17 Career Pathways
INTRODUCTION
People leave an organization due to lack of career growth. Deeper
focus on an employee’s aims and aspirations. It brings you to a degree of
clarity. It also helps in identifying handicaps & the blind spots to overcome.
High-level vision and goals of the company are clearly made known to
employees. Growth of an organization is intrinsically linked with the growth of
an individual. Matching organization vision & employees aspirations is a must
(Career planning, n.d.).
OBJECTIVES
Most Essential Learning Competency/ies (MELC) In-Focus:
1. discuss the external factors influencing career choices that may help
you in career decision-making.
2. identify pros and cons of various career options with the guidance of a
parent, teacher, or counselor.
3. prepare a career plan based on your personal goal and external factors
influencing career choices.
CONCEPT OF CAREER
1. According to the Oxford Dictionary English, it refers to a person’s
course or progress through life. In this definition, career is understood
to relate to a range of aspects of an individual's life, learning, and work.
2. A career is the work a person does. It is the sequence of jobs that an
individual has held throughout his or her working life, e.g., occupation
of nursing.
3. A career is an individual's journey through learning, work, and other
aspects of life.
4. It also pertains to his occupation or profession that usually involves
special training or formal education and is considered a person’s
lifework.
Some of the important features of the term career may be stated
thus:
5. A career develops over time: It covers objective conditions (such as
jobs, duties, responsibilities) and also includes subjective reactions
(such as enthusiasm, boredom).
6. It is the individual who ultimately must judge the success of his career.
He must set his own criteria for success, and such criteria can be far-
ranging (e.g., pay, adventure, working with new people in new
environment, helping others, etc.).
7. The important element in one’s career is experiencing psychological
success, which basically is, feeling a sense of personal
accomplishment and fulfillment. Psychological success energizes our
efforts and impels us to undertake new challenges and scale new
heights that foster our growth over time.
8. The typical career of a person today would probably include many
different positions, transitions, and organizations, more so than is in the
past when employees were less mobile and organizations more stable
as employers.
CAREER STAGES
1. Exploration
2. Establishment
3. Mid-Career
4. Late Career
5. Decline
How do people choose a career?
Career planning consists of activities and actions that you take to
achieve your individual career goals. It is the life- long process a person goes
through to learn about himself, such as:
1. Purpose
2. Personality
3. Interests
4. Skills
5. Talents
6. Develop a self-concept
7. Learn about careers and work situations
8. Make a career choice, while developing and coping social skills
(Career development, n.d.)
The major focus is matching personal goals and opportunities that are
realistically available. Career planning is building bridges from one’s current
career to the next one. Well-conceived career plan is flexible to
accommodate changing opportunities for development
(Career Management & Planning, n.d.).
How important is Career Planning?
People leave an organization due to lack of career growth. Deeper
focus on an employee’s aims and aspirations (Career Planning, n.d.). It brings
you to a degree of clarity. It also helps in identifying handicaps & the blind
spots to overcome. High-level vision and goals of company are clearly made
known to employees. Growth of an organization is intrinsically linked with the
growth of an individual. Matching organization vision & employees aspirations
is a must (Career planning, n.d.).
CAREER PLANNING PROCESS
1. Identifying individual needs and aspirations - The basic purpose of
such an exercise is to help an employee form a clear view about what
he should do to build his career within the company. Workshops and
seminars increase employee interest by showing the value of career
planning. They help employees set career goals, identify career paths
and uncover specific career development activities.
2. Analyzing career opportunities - Once career needs and aspirations of
employees are known, the organization has to provide career paths for
each position. Career paths show career progression possibilities
clearly. They indicate the various positions that one could hold over a
period of time if one is able to perform well.
3. Aligning needs and opportunities - Identify the potential of employees
and then undertake career development programmers with a view to
align employee needs and organizational opportunities. Certain
developmental techniques such as special assignments, planned
position rotation, supervisory coaching, job enrichment, understudy
programs can be undertaken to update employee knowledge and skills.
4. Action plans and periodic review - The matching process would
uncover gaps. These need to be bridged through individual career
development efforts and organization supported efforts from time to
time.
(Career development, n.d.)
WHAT IS CAREER DEVELOPMENT?
Career development consists of the personal actions one undertakes to
achieve a career plan. It usually refers to managing one’s career in an intra-
organizational or inter-organizational scenario. It involves training on new
skills, moving to higher job responsibilities, making a career change within the
same organization, moving to a different organization, or starting one’s own
business.
INDIVIDUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Some of the important steps in career development are:
1. Performance - Career progress rests largely on performance. If the
performance is sub-standard, even modest career goals cannot be
achieved.
2. Exposure - Career development comes through exposure, which
implies becoming known by those who decide promotions, transfers,
and other career opportunities.
3. Networking - Networking implies professional and personal contacts
that would help in striking good deals outside.
4. Leveraging - Resigning to further one’s career with another employer
is known as leveraging. When the option is irresistible, the only option
left is to resign from the current position
5. Loyalty to Career - Professionals and recent college graduates
generally jump jobs frequently when they start their careers. To
overcome this problem, companies have come out with lucrative,
innovative compensation packages
6. Expand Ability - Employees who are career conscious must prepare
themselves for future opportunities that may come their way internally
or externally by taking a series of proactive steps.
ORGANIZATIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT
1. Self-assessment tools - Employees go through a process in which
they think through their life roles, interests, skills, and work attitudes
and preferences. They identify career goals, develop suitable action
plans and point out obstacles that come in the way. Two popular self-
assessment tools that are used are career planning workshops and a
career workbook.
2. Individual counseling - Employee counseling is a process whereby
employees are guided in overcoming performance problems. It is
usually done through face-to-face meetings between the employee and
the counselor or coach. Here discussions of employees’ interests,
goals, current job activities, and performance and career objectives
take place. Counseling is generally offered by the HR department.
Sometimes outside experts are also be called in.
3. Information services - Employment opportunities at various levels are
made known to employees through information services of various
kinds. Records of employees’ skills, knowledge, experience, and
performance indicate the possible candidates for filling up such
vacancies. For compiling and communicating career-related
information to employees, organizations basically use four methods:
Job posting system, Skills inventory, Career ladders, and career paths,
and Career resource center.
4. Employee assessment programs - Initially, a new recruit is informed
about career policies and procedures of the company. Socialization
efforts help the recruit learn about these things quickly. An experienced
employee acting as a coach may also help the new recruit form a
realistic view of the skills needed at various levels and develop
appropriate career goals and action plans. Formal orientation programs
are used to educate employees on career programs, career paths, and
opportunities for advancement within the company.
5. Employee developmental programs - These consist of skill
assessment and training efforts that organizations use to groom their
employees for future vacancies. Seminars, workshops, job rotations,
and mentoring programs are used to develop a broad base of skills as
a part of such developmental activities.
(Career development, n.d.)
WORK ENVIRONMENTS AND INTERESTS
Psychologists John Holland classified work environment into six:
Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Enterprising, and Conventional. There are no
pure classifications, though. A person’s job function may combine ESA
(Enterprising, Social and Artistic) or ISC (Investigative, Social and
Conventional) or any two or three other possible combinations.
Holland also classifies personalities or interests into the same six types:
Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Again,
there are no pure interest types. A person may also be ESA (Enterprising-
Social-Artistic) or ISC (Investigative-Social-Conventional) or any two or three
possible combinations.
Interests Types Work/Occupational Environmen
ts
Realistic Realistic
Investigativ Investigative
e
Artistic Artistic
Social Social
Enterprising Enterprising
Convention Conventional
al
If our interest patterns are ESA (i.e., Enterprising, Social, and Artistic),
we will be attracted to a job/career in which the work activities are ESA.
Look at the letters listed with each party group and their corresponding
descriptions below. Then, think about how much you would or would not enjoy
working in the types of situations discussed and how the characteristics
mentioned relating to your personality and interests.
As a further note, these themes can be combined to produce
several hundred job personality types, each of which has something
different to say about the match between an individual and an occupation.
For example, a person who is primarily “realistic” (R) might also be
“artistic” (A) and “enterprising” (E) and would probably find a job doing
public relations layouts for the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources satisfying. Consider your examination of these areas, here, as
a good first step in further career and self-understanding.
R = Realistic.
People high on the realistic theme tend to enjoy creating things with
their hands and working with tools and objects rather than working with
people and ideas. Realistic people tend to be rugged and practical,
enjoying work outdoors.
Example of occupations that are primarily realistic in nature are:
forester, industrial arts teacher, radio operator, auto engineer, mechanical
engineer, mining engineer, vocational agriculture teacher, civil engineer,
industrial engineering technician, aircraft mechanic, mechanical engineer
technician, fish and game warden, surveyor, dental technician,
architectural draftsman, electrician, jeweler, powerhouse repairman, tool
and die maker, machinist, mechanic, stone cutter, locksmith, nuclear
reactor technician, tree surgeon, piano tuner, typesetter, air conditioning
engineer, ship pilot, instrument mechanic, motion picture projectionist,
carpenter, tailor, machine repairer.
I = Investigative.
Occupations high in investigative characteristics tend to focus on
scientific activities. People high on this theme would often rather work
alone than with other people and are usually seen as idea-oriented and
creative in scientific areas such as research. They are analytical, abstract,
intellectual and task-oriented.
Some specific investigative jobs are: economist, internist,
physician, anthropologist, astronomer, pathologist, physicist, chemist,
production planner, medical lab assistant, tv repairer, biologist, osteopath,
chiropractor, math teacher, natural science teacher, optometrist,
psychiatrist, psychologist, medical technologist, bacteriologist,
physiologist, research analyst, computer analyst, programmer,
pharmacist, actuary, quality control technician, computer operator,
geologist, mathematician/statistician, surgeon, meteorologist, agronomist,
animal scientist, botanist, zoologist, horticulturist, natural scientist,
oceanographer, biochemist, veterinarian, geographer, x-ray technician,
administrator, dentist, tool designer, chemical lab technician, engineers
such as aircraft, chemical, electrical, metallurgical, radio/tv technician,
engineering aide, weather observer.
