Mapping Career Paths: A Systematic Review of Research Dynamics, Approaches and Perspectives

Abstract

In a rapidly changing professional landscape marked by digitization, socio-economic transformations, and post-pandemic upheavals, understanding career trajectories has become an interdisciplinary concern. This study presents a systematic bibliometric review of 135 peer-reviewed articles published between 1990 and 2025 and extracted from the Scopus database. Using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, the analysis maps the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and methodological trends in career path research. The results reveal a high concentration of studies in Anglo-Saxon contexts, with a predominance of the education, health, and hospitality sectors. Key populations include students, women, and recent graduates, while seniors, informal workers, and non-Western contexts remain underrepresented. This field is conceptually diverse, structured around protean and borderless career models, and increasingly interested in themes such as sustainability, digital transformation, and gender inequality. Cross-sectional quantitative approaches dominate methodologies, while longitudinal and mixed designs are rare. Thematic mapping reveals four key clusters: sociodemographic factors, professional development, labor market dynamics and identity formation. Citation analysis reveals key contributions to career theory, social capital and organizational support. This review reveals gaps in geographic coverage, theoretical integration and methodological pluralism. It calls for a more inclusive, contextualized and interdisciplinary approach to better understand the complexity of contemporary careers.

1. Introduction

In the professional world, we are witnessing a veritable metamorphosis, driven by a variety of elements (Zeleny 2021). Technological innovations are overturning the way we work, while demographic change is bringing its share of challenges and opportunities (Collins et al. 2020; Lord 2020). In addition, unforeseen events, such as the COVID-19 crisis, have had a profound impact, accelerating trends such as telecommuting and redefining our professional priorities (Johnson 2020; Wang et al. 2022), raising crucial questions about the nature and evolution of career trajectories (Bernela and Bertrand 2018; Ibourk and El Aynaoui 2023; Tuononen et al. 2018). The study of career trajectories, a dynamic field that spans several disciplines (Delicourt and Le Blanc 2019), reflects the complexity and diversity of career paths in the contemporary context (Baruch and Sullivan 2022; Hassan et al. 2022; Taylor and Luckman 2020). Research in this field, which touches on management, psychology, sociology, economics and education (Collin and Patton 2009; Perkins 2000), is crucial to understanding how the trajectories of CEOs, surgeons, politicians, actors, researchers, managers and workers…, develop and evolve. According to (Arthur and Rousseau 1996), a career trajectory is defined as an “evolving sequence of work experiences”, it is influenced by a multitude of factors at different levels and engages various stakeholders (Hassan et al. 2022; Ng et al. 2017; Noh and Moran 2011). The emergence of new theoretical currents, painting pictures of protean careers (Briscoe and Hall 2006) and nomadic careers (Eby et al. 2003; Arthur et al. 2005) illustrate a mutation of career paths and declare a complete break with the traditional intra-organizational model, which assumes linear and deterministic advancement of the individual within the same organization (Savickas 2000). As linear and predictable careers increasingly become a thing of the past (Ghosh et al. 2020; Driver 1985), researchers are called upon to examine how individuals navigate a complex and changing career landscape (Denyer and Rowson 2022; Donald et al. 2024). Within this framework, numerous studies have been conducted to explore and analyze career trajectories, reflecting the diversity and complexity of career paths in the contemporary world (Coen and Vannoni 2016; Ibourk and El Aynaoui 2023; Kim and Choi 2023; Rusko et al. 2019). Despite the accumulation of empirical and theoretical work on career trajectories, the field remains characterized by strong disciplinary and thematic heterogeneity (Baruch and Sullivan 2022). Existing research, while abundant, often focuses on fragmented aspects such as inter-organizational mobility (Coen and Vannoni 2016), individual determinants of career success (Davoine and Schmid 2022) or the impact of economic change on career paths (Ghosh et al. 2020; Rusko et al. 2019). Furthermore, several previous reviews, whether systemic or bibliometric, have limited their scope to specific sub-categories (students, objective success, career intentions), neglecting an overall view of current dynamics (Gong and Jia 2022; Vinkenburg and Weber 2012). This dispersion makes it difficult to identify the field’s structuring axes, emerging themes and persistent theoretical voids. Moreover, the rise in protean and borderless careers (Arthur 2014; Briscoe and Hall 2006) means that traditional analytical frameworks need to be rethought in the light of technological, societal and environmental transformations (Hassan et al. 2022). In this context, a systematic bibliometric review is particularly relevant for mapping major trends, structuring the scientific landscape and highlighting gaps that call for future, more integrated and cross-disciplinary investigations. Faced with this scattering of approaches and rapidly evolving professional environments, it is becoming crucial to produce a rigorous synthesis that provides a clearer picture of the current dynamics of career trajectories. Identifying the dominant lines of research, understanding the links between the variables studied, and revealing fields that have yet to be fully explored are essential not only to consolidate existing theoretical foundations but also to guide future, more integrative investigations.

Considering these profound transformations, this review appears particularly timely and relevant. The current context—marked by technological disruptions, sectoral restructuring, and economic shocks—is fundamentally reshaping professional careers. Faced with a growing fragmentation of studies and the increasing complexity of career trajectories, a systematic bibliometric review offers a critical means of organizing the field, identifying emerging research lines, and guiding future scholarly efforts. By consolidating existing knowledge and highlighting blind spots, this study aims to support a more integrated, contextualized, and interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary career dynamics.

