Choice, career choice, and career influence theories.

Background of African American Career Influence

The career development of an individual was greatly influenced by their perception of their educational and opportunity as well as factors that involved sociological factors such as race , social status and culture Studies had focused on barriers such as educational and career goals in relation to the ability and career attainment of people of color (Henry 2006 . Counselors and other intervention programs had already made a point on considering perceived sociological barriers and opportunities in their approaches . African-Americans represented a people of color that was

seen to be underrepresented in numerous professional industries (Henry 2006 . Family issues , the lack of education opportunities and study skills as well as finances were descriptive of the barriers they had encountered in choosing a career path for themselves . Gender discrimination and poverty were the major detriments to attaining professional careers like those in the field of medicine or the academe (Henry 2006

Even African American college graduates found themselves at a disadvantage despite the fact that they have earned a degree (Strayhorn 2008 . Despite the progress they worked for in their educational attainment , the unemployment rate for this population was still seen to be two times that of the White Americans . They earn only up to 58 per cent of what the White families earn (Strayhorn 2008 . In 2001 , the typical African-American households only had the net worth of 19 ,000 compared to the average 121 ,000 that White Americans earned (Strayhorn 2008 . Sociologists were also interested in the relationship of career choice and development because of the impact it had on the inequality and mobility of socioeconomics . Occupation had been such a strong determinant for a person 's status and lifestyle in society (Johnson Mortimer 2002 . A certain extent of the power of occupation was seen to extend o the next generation as young people were seen to follow the same occupations their parents had

Wealth and Occupation : A Social Class and Race Issue

The unequal distribution of wealth according to race was supported throughout American history by its own government programs (Moran Wildman 2007 . Even as the United States had ceased to be a slave nation , the connection of wealth to race still existed . The New Deal was one of those programs that was introduced to provide an economic safety net in the country , while it pulled many Americans from poverty it also excluded agricultural and domestic workers from this benefit as they were considered as occupations [that] served as a `neutral ' proxy for race (Moran Wildman 2007 . The World War II enabled working class whites to have home ownership , again excluding black buyers from the benefits provided by the Federal Housing Administration (Moran Wildman 2007

A look into history would subjugate African Americans into slavery because of the presence of slavery (Dunston et al . 2004 . It also placed them in the other inferior groups ' The superior groups mostly included the whites . Immigration exclusions , social economic status had marginalized the others ' in the economy and somehow...