of occupation in which to work but also involve accompanying deci-
sions about education and training and, later, where, how much, and
when to work. All of these decisions may be shaped by one’s other
roles, including spouse (or partner) and parent. Most sociology of
work-family connections has focused on the way in which work influ-
ences family life (Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2000). Some
attention, however, has been directed toward the way careers are
shaped by what sociologists call the family of destination (to distin-
guish it from the family of origin)—a subject to which we now turn.
To be sure, men’s traditional responsibility to provide economi-
cally for a wife and children influences their work lives. Yet in many
ways, women’s careers are affected even more by their family roles.
But contrary to what is popularly believed, there is no convincing
evidence that women choose their occupations to facilitate their
roles as mothers (Rosenfeld & Spenner, 1992). Men’s jobs have
more flexible schedules and more benefits like unsupervised breaks,
paid sick leave, and vacation, making them more “parent friendly”
(Glass, 1990). Budig and England (2001) report that mothers are no
more likely than non-mothers to be in female-dominated jobs and
conclude that “there is no evidence that women select female jobs
because they are more mother-friendly” (p. 216). In recent times,
without housewives to attend to household management and care of
children, fathers as well as mothers are increasingly experiencing
tension between work and family roles (Gerson, 1993). So although
much of sociological research on work-family connections focuses
on women, men’s careers are increasingly influenced in important
ways by their family involvement.
Adolescents’ aspirations and other orientations toward the
future reflect some awareness of how career and family life influence
one another. In a variety of ways, those young people with high am-
bitions expect to coordinate the timing of their family formation
with their career investments. In a recent study of high school
seniors, Johnson and Mortimer (2000) found that adolescents who
expect to marry at older ages (compared to their peers) anticipate
less interference between their family and work roles. The pursuit
A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 61