This book highlights some ways in which the changes that have affected the British economy and education system have also affected young people's career preparation. It is based on data from the 1970 birth cohort at the stage when members were 16 years old. Chapter 2 examines changes in the relationship between social class and educational outcomes at age 16. Chapter 3 explores ways in which young people's attitudes toward school are structured and assesses the extent of attitude change since the previous cohort. Chapter 4 provides an overview of career programs in schools and looks at some ways in which programs have changed over recent years. Chapter 5 studies ways in which young people's occupational aspirations are structured. It assesses the relative contributions of academic performance, school attitudes, family, and labor market characteristics on occupational aspirations. Chapter 6 examines young people's expectations about their likely routes into the labor market, the stage they expect to leave full-time education, and ways in which these expectations are structured by factors such as academic attainment and local opportunity structures. It explores reasons young people gave for wanting to leave education, difficulties they expect to encounter in the search for work, and their impressions about the relationship between education and jobs. Chapter 7 summarizes findings and highlights policy implications. Appendixes describe response rates and weighting. The book includes 45 tables and figures, a 42-item bibliography, and an index. (YLB)