The contemporary study of careers requires taking into consideration multicontextual changes in the world of work, which make individuals face new challenges. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the numerous transformations taking place in the contemporary reality, including in the world of work, which influence people’s professional career, the significance attributed to it and the success achieved through it. This article presents the results of own research concerning career success as perceived from the perspective of academic students from Poland. Particular attention was paid to two aspects of this issue: its objective and subjective nature, as well as the assessment of own chances for achieving it within one’s career path. The results of the studies prove, that the surveyed youth perceives success in a career in a subjective manner, but that its objective dimension is also important for the academic students, and that the vast majority take a positive attitude towards their own professional future. The resulting empirical material may carry important implications for the educational practice.