What's the difference between a job and a career?

[x7q3]

Whenever I hear the word "career," I imagine people wearing suits and ties, typically in an office setting.

Practically any other job, like retail, car salesmen, movie star, fast food, truck driver, etc, I think of as just jobs and not careers. I only think of suit-wearing jobs as careers. This is the image I've had all my life, due to TV, with no explanation given for what it means.

What does career imply? How is it different from a job? Is there a difference? Why are certain jobs called careers, but not others?

[Hitman Horton]

Google came up with about 2.46 billion responses when I typed in

job vs. career

Great place for you to find the reason for yourself.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

[civiclx]

They're spelled differently! That's all I could come up with

[Al_The_Strange]

I always assumed a job was just a single part of a career, and a career would be the entirety of one's work experience in a specific field or office.

Somebody could work at McDonald's as a "job," but that person's eventual rise to higher positions (or management, or executive) could be considered a career. Just as my own career transitioned from grubby mail room work to other stuff. I always saw it as a chain of moves and successes.

I suppose that a McDonald's cook could just stay in one position for forty years, in which case that's a heck of a job and that person might be great at it, but it's not much of a career.

[The_Donster]

A job is something you have. A career is something you want.

[Scarface32]

The only difference is how long you’ve worked. If you’ve picked up garbage for 30+ years, your career is in garbage.

[Cremildo]

A dictionary can help.

[monwobbbo]

a job is just something you go to to make money but may not want to do ever again. a career is usually a series of jobs along the same lines (that you hopefully enjoy) . your career path can change as time goes on. for instance my career for many years was in ship/rec/whse. i was really good at it and overtime worked my way up to management. then i got old and the opportunities in my neck of the woods dried up when the recession hit. now i have a career in security and that will likely last until i retire (another 10-12 years). again i worked my way up the ladder and was recently promoted to head of security.

[Todd Tomorrow]

With a career you start in a lower position and work your way up towards better paid and possibly more rewarding position within that field. That doesn’t necessarily mean wearing suits, there are lots of careers in creative or start-up industries where everyone wears jeans and t-shirts.

A job is something you do to financially keep afloat without rising through the ranks. Sometimes a job can lead to a career.

I was in a career in an industry which has changed a lot and which didn’t make me happy anymore. Now in my mid-50s I’ve given it up for a job in a crisis centre where I earn far less, but I get to help people. I’m a lot more happy, even if it meant downsizing. Sometimes it can go the other way round.

[Lefthandedcherry]

To me, a job is something for just financial motivation, something temporary, whereas a career is something with much more investment to it, something that pertains to your special interest and are willing to be part of for a long time.

[Adcatalano]

I’ve had jobs - 6 months in a call center, 2 years at a bank, 4 years at a tax assessment firm. My career is my small business that I’ve spent the last 10 years growing and now I make all of my income from it. Another word for career could be your “trade” - I do film/video/media production, that’s my trade... my craft... my career

[Batman1980]

My career will be behavioral health services at some point. My job is storeroom clerk at a local hospital while I look for BHS jobs.

[314carpenter]

To the question... I have a job to do, but that does not always mean I get paid to do it. Sometimes work is just work that has to be done. A career defines long term paid position/s of employment within a certain sector of the economy. That form of payment also does not mean that the payment must be financially beneficial either meaning that non-financial forms of payment or benefits are sometimes accepted. Also note that getting paid, or making money, does not always mean one does so by way of working a job or a having a career. I hope that explanation clears it right up for you.

[Batman1980]

Yeah I had a 20 year career in food service that I'm hoping is behind me. I'll call those the dark years lol.

[Lee A Stewart]

[sfmarine]

A career is hopefully a position where you can do 20 years with a healthy salary and retire with a pension!

A job is probably something that helps you get by but not a position in which you are happy.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

Yeah I had a 20 year career in food service that I'm hoping is behind me. I'll call those the dark years lol.

That's what I call my 10 plus years of working in retail (which I'm glad I finally got out of that in 2016). I'll die before I go back.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

That's what I call my 10 plus years of working in retail (which I'm glad I finally got out of that in 2016). I'll die before I go back.

Well I don't want to go back, either. Storeroom clerk is better at least and hopefully my 4 year degree means I will never have to work in food service again. Being severely understaffed at least means overtime hours for now, going to grab them while I can. Need all the money I can get since I may be making student loan payments at some point and if not, I will need $ for graduate school.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

Need all the money I can get since I may be making student loan payments at some point and if not, I will need $ for graduate school.

I believe the loan payments do not kick in until after you've graduated, so if you continue with graduate school you won't have to make that first payment for a while.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

I believe the loan payments do not kick in until after you've graduated, so if you continue with graduate school you won't have to make that first payment for a while.

That forced exit counseling NMSU made me do suggested my $290 a month payments (which I can't afford) start in November. So hopefully I get a higher paying job soon and/or accepted to a graduate school.