This article reports on an empirical case study centering on adult ESL learners' motivational patterns for learning English and its relevance to their career goals. It looks at past patterns of immigrant insertion within the socioeconomic context of the US and explores current trends in adult ESL curriculum development focused on the task of "career readiness." Drawing on Norton-Peirce's (1995, 1997) concept of "investment" in second language learning, research for this study poses the question of curriculum relevance to student aspirations, implicating aspects of learner identity and various modes of belonging. The study contributes to the understanding of ESL learners' positioning vis-à-vis curriculum change while reflecting on the extent of learner autonomy in the face of structural limitations.