fluence on their occupational preferences. More can be done to de-
velop internships and work-school cooperative programs that might
involve workplace visits or job shadowing, for example. Through
such programs, youth are exposed to the possibilities of working in
particular kinds of settings; they can learn about the requirements
to fill certain kinds of jobs and do particular types of tasks (see also
Hamilton & Hamilton, 2000).
Guidance and career counselors can assist individuals in
disadvantaged positions with navigating career paths and
facing common barriers to achieving their educational and
occupational goals.Individuals face many structural barriers in pursuing their
occupational goals, some of which we have described in this chap-
ter; some are related to students’ race or ethnicity, class back-
ground, and gender. Although labor market structures are not
under the immediate control of career counselors, assistance can
be provided, for example, in terms of (1) identifying sources of
financial aid for education and job training and helping clients
with application materials and procedures, (2) discussing and
rehearsing a range of job-searching strategies, and (3) encourag-
ing the accumulation of meaningful skills and credentials, includ-
ing the completion of high school and potentially postsecondary
certificates or degrees.
The sociological perspective on career choice and development
becomes increasingly necessary as a vehicle for understanding the
diverse societal, institutional, and microcontextual environments
of the modern world that influence these processes, the mechanisms
of both intergenerational and intragenerational mobility, and the
determinants of adult socioeconomic well-being. It is also necessary
to inform social policies that will enable people to make satisfying
occupational choices and to obtain fulfilling occupational careers
that will extend throughout the lives.
A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 69