Career and World of Work

A. The Essence of Work, Occupation, Job, Task, and Career

A career is one's long-term ideals, ambitions, and life goals in pursuing a

field. Work is an activity to replace one's time, ability, and workforce with money.
One person can do more than one job throughout his career. A person can change
jobs in a field, and still be considered to have the same career. However, changing
careers is not easy and usually requires someone to start over from ground zero.
The definition of work is:

1. A task that is done regularly and rewarded with a certain amount of

money.

2. Employment agreements on a company, whether permanent or

part-time.

3. It is one's duty to do something, both physical and non-physical.

Employment is a contractual agreement between an employer and a

worker. A job is usually rewarded with a salary paid monthly. In the company's
point of view, the main purpose of the job is to generate more profit for the
company, and in return, the company is obliged to pay salaries and benefits to all
its workers. There are jobs that require physical force, such as building staff,
restaurant waiters, janitors, security, etc. There are jobs that require creative
energy, logical capabilities, and management skills, such as graphic designers,
administrative staff, restaurant managers, and other office jobs. The definition of a
career is:

1. A person's profession in a field usually requires special ability and

dedication.
 2. Progress of one's living conditions in pursuit of their ideals and life
goals

Careers focus more on one's life as a whole. Successful people in his

career are usually people who have a positive influence on the surrounding
community. A person who is professional in his field can be a valuable asset to a
company, can contribute greatly to the company's progress, and is usually
irreplaceable to others. The company cannot lose people like this, and will lose
out if its best workers resign. Therefore, companies usually dare to provide
salaries that are many times higher than ordinary workers.

According to Winkel, the word career is derived from English, namely

career. There are several words that have the same meaning, namely job,
employment, and occupation. However, the words actually have a different
emphasis. The word job and employment are more emphasized to the job that a
person is in, where the person only earns a wage, whereas he does not enjoy the
job he or she is in. The word occupation means a job that can already be
impregnated and enjoyed by the culprit, but the work is limited to working hours
only. Lastly, the word career is used in a job that a person lives for, and regards
the work as a call to life and coloring his lifestyle.

While Super quoted Sukardi (1984:18), argues that what is meant by "a
career is a series of jobs, positions that refer to life in the world of work". Hoyt
and Larimore (1974) further said a career as a whole and a job or position he had
held throughout his life. Wilensky's career, quoted by Sukardi (1984:18), is
defined "as an orderly work history in which every work that is pursued is as a
preparation for the future". From the sense of career above it can be concluded
that a career is a profession or a job that is selected based on talent, interests and
abilities.

According to Sukardi (1984:15)"the role of career guidance in schools in

our development era today has an important role especially important: a).
Providing a variety of skills, skills and attitudes that are in accordance with the
changing society, and b). providing a variety of special skills and skills that are as
important as the potential of students in certain types of work can be directly
applied"

According to Thayep (1992:160-161), saying "career guidance activities

should emphasize the ribs of things: stimulating career development, providing
treatment, and assisting placement (the latter points to the transfer of students to
the next level of education or to the life of work). Treatment (granting assistance)
needs to be given to students, even though they have been given information and
experience – other explorations experiences, still not able to make a choice and
commitment to an action plan". Career guidance needs to be given to students to
filter and select potential – the appropriate potential that students have in
determining their choice to manifest themselves in the jobs, positions or careers
available. According to Satori, et al (2004), saying that "career guidance helps
students to understand, have a positive attitude to work, be able to prepare to face
the world of work, be able to choose a job for a particular profession and equip
yourself to be ready to take the position, and be able to support themselves with
the demands of the job that has been entered".
B. Human Work and Career

Indeed, career has a broader meaning, not only limited to the job alone or
as the job that is currently being handled. A career is simply a change in position
at work. If so, what is meant by career? Is career important in human life?

Work is not necessarily a career. The word work (work, job, employment)
refers to any activity that produces goods or services (Isaacson, 1985); while the
word career (career) more pointed on the job or position occupied and believed to
be the live call, which permeates the minds and feelings, as well as coloring the
entire lifestyle (Winkel, 1991). Therefore, career selection requires more careful
preparation and planning than just getting a temporary job.

