Ann M. Brewer - Careers: Thinking, Strategising and Prototyping

Careers single out lives and shape them in profound ways. The notion of a career is not a straightforward concept and, increasingly, it has become more complicated. Many young people today will have multiple careers in diverse industries.

The aim, in writing this book, is to delve into the concept of career to understand how people consider their careers to understand the totality of what is at stake. As we think about the next 50 years of career making, we are only too aware of how unpredictable work and careers are becoming as new industries and divisions of labour are rapidly spawned. One must consider the possibility of different career trajectories in the face of globalisations tendency to homogenise; and recognise the multiple coexisting meanings that embody career.

The mutable nature of work means it is time to take a fresh look at what is meant by the term career and career pathway. An increasing number of people are working in jobs that do not require either their skills or credentials. Like Robert , people ponder which road to take the one more often chosen, the one less travelled or the one yet to be discovered.

Careers contain meaning, processes, collections of diverse stories and practices that are neither stagnant nor do they have fixed boundaries. The meanings, emotions and bonds that individuals and groups acquire are important in the diverse operationalisation of career.

Careers are spaces becoming meaningful over time. People establish strong bonds and emotions within their careers leading to a sense of attachment, identity and dependence. A career attachment is either strong or weak. In many cases, people become career dependent and rely on a particular role to suit their individual needs and desires, which is often unrecognised or acknowledged until the point of a career transition such as redundancy or retirement.

A career signifies a particular, bounded function with skills, knowledge and attributes attached. It is a way of seeing, knowing and understanding the world; hence, careers mean different things to different people. For example, a career is considered as a meaningful pursuit entailing goals and outcomes rather than defined by fixed role specifications. This process allows people with careers to develop social relationships as well as the emotional and subjective bonds with others; opportunities often denied to those who are unemployed.

Generally speaking, people searching for a career are looking for a long-term commitment and identity that is, continuity of engagement and benefits. For people with careers in the past and now, they offer people a purpose for their life as well as a chance for becoming something beyond themselves as well as membership in a select group. This membership leads to a heightened sense of identity and meaning for the incumbent.