ABSTRACT
In the United States (US), as adolescents approach the end of their high school years, their thoughts begin to turn toward future goals and aspirations. Occupational aspirations are comprised of more general orientations toward a future job or career. Such orientations are often idealized, in the sense that adolescents envision a particular career as being the best' for themselves. A life-course paradigm has often been utilized as a means of explaining these complex processes. In a similar manner, female adolescents also placed a greater value upon the altruistic rewards of future jobs. In the models of the social characteristics of paid employment, males' desire for work is positively associated with a higher valuation of social rewards. Professional aspirations notwithstanding, several of the other occupational aspiration categories seem to support long-standing gender stereotypes concerning adolescents' preferences for future jobs. Simply, the negative qualities of adolescent jobs may lead teenage females to have lower occupational aspirations for their future careers.
