The comment by @tsbna44 on the “Alternatives to College” thread that “I have a job, not a career” brought to mind a conversation that I had with my S yesterday. He said that he feels at a very different stage to his peers (all a year out of college), because he feels like he already has a career, whereas they are just starting to think about their next job (potentially switching fields completely). So he can’t think of anywhere he’d rather work than his current company, where they promote internally every 1-2 years and there are plenty of examples of senior people in their early 30s who have been there since college or soon after, with no need to go off and get an MBA or similar. He loves the industry he’s working in, and is also very settled in DC, so has just signed a 2 year lease for his first solo apartment.
It all feels quite unusual at 22, and in some ways I wonder if he’s missing out on experiences associated with the more typical exploration of different jobs after college (or if not even thinking about a masters or a lateral move might come back to bite him later).
So I thought I’d ask when (if ever) you or your kids felt you’d found a “career” rather than just a “job”? Did it make a difference to what you sought from work (and looked for in an employer), such as training or specific opportunities to gain responsibility, or how you lived your life more generally (eg buy or house or sign a long term lease)?
Comments:
To me, whether one or six, all jobs = career. For some that may be narrow focused (consecutive chemical engineer positions) or wider focused (working in public relations and having various levels of positions or venues- agency vs. corporate vs. non-profit for instance).
I would say I’ve had a “career” in early childhood health - but that encompasses a wide range of jobs/positions over the year. It’s still a career even though I worked for several different entities.
At 22 and a first job out this first stop may seem enticing as a long term stop…but as we all know things can change - happiness and opportunity at a company can change quickly - positive or negative - with change of leadership, economy, etc. The only constant is change, right?!
I have been in my career for 35+ years, but within this career I have worked in many different settings (jobs) such as schools, hospitals, agencies etc.
My kids both have careers. One left a career and is going back to school for a new one (this was expected, as she knew the original career was short term).
Maybe, that’s why I asked. The last time I applied for a job was 1995, so I have no experience with jumping around either within a career or between disparate jobs.
I considered myself having a “career” after I’d been at the same company for a few years and had been promoted a couple of times. I started not knowing anything about the field (market research for financial services) but was uncertain about what I wanted to do coming out of college so I took it because of the good benefits (and health insurance - back then you were off your parents much earlier). I stayed in the financial services industry for 15 years (at 3 different firms) until I decided to stay home with my first son. I stayed at home for 8 years (and had a second son) and when I went back it was to an entirely new career in fundraising.
I had a “career” in IT covering many different facets up to the C-suite. I hated every minute of it. They were all just soul-sucking jobs to me. I couldn’t wait to retire.
DH had a career in IT that led to management consulting which he is still doing in retirement as a side gig. He, more or less, enjoyed his work at every stage.
Our son is crazy passionate about what he does and plans to do it for the rest of his life regardless of pay. I’d say he has a vocation.
My kid just graduated college and he has a job. He is also working many hours in an internship they doesn’t pay, but it’s in a field he became interested in his senior year of college. So no career, but a definite exploration of his options.
I worked a few “jobs” after earning a BA in History that had nothing to do with my degree. One of them gave me exposure to a line of work that I found interesting and I went back to get an advanced degree specific to that line of work. I now have a career, where every position I’ve held since has been a variation on the same title (with Lead, Sr., Director descriptors added).
H had a career with the same company for 42 years, starting in college. At one time, he enjoyed his career. They cut headcount & demanded more from remaining employees, froze his pension and took away benefits toward the end of his career. By the time he retired, he considered it a job.
I started at the same company but left early on. I had a career as a SAHM for years, then I had a career in higher education. To me, every job was a career.
As for my kids, S considers his current job his career (he would remain in similar work if he were to switch companies). D considers the broad area in which she consults to be her career; she has had a few different types of jobs within that area.
The above assumes that a “career” means a long term “job” at the employer. But this is not necessarily the case. Some people have decided on a career path, but are not committed to a particular job or employer, or expect to change job or employer often. Many of those in building trades are obvious examples (once the building is built / renovated / repaired, the tradespeople go work on other buildings); in college graduate type of jobs, some people go into self-employed contracting and consulting. People in careers in rapidly changing industries where lots of startups come and go can be additional examples.
Our S absolutely loves what he does and loves where he is currently employed. Some day he might move to a different company but for now he is perfectly content. I’m proud of him.
I always considered my working as a “career”. I did not always like specific tasks or work conditions, but overall I loved it. I think H feels the same about what he did.
