What is the definition of a job or a career?
We cannot truly understand the thin line between a job or a career if we do not understand the true concept of what both words mean. According to the dictionary, a job is paid employment that could be either full time or part-time. In other words, anything that you do and is paid for is categorised as a job. A career on the other hand is employment that is undertaken for a specific number of years. A career is a job that you need specific training to do.
When you consider the concept of a job or a career, it might come across as the same thing. Considering the fact that irrespective, you are paid for either a job or having a career. That is why there is no more than a thin line between both. Not to talk of the reality that what started as a mere employment option for many ended up as a career for them at the end of the day.
A job or a career?
At some point in every person’s work life, we are faced with the choice of either pursuing a job or sticking to our guns and building a career. A job is like a short term gratification option while a career is more like a delayed gratification goal. In the case of the former, you only get trained for a while and you are ready to carry out the responsibilities that the job description requires. You begin to earn almost immediately as opposed to a career.
In the place of a career, it takes years to become trained enough to start a career. Progressing on the career calls for even more training sometimes much more than it took to start the career itself. Sometimes the training takes years of study, conferences and networking activities. The amount of training and work put in towards starting and advancing a career might be the reason why you tend to earn more at a career than at a job.
Getting a job can afford you the needed funds to actually pay the price of having a successful career. Worthy of note is the fact that if you are willing to pay the price, you can actually turn that job you enjoy doing into a successful career. Sometimes, getting a job is not only about the funds for survival or paying for the requirements for a career.
I am a firm believer of the quote, “the idle hand is the devils workshop.”
Getting a job during the journey of your career gives you the benefit of getting busy during the period of waiting for your career breakthrough. Building a career is not work in the park and there are times when it can be a very frustrating process. The mental struggle itself is enough reason to consider getting a job if possible in the line of the career you are trying to build. This way you get to have insider knowledge of what it takes to thrive in the career you have chosen for yourself.
In summary,
The thin line is really about what works for you as a person. We can go on and on about which trumps the other but the truth is the decision actually rests with you at the end of the day. Both have more similarities than differences. However, it’s really not the same thing. In summary, a job is a short term goal while a career is more of a long term goal. A career is something you want to be remembered for. You might be one of those who would rather start a business instead of settling for either a job or a career.
What next?
At some point, life might have forced you to lose focus on the career you have always wanted. You have two options:
- Option one: You are the one that sets the time. You can always retrace your steps and go back to what you have always wanted be it a job or a career. You are in charge of your life at the end of the day. Moreover, it’s never too late to do something you really love to do. As they say, “you only live once”.
- Option two: if you have stayed for long at a job to the extent of losing sight of the career you want for yourself. What do you think about turning that career into a job in no time? You have spent some time on that job. Therefore, you are aware of what you need to make a career out of it.
At the end of the day if you are more content at a job than making a career, then that’s certainly okay. However, it is important to know the difference and make an informed decision on whether you would settle for a job or a career.
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