Career can be said as a range of interconnected work activities; In this

case, a person advances his life by involving various behaviors, attitudes, needs,
aspirations and aspirations as a span of one's own life (the span of one's life)
(Murray, 1983). This definition views career as a range of work activities because
of the inner strength of a person. Behavior that appears due to the existence of
motivation, abilities, attitudes, needs, aspirations and ideals as basic capital for
individual careers. That is what Healy (1982) calls the power of career. The
strength of this career will be seen in the mastery of a number of competencies
(physical, social intellectual, spiritual) that support the success of individuals in
their careers. Career success can also be achieved through education, hobbies,
profession, personal social and religion. Careers cover all aspects of individual
life, including:
 1. Roles of life as workers, families and community members.

2. The scenes of life such as in a family, community institution, school or

work.

3. Life events as in entering a job, marriage, tour of duty, lose your job or
resign from a job.

Based on the various opinions above, it can be concluded that a career is a

meaningful self-manifestation through a series of activities and includes all
aspects of life that are realized because of the inner strength of the person. Self-
manifestation will be meaningful when there is self-satisfaction / happiness and
the environment.

Given the importance of career issues in human life, from an early age child
need to be prepared and helped to plan a brighter future, by providing education
and ongoing career guidance.

According to Ginsberg, Axelrod, and Herma (1951), career development is

divided into 3 (three) main stages, namely:

1. Fantasy Stage: 0 - 11 years (toddler and elementary school)

At the fantasy stage, children often mention their dreams when they grow up,
for example wanting to become a doctor, wanting to become a farmer, airplane
pilot, teacher, soldier, and others. They also like to play roles (for example,
playing doctor, playing as a teacher, playing police, etc.) according to the roles
they see in their environment. The positions or jobs they want or play are
generally still very much influenced by the environment, for example from TV,
videos, magazines, or shows or figures that have crossed their lives. So, it is not
surprising that the job or position they call is still far from rational or moral
considerations. They just called it the job that was considered interesting at that
time. At this stage, children are not able to choose the type of job / position
rationally and objectively, because they do not know their true talents, interests
and potential. They just fantasize freely, which is completely non-binding.

2. Tentative Stage: 12 - 18 years (Middle School period)

At the tentative stage, children begin to realize that they have different
interests and abilities from one another. Some are more interested in the arts,
while others are more interested in sports. Likewise, they begin to realize that
their abilities are also different from one another.

This tentative stage is divided into 4 (four) sub-stages, namely:

1) Sub-stage of interest (Interest);

In this sub-stage (11-12 years) children tend to do jobs or activities only

according to their interests and preferences.

2) Sub-stage capacity / capability (Capacity);

In this sub-stage (13-14 years) the child starts doing work / activities based on
their respective abilities, in addition to their interests and preferences.

3) Sub-stage Values and

In the grades sub-stage (15-16 years) the child can already distinguish which
activities / jobs are appreciated by the community, and which are less valued.

4) Sub-stage Transition (Transition).

In the transitional sub-stage (17-18 years) children are able to think about or
"plan" their careers based on their interests, abilities and values to be fought for.

3. Realistic Stage: 19-25 years (College period)

 At the age of college (18 years and over), adolescents enter the recreational
stage, where they are better acquainted with the interests, abilities, and values that
they want to pursue. Moreover, they are also more aware of various fields of work
with all the consequences and demands of each. Therefore, at the realistic stage, a
teenager is able to make career planning more rationally and objectively. The
realistic stage is divided into 3 sub-stages, namely:

1) Exploration

At this stage, adolescents generally begin to implement the choices that were
thought out at the final tentative stage. They consider several possible jobs that
they think fit their talents, interests, and values, but they have not dared to make a
decision about which job is most appropriate. In this case, this includes the
problem of choosing a secondary school if it is in line with the career they will
pursue.

2) Crystallization, and

This stage, adolescents begin to feel secure with a certain job / career. Thanks
to wider relationships and deeper self-awareness, as well as a broader knowledge
of the world of work, adolescents are increasingly focused on certain careers even
though they have not made final decisions.

3) Specification / Determination

In the sub-specification stage, adolescents are able to make clear decisions

about the career they will choose.

Ginsberg (1972) emphasized that the career choice process occurs throughout
human life, meaning that one day it is possible for people to change their minds.
This means that career choices do not happen once in human life. In addition,
Ginsberg also realizes that the opportunity factor plays a very important role.
Even though a teenager has made his career choices based on the interests, talents,
and values that he believes in, if the opportunity to work in that field is closed
because "there are no vacancies", then the desired career cannot be realized in the
end.

Another character who has discussed a lot of career development issues is

Donald Super.

According to Super, human career development can be divided into 5 phases,

namely:

1. Development phase (Growth) which includes childhood until the age of 15

years.

