| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the thesis was to investigate which formative and relational life
events that may be particularly important for career decisions. To understand career
choices, the thesis used a life story approach and portrayed how individuals
reflected and found meaning from experiences and events. The sample consisted of
thirteen interviewees, and five categories emerged from the analysis: (1) friends and
acquaintances as inspiration, (2) door openers as the way in, (3) making sense of
luck, (4) revelations along the way, and (5) mastery as propulsion. Moreover, the
thesis noticed how individuals’ sensemaking of particular life events can contribute
to outcomes in career decisions and development. In particular, the findings
revealed that relations have influenced the interviewees’ career decisions, directly
or indirectly. Further, the study revealed that mastery played a critical role in career
development. Lastly, the interviewees’ sensemaking of the life stories included
serendipities and epiphanies at different stages of the narratives. | en_US |
