A century ago the process of choosing a career was a much simpler matter than it is today. A boy often followed in his father's footsteps. His sister learned the household skills that (1) ----- her to become a wife and mother. Nowadays young people grow up in a much freer society (2) ----- they enjoy almost unlimited career opportunities. In recent years there (3) ----- an enormous increase in the kinds of vocations from which it is possible to choose. In addition, many of the barriers to career opportunity that existed only a few decades ago, such as (4) ----- based on sex or religion or ethnic origins, are (5) ----- disappearing.