I have a career that I consider to be a job. I’ve been in the same profession as my degree since I graduated college. My last interview - and the last time I wore a suit - was 26 years ago. I am still in the same position. Small department, nowhere to go unless someone leaves/dies. Same big boss who hired is still here. That being said, after being paid miserably for most of my career, it finally got fixed a few years ago. And the performance expectations have decreased considerably. So while I don’t love my job, it certainly isn’t stressful and I am very thankful for that. It’s nice to not cry every month after pay day/bill paying day. I don’t take that for granted at all - ever.
Kid #1 is definitely in a career. In the last year, he moved to a spot within the company that he really enjoys, and just got a promotion. He’s happy. I’m happy.
Kid #2 just started his job a month ago. A little too soon to tell. I’m sure he sees it as the beginning of a career right now.
One of my wise friends distinguishes between a job, a career and a calling. The calling is something you feel compelled to do.
I’d say I have a calling. I have always wanted to use what seems to be a pretty unique way of thinking to do something that has impact on the world but kind of backed into what I do now. I was fortunate to study at three of the best universities in the world. I got a STEM PhD but switched programs because the first grad program kept trying to steer me away from applying my tools to social problems. The second one gave me free reign and so I was able to take course outside my field of study in economics, psychology, law, public policy and business. I took a job at a well-known business school and wrote my first book, which is a great cure for insomnia but is a very widely cited book in the field. I wanted to apply the ideas I had developed and took a short leave of absences that has never ended. I worked for a year as an investment banker in the restructuring of companies in highly unionized industries, five years in the office of a wealthy family doing what I would call private equity with no strategy, and then decided never to work with anyone. I began using the ideas I had developed and continue to develop to advise and train companies in my approach (developed with a coauthor) while also helping new ventures and co-founding a few (with others who would be the operators). Over the years, I coauthored a second book and a bunch of articles. Twenty-five years later, I run a small consulting firm that provides the specialized advice based upon our approach. We work with big companies, small companies, governments and others. We also do pro bono work in areas where we think our approach can make a difference. At the beginning of the pandemic, our financial advisor ran an analysis that we could retire with great certainty that we would not run out of money if I never made additional income. But, I love what I do and want to continue as long as my health permits and the market wants it.
ShawWife has a calling. She quit her first job and went to art school and has become a modestly successful painter (next year, two shows at mid-level museums and likely one NY gallery show). She needs to create and jokes that if she wasn’t making art, she’d need a lot of therapy. She’s planning to create art as long as she can.
Our kids? ShawSon is a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur. He’s in his second startup, a fintech firm that is doing very well but is trying to navigate the bumpy seas of VC markets today. I have no doubt that he will continue creating ideas and turning them into businesses but might do so as more of a venture studio than as an entrepreneur as he is finding the continuing pace of startup life taxing (he’s probably been workin 17 hours a day for years). I’d say this is a calling.
ShawD is probably in the mix between career and calling. She is a family nurse practitioner doing primary care and loves it. She just became the medical director of her clinic. She said this is the first year that she has had a colleague younger than she is and she also takes on NP students and this is the first year her student is younger than she is. She’s creating content for her company like programs for helping with teen anxiety and is going to get a 2nd masters in psychiatric nurse practioneering. She loves her work, but is very clear on not wanting to be on call and wanting a life where she can dial back her hours when she has kids.
I’ve always thought of the difference between a career and a job as the difference between something I’m actively managing/growing and something I’m doing. I can love or hate each at various times. The difference to me is the amount of space I allow it in my brain outside of typical work hours.
For me, I took a job out of college that turned into a career and has evolved back into a job. Different employers, locations throughout that time but the trajectory holds.
My older son always wanted a career (based on my definition above) and it doing what he needs to do to create that.
Younger son has always been more oriented to a job mind-set. He very clear right now on what he’s willing to give of himself and what he’s not.
It’ll be interesting to see how life shows up for them as the years go by.
Phrases of course are always open to interpretation by whose speaking and using the words!
Interesting thought. Job, career, calling. I think of calling as a job or career that may have many roadblocks to achieve but that you have a special talent or inner need to conquer those roadblocks to enter that field of calling. I personally think of “calling” for work that focusses on a real human element and making improvements in quality of life for humans, animals, earth. That’s just my interpretation though!
Great question. I’m not sure what I have. I’m trained as an engineer but do more CAD drafting/detailing than engineering, which is fine with me. It’s less stressful and still pays well. And I co-own our company with my husband, so I guess that’s a career.
My calling is helping families with a mentally ill loved one navigate the system, but that doesn’t pay anything.
