitions to new attractive professional worlds to young people.

 

The following questions were at the starting point of the research project:

 

1. What are the meanings and values attributed to these activities by the youngsters that aim to become professionals?

2. What is the role of these meanings in the construction of youth identities, namely social and professional identities?

3. How are designed the transition to work pathways in each one of these occupations?

4. What are the impacts – real or expected – of choosing one of these occupations to young people’s processes of transitioning to adulthood?

 

 

Analytical dimensions

 

In trying to find answers to these questions, the research project design was developed following the next analytical dimensions:

 

1. Dream production pathways: how these occupations are idealized; what meanings, experiences and social contexts are decisive and contribute to make these occupations attractive; what are the social and symbolic conditions in which the “dreams” , aspirations and expectations about these activities are constructed;

2. Dream accomplishment pathways: what social circumstances contribute to the transformation of “dreams”, aspirations and expectations into professional projects; what strategies, capitals, competences and resources (social, cultural and material resources) are mobilized to that process; when choosing one of these occupations, what kind of support, negotiation, compromise or conflicts do young people have to deal with in several spheres of their lives (family, school, peer groups, etc.);

3. Dream professionalization pathways: social aspects that contribute to the integration of young people in these labor market areas; what strategies, capitals and resources are mobilized for that purpose; identifying and understanding possible differences between the “dream” – its aspirations and expectations – and the reality of professional performance.