16 Persons and Careers

INTRODUCTION

Suchitra Surve, Director, Growth Centre identifies the 10 common myths

about choosing a career and tells you why it will affect you in the long run. Keep
in mind that the road to career happiness is usually full of bumps, curves and
tangents rather than a straight, direct path from point A to point B. While peer
pressure and post-study placements could be major influences affecting your
decision at 16, there are those who end up regretting their decisions even when
they are 30.

OBJECTIVES

Most Essential Learning Competency/ies (MELC) In-Focus:

1. explain that understanding of the concepts of career and life goals can
help in planning your career.
2. make a genogram and trace certain physical, personality, or behavioral
attributes through generations.
3. prepare a plan on how to make your family members firmer and gentler
with each other.

CAREER CONCEPTS

A career is defined as the combination and sequence of roles played

by a person during the course of a lifetime (Super, 1980). Your career
basically dictates a lot of things in your life – it can determine the kind of lifestyle
that you will be leading, the quality of relationships that you have with people
around you like your family and friends, the kind of balance you will be able to
keep with your life and your responsibilities.

There are two other concepts that we often associate with the concept of
career. One is a job. A job is a position an individual holds doing specific duties.
For example, if you would look closely at the job of a lawyer, you can say that a
lawyer’s job is working as an associate in X Law Firm.

Another term is occupation. An occupation is defined as the similar work

for which people have similar responsibilities and for which they develop a
common set of skills and knowledge. For example, people who are in the mental
health occupation would include psychologists, clinical psychologists, counselors,
and psychiatrists.

A lot of things can influence one’s career choice. A popular career

development model, the Trait and Factor model believes that skills and abilities
need to fit the demands of a particular career field. This being said, it is then
important that you take stock of the skills, knowledge and abilities that you
currently possess and those that you still need to develop as these greatly
impacts that kind of career that could be a good match for you.

Another factor that could influence your success in a particular career field
would be your personality and interests. John Holland, a popular career
counselor proposed a theory that strongly believes that certain careers require
certain personality traits and must also fit our interests.

Our life roles are yet strong factors that influence our career choices. Your
role as a child, a sister, a student, and eventually, if you choose it, that of a
parent would have an impact on the decisions that you would have to make as
an adult. Donald Super, another career development theorist, believes that since
we play an array of roles in our lives, these roles are likely to change over time.
Thus, requirements, needs and other external forces would come into play when
we are trying to figure out or maintain a career.
 One’s race and ethnicity could also impact our choices, the culture to
which we belong shape our values and expectations. In the Philippines, our
collectivist orientation makes our family a strong influence on our career
decisions. More often than not, the choice, of course, to take in college, the
location of our job, how strong-willed we will be in achieving great heights in our
career would most likely be influenced by our family roles, duties and
obligations.

Our social identity, specifically our gender, also possesses challenges

and opportunities for us when choosing a career. Although nowadays, the gender
divide in terms of careers have slowly narrowed, it is a known fact that men and
women experience career-related stereotypes.

One of the strongest considerations in career decision making has a lot to

do with social and economic conditions. Our choice of career is contingent on
our capabilities to sustain the monetary demands of pursuing formal education to
train for it. Also, our financial obligations and roles likewise would determine the
kind of occupation we would be pursuing in order to fulfill these duties.
Furthermore, certain life events can also influence our career choices. The
unpredictability of these events may cause us to make certain concessions in
order to meet the demands brought about by these changes. Likewise, the
volatile economic landscape and how it impacts that supply and demand for
people and jobs may also impact how our careers would progress.

Lastly, we are so familiar with the question, “What do you want to be when
you grow up?” It is highly probable that these childhood fantasies may have
influenced how you view yourself and your career.

INFLUENCE FACTORS

Skills and Abilities

Considering your skills and abilities and how they may fit a particular
occupation comes out of one of the earliest career development fields, Trait-
Factor theories, and is still used today. These theories recommend creating
occupational profiles for specific jobs as well as identifying individual differences,
matching individuals to occupations based on these differences. You can identify
activities you enjoy and those in which you have a level of competency though a
formal assessment.

Interest and Personality Type

Holland's Career Typology is a widely used to connect personality types

and career fields. This theory establishes a classification system that matches
personality characteristics and personal preferences to job characteristics. The
Holland Codes are six personality/career types that help describe a wide range of
occupations.

Life Roles

Being a worker is just one of your life roles, in addition to others such as,
student, parent, and child. Super's Lifespan theory directly addresses the fact
that we each play multiple roles in our lives and that these roles change over the
course of our lives. How we think about ourselves in these roles, their
requirements of them, and the external forces that affect them, may influence
how we look at careers in general and how we make choices for ourselves.