This is the perspective of the present study, which proposes an in-depth systematic bibliometric analysis of the literature on career trajectories, conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines.

The aim is to answer the following questions: What are the main structuring theoretical currents? What population profiles and contexts have been prioritized? Which dimensions remain underexplored and call for new developments?

To answer this question, a selection of 135 articles published between 1990 and 2025 was obtained from the Scopus database and analyzed using the two bibliometric tools, BibliometrixR Studio (version 4.1.2) and VOS viewer. The rest of the article is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the literature review on career trajectories, highlighting the main theoretical frameworks and previous contributions. Section 3 describes the material and methods mobilized for the analysis, including bibliometric tools and document selection criteria. Section 4 illustrates the results of bibliometric analysis. Section 5 provides a critical discussion of the results. Finally, Section 6 concludes the study by formulating the main limitations and prospects for future research.

2. Literature Review

The career trajectory is traditionally envisaged as the sequence of professional experiences that an individual acquires throughout his or her working life, through various positions, responsibilities and learning opportunities (Super 1975). This classic model presupposes an orderly, upward progression, often within the same organization and profession (Levinson 1986; Super 1975). Typically, it translates into a vertical evolution within a hierarchical structure, culminating in higher levels of decision-making power (Hölzle 2010). However, this pattern has been challenged by the emergence of more flexible forms of employment, characterized by inter-organizational mobility and increasing membership of external professional communities (Briscoe and Hall 2006; Arthur et al. 1989). Faced with these changes, many researchers believe that the traditional model is no longer representative of contemporary reality, becoming more the exception than the norm (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). Two major concepts embody this transformation: the “borderless career”, emphasizing physical mobility between different organizations, and the “Protean career”, emphasizing psychological autonomy and the primacy of personal values and choices in career orientation (Arthur and Rousseau 1996; Hall and Mirvis 1995). Gradually, the understanding of trajectories has moved away from the initial linear conception, where advancement in a single organization was synonymous with success, to open up to multidimensional, evolving paths. Early conceptualizations saw the career as a vertical path, with an emphasis on seniority, prestige and hierarchical ascent (Schein 1971; Super 1975). The advent of the borderless career shifted this perspective, valuing inter-organizational flexibility and the expression of a self-determined professional identity (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). Driver (1985) proposed a typology to enrich this vision: beyond linear, stable trajectories, he introduced spiral careers—where new roles require new skills—and transitional careers, marked by frequent changes in function (Driver 1985). This work was extended by Arthur and Rousseau (1996) through the “career pandemonium” model, emphasizing the impact of downsizing, flattening hierarchies and changing generational values on career paths (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). In this vein, Falcoz and Cadin (2001) question the coexistence of traditional and modern models, proposing a detailed typology of trajectories: sedentary, migrant, itinerant, bounded and boundless (Hennequin 2007). This classification highlights the hybridization of trajectories, where individual initiative is combined with the influence of organizational structures. Today, career paths appear highly individualized, shaped by a complex interplay between personal factors (values, ambitions, skills), organizational determinants (corporate culture, development schemes) and contextual variables (economic evolutions, technological transformations, societal changes) (Hassan et al. 2022; Sum and Dimmock 2013; Wang and Luo 2018). In this fluid and uncertain context, the logic of planned linear progression is giving way to pathways marked by unpredictability and adaptability, profoundly redefining the norms of professional success (Davoine and Schmid 2022). It remains to be seen whether these new conceptions of career paths mark a real break with traditional models, or whether they are part of a logic of continuous evolution where past and present coexist and reinvent each other.

3. Materials and Methods

This study is based on a rigorous methodology of systematic literature review, combining quantitative bibliometric analysis with qualitative content assessment. The methodology employed here refers to the set of approaches, tools and criteria used to collect, sort, analyze and interpret a body of scientific literature in relation to career paths. It aims to guarantee the scientific rigor, transparency and reproducibility of the study, while offering a structured and critical reading of the state of research (Omotehinwa 2022; Faruk et al. 2021; Lamhour et al. 2023). Within this framework, the bibliometric approach forms the methodological basis of the analysis. It is defined as the application of quantitative methods to the study of scientific publications in order to identify research trends, influential authors, dominant concepts and under-explored fields (Wei and Jiang 2023). It is particularly relevant for mapping a field such as career trajectories, which is both cross-cutting and multidimensional. A rigorous filtering process was used to refine the corpus. Only articles written in English, published at the final stage, belonging to the “Business, Management and Accounting” or “Social Sciences” fields, and validated by a reading committee, were retained. The choice of English is explained by its predominance in international scientific publications, guaranteeing better comparability and visibility of results. The filter on the final stage of publication ensures that completed and validated work is considered, thus avoiding biases linked to preliminary versions. Targeting the disciplinary fields of “management” and “social sciences” enables us to remain aligned with the research object, while mobilizing theoretical and methodological frameworks relevant to the analysis of career paths. Finally, the selection of peer-reviewed articles guarantees the scientific rigor and reliability of the works included in the corpus. This first automatic sort reduced the number of publications to 140. A second qualitative sorting was carried out manually, based on a reading of the titles and abstracts, in order to assess the real relevance of the selected articles. This critical reading led to the exclusion of texts not dealing directly with career paths or trajectories, resulting in a final corpus of 133 articles. This process was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, ensuring the traceability and transparency of the selection stages, as illustrated by Figure 1, which summarizes the screening and filtering process. The full PRISMA checklist is provided as Supplementary Materials. Several complementary tools, including Bibliometrix (version 4.1.2) and VOSviewer (https://www.vosviewer.com/), were used to extract and analyze the bibliographic corpus. VOSviewer software was used to identify keyword co-occurrence networks and map the semantic fields structuring the domain. The R-Bibliometrix package was used to extract bibliometric indicators such as the temporal distribution of publications, the most prolific authors, the dominant journals and the most cited contributions. Finally, Excel was used as the basis for manual coding of qualitative variables not directly accessible, such as the methodology used in each study, the type of population targeted, the sector of activity, as well as the dependent variables used to study career paths.

