Career
This article is about a person's occupational history; for the board game, see Careers (board game).The
Oxford English Dictionary says one's
career is one's "course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)". Today, the word is often construed as pertaining mainly or even only to one's remunerative work.
A career is traditionally seen as a course of successive situations that make up a person's worklife. One can have a
sporting career or a
musical career, but most frequently "career" in the
20th century referenced the series of jobs or positions by which one earned one's money. It tended to look only at the past.
As the idea of personal choice and self direction picks up in the 21st century, aided by the power of the Internet and the increased acceptance of people having multiple kinds of work, the idea of a career is shifting from a closed set of achievements, like a chronological
résumé of past jobs, to a defined set of pursuits looking forward. In its broadest sense, career refers to an individual's
work and life roles over their lifespan.
In the relatively static
societies before
modernism, many workers would often inherit or take up a single lifelong position (a place or
role) in the
workforce, and the concept of an unfolding career had little or no meaning. With the spread during
the Enlightenment of the idea of
progress and of the habits of
individualist self-betterment, careers became possible, if not expected.
Career counseling advisors assess people's interests, personality, values and skills, and also help them explore career options and research graduate and professional schools. Career counseling provides one-on-one or group professional assistance in exploration and decision making tasks related to choosing a major/occupation, transitioning into the world of work or further professional training. The field is vast and includes career placement, career planning, learning strategies and student development.
By the late 20th century a plethora of choices (especially in the range of potential
professions) and more widespread
education had allowed it to become
fashionable to plan (or design) a career: in this respect the careers of the career counsellor and of the career advisor have grown up. It is also not uncommon for adults in the late 20th/early 21st centuries to have dual or
multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professional identities have become hyphenated or hybridized to reflect this shift in work ethic. Economist
Richard Florida notes this trend generally and more specifically among the "
creative class."
Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor RelationsInstitute for Women and Work at
Cornell University Labor and Worklife Program at
Harvard Law School Working Lives Research Institute at
London Metropolitan UniversityFor a pre-modernist notion of "career", compare
cursus honorum.
*
Career development*
Career management*
Description of a Career*
Edgar Schein*
John L. Holland*
Holland Codes*
Peer pressure*
Personality psychology*
School counselor*
Multiple Careers*
Bolles, Richard Nelson.
What Color Is Your Parachute? ISBN 1580086152
*
Lore, Nicholas.
The Pathfinder ISBN 0-684-82399-3
*
Jackson, Tom.
http://www.careervictory.com/
*Manahan, Rowan. Where's My Oasis?
ISBN 0091899982
*Pan, Eric T-S.. Perpetual Business Machines: Principles of Success for Technical Professionals
ISBN 0975448005 http://www.mdc-learning.com/
*
Occupational Outlook Handbook*
Lunch-Money.com - Work Importance / Interest Profilers to Locate Careers of Interest*
U.S. Department of Labor*
Career and Interview Tips*
Career Tips and Advice*
Career guide*
Career advice search engine*
United Nations (2002), Handbook on career counselling*
Career guidance site - University of South Africa*
Career guidance resources & Online workshops - Career Services, Brock University*
My Sheffield Jobs - CV and Interview help*
jobpodge.com - a searchable collection of real life job experiences and career advice 
