The Difference Between a Career and a Job

Thursday, 10th July 2008 (by J.D.) 52 comments

This article is about Career
hat is the di!!erence bet"een a career and a #ob$ Trent at The %im&le Dollar recently su''ested
the !ollo"in' dichotomy(
) #ob is somethin' you do sim&ly to earn money* a career is a series o! connected
em&loyment o&&ortunities.
) #ob has minimal im&act on your !uture "or+ li!e, "hile a career &ro,ides e-&erience
and learnin' to !uel your !uture.
) #ob o!!ers !e" net"or+in' o&&ortunities, but a career is loaded "ith them.
hen you "or+ at a #ob, you should do the minimum "ithout annoyin' the boss. hen
you.re in a career, you should 'o the e-tra mile, doin' tas+s beyond your minimum #ob
descri&tion.
Thou'h / a'ree "ith Trent on many thin's our !inancial &hiloso&hies are ,ery similar /
don.t a'ree "ith him on this. / belie,e that all #obs deser,e your best e!!ort, and / belie,e the
distinction bet"een a #ob and a career is arti!icial.
Doing my best
Durin' the summer a!ter my !reshman year o! colle'e, / "or+ed as a busboy at the 0oliday /nn. /
"as the best busboy / could be. hile the other 'uys stood around durin' slac+ times, / loo+ed
!or "ays to hel& in the +itchen or to &re&are !or the lunch rush.
)s a result, / 'ot better ti&s !rom the "aitresses. The mana'er trained me to run the cash re'ister.
%ometimes / e,en 'ot to hel& the &antry che!. / "asn.t loo+in' !or a career in !ood ser,ice, and /
"asn.t tryin' to bro"n1nose. 2ut / en#oyed the "or+ and 'a,e it all / had. This made the #ob !un,
and earned res&ect !rom &eo&le "ho mattered( !rom my boss, and !rom his boss, the hotel
mana'er.
3,entually / "as 'i,en a chance to "ait tables. Thou'h / tried, / "asn.t &articularly 'ood "ith
the mornin' brea+!ast cro"d o! businessmen and tourists. 4n the other hand, / "as a"esome at
%unday brunch. The bluehairs lo,ed me. 2e!ore lon', / "as ma+in' more money "or+in' #ust
si- easy hours on %unday than / had been "hile "or+in' 55 di!!icult hours durin' the rest o! the
"ee+. )nd the busboys "ho used to stand around all the time "ere still standin' around doin'
the minimum (and earning the minimum).
Doing the minimum
T"o years later, / had a "or+1study #ob "ith the cam&us %ummer 3,ents de&artment. 3,ery
a!ternoon !rom !our to !i,e, a!ter my boss had le!t !or the day, it "as my #ob to ans"er the &hone.
)nd that.s all / e,er did. / ne,er as+ed !or more "or+. / ne,er sho"ed any enthusiasm !or the
#ob. / #ust ans"ered the &hone.
)nother student co,ered the &hone !or an hour e,ery mornin'. 0e, ho"e,er, did more than he
"as as+ed. 6uch more.
7either o! us reali8ed it at the time, but our boss had &ull. )s a result, the other student landed a
&lum #ob "ith the admissions o!!ice, but my o"n a&&lication to #oin residence li!e "as denied. /
!ound out later that my lac+ o! initiati,e in that seemin'ly meanin'less "or+1study #ob had
&layed a si'ni!icant role in the decision not to hire me. 9or better or "orse, this chan'ed my
destiny.
Lessons learned
/n my li!e, /.,e held a be"ilderin' array o! #obs. The t"o listed abo,e are #ust re&resentati,e
e-am&les. 9e" o! my #obs ha,e been related in the sense o! a traditional :career;, but almost all
o! them ha,e &ro,ided resources, s+ills, or connections that / could use in the !uture. /.m
con,inced that(
Every job is a part of your career. %ome "or+ers s&end !orty years in the same
de&artment at the same com&any. This is a career in the traditional sense o! the "ord. 2ut
my !ather.s "or+in' li!e "as also a career e,en thou'h his #obs "ere lar'ely unrelated(
landsca&er, !li'ht instructor, bo- salesman. <our career is made u& o! all your #obs,
"hether they.re directly connected or not. 3ach one o! them is im&ortant.
