Nineteen academics talking about their entry to teaching sociology reveal how differing institutional contexts have affected the making of their careers. Participants were drawn to sociology in order to understand or to change the world, but the attraction was shaped by the availability of the discipline; for earlier entrants there was a search for an intellectual home while recent entrants made a simple choice from available options. While all participants reported elements of luck and made pragmatic choices about their careers, two decades of structural changes to higher education mean that the kinds of luck they have and the choices they make differ considerably. There is some suggestion that changes within the discipline have also affected careers. The questions are posed whether the two groups are ‘generations’ of sociologists, and, if so, what might be the implications for the professional association and for the discipline.