Career vs. Job — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Published on September 14, 2023
A career is a long-term professional journey or pursuit; a job is a specific position of employment in an organization or company.
Difference Between Career and Job
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A career encompasses the professional path or journey one takes, often marked by growth, learning, and evolution. In contrast, a job refers to a specific role or position that one occupies, typically for a set period, often defined by tasks and responsibilities.
When one speaks of a career, it implies a broader scope, possibly encompassing many jobs over time. A job, on the other hand, might be just one chapter or stage within the larger story of a career. For instance, being a junior accountant might be a job, while the progression from a junior accountant to a CFO over years signifies a career.
The commitment to a career typically requires continuous learning, adaptability, and a strategic vision for personal growth. A job, conversely, might demand a focus on specific skill sets or tasks tied to that particular role, perhaps without the emphasis on long-term progression.
Achievement in a career is often seen in promotions, increased responsibilities, or shifts into different industries or roles with a cohesive narrative. Success in a job can be measured by completing tasks, meeting targets, or excelling in that particular position during its duration.
While a person might feel passion or a sense of purpose for a career due to its long-term nature and alignment with personal goals, a job might be pursued for immediate needs like financial stability or short-term objectives, even if it isn't directly aligned with one's primary career goals.
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Comparison Chart
Duration
Long-term professional journey
Specific, often shorter-term position
Scope
Encompasses multiple roles and growth over time
Defined by particular tasks and responsibilities
Commitment
Requires continuous learning and adaptability
Focuses on specific tasks or skill sets
Measurement of Achievement
Progression, promotions, shifts in roles
Task completion, meeting targets
Emotional Connection
Often linked with passion and long-term goals
Might be for immediate needs or objectives
Compare with Definitions
Career
A long-term professional journey with growth and progression.
She built a remarkable career in environmental law.
Job
A job, employment, work or occupation, is a person's role in society. More specifically, a job is an activity, often regular and often performed in exchange for payment ("for a living").
Career
The sum of experiences, roles, and positions held in professional life.
Her career includes roles in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors.
Job
A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or profession
Her job is doing drug research.
Career
An individual's pursuit or progress in professional life.
His career in journalism spans over two decades.
Job
A position of employment
How many jobs are open at the factory?.
Career
A field or occupation undertaken for a significant period.
He chose medicine as his career.
Job
A task that must be done
Let's finish this job before we start another.
Career
The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Job
A specified duty or responsibility
Your job is to watch the kids while we're away.
Career
An occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress
He seemed destined for a career as an engineer like his father
Job
(Informal) A difficult or strenuous task
It's a real job getting people to help out at these events.
Career
Move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way
The coach careered across the road and went through a hedge
Job
A specific piece of work to be done for a set fee
An expensive repair job.
Career
A chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation.
Job
The object to be worked on
Those overgrown shrubs are a big job.
Career
The general course or progression of one's working life or one's professional achievements
An officer with a distinguished career.
A teacher in the midst of a long career.
Job
Something resulting from or produced by work
I like the job they did on those shrubs.
Career
A path or course, as of the sun through the heavens.
Job
An operation done to improve one's appearance, or the result of such an operation. Often used in combination
A face job.
Career
Speed
"My hasting days fly on with full career" (John Milton).
Job
(Computers) A program application that may consist of several steps but is performed as a single logical unit.
Career
Doing what one does as a permanent occupation or lifework
Career diplomats.
A career criminal.
Job
(Informal) A state of affairs
Their marriage was a bad job from the start. It's a good job that we left early to avoid the traffic.
Career
To move forward at high speed, often with minimal control
"that lordly car ... How smoothly it ran. In what style they had come careering along the country roads!" (James Joyce).
Job
(Informal) A criminal act, especially a robbery
A bank job.
Career
One's calling in life; a person's occupation; one's profession.