Previous Experiences

Krumboltz's Social Learning and Planned Happenstance theories address

factors related to our experiences with others and in previous work situations.
Having positive experiences and role models working in specific careers may
influence the set of careers we consider as options for ourselves. One aspect of
Social Cognitive Career Theory addresses the fact that we are likely to consider
continuing a particular task if we have had a positive experience doing it. In this
way, we focus on areas in which we have had proven success and achieved
positive self-esteem.

Culture

Racial and ethnic background, as well as the culture of an individual's

regional area, local community, and extended family, may impact career
decisions. Our culture often shapes our values and expectations as they relate to
many parts of our lives, including jobs and careers. Multicultural career
counseling has emerged as a specialized field to take these influences into
consideration when counseling clients and students. We can't attribute the
predominant characteristics of a culture to any one of its individuals, but having
an awareness of the values and expectations of our culture may help us
understand how we make our career choices.

Gender

Both men and women have experienced career-related stereotypes.

Gender is a factor included in multiple career development theories and
approaches including, Social Learning and multicultural career counseling. How
we view ourselves as individuals may influence both the opportunities and
barriers we perceive as we make career decisions. Studies of gender and career
development are ongoing as roles of men and women in the workforce, and in
higher education, evolve.

Social and Economic Conditions

All of our career choices take place within the context of society and the
economy. Several career theories, such as Social Cognitive Career Theory and
Social Learning, address this context in addition to other factors. Events that take
place in our lives may affect the choices available to us and even dictate our
choices to a certain degree. Changes in the economy and resulting job market
may also affect how our careers develop.

Childhood Fantasies

What do you want to be when you grow-up? You may remember this
question from your childhood, and it may have helped shape how you thought
about careers then, as well as later in life. Career counseling theories are
expanding as programs related to career choice are developed for all ages,
including the very young. Ginzberg proposed a theory that describes three life
stages related to career development. The first stage, fantasy, where early ideas
about careers are formed, takes place up to age 11.

SUPER’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Donald Super influenced the idea that developing a sense of self and
realize that you change over time is important when planning your career.

One of Donald Super's greatest contributions to career development has

been his emphasis on the importance of the development of self-concept.
According to Super, self-concept changes over time, and develops as a result of
experience. As such, career development is lifelong.

Super developed the theories and work of colleague Eli Ginzberg.

Ginzberg’s theory enumerated three stages in a person’s career development:
Fantasy (from birth to 11 years old), Tentative (from 11-17 years old), and
Realistic (after age 17). Super thought that Ginzberg’s work had weaknesses,
which he wanted to address. Super extended Ginzberg’s life and career
development stages from three to five, and included different sub stages.

Super argues that occupational preferences and competencies, along with

an individual’s life situations, all change with time and experience. Super
developed the concept of vocational maturity, which may or may not correspond
to chronological age: people cycle through each of these stages when they go
through career transitions.

Super’s five life and career development stages

Stage Age Characteristics

Growth birth-14 Development of self-concept,
attitudes, needs and general
world of work
Exploration 15-24 "Trying out" through classes,
work hobbies. Tentative choice
and skill development
Establishment 25-44 Entry-level skill building and
stabilization through work
experience
Maintenance 45-64 Continual adjustment process to
improve position
Decline 65+ Reduced output, prepare for
retirement

HOW TO CHOOSE A MAJOR AND A JOB PATH USING CAREER

CLUSTERS

Careers that require similar skills and appeal to people with similar
interests have been grouped into clusters.

Interested in Then study this… To become A( n )

Architecture & Computer-Aided Product Drafter
Construction Drafting & Design Architectural Drafter
CAD Technician
Careers in designing, planning, Construction Estimator
managing, building and Management Site Superintendent
maintaining the built Project Coordinator
environment. Facility Service Maintenance Technician
Technology Building Technician
Geographical GIS Technician
Information System Map Maker
Surveying Technician
Heating, Ventilation HVAC Installer
and Air Conditioning VAC Mechanic
Industrial Technology Industrial Maintenance
Mechanic
Renewable Energy Photovoltaic/Solar
Technologies Thermal
Installer Geothermal
Technical
Arts, A/V Technology Graphic Design Graphic Designer
& Communications Web Designer
Animator/Illustrator
Designing, producing, exhibiting, Desktop Publishing
performing, writing, and Specialist
publishing multimedia content Mass Communication Camera Operator
including visual and performing Radio/TV Host
Producer Director
arts and design, journalism, and Audio/Video Editor
entertainment services Music – Audio Audio Editor
Production
Photography Photographer
Photographic Lab
technician
Studio Art Illustrator/Cartoonist
World Wide Web Web Designer/Developer
Business Management Accounting Payroll Clerk
& Administration General Accounting
Clerk
Careers in planning, organizing, Administrative Office Administrative Assistant
directing and evaluating Systems Legal or Medical
business functions essential to Secretary
efficient and productive business Office Manager
operations. Computer Information Computer Support
Systems Specialist
Entrepreneurship Small business
Manager/Owner
Management Manager/Supervisor
Human Resources Staff
Education & Training Early Childhood Preschool or Child Care
Education Teacher
Planning, managing and Family Child Care
providing education and training Provider
services, and related learning Early Childhood
support services such as Administrator
administration, teaching/training, Health Care Health Care Interpreter
administrative support, and Interpreting
professional support services. Interpreter Training Sign Language
Interpreter
Interpreter for the Deaf
Legal Interpreting Legal interpreter
Library Technical Library Aide
Assistant Library Clerk
Paraprofessional Classroom Teacher
Educator Assistant
Special Education
Teacher
Assistant
Bilingual Teacher
Assistant
Finance Accounting Bookkeeper
Payroll associate
Planning and related services for Loan Officer
financial and investment
planning, banking, insurance,
and business financial

