Careers in Deviance and Respectability: The Analogy's Limitations

By examining the analogy between deviant and respectable careers, this paper refines the concept of deviant career. Compared to respectable careers, especially occupational careers in formal organizations, deviant careers develop within an ambiguous and unstable structural context. Deviant careers do not move through established sequences of well-defined positions; career pathways do not always lead upward; career progress does not always bring increased rewards and security; and careers involve multiple, short-term involvements. The differences between deviant and respectable careers are consequential for deviants. Mobility is of uncertain direction; deviant careers feature individualized career shifts, rather than standard sequences of positions. Since deviant careers lack institutional supports, career progress requires special tactics to foster security and regularize rewards. This analysis demonstrates that deviance and respectability differ in important respects and the concept of deviant career must be used so as not to ignore these differences.