The trade-off between career aspirations and class status: research on the influence of family background on the realization of doctoral graduates’ career aspirations

This paper examines the realization of career aspirations among doctoral graduates from different family backgrounds, using national survey data from Chinese doctoral graduates in 2021. The results reveal that those from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to achieve academic career aspirations but face challenges in realizing non-academic career goals compared to their counterparts from high socioeconomic backgrounds. No matter what career aspirations doctoral graduates have achieved, those from low socioeconomic backgrounds tend to secure employment in small- and medium-sized cities, as well as non-elite academic institutions. This study reveals the significant influence of family background on individuals’ employment decisions at the doctoral level, supporting the Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI) hypothesis of unequal educational attainment among students from different family backgrounds. We believe that a narrow focus on whether graduates secure an academic career, without considering the characteristics of the employment sector or location, could mask inequality in employment among doctoral graduates from different family backgrounds.