Career studies: Resources of interdisciplinarity in a sociological perspective

This article discusses the problems of career studies as an emerging research area from an interdisciplinary point of view in approaches and sociological focus of their application to employment studies, labor relations and occupational inequalities. Basing on the review of scholarly literature, certain sets of problems are identified. The current stage is characterized as associated with a new conceptualization of career in current conditions. Forms of interdisciplinary work, diversity of conceptualization and contextual aspects of career are considered. It is shown that the interdisciplinary approach is recognized by a number of researchers as a strategy of this research area in the development of career theory and general analytical concepts, as well as the use of various methods of analysis in empirical research. At the same time, the role of sociology in this area is contradictory: sociological theories are used throughout its formation, but the participation of sociologists is fragmentary. Conclusions are made about the prospects of including methodological developments in sociological research, which meets the needs for expanding approaches to the analysis of processes at various levels. Studies of the interactions of the individual and the social context, which are at the center of this research area, are of interest