"Career vs Job"

Job-seekers are looking for many different things and approach jobs with varying levels of commitment and enthusiasm. Some might search for a position that allows a steady paycheck and easy work, while others might search for a meaningful future in an industry they're passionate about. This difference defines the distinction between jobs and careers. While your job consists of the tasks you perform daily to earn income, your career encompasses all of your experience, education and future path within a particular industry.

Career and Goals for Promotion

One defining feature of a career is the ability to take on more responsibility and earn a higher rate of pay throughout the duration of work. For example, a professor who enters the tenure track works to publish, attend conferences and serve on academic committees to continuously build her curriculum vitae and earn promotions. This describes a career, whereas an instructor who remains in a non-tenure track contract position performs a job but does not necessarily have a career plan in that particular field. Many workers hold jobs in particular industries while working toward careers in others. Writers, actors and other performing artists often work jobs to support their lifestyles while attempting to build a career in their craft.

Education and Training

Though not all careers require post-secondary education, many do require at least a bachelor's degree. For example, any career in the field of health care requires a four-year degree and often requires medical school, nursing school or other types of post-college education. As a general rule, sacrificing time and money for a higher degree should be done for a career, not for a job. This education will give you the background knowledge and skills to become marketable within your career field, whereas on-the-job training often prepares you for a single, specific job. Because education is expensive in time and financial resources, isolating an appropriate career is important to do upfront. A 2010 article by Susan Krauss Whitbourne on the website for the magazine "Psychology Today" cites the importance of finding the right career early in life to achieve personal fulfillment at work. Whitbourne writes that a career-seeker should determine his vocational type and seek out only jobs that fit that vocational type. She describes these types as realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. These classifications are part of a system called RIASEC, which includes a quiz to help find your appropriate vocational type.

Professional vs. Worker

Professionals can take their skills and knowledge with them wherever they go. They typically hold credentials, degrees or certifications that show their ability to perform particular duties. On the other hand, a worker who does not hold professional status likely has to be retrained at each new position. For example, a physician's assistant holds particular training and certification and could move between hospitals and offices with ease. In contrast, waiters and gas station attendants are workers, but not professionals, because they do not hold credentials, education or specialized skills related to their jobs. While a waiter may have years of experience, each new company trains the employee to perform specific tasks based on that company's system and protocol.

Careers and Fulfillment

A career offers fulfillment personally and professionally that a job does not. A career becomes part of an employee's identity as he gains more specialized skills and networks with a wider group of professionals. For instance, a software designer might network with other designers and programmers at conferences and become known for his work in the industry. This type of fulfillment comes from an ongoing dedication to an industry, an important feature of a career. Congruence with the right vocational type is key to finding ongoing fulfillment and can be the defining factor that pushes a worker away from the next job and into a rewarding career path.

References:
Psychology Today: Your Vocation Type -- The Key to Fulfillment: Whitborne, Susan Price, Ph.D
RIASEC Survey: What's Your Vocational Type?