Second Career

Second Careers

Abstract

Definition:

A career is the job or profession that someone does for a period of their life, not necessarily with the same employer.

A job is defined as anything a person is expected or obliged to do; a piece of work, esp. a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price

Are you doing what you want to do career-wise, or are you simply going with the flow of life and working a job? Is your not doing what you want career-wise, does it bother you, maybe annoy you? If you were in a stressful career, would you take the steps you thought necessary to change your situation? Many people believe that choosing a job and choosing a career are the same, however, they are different. A job is employment in which we work to get paid with no interest in furthering us in any particular field for direction. Yet, on the other hand, a career is the pursuit of a lifelong ambition or calling. Many students get a part-time job to put some money in their pockets, or pay a couple bills here or there, until they graduate and then work in their career fields. The Koon Mei Ching article, job vs. career, states that “a job is often uninspiring and mundane; a career is often something that excites you and uses your talents in a way that fits with your personal aspirations” (2009). In today’s day and age many tools are open to people wanting to know what they want to do in life and want paths they should take to get to their dream careers.

“F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that there are no second acts in American life, but Fitzgerald didn't live in today's economy. Given the dynamics of the modern job market, second careers can be even more important -- and rewarding -- than the first ones”(Richard Barrington).In this era of outrageous health insurance premiums, some workers choose to start a second career primarily for the insurance coverage. With a combination of inadequate wages and scarce work...