ABSTRACT
The life-career data collected in the Oakland study enable to indicate some of the variations in occupational background which characterize men in the same jobs and hence the degree to which different occupational classes vary in the heterogeneity of their collective work experience. These materials bearing on intra-generational mobility and its significance for analysis of social structure constitute the major contribution of the study. Among nonmanual workers, professionals who spend only 6 per cent of their career in manual occupations are clearly the most stable in terms of this particular indicator, while independent businessmen and lower-white-collar workers are notable for their greater career instability. Nonmanual workers have spent 20 per cent of their occupational careers working with their hands; manual workers have spent 11 per cent of their job histories in nonmanual occupations. Much sociological analysis based on survey data attempts to relate occupational status to opinions, values, and behavior patterns.