4. Results

4.1. Scientific Output

Table 1. General information on the corpus analyzed.

Description	Results
Timespan	1990–2025
Sources (journals, books, etc.)	118
Documents	135
Annual Growth Rate %	5.72%
Document Average Age	7.07
Average citations per doc	12.66
References	6160
Keywords Plus (ID)	268
Author’s Keywords (DE)	485
Authors	357
Authors of single-authored docs	33
Single-authored docs	35
Co-Authors per Doc	2.71
International co-authorships %	20.74%

provides an overview of the bibliometric corpus, comprising 135 articles published between 1990 and 2025, from 118 different scientific sources. The annual growth rate of 5.72% testifies to a growing interest in the career trajectory’s theme, although scientific dissemination remains relatively moderate. The average age of publications, at 7.07 years, suggests a theoretical basis that is both contemporary and rooted in medium-term work. With an average of 12.66 citations per article, the corpus has a reasonable academic impact, testifying to the relevance of the studies selected. The volume of references (6160) also illustrates the theoretical density of the publications analyzed. The 485 keywords provided by the authors (versus 268 generated automatically by the indexing) reveal the lexical diversity and richness of the research angles addressed. In terms of scientific output, the 357 authors listed show a relatively extensive collaboration, although 33 of them have been published alone. The average ratio of 2.71 co-authors per document and the international co-publication rate (20.74%) indicate an openness to collaborative dynamics, albeit still limited by today’s standards in the social sciences. The uniqueness of the type of publication of the articles guarantees methodological homogeneity and a high level of scientific rigor, in line with the inclusion criteria set. Over the entire 1990–2025 period, the average annual number of publications was 3.75 articles, reflecting a gradual but moderate interest in the theme until recent years. However, a significant acceleration in scientific production can be observed from 2013 onwards, with an initial peak of 9 articles, followed by continuous growth until reaching an all-time high of 22 publications in 2024. This dynamic is probably linked to changing professional contexts, the increasing complexity of modern careers and the emergence of new research paradigms in human resources management. Since 2020, average annual output has been over 11 articles per year, almost triple the overall average for the entire period. This phenomenon indicates that career trajectories are a rapidly expanding field, reinforced by recent changes in the workplace linked to the health crisis, the digital transition and sustainability issues. Figure 2 clearly shows this upward trend, marked by an initial phase of low productivity followed by rapid, sustained growth over the last decade. The average number of citations per article remains relatively stable (between 9 and 15 on average), with no direct link to the volume of articles. This suggests that academic interest remains constant even as production increases. Between 2017 and 2025, both volume and citations intensified, indicating consolidation of the field and growing interest in career trajectories.

The results reveal a notable diversity of scientific dissemination channels mobilized in the study of career trajectories, underlining both the interdisciplinarity of the subject and the cross-disciplinary interest it arouses (Figure 3). The Journal of Library Administration, at the top of the ranking with 4 publications, testifies to the attention paid to careers in the information and library sector—a field traditionally concerned with issues of professional development, mobility and skills evolution, particularly in the face of digital transformations. Three other journals, each with 3 articles, confirm the diversity of angles of approach: BMC Medical Education reflects interest in career paths in the medical sector, linked to issues of training, specialization and human resources planning in healthcare. Human Resource Development International, a leading HR management journal, shows that the theme is also well established in strategic human capital management literature. The results reveal a notable diversity in the channels of scientific dissemination mobilized in the study of career trajectories, underlining at the same time the interdisciplinarity of the subject. Lastly, Sustainability (Switzerland) suggests the recent emergence of trajectory analysis from the angle of environmental issues, the sustainability of career paths and changes in skills in a context of ecological transition. In the second row, we find a group of journals with 2 articles each, illustrating the diffusion of the theme in related fields: the Journal of Career Assessment and the Journal of Vocational Behavior are classic references on career and professional development, with roots in work psychology and evaluation. The presence of the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering reflects the growing interest in trajectories differentiated by gender or minority background, while Arts Education Policy Review and Journal of Engineering and Technology Management reflect specific fields where careers are studied in their sectoral complexity. This mapping of sources thus shows that the study of career trajectories is not confined to a single discipline. It crosses sectoral and methodological boundaries, from management science to education, from health to the social sciences, with a growing emphasis on approaches centered on the “career trajectory”.

An analysis of the most cited publications on career paths (

Table 2. Top 10 Most Cited Articles.

