The Choice of Occupation as a Social Problem

Abstract

The first work on the problem of choice of occupation was a book by N. Rybnikov, Psychology and Choice of Occupation [Psikhologiia i vybor professii], published in 1918. This problem was later studied most intensively within the framework of educational theory and psychology. Sociological research into choice of occupation however, began only in the 1960s. (1) These studies were initiated by V. N. Shubkin in Novosibirsk in 1963. Starting in 1964 the life plans of young people and the way in which they are determined by social factors were studied in detail by sociologists in Sverdlovsk. Later such research began to be done all over the country. Thus today the life plans of young people are being studied in at least forty centers of higher education. Unfortunately, each of these projects is uncoordinated with all the others, and the results remain self-contained, as it were, and do not provide adequate opportunities for drawing generalized conclusions valid for the whole country. It is very important to have such data if these processes are to be scientifically directed on the scale of the country as a whole.