Under pressure to become – from a student to entrepreneurial self

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses how entrepreneurial discourse and the idea of the entrepreneurial self are internalised by university students, and how this affects thoughts about the education-work transition, as well as students’ ideas and feelings about their future. The data was gathered through visual and narrative methods, composed of reflection texts attached to pictures and empathy-based-stories written by students about to graduate from BA and MA programmes in the social sciences, humanities, business, and administration at the University of Tampere (Finland) and University of Barcelona (Spain). The data-driven analysis reveals that university students have internalised the entrepreneurial ethos but not uncritically. They question the economy-based, work-oriented entrepreneurial self -discourse. Work and income are no longer trusted as grounds for a good life. Although students wish for steady income from a permanent job, they are very aware of the erratic reality. Consequently, they aspire for a balance between work and life. They emphasise rootedness to a place and physically close social relationships as the resources to cope with the uncertainties in working life and society, and as the most important components for a good life. Perhaps the students are in the process of updating the components for a good life to better match with the current reality.

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurial self
• university graduates
• transition
• working life
• expectations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions [grant number No 691004]. “This article was elaborated in the context of INCASI Network, a European project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie GA No 691004 and coordinated by Dr Pedro López Roldán. This article reflects author's view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.”