Authors

• Mary, Aurelie (University of Tampere. Department of Sociology and Social Psychology)

Keywords

educational background, employment, family life, generation gap, generations (age), hobbies, life styles, standard of living, students, undergraduates, women's employment, youth employment

Abstract

This interview data is a comparative analysis on young adults' social and economic situation in Finland and France. The research concentrates on young people in their twenties, experiencing transition from university to working life.

In the first part of the interview the research subjects were asked about their education e.g. what they were studying, how far along were the studies, why they had decided whatever they were studying, how educated was the rest of their family and what they thought of the Finnish university system. The next set of questions were about employment, for example what kind of work they wanted to do, what kind of working experience they had, how they see the job market and working life and how they feel about entering working life. After this the subjects were asked about their living arrangements, where they lived, how they financed their living and whether they wished to own their own houses at some point. The next questions were about family, whether the interviewees placed more stress on family or their careers, if they wanted to marry and/or have children and how they would manage to balance a career and the role of motherhood. The last set of questions was about the transition from youth to adulthood. The interviewees were asked about their conceptions of adulthood, how the transition from university to the working world will be for them and whether they were happy with their life in general.

The second part of the interview was done with the same themes and questions as the first, only this time the interviewees were asked to answer the questions with the regard on their friends and close relations.

The third part of the interview was done with the same themes and questions as the first and second, this time the interviewees were asked to answer the questions from their own perspectives on their parents at the same age.

In the last part of the interview the interviewees were asked to describe their future situations, whether they felt that being a woman was a hindrance or an aid in the transition to working/adult life and whether they viewed their generation as unique or special.