The present study examines the five principles of the life course perspective—life span development, time and place, agency, timing, and linked lives—and their interplay on the experiences of 26 emerging adults (11 males and 15 females) during their transition from college completion into the STEM labor force in Spain. Findings derived from the in-depth interviews focus on the multilevel challenges these young people face and the set of strategies they develop to overcome them. From a gender perspective, the challenges reveal the structural inequalities (many associated with existing gender stereotypes) that women encounter throughout their educational and professional trajectory. The research also identifies how these women and men display agentic features (at a micro-level) and mobilize different types of networks (at a meso-level) to overcome this adverse structural context, especially, during the economic post-crisis in Spain.

本研究考察了生命历程视角的五项原则——生命周期发展、时间和地点、代理、时间和相互关联的生活——以及它们对 26 名新兴成年人（11 名男性和 15 名女性）在从大学完成后进入西班牙的 STEM 劳动力队伍。深入访谈的结果集中在这些年轻人面临的多层次挑战以及他们为克服这些挑战而制定的一套策略上。从性别角度来看，这些挑战揭示了女性在整个教育和职业轨迹中遇到的结构性不平等（许多与现有的性别刻板印象有关）。