Failed Careers?

Abstract

While most representations (academic or otherwise) of graduates of elite educational institutions tend to privilege the pursuit of a distinguished career, this article proposes a focus on alumni of France’s “grandes écoles” (prestigious higher education institutions) who have followed a more ordinary career path. Taking the case of former students of the Écoles normales supérieures (grande écoles orientated towards careers in government and academia) of Fontenay, Saint-Cloud, and Lyon teaching secondary education approximately twenty years after finishing their studies, statistical analysis reveals that such careers are relatively rare within the group studied, and are above all pursued by women and individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds. Analysis of interviews carried out reveals that such bifurcations are not automatically seen as a relegation; they are perceived in vastly different ways depending on gender and, in particular, social origin. Finally, we establish a typology of different forms of subjective appropriation of this experience, and of its impact on the professional, political, and family commitments of former students.