Author & Year	Title	Journal	Total Citations	TC per Year	Normalized TC
(Getz and Andersson 2010)	The Event-Tourist Career Trajectory: A Study of High-Involvement Amateur Distance Runners	Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism	100	6.25	1.515
(Vinkenburg and Weber 2006)	Reproducing Toronto’s Design Ecology: Career Paths, Intermediaries, and Local Labor Markets	Economic Geography	87	4.35	2.122
(Hölzle 2010)	Designing and implementing a career path for project managers	International Journal of Project Management	81	5.06	1.227
(Guevara et al. 2016)	The research space: using career paths to predict the evolution of the research output of individuals, institutions, and nations	Scientometrics	79	7.90	1.859
(Coldwell 2017)	Exploring the influence of professional development on teacher careers: A path model approach	Teaching and Teacher Education	67	7.44	3.123
(Heckert et al. 2002)	Gender Differences in Anticipated Salary: Role of Salary Estimates for Others, Job Characteristics, Career Paths, and Job Inputs	Sex Roles	66	2.75	1.073
(Choi et al. 2012)	Moderating effects of supervisor support, monetary rewards, and career paths on the relationship between job burnout and turnover intentions in the context of call centers	Managing Service Quality	65	4.64	3.571
(Tremblay et al. 2002)	Determinants of career path preferences among Canadian engineers	Journal of Engineering and Technology Management	57	2.38	0.927
(Ali et al. 2023)	Moderating Effect of Strategic Planning on the Relationship between Career Path Planning and Job Performance	Sustainability	54	18.00	8.308
(Nebel et al. 1995)	Hotel general manager career paths in the United States	International Journal of Hospitality Management	44	1.42	1.000

) reveals a wide diversity of approaches, contexts studied and methodologies mobilized, reflecting the complexity of a field in constant reconfiguration. At the top of the ranking, Getz and Andersson’s (2010) article, with 100 citations and a ratio of 6.25 citations per year, illustrates the importance of the sector-based approach, here in the field of tourism. He conceptualizes event-based careers and shows how involvement in sporting practices gives rise to measurable trajectories. This sectoral perspective is an important foundation for research into careers in the leisure industries (Getz and Andersson 2010). Next comes Vinkenburg and Weber (2006), whose article in Economic Geography (87 citations, 4.35/year) examines the circulation logics of creative workers within urban markets. It highlights the project-based nature of careers in the cultural industries, the precariousness that characterizes them, and the role of formal and informal intermediation mechanisms in the development of career paths (Vinkenburg and Weber 2006). The article by Hölzle (2010), on the other hand, focuses on project management. The author identifies the key success factors in structuring the careers of project managers, a subject often ignored by human resources. Although aimed at a practitioner audience, this contribution reveals the tensions between the temporality of projects and the continuity of career progression (Hölzle 2010). The work of Guevara et al. (2016) renews methods of analysis by proposing a mapping of scientific trajectories based on individual publication data. His concept of “research space”, more predictive than simple citation networks, illustrates the ability of bibliometric tools to capture academic transitions, which can enrich the analysis of scientific career paths (Guevara et al. 2016). In a more institutional vein, Coldwell (2017) explores the relationship between teachers’ professional development and career progression. Based on a large-scale survey, he constructs an explanatory model highlighting the differentiated effects of continuing training, a major issue in contemporary educational policies (Coldwell 2017). Choi et al.’s (2012) publication is particularly interesting for understanding the psychosocial dimensions of career. The author shows that variables such as supervisor support, financial rewards and career prospects moderate the effects of burnout on departure intentions in call centers (Choi et al. 2012). His article stands out for its high standardized citation ratio (3.57), testifying to its significance in managerial research. In contrast, Heckert et al.’s (2002) article addresses gender pay inequalities. The study reveals differences in salary expectations at career entry and peak, which can only be partially corrected by structural variables, underlining the internalization of gendered norms right from the career projection phase (Heckert et al. 2002). Ali et al.’s (2023) publication, although very recent, already boasts an exceptional citation rate (18/year) and the highest normalization score (8.30). The article shows that strategic planning strongly moderates the relationship between career planning and performance in SMEs. In line with contemporary issues of sustainable development and organizational optimization, this contribution heralds the emergence of a new research front, focused on the strategic alignment of trajectories (Ali et al. 2023). Tremblay et al. (2002), for their part, provide a typology of career preferences among engineers, distinguishing five possible paths: technical, managerial, entrepreneurial, project and hybrid (Tremblay et al. 2002). This approach reveals the impact of individual and experiential factors on career choices, while underlining the predictive limits of models when it comes to mixed preferences. The article that closes the ranking (Nebel et al. 1995) represents one of the first attempts to model careers in the hotel industry. An empirical study of 114 general managers shows that the two operational departments (accommodation and catering) are traditional breeding grounds for management positions. Thus, while the most cited articles vary in terms of method, field and approach, they all converge towards a desire to better understand the plural dynamics of career paths, whether in terms of their individual construction, their organizational structuring or their sectoral anchoring. This diversity of objects, disciplines and angles of analysis testifies both to the richness of the field and to the need to pursue efforts at synthesis to build an integrated reading of career paths. The map (Figure 4) shows a high concentration of publications on career trajectories in developed countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Western Europe), mostly from Western or Anglo-Saxon contexts. Asia (China, India, Japan), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico) and a few countries in the Middle East and South Africa are also present, testifying to the gradual opening of the field. However, many regions remain absent (French-speaking Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe), revealing a geographical imbalance and underlining the need to diversify study contexts to enrich the overall understanding of careers.

