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What is career planning?

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Posted by Your Guide on September 21, 2005 12:27 AM

What is career planning?

A career is very different from a job. The word “job” has the connotation of a task, something you do primarily to make ends meet. A fifteen year old can have a “job,” but a career is more difficult to come by. A career is a job with a long-range plans. Someone who wants a career wants much more than a paycheck, they have goals, passions, and values.

Countless workers around the world face career-related struggles. They want a career they don’t have. They are just starting out and don’t know how to pick a career. They don’t know what kind of career they want, but they know it’s not the one they have. They are in the field they want but can’t seem to advance their skills or position like they originally hoped. These are often complex struggles, but a first step towards a solution might be an exercise in career planning.

Career planning is an individual’s attempt to map out a career path. Just as in planning any journey, the first step in career planning is identifying a destination. Through self-assessment and goal analysis, you can determine what kind of career you want.

Once you know your destination, map out your route. How will you get from your current career, if you have one, to the career you want? Then, what happens after you arrive? How can your career continue to grow and advance? Should you ever consider starting out on a new journey, a new career path?

Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Most employees would agree: they want work that is satisfying, work that has some value to themselves as an individual and to the community at large. The much more difficult issue, of course, is how to find, keep, and mold that satisfying, valuable, career.



Next Page: How should I choose a career?

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