The aim of this research was to understand how the early career construction for higher education graduates of the Economics course at an elite Brazilian college in the city of São Paulo, who benefited from a socio-economic scholarship programme during higher education, takes place. The research had socioconstructionism as its epistemological basis and used comprehensive interview methodology to analyse the narratives of the participants, who were invited to take part on the basis of data provided by the educational institution where they studied. The criteria for taking part in the research were that the graduates should be over 18 years old, that they should have been awarded full scholarships at university and that they should have completed higher education in Economics between 2012 and 2017, so that at the time of the interview there was already a period of significant professional activity that would enable them to have a career history to tell. Within the sample provided, 17 people met the research criteria, 10 were invited for interviews and 6 accepted the invitation, 3 men and 3 women aged between 26 and 33. The interviews took place in the first half of 2024 and the participants received a transcript of the conversations to validate the information. Among the main results found in the narratives, we highlight the economic and cultural restrictions (social class constraints) that imposed challenges related to time for travelling and eating, language learning and availability for travelling as students. Even so, all the interviewees reported working in their field of study and achieving relevant positions in the labour market, from the point of view of prestige, remuneration and social mobility. The study sought to contribute to the field of career guidance and counselling, research into decent work and policies to democratise access and permanence in higher education.