ABSTRACT
People entered particular occupations in various ways, ranging from orders from the master, to inheritance, to more or less free choice, depending on location and on culturally-informed sorts along the path in by gender, race, ethnicity, and so on. The path into the occupation begins with learning technique, but ends by shaping the practitioner’s identity and social relations to a greater or lesser degree. When the self is greatly changed, or “converted” to the occupation, that may alienate the practitioner from his or her original social milieu. Historians must attend to status contradictions and status dilemmas, in which the practitioner or others perceive a mismatch between the practitioner’s occupation and other social characteristics, as well as to dropouts and retirement: different paths out of the occupation.
