Occupational careers in a spatial context

In this paper, the focus is on the effect the respective spatial context might have on a person's career. An attempt is made to estimate the extent of spatial disparities as to formal education, the very first job in someone's working life and his or her ensuing career. The analysis is based on more than 3000 standardised biographies collected in 1996. On the one hand it proved the linking of biographical events: a specific type of formal education is a sort of gateway to specific types of initial jobs that eventually open up specific careers, and on the of her hand it documented the disadvantages of people living in rural al eas. There the level of education tends to be below average, the spectrum of jobs available for novices appears to be reduced, and careers are to be seen as adaptations to the cut-back in agriculture and deindustrialisation that do not offer any chance for occupational advancement. The statistical analysis tests the extent of an influence of the spatial context and compares it to that of other attributes.