A = Artistic.
People who score high on the artistic theme are artistically inclined,
and usually describe themselves as independent, imaginative, creative,
and unconventional. They enjoy situations that allow them freedom to be
original, prefer to work in an unstructured environment, and are usually
dissatisfied if they are forced to follow many rules and procedures. They
enjoy activities related to language, art, music, drama, writing, etc.
Some primarily artistic jobs include drama coach, language
teacher, journalist-reporter, drama teacher, foreign language interpreter,
philosopher, art teacher, literature teacher, music teacher, musician,
orchestra conductor, advertising manager, entertainer, public relations
person, fashion model, writer, editor, radio program writer, dramatist,
actor/actress, designer, interior decorator, critic, fashion illustrator,
furniture designer, jewelry designer, furrier, garment designer, decorator,
architect, artist, photographer, photograph re-toucher, photo lithographer
(printer), music arranger, composer.
S = Social.
People high on the social theme are usually seen by others as
sociable, popular, and responsible. They prefer social interaction and
social presence. They are often interested in the problems and concerns
of others, and like activities that allow them to teach, inform, train,
develop, cure, and help others.
Jobs that involve these personality aspects include education,
teaching, social welfare, human development, counseling, health
professions (medicine, nursing, etc.), social service, compensation
advising, etc. In addition, dorm director, interviewer, employment
representative, funeral director, chamber of commerce executive,
employee benefits approver, food service manager, claim adjuster,
production expediter, health and welfare coordinator, educational
administrator, training director, historian, environmental health engineer,
home service rep., community recreation administrator, business agent,
extension agent, physical education teacher, building superintendent,
therapist, political scientist, sociologist, social and group worker,
personnel director, food and drug inspector, teacher, minister, librarian,
foreign service officer, history teacher are in jobs in this interest area.
E = Enterprising.
Occupations that are primarily enterprising in nature usually involve
situations where the person is in a position of leading or convincing others
to achieve team/organizational goals or economic gain. People high on
this theme are often seen as enthusiastic, dominant, and impatient.
Some primarily enterprising jobs include those of sales and
marketing field, banker, insurance underwriter, real estate appraiser,
florist, industrial engineer, contractor, warehouse manager, salesperson-
technical products, lawyer, judge, attorney, tv/radio announcer, branch
manager, director industrial relations, government official, insurance
manager, managers such as restaurant/ office/traffic/human
resource/production, etc., salary and wage administrator, labor arbitrator,
systems analyst, director of compensation and benefits, securities
salesperson, human resource recruiter.
C = Conventional.
High conventional people tend to prefer jobs where they are given
firm structure and know exactly what is expected of them. People who
rank high on this theme often describe themselves as conscientious,
efficient, and calm. They enjoy activities that involve the precise, ordered
use of data such as keeping and filing records, organizing data,
computing, printing, etc.
They enjoy words and numbers and systematic and structured jobs
such as clerical, administrative, time study analyst, business (commercial)
teacher, finance expert, accountant, credit manager, timekeeper, auto
writing machine operator, bookkeeping machine operator, estimator,
foreign trade clerk, office worker, payroll clerk, accounting machine
operator, personnel clerk, sales correspondent, reservations agent,
bookkeeper, cashier, secretary, medical secretary, library assistant, data
processing worker, mail clerk, personnel secretary, proofreader, and the
like.
(Bulacan State University, n.d.)
CHOOSE YOUR CAREER FIRST – NOT YOUR COLLEGE
Approximately 80 percent of college freshmen have not declared a
college major. Fifty percent of those who have declared a major will switch
during college. Seventy percent of all college students will change their
major.
These numbers prove that students are not being turned into who they
are before making major decisions – a costly mistake. Most parents who have
saved for college plan on their child graduating in four years. What are the
chances that a student who changes majors over and over or transfers
schools will graduate in four years? Simply put: It’s not possible.
Your College Roadmap
The typical student embarks on the college search by first choosing
the college they love, then a major, and finally choosing a corresponding
career path. Students should instead embark on their journey with the
end in mind -a future career. Instead of focusing on the four years spent
in college, turn your attention to the 40+ years you will work after
graduation.
The college roadmap should be tailored to the individual student.
Students should first ask themselves, “What am I wired to do?” While
there’s not one simple answer to this question, conscientiously dialing into
one’s personality allows one to easily identify what they are not wired to
do. From there, they can consult sites like the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook and O*Net Online to
categorize job prospects accordingly. Students should hone in on career
possibilities that satisfy their individual needs and interests. In that regard,
the Birkman Assessment tool can be helpful since it identifies 77
personality scores. When personality data corresponds to a student’s
academic profile, the results can be profound.
The Back-Up Plan
Once potential careers are established, students should back up to
the majors that feed to these careers and research colleges that are
respected in those fields. Sometimes it’s one major-as is the case with
teaching or engineering-but often, there are several options that feed into
a given career. On the college-bound journey, career needs to be at the
forefront of each student’s choice of major. Choosing career first is
actually an investment in college savings, since knowing upfront where
your degree path will take you can save a lot of time and money.
(University of Notre Dame, n.d.)