An analysis of the most frequently cited references highlights the theoretical foundations structuring research on career trajectories (Figure 5). At the top of the list, the work of Carlo Morselli, although derived from criminology, was mobilized to illustrate the importance of social networks, brokerage positions and relational opportunities in structuring career paths, thus offering a relevant interpretative framework for complex, often non-linear trajectories (Morselli 2001; Morselli 2005). The contributions of Michael Arthur and his collaborators also occupy a central place in the corpus. His work, co-authored with Denise Rousseau on “boundaryless careers” marked a turning point in the conceptualization of modern careers, with its emphasis on inter-organizational mobility, individual autonomy and the de-institutionalization of traditional career paths (Arthur and Rousseau 1996). These ideas are extended by the concept of the Protean career developed by Briscoe and Hall, which emphasizes self-direction, flexibility and loyalty to personal values as organizing principles of the career path, thus redefining the individual’s relationship to his or her career in a world of constant change (Briscoe and Hall 2006). The notion of social capital, introduced by Burt through his theory of brokerage and closure, enriches this approach by showing how relational configurations can facilitate or hinder career opportunities (Burt 2017). This relational perspective is more relevant in work environments marked by the hybridization of roles and the blurring of formal hierarchies. More directly rooted in the hotel industry, Ladkin’s study of Australian hotel managers demonstrates the importance of contextual factors and sectoral logics in the construction of career paths (Ladkin 2002). It highlights career paths marked by geographical mobility, on-the-job training and a strong dependence on organizational dynamics. From a more subjective perspective, Bandura (1977) introduces the concept of self-efficacy, which sheds light on the psychological dimensions of career management, in particular the way in which individual beliefs influence professional decisions (Wray et al. 2022). This concept complements the classic economic theories of Becker, for whom education and training represent strategic investments in human capital (Pyatt and Becker 1966). The tenth-ranked study, by Bailyn (1991) on hybrid careers in R&D, and by Arthur, Khapova and Wilderom on success in a world of borderless careers, highlight the emergence of new models combining flexibility, plurality of career paths, and autonomous identity construction (Bailyn 1991; Arthur et al. 2005).

4.2. Thematic Mapping and Research Dynamics

The thematic cartography generated from the analysis of keyword co-occurrences enables us to examine at a granular level the epistemic dynamics at work in the literature on career trajectories (Figure 6). The arrangement of clusters reveals a polycentric structuring of the field, marked by the coexistence of distinct theoretical traditions, varied terrains and heterogeneous levels of analysis. At the heart of the semantic network, the nodes “career path”, “career paths” and “career trajectory” occupy a central position, both in terms of their frequency and their linking centrality. They act as conceptual hubs around which a nebulous array of approaches gravitates, indicating that work on trajectories does not boil down to a univocal definition, but rather refers to a space of debate where different paradigms confront one another. This centrality also reflects the semantic ambiguity of the term career, which oscillates between institutional continuity and biographical fluidity. The particularly dense red cluster brings together terminology centered on sociodemographic variables (e.g., female, human, young adult, demographics, medical student). It highlights an empirical orientation marked by quantitative, descriptive studies, often based on cross-sectional surveys. The prevalence of this lexical register reveals a tendency to apprehend trajectories from the angle of individual determinants, with a pronounced interest in gendered differences, early career choices and specific social configurations (notably in the medical professions or university systems). This pole illustrates a positive and explanatory tradition, focused on correlations between personal traits and career orientations, sometimes to the detriment of a more critical problematization of structural determinants. In contrast, the green cluster articulates notions such as decision making, employment, income, autonomy and the labor market. It reflects an attempt to reconcile individual rationality with institutional embedding. This subset draws on perspectives from organizational psychology (e.g., career decision-making, professional development) and labor economics, while integrating more contemporary concerns linked to autonomy, recognition and the subjective construction of meaning at work. It reflects a paradigmatic shift towards integrative models in which trajectory is perceived as a reflexive and dynamic process, influenced by ongoing trade-offs between external constraints and personal values. The blue cluster, structured around higher education, tourism, hotel industry and competencies, marks a sectoral shift in literature. It indicates a desire to territorialize trajectories by recontextualizing them in specific industries, often marked by high levels of instability or cross-disciplinary competency logics. The inclusion of terms such as “gender differences” or “career management” also reveals a growing focus on mechanisms of inequality and HR instruments for regulating career paths. This cluster lies at the interface between the fields of human resources management, sociology of education and vocational training, reflecting the growing interest in employment-training transitions. Finally, the violet cluster, although more restricted, deploys a strong conceptual coherence around the notion of the contemporary career. The terms boundaryless career, millennials, supervisor support and academic libraries refer to a critical literature inspired by the paradigms of the boundaryless career (Arthur and Rousseau 1996) and the Protean career (Briscoe and Hall 2006). This pole underlines the changing relationship to work among new generations, the breakdown of traditional organizational frameworks, and the emergence of non-linear, self-referential trajectories marked by the quest for identity alignment. It also reflects the rise in studies concerned with the hybridization of professional roles, the fluidity of statuses and the porosity of boundaries between professional, academic and personal spheres. This mapping does more than simply map the dominant themes; it makes visible a field in tension between the normative legacies of bottom-up careers, structural approaches centered on human capital, and critical approaches emphasizing reflexivity, hybridization and uncertainty. It invites us to rethink trajectories not as simple timelines, but as dynamic configurations, embedded in regimes of justification, institutional regulations and power relations. It is in this complexity that the analytical richness of the field lies, and the fruitful perspectives for future work.

