Occupations play a crucial—yet often overlooked—role in shaping careers. As organizational boundaries become more fluid and careers increasingly involve transitions between employers, or between employment and self-employment, traditional career structures are weakening. In this evolving context, occupational fields—as communities of practice—offer structure and identity for career actors.

This book explores career stories from sports, science, and religion, showing how these fields shape and sustain careers in diverse ways. Drawing on rich empirical material, the authors present an innovative framework explaining the influence of occupational fields on career trajectories. In-depth interviews bring the framework to life, offering vivid examples of careers shaped within distinct occupational contexts.

An important contribution to the sociology of work and careers, this book will be invaluable to scholars and students in career studies, work and employment, human resource management, and organizational sociology.