Abstract
This study clarified the "ived experience" of autonomous career development by analyzing the life story of the worker who migrated from Japan to the United States based on dialogical constructionism. The worker chose work styles and jobs that fit her circumstances as rational choices and strategies guaranteed by the social context (norms and common sense) in the U.S. and achieved autonomous career development, which means the stability of life and realization of the life she wants. The findings of this study force us to reconsider the measures to achieve autonomous career development in Japan. In other words, to realize autonomous career development in Japan, it is essential not only to support the proactive efforts of individual workers but also to update the social context by deconstructing and reconstructing the norms and common sense of Japanese society.