The thematic analysis (Figure 7) provided by Bibliometrix offers a valuable mapping of the conceptual dynamics structuring the field of career paths. This map, organized along the axes of centrality (relevance to the field) and density (degree of development of the theme), classifies themes into four categories: driving, basic, niche and emerging or declining. In the upper right quadrant, corresponding to the driving themes, we find the dominant cluster “human—female—male”. This polarization around socio-demographic characteristics testifies to researchers’ sustained interest in individual determinants, particularly gender issues, in understanding career trajectories. Their high density and centrality indicate a solid theoretical foundation and cross-cutting integration in recent empirical work. Bottom right, basic themes group together notions such as “employment”, “professional aspects” and “leadership”. Their high centrality reflects their structuring role in career analysis, although they still suffer from a lack of in-depth development. This suggests that these themes, while essential, require renewed theorizing efforts and better articulation with contemporary currents, such as those linked to flexibility, employability or the sustainability of career paths. Niche themes, positioned at top left, focus on specific fields or objects such as the “construction industry”, ‘diversity’ or “occupation”. Their high degree of density attests to rigorous theoretical and empirical treatment, but their low centrality signals a relative marginality in the overall debate on trajectories. These are specialized contributions that would benefit from being better integrated into the dominant theoretical frameworks. Finally, in the bottom left-hand quadrant, we find emerging or declining themes such as “trajectories—engineers—Turkey”. These themes, still weakly connected to the heart of the field, may either reflect a gradual obsolescence or, on the contrary, embody the beginnings of new directions. Their scientific future will depend on their ability to link up with cross-cutting issues such as mobility, sectoral adaptation and technological challenges. Moreover, intermediate areas, such as the “project management—project managers—managers” cluster, suggest the emergence of new hybrid sub-fields, combining issues of organizational management and career development. Similarly, the “labor market” and “labor mobility” themes appear to be on the rise, echoing the growing instability of job markets and the reconfiguration of career paths. This thematic mapping highlights the structuring of a field that is rich, diversified and in tension between the consolidation of hard cores (employment, gender, leadership) and the exploration of marginal or emerging territories. It opens fruitful perspectives for reinterpreting career paths in the light of contemporary changes in the workplace, with greater integration of the intersections between individuals, organizations and socio-economic contexts.

4.3. Empirical Configurations and Blind Spots

4.3.1. Research Areas

A closer look at the abstracts of the 135 articles in our corpus reveals a strong concentration of research on certain professional branches, with a clear predominance of the education, health and, to a lesser extent, hotel and tourism sectors. The education sector is by far the most frequently studied field, appearing in 76 articles. It is approached mainly through the issues of professional development, career progression, teacher retention and the evaluation of in-service training schemes. This central position reflects both the strategic importance of this sector and the wealth of data it offers in often well-documented national contexts. The healthcare sector, for its part, is present in 13 articles, with particular attention paid to the trajectories of nurses, doctors and mental health professionals, in relation to issues of overload, mobility and attrition. The hotel industry, although essential to economic dynamics and renowned for its high staff turnover, is only addressed in 7 contributions, while tourism appears in only 4 cases. This indicates a lack of academic coverage of these sectors, despite their specific nature and vulnerability to economic and environmental change. Regarding the populations studied, the analysis reveals a strong focus on students and recent graduates, who were the subject of 29 and 33 studies, respectively. These groups are often targeted to explore the determinants of career orientation, initial aspirations, entry shocks, and early career decision-making. This sustained attention reflects growing concern for the early stages of career development, particularly in an era marked by more uncertain and fragmented labor markets. Women also represent a recurring group, with 32 articles dedicated to the gendered analysis of career paths. These studies address issues such as discrimination, the glass ceiling, work–life balance conflicts, and the specificities of trajectories in gendered sectors. Conversely, some categories remain underexplored, such as older workers, informal laborers, or the self-employed. This focus bias highlights the need to broaden the scope of empirical studies to better capture the complexity and diversity of career trajectories, notably by incorporating non-Western contexts and more atypical forms of employment.

4.3.2. Methodological Approaches

A detailed analysis of the corpus reveals a marked predominance of quantitative approaches in the study of career trajectories. A significant majority of articles rely on cross-sectional surveys based on standardized questionnaires, allowing for robust statistical modeling of relationships between variables (e.g., Muthuswamy 2023; Ali et al. 2023). These studies often use linear regressions, structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM, SEM), or exploratory factor analyses to test the impact of individual or organizational variables on outcomes such as satisfaction, performance, or turnover. For instance, Choi et al. (2012) employ SEM to examine the moderating role of supervisor support, rewards, and career opportunities in the relationship between burnout and turnover intention among call center employees (Choi et al. 2012). However, such approaches struggle to capture longitudinal dynamics. As noted by Coldwell (2017) and Heckert et al. (2002), only longitudinal designs enable the tracking of bifurcations, exploration phases, and long-term stabilizations. Their scarcity—less than 10% of the corpus—is likely due to the logistical constraints they impose: fixed samples, repeated data collection, and specific processing (Coldwell 2017; Heckert et al. 2002). Yet Vinkenburg and Weber’s (2006) longitudinal study of designers’ career paths in Toronto illustrates the richness of this approach in analyzing professional mobility and its territorial determinants. Sequence analysis also remains marginal, despite its great potential for identifying typical trajectory models (Vinkenburg and Weber 2006). This method models career paths as sequences of states (jobs, transitions, training) and extracts structural regularities. Bartel (2021), for example, applies this method in the consulting sector, revealing differences in trajectories between junior and senior consultants (Bartel 2021). More recently, Boškoski et al. (2024) introduced a modeling of transitions using bipartite graphs, combining network theory and sequence analysis (Boškoski et al. 2024). A few studies also use Optimal Matching Analysis, a technique for comparing and classifying individual sequences (e.g., Nebel et al. 1995; Araújo and Salerno 2021; Flöthmann and Hoberg 2017)). Qualitative methods are also underrepresented, despite their importance for capturing the subjective logic behind career choices. Narrative, biographical, or ethnographic approaches (e.g., Konyali 2017; Hölzle 2010; Hesse 2015) allow access to how individuals construct meaning around transitions and professional identities. Some studies, such as (Guevara et al. 2016), adopt a mixed-method design, combining statistical analyses and in-depth interviews to explore gender-related barriers to accessing leadership positions in education. While rare, such integrative and reflexive approaches pave the way for methodological innovation. Although quantification remains dominant, a more nuanced and dynamic understanding of career trajectories would benefit from longitudinal, sequential, and qualitative methods, which are uniquely suited to capture the temporalities, bifurcations, and subjective logics that shape professional journeys. This observation calls for a methodological enrichment of the field, one that is more sensitive to the complexity of contemporary career experiences.

