NAVIGATING STRUCTURES, COPING WITH RISK: A STUDY ON THE CAREER CHOICE-MAKING OF YOUTHS IN TECH JOBS

Abstract

Studies on risk and work have established that employment insecurity is a characteristic of working experience today. Debates continue over whether there is more risk or more opportunity, and for whom. Yet these debates have left career study works, primarily focused on the structure-agency debate, untouched. This paper seeks to fill this gap by investigating the career choices that lead 9 Singaporean youths (21-30 years old) to tech jobs, which epitomise the high risk, high opportunity employment environment today. We find structures of state and media support participants’ perception that they are self-motivated and autonomous in choosing tech jobs. However, this opportunity to choose is balanced by the high risk of failing to maintain, or secure, a tech job. In spite of the structural origins of job risk, youths take on individualised responsibility to manage risk impact, costing these youths efforts and energies, as well as aspirations.