What is the difference between a career and a job?
Quoted from article by Trent on The Simple Dollar Web Site
• A job is something you do simply to earn money; a career is a series of connected employment opportunities.
• A job has minimal impact on your future work life; a career provides experience and learning to fuel your future.
• A job offers few networking opportunities; a career is loaded with opportunities.
“When you work at a job, you should do the minimum without annoying the boss. When you’re in a career, you should go the extra mile, doing tasks beyond your minimum job description.”
Not sure I agree with the last statement, you should always do your best.
| Career | Career Job | |
| What is it? | A career is the pursuit of a lifelong ambition or the general course of progression toward lifelong goals. | A job is an activity through which an individual can earn money. It is a regular activity in exchange of payment. |
| Requirements: | Usually requires special learning that includes individualized components that develop abilities beyond that which training is capable of. | Education or Special training may or may not be required. |
| Risk-Taking: | A career may not mean stability of work as it encourages one to take risks. The risks are often internal and, therefore, planned. | A job is “safe,” as stability of work and income is there. However, shifting priorities, especially in resource jobs, can abruptly change the demand and require re-location which is an unstable factor. Risks may be completely external. |
| Time: | Long term | Short term |
| Income: | Varies depending on value to society or to some other entity. Non-monetary benefits may be higher. Salary is more common. | Varies by demand. More likely to be wages. |
| Contribution to Society: | May have high value as social change/progress may be possible. | May actually have a negative impact when counterproductive social practices are continued in the name of protecting jobs. |
What are you pursuing?
Come to the Applicant Roundup on Friday, July 19th at the Hampton Inn and Suites-South at 2501 Marketplace, Waco, Texas.
As for me I am pursuing either a fourth career or a continuation of my third career, technical education.
I had a career, now looking for a job.
I was taught by my father that if you accepted a person’s pay you give the best that you can do, no matter the job. I’ve found that it creates a work ethic that will follow you around forever.
Career. I hope to find employment that brings fulfillment. I want to enjoy going to work everyday, love what I am doing and it also will provide an income to help with future financial goals of our family.
I had a long time career and loved every day of work. A job would be nice; however, I would have to love what I do. Otherwise, I won’t be happy.
After all these months without work, I am looking for a job.
A job…something you do until something better comes along.
I’m looking for a job that I can turn into a career – once I get my “foot in the door” at a job I can live with.
The opportunities are there, we just have to identify, manage, and harvest them to our fullest potential.
Of course, I may or may not be starting up in the field of my job expertise to start with. But once I get in there and they figure out what my best attributes are. Sometimes that transition can happen rather quickly if the new company see’s a greater need for my talents in Information Technology sector of their company’s infrastructure.
Good luck to all.
Because I started working after I was fifty I have never really had a career. I always have tried to go the extra mile in any task I have been given. I think that is just good work ethic.