by Michael Poyner

Created on: May 05, 2009   Last Updated: May 08, 2009

Job or career, which one do you have? What is the difference? What does it matter as long as I bring home a paycheck every pay period? It may matter a lot depending on how you look at it. Let's take a look at the differences between a job and a career. Some people's definition of a job may be the same as a career. I will admit that there is a similarity between the two. But the major difference is that a job is something you do when you are in high school or college or between careers. A job can also be work that you do to make ends meet while you are searching for that position in your chosen career field. A career on the other hand is a path that you choose for a predetermined amount of time in your working life. Whether you plan to see that career through until retirement or it is a stepping stone with a five to ten year plan to take you to another career. Here are some examples of jobs and careers and examples of how some jobs turn into careers as well as careers turning jobs.

Let's take a look at your local fast food restaurants or the convenience store you frequent on a daily basis. "America's best coffee" that is a staple of your diet. You can't live without one, two, five cups of it each day. There are a host of places that you may look at and say, "Oh, that's just a job for someone." And usually that is correct. The attendant at the cash register may be as sweet as pie on the outside, but inside is wishing they were somewhere else other than work. The point being that a job is usually on the lower end of the pay spectrum. A lot of these jobs are more suited for the younger, inexperienced members of our society to give them a start in life and show them that they should strive for something better. High school and college kids get summer and part-time jobs for either extra money in the case of most high school kids or to pay for their education in the case of some college students.

Here are a few careers to consider. Doctors, lawyers, law enforcement professionals, policemen, firemen, stock brokers, airline pilots, autoworkers, and so on are what we consider careers. Another prerequisite for a lot of these careers is college and or some other specialized training. When someone commits the time to learn one of these or any other profession, they are saying that they are making a decision to stick with this profession for the long haul. We know that college is expensive and requires a sacrifice of time as well as money in

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