Every job provides skills and resources for the future. )s much as / hated sellin'
insurance door1to1door, that #ob tau'ht me lessons that / can a&&ly directly to "or+ on
=et >ich %lo"ly. / learned that it ne,er hurts to as+. / learned ho" to deal "ith re#ection
and ne'ati,e !eedbac+. hile "or+in' at the bo- !actory, / learned ho" to communicate
"ith a hu'e ,ariety o! &eo&le. 6y brie! stint as a com&uter &ro'rammer hel&ed me
de,elo& techni?ues / no" use to !ocus "hile "ritin'. 3,en my #ob as a busboy o!!ered
lessons about the ,alue o! hard "or+ and a &ositi,e attitude.
Every job offers networking opportunities. <ou don.t +no" "here li!e "ill lead you.
<ou don.t +no" "hich co1"or+ers or customers you "ill meet later and in "hat conte-t.
6y brother Tony "as our com&any.s bo- salesman !or many years. 7o" he runs a !irm
that manu!acturers nutritional su&&lements !or animals. 0e.s constantly dra"in' on the
net"or+ o! contacts he made "hile at the bo- !actory in order to 'ather in!ormation about
manu!acturin', shi&&in', &ac+a'in', and distribution. /n many "ays, a non1traditional
career li+e Tony.s o!!ers more o&&ortunities to le,era'e relationshi&s.
You should always do your best. Doin' the minimum is rarely a 'ood idea. hether or
not you thin+ your current #ob is &art o! your career &ath, do your best. Do more than is
as+ed o! you. /! you a&&roach your "or+ "ith a &ositi,e attitude, a "illin'ness to learn,
and a s&irit o! e-cellence, you "ill set yoursel! so !ar a&art !rom your &eers that your
em&loyers "ill be !orced to ta+e notice. It never hurts to do your best.
/.m not ar'uin' that you should &our yoursel! into e,ery #ob you e,er ha,e. 2ut / do thin+ you
should treat most #obs as i! they "ere im&ortant because they are. They not only &ro,ide a
source o! immediate income, but it.s &ossible that they can lead to better thin's in the !uture.
The difference between a career and a job
7ot all careers ha,e a sin'le uni!yin' theme. %ome careers are homo'eneous, but many are not.
6y "i!e tau'ht hi'h school science !or ei'ht years no" she "or+s in a lab doin' analytical
chemistry. / "as a bo- salesman !or !i!teen years no" /.m a "riter. 9or a decade, my !riend
ayne sold cars no" he.s an accountant. 3ach o! us has a career, e,en i! the #obs do not seem
to be related.
/ thin+ that !or most &eo&le "hether they.re on a traditional career &ath or not a #ob is #ust
a "ay to earn money. There are &eo&le "ho lo,e their "or+, but e,en then not all o! them are in
a career. 9or most &eo&le, "or+ is sim&ly a necessary e,il.
%o "hat.s the di!!erence bet"een a career and a #ob$ / don.t belie,e there is one. ) career is
sim&ly a li!etime o! #obs, "hether those #obs are related or not. )nd "hile it.s im&ortant to !ocus
on your !uture 'oals, it.s e,en more im&ortant to !ocus on doin' the best you can ri'ht no" at
your current #ob.
A final note
There.s one e-ce&tion to the ad,ice /.,e o!!ered. /n my story about the "orst #ob / e,er had, /
"rote(
There are 'ood #obs, and there are bad #obs. )nd then there are shitty #obs. <ou should stri,e to
"or+ only at 'ood #obs. %ometimes you.ll ha,e to endure bad in order to meet a 'reater 'oal. But
you should never put up with a shitty job.
/! you are miserable at "or+ "hether because o! your boss or your co1"or+ers or the "or+
itsel!, then !ind another #ob. Don.t burn your brid'es, and don.t do anythin' rash, but slo"ly and
methodically !ind a ne" &lace to "or+. /n the meantime, do the minimum. <ou don.t ha,e to
lo,e your #ob, but you should ne,er let it ruin your li!e.