ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the strategies of the participants as they moved into the labour market. It identifies patterns among the group, in respect of their progress in seeking a 'good job'. The chapter examines the influence of their class backgrounds and their gender upon these processes, and how they mobilised the capitals acquired through their family backgrounds or at university. A more surprising finding was that middle-class students were more likely to end up as drifters. This may partly be because going to university has become a middle-class norm whether or not young people have formed career plans, while for working-class students the motivation for university attendance may be more focused in terms of 'getting a good job', or 'giving something back or 'bettering themselves'. Analysis of the students' destinations also suggests that initial career outcomes for graduates are shaped by gender as well as class.
