ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the myriad obstacles first-generation students face in making informed career decisions and the particular challenges they encounter as they move from the academy to the workforce. There are a number of barriers that impact the career development and postgraduate trajectory of first-generation students: social capital and residential status, cultural capital and the academy, parental education and involvement, employment and finances, and challenges forming career goals. Parental education and level of involvement in their student's college-going experience and postcollege transition play a significant role in the career success of first-generation college students. Yet, the responsibility to act as a role model or create parental pride may hinder first-generation college students career decision-making capabilities, leading the student to make academic and career decisions not for personal fit but under the influence of their family. Absence of these supports continue to hinder the upward career mobility of first-generation college students postgraduation.
