Intergenerational family relations and career choice of young people in Indonesia

This paper takes up the key session theme of generations and intergenerational relationships to explore how career choices of young middle class Indonesians are largely developed within families, rather than being made by young people as isolated individuals. Not only do the majority of high school students intend to follow the career field of a parent, but young people intending to work on international cruise ships organise their decision-making in terms of future family prosperity. The examples illustrate that there are many cultures in the world where the process of individualisation is either not as far advanced as it is in western countries, or is taking a different form. In non-western cultures where collective values remain highly salient career choice represents not so much an individual aspiration, but the outcome of intergenerational negotiations between the young person and family/kin members. Autonomy and independence from family of origin are not necessarily key markers of adulthood in the developing world. In Indonesia, household sustainability, supporting the education of younger siblings, home renovations, and the health care of older family members, may all depend on the flow of income from younger family members, thus influencing them towards certain career choices. While this might be viewed by some as restrictive, if we accept Beck’s argument that many of the risks, costs and responsibilities for a young person’s journey through life have in principle been devolved to individuals, then, as Johanna Wyn argues, families and the resources they offer have never been so important for young people in making decisions about the future.