In this phase, children develop their talents, interests, needs, and potential,
which are finally integrated into a self-concept structure;

2. The exploration phase between the ages of 16-24 years

Currently, adolescents have started to think of several alternative jobs but have
not yet made binding decisions;

3. Phase stabilization (establishment), between the ages of 25-44 years.

In this phase, a person has chosen a certain career and has had various positive
and negative experiences from his job. With the experience gained, he can then
determine whether he will continue with the career he has undertaken or change
course.

4. The development phase (maintenance) between the ages of 44 - 65 years,

The phase in which the man is settled in his work and nurtures it so that he
may endure to the end;

5. Decline phase
 Is the period after retiring or leaving a certain position? In this phase, people
break free from the formal world of work.

The explanation of the two figures above, Ginsberg and Donald Super, shows
that career is a lifelong problem. So, there is a saying that career is a problem
from birth to death ‘from the birth unto the death’ or ‘from the womb to tomb’
(from the womb to the grave).

C. Work Structure in Indonesia

The process of transforming production structures or changing the

composition of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an important part of the socio-
economic transformation process. This transformation has resulted in the growth
and increase of national income per capita for quite a long time. Changes in the
structure of production also result in shifts and changes in the structure of labor.
In Indonesia, the structure of the workforce is distinguished by hours of work, sex,
age and level of education.

1. Workforce Structure 1980-2005

Changes in the structure of the workforce in Indonesia continue to occur

along with changes and technological developments from year to year. Shifts and
changes in the workforce due to land shifts and changes in the paradigm of labor.
The shift in the paradigm of labor is caused by job opportunities in the world of
work. The workforce working in the agricultural sector has decreased.

The decline in employment in the agricultural sector was followed by an

increase in employment in the industrial and service sectors. Many workers who
used to work in the agricultural sector have shifted to the industrial and service
sectors. Not only in the employment sector, the workforce in the work structure
has also undergone changes. These changes can be seen in the existing data.
Labor according to working hours has changed. In 1980 the workforce structure
consisted of 35.99% of the working workforce.

Changes in the structure of the workforce are reflected in the next 25

years. In 2005 the structure became 32.9% of the working workforce.

Changes in the structure of the workforce also occur according to gender.

The workforce that was previously dominated by men has changed. From 1980 to
2000, the structure of the workforce was still dominated by male workers even
though the female workforce had increased.

Changes in the labor structure of the workforce also occur according to the
age of the workforce. Laborers according to age are classified as follows, young
workers (aged 15-24 years), prime age workers (leading to workers aged 25-54),
and older workers (over 55 years old).

Based on existing data, of the total workforce, in 1980, the structure of the
young workforce was 24.27%, the prime age workforce was 63.73%, and the old
workforce was 12%. In 2005 or the next 25 years there have been changes. Of the
total existing workforce, young workers were 15.81%, prime age workers were
71.11, and old workers were 13.08%.

Changes in the structure of the workforce according to education have also

undergone changes over the last 25 years. The structure of the workforce based on
education is selected as follows, having an elementary school education (SD) or
less or ≤ SD and having a junior high school education (SLTP) and above.

In 1980, the workforce with primary school education and below

dominated employment both as a whole and by sector. In 1980, the overall
structure of the workforce with ≤ SD education was 88.34% and the rest were
workers with junior high school education and above or 11.64%. In 2005 the
structure of the workforce with ≤ SD education became 55.40% of the workforce
and the workforce with junior high school education and above was 44.60% of the
workforce. Based on these data, workforce education continues to experience
improvement.

2. Labor Structure 2011-2013

In the last three years, based on BPS data, the composition of the working
population according to employment has not changed until February 2013, where
the agricultural, trade, community services and industrial sectors are still the
largest contributor to employment. work in Indonesia. When compared with the
situation in February 2012, the number of working populations has increased,
especially in the trade sector by 790 thousand people (3.29%), the construction
sector by 790 thousand people (12.95%), and the industrial sector by 570
thousand people (4, 01%). The sectors that experienced a decline were agriculture
and other sectors, respectively, which experienced a decrease in the number of
working people by 3.01% and 5.73%.

In simple terms, the formal and informal activities of the working

population can be identified based on their employment status. Of the seven main
job status categories, formal workers include the category of business with the
help of permanent workers and the category of workers or employees, the rest
includes informal workers. Based on this identification, in February 2013 as many
as 45.6 million people (39.98%) worked in formal activities and 68.4 million
people (60.02%) worked in informal activities.

