What is a Career?

The simple definition of a career is that it is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life, which presents numerous opportunities for progress. A career often comprises of jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished over a long period of time. It may include all the roles you undertake throughout your life. In past years it was traditionally associated with a single occupation, but today it is seen as a continuous process of learning and development.

The origins of the word “career” can be found in the Middle French equivalent for “road”. It’s fitting then that the path or road one chooses to travel has many twists and turns.

How the changing world of work has transformed the traditional idea of a “career”:

Increasing globalisation, greater competition and better technologies are contributing to dramatic changes in working life.

The concept of a job for life is no longer a reality. Instead, more people are looking for a work/life balance in their lives. Careers are no longer static or stable and have taken a more fluid form in recent years.

How career choices are made:

Making a career choice involves knowing yourself, your skills and abilities as well as your values. This helps to inform the decisions you make regarding the type of career you will choose.

It involves getting to understand the world of work. When choosing a career you need to immerse yourself fully in the inner workings of the environment in which you will be working.

It involves learning how to make informed decisions. Nowadays a prerequisite for making a career choice includes knowing how to make decisions based on knowledge about the industry, so you can steer you career in a direction that will suit your needs.

It involves finding out how to achieve objectives. Choosing a career should be done with knowledge on how you will reach goals you’ve set for yourself.