Young and Employed

The other day I was talking about Jobs and Careers and what is the difference between them; therefore decided to write something about it.  But I realize that this is something that has been said and written thousands if not millions of times.  I believe most parents tell you this when you decide to go for a less traveled career (like music, for example), yet, I wanted to recollect some of that knowledge instead of adding just another opinion to cyberspace.

Wikipedia defines a job as: “A job is a regular activity performed in exchange for payment, usually as one’s occupation. The duration of a job may range from an hour to a lifetime. If a person is trained for a certain type of job, they may have a profession. The series of jobs a person holds in their life is their career.”

And Career as:” Career is a term defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual’s “course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)”. It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work (and sometimes also formal education).”

Thank you Wikipedia, that’s all fine and dandy, but there is a lot more to it that just a plain old description that our grandparents mentioned once.  Suzanne Lainson says that “Most people earn their living by working (as opposed to inheriting money or winning the lottery). Some have jobs, others pursue careers. The difference between the two approaches has as much to do with attitude as it does anything else.

If you say you have a career, that implies that you have conscientiously chosen this field of work and that each job you take helps you advance to higher and higher levels. Careers involve long-range planning.” and the funny thing is that she was talking about athletes, a career that few follow, yet it involves the same amount (or more) or preparation and dedication.

Patty Inglish, MS suggests that “Many people believe, or have been taught, that a career and a job are the same thing. However, these two entities are not identical. In fact, a well-planned career usually encompasses several jobs in a logical progression upwards in pay rate, fringes and perks, and responsibilities. In other words, a job can mean survival and a career can mean choice. It is much more enjoyable to have a choice about what one does for a living. A life-long career should not be only a survival mechanism and it should certainly not be punishment.

While not everyone can work at their true, individual, special calling throughout their lives, they can plan toward that goal and take actions and make choices that will enable that goal to be more closely approached and met. Usually, this does not happen by accident.

Any specific job is only one piece of the lifelong learning and career puzzle. Any job is only a part of a larger, life-long career.

At one time in America, a person could graduate from high school, find a job with a good company and work in that job until they retired, perhaps being promoted and receiving raises in pay during that time. This is rarely possible in today’s business environment.”

Bottom line: your job is what you are doing today. Your career is what you’ve done over the past years and what you plan to do in the future.  If you don’t know where you want your career to take you, is because you have no career, you have been falling by chance in some jobs that provide you with what you need.  So when you think “career”, you have to think long-term.

And when you think long-term, you begin to realize the following:
• Everything you do counts
• Everything you do needs to have a good reason behind it
• You have to make good decisions
• Always think “What’s my next step?”
• What you do today determines your tomorrow
• Mistakes can potentially haunt you for a long time

“You should pay serious attention to this “career” thing. Your job feeds you and your family today. Your career will feed you and your family tomorrow and beyond. “ Suzanne Lainson

Good Luck

-Frank

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