I recently read a remark that individuals who work at fast food restaurants or deliver newspapers do not have careers. The author of the remark said they have jobs. It made me wonder exactly what the difference is between a job and a career. So I looked up the words in the dictionary.
Job: a paid position of regular employment.
Career: an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.
So time is a key differentiator between jobs and careers. Using these definitions, a person who works for a couple of months in a restaurant has a “job.” A person who spends a decade working at a restaurant could have a “career.”
The opportunity for progress component is a bit more complex. It sounds like jobs do not have opportunities for progress but careers do. (Side note: This also means the term “dead end job” is a redundancy.)
In addition, when we think of opportunities, it could be very subjective. We don’t always know what opportunities exist. It’s possible we can’t see the opportunity. Or maybe we don’t consider it an opportunity. When I first read the definition, my immediate thought was opportunity means promotional opportunities. But, I can see where training could be defined as an opportunity for progress. Learning is progress.
What really came to mind as I was reading these definitions was employee engagement. It could be said that jobs are for the disengaged or unengaged. Careers are for the engaged. Organizations have the opportunity to give people jobs or careers. Employees have the ability to look for a job or a career. It’s not up to an outsider to make that determination. What seems like a job to one person, could be a career to someone else. Employers and employees decide if they have a “job” relationship or a “career” relationship based upon levels of engagement.
I believe in today’s working environment we first have to understand the literal definitions of jobs and careers. Then, we may have to expand their working definitions. They are not defined by how much money a person makes, what kind of organization a person works for, or even the type of work a person does. Nor are they defined by the opinions of others. Jobs and careers are created and defined by the relationship between the organization and the individual.
Image courtesy of Sharlyn Lauby
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AR_HRCom says
Very well defined. This is an article that actually truly pinpoints to the main difference between a job and career: the level of commitment to, and relationship to the work and the concerned field. Career is not about the money and the type of work. There is also the element of relative choice that could be linked to external circumstances. Great article!
Alma says
I agree that there is a different level of commitment when one has a job and career. Careers take a longer amount of time and effort to stabilize and realize than do jobs. There are jobs that you may have for a month and decide that it isn’t for you and so you quickly move into another one. Careers, however, are something that people tend to spend more time on thinking about. If someone tries to change their career path it usually takes a long time of planning because for many it can be a life changing experience (usually financially). Great comment! It was definitely a great article.
Darcy says
I once had a conversation with an attorney who was also a mother. She said her belief is that for a marriage with children where both parents work outside of the home to function, only one could have a career and the other had to have a job. Her definition of career was something that required extra hours and where promotions and/or increased responsibility would occur. While a job was something where only specified hours of work occurred and there was no professional growth. These definitions fit any work based on how the employee approaches it, just like you indicated. But I don’t think everyone who has chosen a “job” is necessarily disengaged, they may have made a decision that they can’t make it a career and fit it into their lives.
Paul says
Nicely defined.
It will help me to better explain the difference to my patrons
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks everyone for the comments!
Chad Harrington says
Thanks, Sharlyn, for this great post! Love that categorization and the simplicity of this post. I’d be interested to know: How to tell when an interviewee or employee is a job-seeker or a career-seeker. Thanks again.
Otilia says
I agree. Once seems just a job for someone can be a career for another or the beginning of a career. Great writing!
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks very much for the comments!