National Careers Week - What is a Career?

What is National Careers Week?

National Careers Week is an annual initiative celebrating careers guidance and supporting young people thinking about entering employment after leaving education.

The 2022 National Careers Week is 7th-12 March and includes a virtual careers fair and online activities from employers and educational institutes. The aim is to answer questions and enlighten students as to the possibilities within the world of work and their futures within it.

You can visit the National Careers Week website to find out more.

What is a career?

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, a career is “an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.” Not everyone who works has a career and there are lots of elements that make up a career – the key point is, it’s a long-term part of your life. Some people know what career they want and might pick their education to give that career path the best start. Others might work in a job for a while and decide they’d like to make a career of it. Progression comes when there is increasing seniority, skills or knowledge you can aspire to achieve as part of a career, and with them might come benefits, perks or increased salary. Some industries come with strict career pathways you have to follow to reach the higher levels and others have much more flexibility. Generally the reason you have a career is to reach level of seniority that comes with increased job security, salary and flexibility compared to a junior level. Because the senior roles require a lot of skills, knowledge and experience to be done correctly however, one must start as a junior to learn it all. Just like we wouldn’t expect a GCSE student to take on a Masters degree, we wouldn’t expect a Finance Assistant to take on the duties and responsibilities of a Financial Director without working through the career pathway to give them the best shot at it.

What is the difference between a job and a career?

Different jobs can make up the steps in a career – individually they are jobs, but over a period of time, they contribute to your career development. Generally you would want your jobs to be in the same skills set or industry for your career to progress; if you hop from job to job and have to learn an entirely new set of skills each time, you will find it harder to improve. Think of your career as a ladder, if you keep switching ladders each time you reach the second rung, you will never reach the top of one.

Your career could be made up of lots of jobs or only a few, that depends on what profession you go into. So although a career is made up of jobs, they are still different. This is because you can have a job without having a career, as long as you get paid for work you do, that’s a job.

How can you find out your career?

In our piece on career myths we do explain that no one has to choose their careers and then stick to them forever, and it’s okay to not know what you want to do when you leave education. If you’re not sure what to do but you’d like to have a plan in place there are resources available ranging from skills tests to careers fairs and lots in-between.

Indeed have a comprehensive careers guide that includes ideas of paths and examples and the National Careers Service have a skills assessment quiz you can take that will help identify careers that match your current interests and skills. Plus of course the National Careers Week website has home learning resources, activities, guides and a virtual careers fair you can attend online. Many schools, colleges and local authorities also do live careers and jobs fairs, as do universities. If you’re unsure what to do, speaking to people at the fairs, following companies on social media or arranging to speak to people in an industry you’re interested in, are all great ways to pinpoint, or rule out, a path you’d like to take.

Work experience, apprenticeships, placements and internships are all options that involve working somewhere, some paid and some unpaid, which can be useful hands-on encounters with careers as well.

What are your next steps?

You might be feeling all sorts of pressure to make decisions about your career right now but a lot of that pressure comes from worry, from parents and loved ones, that you will be safe and secure in a good career as you grow up. For many people, the idea of not being sure what you want to do when you leave compulsory education is scary. Combat this pressure by asking for help with arranging work experience, practicing job interview skills, writing your CV, booking careers fairs and taking every opportunity that your school or college offer you for advice. Remember that whatever you choose now doesn’t have to be permanent, but it can be valuable in your future so whatever you choose to do, be a good team player, communicate effectively and always try to keep learning new things.?