Job
(Informal) An example of a specified type, especially of something made or constructed. Often used in combination
A new building that is just another glass and steel job.
A cowboy hat that is one of those ten-gallon jobs.
Career
General course of action or conduct in life, or in a particular part of it.
Washington's career as a soldier
Job
A jab.
Career
(archaic) Speed.
Job
See Table at Bible.
Career
A jouster's path during a joust.
Job
To work at odd jobs.
Career
(obsolete) A short gallop of a horse.
Job
To work by the piece.
Career
(falconry) The flight of a hawk.
Job
To act as a jobber.
Career
(obsolete) A racecourse; the ground run over.
Job
To purchase (merchandise) from manufacturers and sell it to retailers.
Career
To move rapidly straight ahead, especially in an uncontrolled way.
The car careered down the road, missed the curve, and went through a hedge.
Job
To arrange for (contracted work) to be done in portions by others; subcontract.
Career
Synonym of serial
A career criminal
Job
To transact (official business) dishonestly for private profit.
Career
A race course: the ground run over.
To go back again the same career.
Job
To jab or make a jab.
Career
A running; full speed; a rapid course.
When a horse is running in his full career.
Job
A task.
I've got a job for you - could you wash the dishes?
Career
General course of action or conduct in life, or in a particular part or calling in life, or in some special undertaking; usually applied to course or conduct which is of a public character; as, Washington's career as a soldier.
An impartial view of his whole career.
Job
An economic role for which a person is paid.
That surgeon has a great job.
He's been out of a job since being made redundant in January.
Career
The flight of a hawk.
Job
(in noun compounds) Plastic surgery.
He had had a nose job.
Career
To move or run rapidly.
Careering gayly over the curling waves.
Job
(in noun compounds) A sex act.
Hand job
Career
The particular occupation for which you are trained
Job
(computing) A task, or series of tasks, carried out in batch mode (especially on a mainframe computer).
Career
The general progression of your working or professional life;
The general had had a distinguished career
He had a long career in the law
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Career
Move headlong at high speed;
The cars careered down the road
The mob careered through the streets
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Career
The continuous journey of learning and evolving professionally.
She transitioned her career from marketing to data science.
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
(colloquial) A thing (often used in a vague way to refer to something whose name one cannot recall).
Pass me that little job with the screw thread on it.
Job
The police as a profession, act of policing, or an individual police officer.
Job
(intransitive) To do odd jobs or occasional work for hire.
Job
(intransitive) To work as a jobber.
Job
To take the loss.
Job
To buy and sell for profit, as securities; to speculate in.
Job
To subcontract a project or delivery in small portions to a number of contractors.
We wanted to sell a turnkey plant, but they jobbed out the contract to small firms.
Job
(intransitive) To seek private gain under pretence of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To hire or let in periods of service.
To job a carriage
Job
A sudden thrust or stab; a jab.
Job
A piece of chance or occasional work; any definite work undertaken in gross for a fixed price; as, he did the job for a thousand dollars.
Job
A public transaction done for private profit; something performed ostensibly as a part of official duty, but really for private gain; a corrupt official business.
Job
Any affair or event which affects one, whether fortunately or unfortunately.
Job
A situation or opportunity of work; as, he lost his job.
Job
A task, or the execution of a task; as, Michelangelo did a great job on the David statue.
Job
A task or coordinated set of tasks for a multitasking computer, submitted for processing as a single unit, usually for execution in background. See job control language.
Job
The hero of the book of that name in the Old Testament; the prototypical patient man.
Job
To strike or stab with a pointed instrument.
Job
To thrust in, as a pointed instrument.
Job
To do or cause to be done by separate portions or lots; to sublet (work); as, to job a contract.
Job
To buy and sell, as a broker; to purchase of importers or manufacturers for the purpose of selling to retailers; as, to job goods.
Job
To hire or let by the job or for a period of service; as, to job a carriage.
Job
To do chance work for hire; to work by the piece; to do petty work.
