Ambitious career goals: Managing the tension between achievement and failure

Social mobility between generations has become an important topic of political discourse in recent years. Numerous potential factors that prevent children from climbing the social ladder faster than their parents have been investigated, including financial resources, the educational system, and genetics. Researchers Dr. Warn Lekfuangfu and Dr. Reto Odermatt of the University of Basel and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid looked into the impact of career aspirations on social mobility and later-life satisfaction. The European Economic Review journal has now published the findings.

Ambitious career goals: Managing the tension between achievement and failure.

Educational and occupational aspirations are significant career success predictors

The study is based on a dataset that continues to gather data on the lives of over 17,000 UK residents who were all born in the same week in 1958. The dataset compiles data on the participant's abilities, their aspirations in their youth, their occupation, and their well-being as an adult, among other things. It also compiles data on each participant's childhood environment, the professional and financial backgrounds of their parents, and their abilities as children.

The authors of the study are therefore aware of not only the participants' early aspirations for their careers, but also their later circumstances and occupations. "This database is unique. We don't have anything like it available in Switzerland. And, although the UK has its own idiosyncrasies, when this data is analyzed, the fundamental findings can also be applied to Switzerland," says Odermatt.

Career success could be predicted by educational and occupational aspirations.

The authors are using this database to research how young people's aspirations affect their later lives. How far did their education progress? What was the actual outcome of their labor market, i.e., what was the most prestigious position they held throughout their working lives? They found that among the most significant general predictors of participants' later success in their education and careers were their educational and career aspirations as teenagers, along with cognitive abilities. This suggests that ambitious career objectives motivate individuals to invest more in their future professional success.

Social inequality already discernible in career aspirations

The opposite is also the case: unambitious career aspirations can be an important explanation for limited social mobility. According to the study, young people with less educated parents do in fact have less aspirational career goals. "This cannot be explained solely by the differences in family income or in participants' abilities. It is more the case that inequality seems to begin early on, with their very aspirations," reasons Odermatt. Therefore, although social inequality would diminish if young people achieved their dreams, it would not vanish entirely.

Parental expectations regarding their children's academic and professional performance have a significant impact on how far a child aspires to go. Therefore, less ambitious career aspirations contribute to the explanation for the lack of social mobility. The economist says they didn't anticipate that parental expectations for their kids would have such a big impact.

The other side of "dreaming big"

Despite the potential benefits of "dreaming big" ambitious objectives can also result in disappointment. According to the data, achieving less than one's youthful aspirations has a negative effect on life satisfaction in early adulthood. But as they get older and start working, these negative effects start to fade. If they actually surpass their goals at that point, there is a positive correlation with wellbeing that is more significant than at a younger age. One of the study's advantages, Odermatt mentioned, is "the fact that we were able to show how teenage aspirations affect life satisfaction much later in life is one of the strengths of the study".

Ambitious goals could lead to disappointments.

The research on the importance of aspirations for success in both school and the workplace presents a chance to lessen social inequality. Political initiatives to boost expectations, particularly for underprivileged kids, may significantly affect those kids' chances of advancing in society.

"That means we shouldn't leave it entirely to parents to influence children's career aspirations; schools can intervene here," Odermatt points out. Teachers could actively inform teenagers about professions that fit their skills. This might inspire them to see farther than their immediate surroundings. After all, as the economist points out, one's environment frequently has a significant impact on how they perceive the world.

Nonetheless, the study's findings suggest that such measures could be a double-edged sword: ambitious career goals can be motivating, but they can also result in disappointment. In light of this, the academic asserts that it is crucial to not merely maximize young people's aspirations, but to optimize them.

Reference:Warn N. Lekfuangfu, Reto Odermatt. All I have to do is dream? The role of aspirations in intergenerational mobility and well-being. European Economic Review, 2022; 148: 104193 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104193