4.3.3. Key Variables

An in-depth analysis of the corpus highlights significant heterogeneity in the variables used to explore career trajectories, reflecting the inherent complexity of this field of study. The frequent occurrence of terms such as career, path, trajectories, students, gender, and management in abstracts and keywords illustrates both the conceptual richness and the diversity of analytical lenses adopted by researchers. These variables primarily fall into three major analytical categories: individual factors, organizational dimensions, and contextual influences. At the individual level, several studies (e.g., Choi et al. 2012; Heckert et al. 2002; Coldwell 2017; Ali et al. 2023) emphasize the decisive influence of characteristics such as gender, education level, motivation, human capital, and interpersonal skills. For instance, Tremblay et al. (2002) highlights how personal preferences shape the professional paths of engineers (Tremblay et al. 2002). These individual variables are often linked to psychological factors like self-efficacy, openness to change, or resilience, which influence how individuals experience professional transitions (Crawford et al. 2013; Gasiukova 2022). In addition, sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, and social background continue to structure inequalities in access to career opportunities, as noted by (Gubler et al. 2017; Kim and Choi 2023).On the organizational side, hierarchical structures, internal support mechanisms (mobility, mentorship, career planning), and managerial culture play a decisive role in shaping career paths. Hölzle (2010) shows how some companies design specific routes for project managers(Hölzle 2010), while Vinkenburg and Weber (2006) illustrates the impact of sectoral dynamics and inter-organizational logics on professional mobility (Vinkenburg and Weber 2006). Other works, such as those by Muthuswamy (2023) and Ng and Feldman (2014), underscore the influence of corporate culture in encouraging or limiting career development (Muthuswamy 2023; Ng and Feldman 2014). Support mechanisms such as training programs and recognition policies are also crucial in aligning individual aspirations with institutional logic (Wang and Luo 2018).Finally, contextual factors often serve as a structuring framework, though they are sometimes underestimated. Macroeconomic conditions, technological advancements, and social change act as either levers or constraints in shaping careers. Getz and Andersson (2010), for example, analyzes how engagement in sports events creates hybrid trajectories that combine leisure, personal commitment, and profession (Getz and Andersson 2010). Reitzle et al. (2009) and Gasiukova (2022) demonstrate that labor market transformations combined with accelerated technological change make career paths more discontinuous, less predictable, and increasingly individualized (Reitzle et al. 2009; Gasiukova 2022). Additionally, broader trends such as the quest for work–life balance, the desire for meaningful work, and commitments to sustainability are reshaping career frameworks (Hassan et al. 2022). Overall, these findings confirm that career trajectories cannot be understood in isolation from personal aspirations, organizational configurations, and broader systemic dynamics. This threefold foundation reinforces the relevance of integrative approaches that are sensitive to contextual diversity and the plurality of lived experiences.

5. Discussion

Considering profound transformations in the world of work, accelerated by health crises, digitalization, and social change, scientific interest in career trajectories has grown significantly. This study is based on a rigorous descriptive and bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed publications aimed at mapping the research landscape on professional trajectories. The objective was to identify dominant trends, preferred methodologies, key thematic clusters, the most influential contributions, as well as the most active journals and institutions. The analysis was conducted on a corpus of 135 articles, selected following PRISMA diagram criteria, and used several tools (VOSviewer, Bibliometrix) to visualize co-occurrence networks, collaboration dynamics, and thematic clusters. The annual evolution of publications shows steady growth since the 2000s, with a significant peak in 2024. This trajectory underscores the relevance of the topic, closely tied to contemporary concerns about flexibility, professional autonomy, and career sustainability. Moreover, 50 articles in the corpus are open access, representing around 37% of the total. This high proportion signals a growing openness in the field to broaden scientific dissemination and increasing interest in knowledge sharing around career-related issues. It may also reflect a rise in dedicated funding for research on professional development. However, the findings reveal a low density of international scientific collaboration. Most authors publish independently or within small, localized groups, with limited transnational cooperation. The strongest connections are observed among researchers from North America, Western Europe, and Asia, while Global South countries remain underrepresented. This fragmented network highlights the need to strengthen interinstitutional partnerships to enrich comparative perspectives and better capture the diversity of professional contexts. Regarding journals, the Journal of Career Assessment and Human Resource Development International is among the most prolific, while Sustainability (Switzerland) stands out for its increasing volume of publications on sustainable careers. The most cited articles explore diverse dimensions: career management in project-based settings (Hölzle 2010), talent circulation in urban creative labor markets (Vinkenburg and Weber 2006), and the impact of strategic planning on SME performance (Ali et al. 2023). These studies anchor the field in an articulation between individual, organizational, and environmental factors. Thematic mapping reveals three main research poles: career trajectories in health and education sectors; management of career transitions; and inequalities in access based on gender or social class. Despite this richness, some dimensions remain underexplored, such as ecological transitions, careers in the informal economy, and the impact of artificial intelligence on professional paths (76). Methodologically, quantitative approaches dominate, with a strong prevalence of cross-sectional studies based on regression or structural equation models. Longitudinal designs, sequence analysis, and mixed methods remain marginal, despite their relevance for understanding complex, non-linear, and evolving trajectories. This gap suggests an unmet methodological need, despite a few emerging innovative studies. This study offers a structured overview of scientific production on career trajectories and reveals contrasting dynamics: a growing volume of output yet limited methodological or disciplinary openness; a rising interest in sustainable careers, but continued underrepresentation of non-Western contexts. It calls for broader diversification of research settings, target populations, and analytical tools to better capture the complexity of career pathways in an era of multiple transitions.

