Crafting a Career

Centuries ago the idea of crafting a lifelong career was not a concept many people believed in or practiced. Often time’s generation upon generation of people would follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents, taking over a family business or other line of work their elders were involved in. Individuals would perform a job merely to provide for their spouse and children. Currently, the idea of having or pursuing a career has dramatically changed. Individuals now think thoroughly about the job and career they will want to pursue in the future as soon as they start their education. People no longer follow the outdated ideas of taking over a family business but strive to pursue a rewarding career.

For many, the terms job and career might be interchangeable but they do have different meanings. A job refers to a specific position an individual holds while a career refers to a specialized field an individual might work in over the course of their working lifetime. Many individuals will follow a similar track as they search for a career, though this process may start at a different point in time for any given person, almost any individual will follow a similar set of steps. These steps include the following:

• Explore Occupations
• Identify Work Values
• Create A Plan
• Acquire Skills

Many individuals acquire their first job when they are in high school. These positions are usually menial jobs simply to help young teens gain a sense of responsibility and earn some money to allow them to do things on their own without asking their parents for money. However, these early jobs can prove important later in life, as these jobs begin exposing one to a range of possible career fields in the future. While it is convenient for your parents, older siblings, or a friend to recommend a career field they might be involved in, no one should ever jump into a career field based upon the opinions of another person. Before considering any future career field an individual should do their own research by collecting information about that specific career field. Research into various career fields will help an individual narrow down their choices to a few possible careers.

When teens get a job in high school to help support their social life, they also begin to identify their work values. Work values include intrinsic values (values related to the actual tasks at a job) and extrinsic values (values related to outcomes of a job). Examples of possible work values include:

• Autonomy: receiving no or little supervision
• Prestige: having a high standing
• Job Security: a high probability that one will remain employed
• Collaboration: working with others
• Helping Society: contributing to the betterment of the world
• Recognition: receiving attention for your work
• Compensation: receiving adequate pay
• Leadership: supervising/managing others
• Variety: doing different activities
• Leisure: having adequate time away from work