The Lay of the Land. European Career Research and Its Future

Over the past two decades, career research in Europe has developed into a dynamic discourse of its own. However, few if any considerations deal with its future development. Against the backdrop of the unique European context consisting of specific European macro-themes, its methodological heritage and the current research landscape, this conceptual paper outlines core dimensions of a future agenda for European career research. They include units of analy-sis with varying degree of social complexity, the underlying scientific concern, thematic foci stemming from the European situation, and the role of time. This devises a research space providing orientation for future career research in Europe. Concluding, the article touches on contributions of the European career discourse to its global counterpart.