Karriereaspirationen, Karriereverlauf und Karriereerfolg

What career aspirations do young adults have and how do their careers evolve? Has all this changed over the years? Has it become harder to actualise one’s career aspirations? To explore these questions, this study analyses data from the Vienna Career Panel Project, a panel study monitoring the careers of four cohorts of business school alumni. The results show that careers are deviating increasingly from traditional pathways and that career aspirations are shaped by economic contexts. Thus, actualising their career aspirations is becoming harder for those who seek the stability offered by ‘organisational’ careers. Furthermore, the study discusses the complex consequences of (not) actualising one’s aspirations on one’s career success and satisfaction.