What is a Career?

What is a Career?

The word “career” is often thought of as a synonym for occupation, trade, profession or vocation. This applies mostly to how one earns a living. There are thousands of careers requiring differing skills, talents, and education.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “career” as a person’s course or progress through life.  

This definition relates “career” to a range of aspects of an individual’s life, learning and work. This definition relates to the whole journey. It refers more to a progression or path through a series of jobs over a lifetime and also includes, education, unpaid work such as internships and volunteer opportunities.

Career defined in this context covers career development, career choice and advancement. Many of us are at a trying passage in our career journeys and need some reflection to process and progress to what’s is next for us in the changing world of work

When you’re hard charging your way through either a job search or your career, there’s rarely time to take a breather. But taking a pause every now and then can give you a much-needed break. After all, your career is a living and breathing part of who you are, and it isn’t meant to be plowed through, but rather to be savored and appreciated—both the good and bad job experiences.

Each work experience that you have in your career is meant to contribute to your growth or at the very least to learning some good life lessons. You can’t understand them or their significance though, if you continue looking at your career in a static way.  Appreciating your journey from a new perspective might serve to inspire your confidence and help you appreciate how far you’ve come in your professional life—and how much farther you can potentially go!