Working while studying is often perceived detrimental to one’s educational trajectory. Yet in the Netherlands student employment is practiced widespread and employment experience plays a crucial part in students’ lives with regards to shaping their pathways (Keskiner 2016). Majority of Dutch vocational students have work experience during their studies either via their internship or via unrelated paid employment since they allowed to work at the age of 16. This is a crucial period during which the educational and occupational aspirations are formed ( Stam 2016). The aim of this paper is to study how students’ aspirations are shaped in relation to their work experiences. The combination of longitudinal interviews and school ethnography including internship sites provided us insights in how internship experiences of Dutch girls influenced their aspirations. Preliminary results showed that internship experiences appeared to be a significant factor of changing aspirations over time for native white female students enrolled in Dutch vocational education. On the one hand, positive internship experiences resulted in reaffirming one’s educational aspirations and asserting their occupational aspirations which encouraged students to complete their studies. On the other hand negative internship experiences lead students to reconsider/revise their occupational aspirations. In some cases it initiated changing of study programme and in other cases it mounted to a drop out decision from the programme. Hence the paper will not treat the student employment experience as a given but scrutinize its role in the development and changing of students’ aspirations.

Keskiner, E. (2016). Student employment among descendants of Turkish migrants in Amsterdam and Strasbourg, Journal of Education and Work Stam, T. (2016). Reasons and resources: understanding pupils’ aspirations in lower vocational Dutch education, Ethnography and Education