Authors of all work, to job for the season.
Job
To seek private gain under pretense of public service; to turn public matters to private advantage.
And judges job, and bishops bite the town.
Job
To carry on the business of a jobber in merchandise or stocks.
Job
The principal activity in your life that you do to earn money;
He's not in my line of business
Job
A specific piece of work required to be done as a duty or for a specific fee;
Estimates of the city's loss on that job ranged as high as a million dollars
The job of repairing the engine took several hours
The endless task of classifying the samples
The farmer's morning chores
Job
The performance of a piece of work;
She did an outstanding job as Ophelia
He gave it up as a bad job
Job
The responsibility to do something;
It is their job to print the truth
Job
A workplace; as in the expression
On the job
Job
An object worked on; a result produced by working;
He held the job in his left hand and worked on it with his right
Job
A state of difficulty that needs to be resolved;
She and her husband are having problems
It is always a job to contact him
Urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog
Job
A damaging piece of work;
Dry rot did the job of destroying the barn
The barber did a real job on my hair
Job
A crime (especially a robbery);
The gang pulled off a bank job in St. Louis
Job
A Jewish hero in the Old Testament who maintained his faith in God in spite of afflictions that tested him
Job
Any long-suffering person who withstands affliction without despairing
Job
(computer science) a program application that may consist of several steps but is a single logical unit
Job
A book in the Old Testament containing Job's pleas to God about his afflictions and God's reply
Job
Profit privately from public office and official business
Job
Arranged for contracted work to be done by others
Job
Work occasionally;
As a student I jobbed during the semester breaks
Job
Invest at a risk;
I bought this house not because I want to live in it but to sell it later at a good price, so I am speculating
Job
A specific position of employment in an organization.
She got a new job at a tech startup.
Job
A task or set of tasks done as part of one's duties.
His job involves analyzing financial data.
Job
A paid position of regular employment.
After graduating, he secured a job in a multinational company.
Job
Work done in exchange for money or compensation.
She's looking for a job in the retail sector.
Job
A responsibility or duty within a specific role.
Part of her job is to manage client relations.
Common Curiosities
What is the broader implication of a Career?
A career implies a long-term professional journey or pursuit, often marked by growth and learning.
Can one have multiple Jobs within a single Career?
Yes, a career can encompass multiple jobs, roles, or positions over time.
Is a Career always linked to one's passion?
Not necessarily, though a career often aligns more closely with one's long-term goals or passions.
Is a Job's duration typically shorter than a Career's?
Generally, yes. Jobs can be short-term or long-term, but a career spans across many years or even a lifetime.
How does a Job differ in definition?
A job is a specific position of employment in a company or organization, often for a set period.
Does a Career always follow a linear progression?
No, a career can have shifts, changes, and even breaks, but it typically has a cohesive narrative.
What is Job security?
Job security refers to the likelihood that an individual will keep their job without facing unexpected termination.
Can a Job exist outside of a Career?
Yes, one might take a job for immediate needs even if it doesn't align with their broader career objectives.
Can a Job turn into a Career?
Absolutely, a job can be the starting point that evolves into a long-term career based on one's experiences and choices.
What factors generally influence Job selection?
Salary, location, company reputation, role requirements, and personal interests can influence job selection.
Does a Career always need formal education?
No, while formal education can aid in many careers, some careers are built on experience, skills, and other forms of learning.
Do all Careers need a professional degree?
No, many careers are built on skills, experiences, and non-traditional forms of learning rather than just formal degrees.
What’s crucial for Career growth?
Continuous learning, adaptability, networking, and a vision for personal growth are often crucial for career progression.
Can one change their Career midway?
Yes, many people pivot or transition to different careers based on new interests, skills, or life circumstances.
Is job satisfaction always linked to career satisfaction?
Not always. One might be satisfied with a current job but feel it doesn't align with broader career goals or vice versa.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
