It seems that nowadays having a good career is very important. Career is one of the most discussed topics in professional and private surroundings. But what does having a good career actually mean? The word
career has two primary meanings: the first one would be a synonym of lexemes occupation and profession while the second one denotes a progression or development of one's professional achievements. Either way this subject is an eternal inspiration for new discussions and ideas. However, a conversation will not flow in the same directions if both of the collocutors comprehend the meaning of career in a different way.
 |
| What is a career? |
The first primary meaning of career refers to occupation and profession. There is no correct concrete answer to the question what would be an excellent occupation which would include everyone - even the
choosing the right profession itself opens up many questions and makes it even harder to give an absolute solution to the problem. An excellent profession would be something one is really interested in and wants to progress in - in professional and personal life both. On the other hand, an excellent occupation is closely related to what one considers to be an excellent profession for themselves. Occupation is a regular source of livelihood - in short: a job - and that makes the situation a bit different here. A profession is something one needs to study for, get a college or university degree or obtain certain skills through education or mentored practice in professional surrounding. It is something you were taught or trained through a fixed program in order to be capable of doing that as your future occupation. A win-win situation is, therefore, to have a degree for something you like and to get a job position you had studied for.
Nevertheless, just because you have not been trained for a certain job position, it does not mean you cannot be an appropriate person to do it. Many people actually work on job positions for which they do not have a matching degree. For certain jobs to be performed a matching degree is a definite must, for example - doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, etc. Even if you have read or learned a lot about these job positions and have a great interest in them, a degree is a necessary proof that you are really able to carry them out. However, there are also jobs at which an actual experience is preferred much more than dry knowledge along with jobs at which a worker can be employed without or with less experience and to be offered an opportunity for additional education, usually through courses, within the work. The ideal situation, therefore, is to be able to study what one likes, get a degree for that and work at a matching job position.
 |
| Different professions require different levels of education |
There are only two more things left to be thought of - salary and professional progression. Regarding the salary, it seems that nowadays only one rule applies to it - the more, the better! There is nothing wrong with trying to work less for more money, but there certainly will be problems if one tries to get away from the work. Working is a human need. An adequate work gives a healthy and long life. A constant urge for learning new things, interaction with other people and progress can be fulfilled through work. If one understands that well, it is very easy to decide what kind of job is perfect for them. Having a high salary might also bring too much of work leaving no time for personal life. In that case it is better to have a less-paid job and more time than having a high-paid job leaving no time for anything else but work.
Progression as a human need can be fulfilled through work as well. This is also called as a career in its second primary meaning - a progression or development of one's professional achievements. Feeling appreciated at work and being paid appropriately will give a boost to the employee and make him want to progress more. If this fact is well-known to the authorities, they can also benefit from their workers as they will constantly improve themselves professionally. Here, of course, professional and personal progress do not have to match, but this is a whole another new topic.
 |
| How many people you know have a dream job? |
Having an excellent career is definitely possible. One should first of all decide which professional path is acceptable for him/her and which expectations should and can be fulfilled from a certain occupation. Other important things that need to be thought of are - salary and progression, simply through questions like - does the salary match the input labour at work and does the job provide an opportunity for additional education if one is interested in that. An honest answer from oneself to each of these question will bring every person to the right professional path and provide an excellent career respectively.
