ABSTRACT

The findings revealed in previous chapters show that individuals across countries share common understandings of career dimensions as well as differences. These different concepts across countries can be interpreted and explained from different angles that are not necessarily exclusive. Cultural dimensions including socialization in different contexts shape perceptions of careers. Additionally, formal and informal education and occupational settings shape perceptions and career opportunities that are linked to socio-economic or political status and culture. Besides those factors, age as it pertains to life stage or era plays an important role. This is based on the assumption that careers are socially embedded. Consequently, analyzing careers requires a consideration of context (Mayrhofer, Meyer & Steyrer, 2007). Beyond individual influences such as dispositional differences, various layers of external factors influence the course of careers. These include the context of origin, the context of work, the context of society and culture and the global context.