Laura Eberlein is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on school-to-work transitions, career dynamics, and labour market inequalities. In her dissertation, she examines early career trajectories, exploring the factors that contribute to differences in employment quality during the initial years of working life.

The first years after finishing school or university can shape a person’s entire career. A smooth entry into the labour market not only supports young people’s independence and future opportunities, but also helps prevent long-term social inequality. Yet many young people in Europe face challenges during this period—such as unemployment, insecure contracts, or low wages. Laura’s project aims to uncover the factors that shape early career paths and explain why some young people achieve secure, high-quality jobs while others face more unstable trajectories. At the heart of her research lies the question: How can differences in employment quality during the early years of working life be explained, and what factors support a successful transition from education to employment? Rather than focusing on individual job changes, she takes a broader view by combining contract type, earnings, working hours, and job stability into an overall measure of employment quality. This allows her to identify typical career patterns and examine how they evolve over time. She also investigates the role of early experiences—such as side jobs during higher education or starting out in temporary work—and how these shape long-term opportunities. Ultimately, her research aims to provide insights into how we can improve young people’s job prospects and reduce inequalities in the labour market.

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