Does it matter to know the difference between a job and a career?

Quite often, a lot of people use the words career and job interchangeably but is there a difference? If there is, why is it important to know this difference. In this article I explain the difference and give you three reasons why knowing the difference is important,

First of all, let us take a look at the difference between these two words. For many people, a career is a profession and so if you've gone through a nursing training programme for example, then your career is nursing. The same way if you've pursued a programme in accountancy, your career automatically becomes accounting.

There are others who think a career is a calling. To them, you have a career only if you are doing what you are passionate about. What this implies is that, you don't have a career if you are in a job you hate. In order for us to appreciate what a career really means, let's define a job.

A job simply refers to the activities or tasks you perform to earn an income. This could be as an employee or an entrepreneur. A career however refers to the series of jobs you've had in the past, your current job and the jobs will be having in the future.

It is important to know this difference for three main reasons.

1. Career satisfaction: For a very long time, I didn't understand the difference between a job and a career. As a result, I felt dissatisfied in my career instead of my job. I was using what I was feeling in my job at that time to judge my entire career. Once I got to understand the difference. I began to appreciate the skill set I have develop over years through the series of jobs I had held in the past. This also gave me a clear vision of where my career was heading and some level of career satisfaction even though I was then in a job that was not giving me the satisfaction I wanted. Recognising my skill set gave me the hope of finding the job I will enjoy doing.

2. Higher remuneration: You may be in a job that is not giving you the salary you will love to have, however when you understand the what a career is all about, it helps you to appreciate the skill set you are developing in your past jobs and in current job that will help you land the job that will give you your preferred salary.

3. Long-term financial security: Once you get to appreciate the difference between a career and a job, you get to understand that there is nothing like job insecurity. The reason is that, even if you lose your current job, you can always find something to do that will bring you income. After all earning an income is the major reason why we are all in jobs.

I hope with the above explanation you can now appreciate why knowing the difference between a job and career matters.

Feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comment section.