In the last year (February 2012 – February 2013), the working population
with the status of a business assisted by permanent workers increased by 100,000
people and the working population with status as workers or employees increased
by 3.4 million people. This increase caused the number of formal workers to
increase by around 3.5 million people and the percentage of formal workers to
increase from 37.29% in February 2012 to 39.98% in February 2013.

The component of informal workers consists of residents working with

their own business status, working with the help of temporary workers, casual
workers in agriculture, casual workers in non-agricultural activities, and family
workers or unpaid workers. In the last year (February 2012 – February 2013),
informal workers decreased by 2.3 million people and the percentage of informal
workers decreased from 62.71% in February 2012 to 60.02% in February 2013.
This decline originated from almost all components of workers informal, except
casual non-agricultural workers.

Labor absorption until February 2013 was still dominated by the working
population with low education, namely elementary school and under 54.6 million
people (47.90%) and junior high school as many as 20.3 million people (17.80%).
The working population with high education is only 11.2 million people,
including 3.2 million people (2.82%) with a diploma degree and as many as 8.0
million people (6.96%) have a university education. an increase in the working
population with higher education (diplomas and universities). In the past year, the
working population with a low level of education decreased from 75.8 million
people (67.20%) in February 2012 to 74.9 million people (65.70%) in February
2013. Meanwhile, the working population with higher education increased from
10, 4 million people (9.19%) in February 2012 to 11.2 million people.
D. Factors affecting career

1. Appearance

Appearance is an asset that is in us, or a support that is in us. Appearance

does not have to be tall, white, and have a baby face, but most importantly it must
be neat, clean, and comfortable to look at.

2. Socialization

Socialization is a way of getting along with someone in making new

friends and even family by getting along, of course we can easily get a link to a
career in the field we want. Good relationships also make it easier for us to
smooth our career.

3. Experience

Everyone must have experience or an expertise like the phrase that once
said “Experience is a great teacher in our lives”. Higher education will be a great
strength if it is accompanied by an experience that we have.

4. Discipline
 In this world, we rarely meet someone who has high discipline both in
terms of time discipline, place discipline, and work discipline. We can apply time
discipline in our daily lives by coming at exactly the time promised and not
leaving the job at the wrong time. Place discipline can put something in its place
and according to its portion and lastly, job discipline is readiness or
professionalism and full responsibility for a given job.

5. Confidence

There are so many people in this world who are not confident or who are
called (PD), even though confidence is something that is really needed by
someone in carrying out their career, most of the people are afraid because they
have an educational background that is not a degree. There are many people in
this world who are handicapped but still struggle to live in every moment so
which means we should decrease our depression factor by getting along well and
interacting well inside or outside the organization. We need to believe that our
career will be smooth with team cooperation and avoid having a big weakness.

6. Not Sticking to One Thing

We should never stop looking for opportunities from some humans who
are satisfied with the results they have now, it means that that person is not an
ambitious person but someone who is more to what they are. But rest assured
there is another success awaiting us and if we are turned in taking advantage of
these opportunities, we will not only give ourselves a success but also provide
opportunities for the success of others.

7. Low Self-Esteem

Being arrogant is stupid if someone owns it, it's useless if we have high
knowledge and a successful career but we are still arrogant. We should realize the
proverb that says there is still a sky above the sky, so we have to remember that
there is still a god who has all the contents inside it.
Factors that boost the career in a company or the like

1. The Hard Work Ethic of Employees

The first factor that boosts your career in a company or the like is the hard-
working ethos of an employee to provide all the skills and skills for the progress
of the company that recruits him or her.

This will be seen in the contribution to the company positively so that as a

reward for the effort and hard work of the employee, then the company will give a
career level in the form of a promotion of work so that it will later get the burden
of responsibility, salary, to facilities more than the previous field of work.

2. Loyalty of Work in the Company

The second factor that boosts your career in a company or the like is job
loyalty within the company you're in. Yes, an employee's loyalty is sometimes not
so strong that an employee sometimes decides to resign or quit their job even if it
is only a few months into work.

However, sometimes there is an employee who has high loyalty and work
spirit which then becomes an example of other employees in working within the
company so as a reward for the loyalty of work in the company, then the company
will give a career level of position so that the career in Indonesia of the worker
looks very bright in the field of employment.

3. Have a Higher Level of Education

The third factor that can boost the career in a company or the like is to
have a high level of education so that in a qualified field of work, a person with a
certain level of education can be trusted to fill a job field that is considered to
have a high enough position in the position of that company. Examples such as
manager, HRD, Head of SPV, and other positions.
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