Government & Public Accounting Tax Payer Auditor

Administration Real estate Real Estate Broker

Planning and executing

government functions at the
local, state and federal levels,
including governance, national
security, foreign service,
planning, revenue and taxation,
and regulations

Health Science Emergency Medical EMT-Basic

Technician
 Planning, managing and Exercise Science Physical Therapy
providing therapeutic services, assistant
diagnostic services, health Health Information Medical Record Coder
informatics, support services, Technology Medical Secretary
and biotechnology research and Health Secretary
development Health Records
Professional
Medical Assistant Medical assistant
Nurse Assistant Certified Nurse assistant
(CNA)
Registered Nursing Registered Nurse(RN)
Patient Care Patient Care Technician
Technician (PCT)
Phlebotomy Phlebotomy Technician
Technician
Surgical Technology Certified surgical
Techmologists(CST)
Human Services Early Childhood Preschool or Child Care
Education Teacher
Preparing individuals for career Family Child Care
pathways that relate to families Provider
and human needs such as Early Childhood
Counseling and mental health Administrator
services, family and community Health Care Health Care Interpreter
services, personal care, and Interpreting
consumer services. Human Services Mental Health Worker
Residential Counselor
Social Service Aide
Certified Addictions
Counselor
Therapeutic Massage Massage Therapist
Information Technology Computer Information Network Administrator
Systems Computer
Building linkages in IT Programmer/Analyst
occupations for entry level, Computer Game
technical, and professional Designer
careers related to the design, Graphic Design Desktop Publishing
development, support and Specialist
management of hardware, Web Designer
software, multimedia and World Wide Web Web Designer
systems integration services. Web Developer

Law, Public Safety, Criminal Justice Police Officer

Corrections Parole Officer
Security Officer
Planning, managing, and
providing legal, public safety, Emergency Medical EMT-Basic
protective services and Technician EMT-Paramedic
homeland security, including Fire Science Fire Fighter
professional and technical Fire Inspector
support services. Human Services Group Home Worker
Residential Counselor
Manufacturing Computer-aided Mechanical drafter
Design and Drafting Production Drafter
Planning, managing and Model Maker
performing the processing of Electronics Electronics Technician
materials into intermediate or Technology Electronics Inspector
final products and related Industrial Technology Research and
professional and technical Development
support activities such as Technician
production planning and control, Industrial Maintenance
maintenance and Mechanic
 manufacturing/process Entry-Level
engineering. Manufacturing Worker
Renewable Energy Photovoltaic/Solar
Technologies Thermal/Small Wind
System Estimator
Welding Technology Production Welder
Marketing Management Marketing Manager
Marketing Salesperson
Planning, managing and Customer Service
performing marketing activities to Representative
reach organizational objectives Marketing
such as brand management, Representative
professional sales, Real Estate Real Estate Broker
merchandising, Real Estate Managing
Marketing communications and Broker
market research.
Science, Technology, Geographic GIS Technician
Engineering & Mathematics Information Systems Mapmaker
Surveying Technician
Planning, managing, and
providing scientific research and Laboratory Chemical Lab
professional and technical Technology Assistant/Technician
services (e.g., physical science, Biology Lab
social science, engineering) Assistant/Technician
including laboratory and testing Quality Control
services, and research and Technician
development services. Process Control
Technician
Transportation, Accounting Tax Payer Auditor
Distribution & Logistics Real estate Real estate Broker

The planning, management, and

movement of people, materials,
and goods by road, pipeline, air,
rail and water and related
professional and technical
support services such as
infrastructure planning, logistics,
mobile equipment and facilities