Roujman Shahbazian is a lecturer at the Department of Sociology at Uppsala University, and an affiliated researcher at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University, as well as, the Department of Sociology at University of Munich (LMU).

Shahbazian’s research centers on understanding how social and economic mobility evolves throughout a person’s life and how it affects future generations. He is particularly interested in whether people’s careers stabilize or fluctuate over time, and how these patterns influence broader social mobility. He also explores different ways to measure lifetime earnings, comparing annual income, occupational class, and educational outcomes.

In collaboration with University of Lausanne and Stockholm University, Shahbazian is developing a new measure of social hierarchy called Occupational Earning Potential (OEP), which focuses on the economic advantage of occupations, ranking them based on their median earnings. OEP provides a straightforward and intuitive scale that positions occupations within the broader workforce’s earnings distribution. By focusing solely on earning potential, OEP is a simpler, clearer, and more parsimonious tool for assessing social hierarchy, particularly in contexts where detailed income data may be lacking.

Shahbazian also explores how a pupil’s standing within their school’s ability distribution can shape their life chances. His research with Iman Dadgar focuses on how pupils’ relative academic performance impacts their future life chances, particularly in gender-typical settings.

In addition to these projects, Shahbazian has contributed to research in Burkina Faso, examining how family of origin shapes individuals' attitudes toward risk.