What actually is a career?

The original meaning of career was 'to move headlong at high speed' as in, the cart careered down the road. Some days I'm sure your career still feels like that.

My favourite definition of career is by Michael Arthur and his colleagues:

"The unfolding sequence of a person's work experiences over time"

Lets break this down a bit.

First, unfolding, which describes the fluid nature of how careers are created. There is less orderly planning than we think as we respond to events and opportunities that come our way. Earlier definitions of career used 'evolving' but contemporary writers realised that this suggested a structured, logical flow which didn't represent the reality of a modern environment.

Second, work experiences. The term career emerged from the Chicago Shool of Sociology in the 1930s and had a broad meaning, for example, the career of deliquents. Today, career has a vocational flavour to do with work related activities, regardless of whether they are paid or not.

Third, over time. Our career is not static. It unfolds over time as we move through different stages. Often, our career appears fragmented looking forward, yet distinct patterns are noticable when we look back over our experiences.

Everyone has one career. We may have many jobs with multiple employers, go through different stages, and travel across geographic and occupational boundaries. But all these experiences coalesce into one career. Enjoy it!

Reference
Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T., & Lawrence, B.S. (1989). Handbook of Career Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press.

The Natural Rhythm of Work

Our working life operates in rhythmic cycles, no different from the physical, emotional and mental cycles that we experience. You know those times in life when everything is just hard work, when you're tired and every action is a battle? Other times life flows so smoothly that you aren't even aware of living as things just happen seemingly without effort.

As with life, our career also has these rhythms. Sometimes work is just hard and it is difficult to find daily motivation. It is easy to confuse these short term dips with full blown career dis-satisfaction. More often than not, these are not the times to make spontaneous decisions. Make sure you give this challenging period the time it needs so that you can learn and grow from the experience and successfully ride into the next peak.