These results reflect the current structure of scientific production and career trajectories. They also raise important questions for employment research and policy. Although this review is based on bibliometric methods, the findings are directly relevant to labor market research. As a meta-research approach, bibliometric analysis can provide strategic insights into how to shape future empirical agendas and identify research blind spots across disciplines.

The absence of certain population groups and contexts, such as informal workers, seniors and non-Western economies, within the reviewed literature, reflects broader structural blind spots in academic discourse on employment. These omissions highlight the need for labor researchers and policymakers to expand their empirical focus and prioritize more inclusive and representative studies. In this sense, bibliometric analysis not only maps scientific production but also reveals critical gaps that reflect inequalities in labor market visibility and access.

These insights emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and more globally inclusive frameworks to improve our understanding of how career pathways evolve.

6. Conclusions

This bibliometric study offers a rigorous and structured overview of the scientific literature dedicated to career trajectories over the past three decades. It highlights a growing academic output, a predominance of quantitative approaches focused on individual and organizational variables, and a geographic concentration of research within Anglo-Saxon and Western contexts. The findings also emphasize the increasing importance of issues such as gender, performance, talent management, and work–life balance, while noting a recent surge of interest in sustainable careers and the impact of crises (such as COVID-19) on professional trajectories. However, this study has certain limitations. First, the exclusive reliance on the Scopus database may restrict coverage of relevant publications indexed elsewhere (e.g., Web of Science, Google Scholar). Second, although the qualitative analysis of abstracts enabled detailed coding of studied variables, the absence of full-text reading limits the depth of interpretation regarding the theoretical frameworks employed. Furthermore, the methodology did not allow exploration of researchers’ subjective representations, nor did it capture the field’s evolutionary dynamics through interviews or secondary qualitative analyses. In terms of future research, several avenues deserve further exploration. On the one hand, it would be relevant to expand the study settings to underrepresented contexts, particularly in the Global South, emerging economies, and informal sectors, to develop a more comprehensive and equitable understanding of career trajectories. On the other hand, incorporating ecological dimensions, social justice, or artificial intelligence into career models constitutes an underexplored but crucial area amid current global transitions. Finally, the development of mixed methods, longitudinal studies, and multi-level frameworks appears essential for better grasping the complexity, temporality, and subjectivity of contemporary career paths. Thus, this review provides a solid foundation for rethinking the theoretical frameworks, empirical settings, and analytical tools used in the study of career trajectories—toward a more inclusive, dynamic, and cross-disciplinary perspective.

In addition to its academic contributions, this review offers practical insights for stakeholders involved in career development and labor policy. Educators can use the identified research trends to align training programs with evolving career models and sector-specific needs. Career advisors may benefit from the synthesized knowledge to support diverse populations, particularly those who are underrepresented in literature, such as seniors, informal workers, and professionals in the Global South. Policymakers and institutional leaders are invited to invest in inclusive, context-sensitive career strategies that reflect the shifting nature of work and mobility in a post-pandemic, digitized world.

Moreover, the absence or marginal presence of certain populations and contexts in the reviewed literature reflects broader structural blind spots in how career paths are studied and represented. These gaps affect not only the visibility of these groups in scientific discourse but also the quality of evidence available for policy design and workforce planning. By identifying these imbalances, this bibliometric study contributes to ongoing debates about inclusivity, equity, and the global relevance of labor-related research. It offers not only a conceptual map of the field but also a strategic resource for researchers and decision-makers committed to shaping more inclusive and forward-looking career research agendas.

7. Limitations

This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the exclusive reliance on the Scopus database may introduce a geographical coverage bias, particularly in regions where journal indexation has expanded only recently, such as Central and Eastern Europe or parts of the Global South. As a result, locally published or non-English research outputs may be underrepresented.

Second, the analysis was based on bibliographic metadata and abstracts, which limits the depth of interpretation regarding the theoretical frameworks and conceptual nuances developed in full-text articles. In addition, the bibliometric approach does not capture researchers’ subjective interpretations or the dynamic processes underlying career trajectories, which could be explored through qualitative or mixed methods designs. Finally, while bibliometric analysis is effective for mapping research landscapes and identifying structural trends, it does not aim to produce empirical evidence on labor market outcomes. These limitations nevertheless open important avenues for future research using multi-database, longitudinal, and interdisciplinary approaches.