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What is a Career Anyway?
A career is the sum total of all of your work-related contributions to society in a lifetime. This includes time and effort spent to provide goods, services, or benefit to others. A career includes paid, un-paid, volunteer, part-time, and full-time positions. Your career includes many life roles you may not think of: student, homemaker, babysitter, office worker, doctor, lawyer, etc. A career encompasses all the roles you play and duties you perform. You may have many jobs or positions that make up your career, but you only have one overall career. There are various career options in the modern world of work: Self-Employed, Organization Employed, or Project-Employed. By definition, career development is the interaction of psychological, sociological, economic, physical and chance factors that shape the sequence of jobs, occupations, or positions a person may engage in throughout his or her lifetime. Career development is an ongoing process that includes the aspects of planning and strategizing your career based on information about your self, the world of work, the match between them, and the action you will take to create your life's work. Formal career development occurs in high schools, colleges and universities, adult education programs, business and industry, military, community and government agencies, trade and technical schools. Consider all the places you have developed your career with either academic or work experience. Where can you go next and what can you do to further develop your career? You have the power to create what you want, whether you wish to be self-employed, change career fields entirely, hold a certain kind of position, or volunteer your time. Smart career development requires you to be self-reflective, resourceful, motivated, flexible, and able to keep your skills and competencies up-to-date. Contemporary Career Concepts Statistics say that we will experience many job transitions throughout our life. For example: the U.S. Department of Labor says that the average person will have 3.5 different careers in his lifetime and work for ten employers, keeping each job for 3.5 years. From the 1995 National Association of Colleges and Employers Journal of Career Planning, "The average American beginning his or her career in the 1990s will probably work in ten or more jobs for five or more employers before retiring." In the mid 1990s, Richard Knowdell said, "Career planning in the 1950s and 1960s was like riding on a train. The train remained on the track and one could quite possibly stay on that track until retirement day. In the 1970s and 1980s career planning was like getting on a bus. One could change buses and it was a little closer to driving than on a train. For the 1990s and beyond, career planning is more like an all-terrain vehicle. The worker gets to drive, has to read the map, and has to be attuned to the terrain, which could change from moment to moment." When I attended a recent California Career Development Conference, I heard several other metaphors to describe the career development process. One person said, "The old career was a marriage. The new career is a date." And someone else mentioned, "A career is like going to an amusement park, where you go from one ride to the next." Obviously, the concept of climbing the career ladder is antiquated. Rather than "moving up" in one organization, you will find yourself moving up, down, and even off the ladder. It could, in fact, seem more like a maze, with many twists and turns, stops and starts. My own concept of career is like a wardrobe, where you "try on" different outfits throughout your lifetime, and continue to check the mirror to see if it still fits and matches your current style and taste. In the modern world of work, you will need to find work that is "suited" to you. Think of your life's work as your wardrobe. It is ever-changing as you move through life, changing as your styles and interests change. Throughout the process, you will be tailoring yourself to fit different roles, and to meet changing work styles and expectations. Thus, today, the way in which we go about planning and strategizing our work life is constantly changing. We are taking a more proactive---therefore more exciting and challenging approach--- to managing which way our career takes us. People are daring to walk their unique paths, and ignoring traditional routes. In fact, tomorrow's jobs are relatively unknown to us at this time, as there will be new titles and new career fields that will develop. If a modern career is like a wardrobe, you will wear many kinds of outfits throughout a lifetime, sometimes mixing and matching ensembles, but always checking to see that it still reflects your current style and remains a good fit. It has been said that clothes make the man-what you are displaying to the world through your choice of clothing is how you express yourself. Similarly, how you express yourself and what you value is reflected in the work you choose to perform. As Mark Twain said, "There is no security in life, only opportunity." Given today's changing times, we cannot hold onto one idea for very long---there is so much good work that must be done to help us evolve to our fullest potential. We are multi-talented, multi-faceted beings with many gifts to share. We cannot lock ourselves into any one job or job path. We must walk our path, but remain flexible and open to new experiences. We also need to learn our lessons along the way. Each job, no matter how small, is meaningful and is part of our career plan in that we are always building onto our careers. Today's work will prepare us for tomorrow's opportunities. **Excerpt from the book, Get Smart! About Modern Career Development (2001). all rights reserved---Michelle Casto. About The Author Michelle L. Casto is a whole life coach, speaker, and author of Get Smart! About Modern Romantic Relationships, Get Smart! About Modern Career Development, and Get Smart! About Modern Stress Management. Her coaching practice is Brightlight Coaching, she helps people come up with bright ideas for their life and empowers them to freely shine their bright light to the world. Contact her for a free 30 minute coaching session: www.getsmartseries.com and www.brightlightcoach.com
MORE RESOURCES: Meet Native American Veterans where they live with a VA career VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Careers | Career Opportunities West Virginia University Corporate Lowe's I moved to Alaska after college for a job. I lost all my friends because I put my career first. Business Insider Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) 15 Companies Offering Health Insurance to Part-Time Workers U.S News & World Report Money Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University Careers at FEMA FEMA Physicians are the nation’s top earners – a slideshow Medical Economics Careers at Willamette my.willamette.edu Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News City of Tampa Careers City of Tampa Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Careers at VA VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Careers at University of Missouri Health Care | University of Missouri Health Care jobs University of Missouri Health Care Nursing jobs VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs Career Opportunities UMHB Jobs at BCA Minnesota Department of Public Safety Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report US Department of Labor Careers at Union | Human Resources Union College Careers West Virginia Department of Education Careers Washington State University Employment Services American Mathematical Society Recruiters urge candidates to use AI to apply for jobs Financial Times US employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply reduce payrolls The Associated Press Working for ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Newsroom Work at DHS: Career Opportunities Wisconsin Department of Health Services October 2024 jobs report: How two major hurricanes, labor strike might affect the numbers - NBC News UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University Job Search Results UnitedHealth Group UN COMMON CAREERS VCU Health Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers Medline Reservists (On-Call) FEMA Job Opportunities Bellevue School District How to Apply FEMA Careers Micron Jobs report on eve of election will be among the most muddled in years The Associated Press Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Join our team FHI 360 Careers KPMG Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) Wisconsin Department of Health Services Careers The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation BCG X Careers Boston Consulting Group Internship Opportunities | Careers Boston Consulting Group What Trump's election victory means for job seekers Business Insider Work with Us JPMorgan Chase Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Careers in A&O Shearman Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Work At Chess.com Chess.com Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota WORK AT LVMH LVMH Mental health at work World Health Organization The 20 Most Stressful Jobs U.S News & World Report Money The 10 jobs that landed the biggest pay rises in financial year 2024 The Australian Financial Review How to Address a Resume Gap When Switching Careers HBR.org Daily Benefits for the whole you Accenture Jobs and careers | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs 5 charts that show the state of global youth employment in 2024 World Economic Forum JobFeed NSW Department of Education Why Employees Quit HBR.org Daily Chart Book: Tracking the Recovery From the Pandemic Recession Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Two unis walking the career path alongside graduates The Australian Financial Review How to realize the potential of rising digital jobs World Economic Forum Current opportunities Turner & Townsend AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. International Monetary Fund Careers City of Norfolk (.gov) |
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