Persons

And
Careers
Ten myths about career planning busted!

From procrastinating to
submitting oneself to
inadequate information,
Suchitra Serve, Director,
Growth Centre identifies the 10
common myths about choosing
a career and tells you why it will
affect you in the long run.
Myth 1: Arts/Humanities majors usually
are unemployable after college

- Humanities major usually provide

training in basic areas called
transferable skills such as
interpersonal communication, writing,
research, and critical thinking.
Transferable skills indicate those
skills that are learned in one area
can be readily utilized in a wide
 Myth 2: Selecting what’s “Hot” at the
moment is safe

- Selecting a major or pursuing a career just

because it’s hot can be dangerous. There
are two things you must understand before
opting for this approach. First, what is “Hot”
today may cool down, or disappear
completely, in the near future. Secondly,
such a choice fail to take into the interests
and abilities of student, or the kind of
environment in which they are most likely to
succeed.
Myth 3: Career assessment/ counselors will
not be of any use for me

- Psychometric Assessments ( Aptitude Test)

can provide additional information that may
be helpful as a part of the career planning
process. Assessments would provide a clear
idea as to ones aptitude, strengths and
weakness and their mental capabilities,
which aids in selecting a career, but with
through brainstorming with the career
counselor, who can chalk out various career
options based on thee match between the
student profile and the career.
Myth 4: If X is particular field, I will be happy
too

- Everyone is different and what works

for one person won’t necessarily work
for another, even if that other person is
someone with whom you have a lot in
common. If someone you know as a
career that interests you try and get
more details about the career in terms
of the job description, the skills required
and market demand of the career.
Myth 5: If I wait long enough, luck will
eventually bring me to the right career

- It is unlikely that you will just

“Bump into” the occupation that
will perfectly match your skills and
interests. The more information
you gather about yourself and the
occupations you are considering,
the more likely it is you will make a
wise career decision.
Myth 6: Making a lot of money will make me
happy

- While salary is important, it isn’t

the only factor you should look at
when choosing a career. Countless
survey have shown that money
doesn’t necessarily lead to job
satisfaction. For many people
enjoying what they do at work is
much more important.
Myth 7: Once I choose a career I’ll be stuck in it
forever

- If you are unsatisfied in your career for

any reason, you can always change.
Discussing your interests with
knowledgeable people who could guide you
towards another career could land you in a
satisfying job profile. Remember just being
in a job without a lack of interests would
hamper your performance. So it would be
better if you make a wise choice later.
Myth 8: If I change careers my skills will be
wasted

- It is true that certain jobs require

some specialized skill set. But note
that mostly jobs require a common
type of skills which most of the
individuals possess. Your skills are
yours to keep. You may not use
them in the exactly same way, but
they won’t be wasted.
Myth 9: I will decide after the results are out

- Though one can keep options, but

having a sound academic background
always proves beneficial while making
a career. The two years of Junior
college ( class 11 and 12) are very
essential as they form a base for a
particular career. One cannot ignore
the knowledge gained whilst studying.
Myth 10: I love this hobby, but I don’t think I
can make money out of it

An oft repeated line, it explains

why part-time hobbies like cooking,
photography and design that were
pursued during weekends are now
being pursued as full time careers.
And most of these hobbies- turned
vocations pay really well if pursued
professionally.
 Career Concepts

A career is defined as the combination and

sequence of roles played by a person
during the course of a lifetime of life(Super,
1980). Your career basically dictates a lot of
things in your life it can determine the kind
of lifestyle that you will be leading, the
quality of relationships that you have with
people around you like your family and
friends, the kind of balance you will be able
to keep with your life and your
There are two other concepts that we often
associate with the concept of career.

 One is a Job. a job is a position an

individual holds doing specific duties

 Another term is Occupation. An

occupation is defined as the similar work
for which people have similar
responsibilities and for which they develop
a common set of skills and knowledge.
A lot of things can influence one’s career choice.

A popular career development model, the Trait

and Factor model, believes that skills and
abilities need to fit the demands of a particular
career.
 Another factor that could influence your
success in a particular career field would be
your personality and interests. John Holland,
a popular career councilor proposed a theory
that strongly believe that certain careers
require certain personality traits and must also
fit our interests.
Our life roles are yet strong factors that
influences our career choices. Your role as a
child, a sister, a student, and eventually if you
choose it, that of a parent would have an
impact in the decision that you would have to
make as an adult.
One’s race and ethnicity could also impact
our choices. The culture in which we belong
to shape our values and expectations. In the
Philippines,
our collectivist orientations makes us our
family a strong influence in our career
Our social identity, specifically our
gender, also possess challenges and
opportunities for us when choosing a
career. Although nowadays, the gender
divide in terms of careers have slowly
narrowed, it is known fact that men and
women experiences career- related
stereotypes.
One of the strongest considerations in
career decision making has a lot to do
with social and economic conditions.
 What influences your career choice?

When we think about career choice, several things

immediately come to mind job description, training
and education required, career outlook, and salary but
these are a number of other factors that may influence
your decisions. Theories can help us frame why and
how things happen. Career development theories help
us explain why and how we choose to pursue specific
career fields.
There are a lot of theories to consider in the relatively
new field or career development. No one theory
explains everything, so it’s good to consider these
factors from multiple perspectives. Influence factors.
Skills and Abilities- Considering your skills and
abilities and how they may fit a particular
occupation comes out of one of the earliest career
development fields, Trait-Factor theories, and is
still used today.
Interests and Personality Type- Holland’s Career
Typology is a widely used to connect personality
types and career fields. This theory establishes
classification system that matches personality
characteristics and personal preferences to job
characteristics.
Life Roles- Being a worker is just one of your life
roles, in addition to others such as, student,
parent, and a child. Super’s Lifespan theory
directly addresses the fact that we each play
multiple roles in our lives and that these roles
change over the course of our lives.
Previous Experiences- Krumbolt’z Social
Learning and Planned Happenstance theories
address factors related to our experiences with
others and in previous work situations. Having
positive experiences and role models working in
specific career may influence the set of careers as
options for ourselves.
Culture- Racial and ethnic background, as well as
the culture of an individual’s regional area, local
community, and extended family, may impact
career decision. Our culture often shapes our
values and expectations as they relate to many
parts of our lives, including jobs and careers.
Gender- Both men and women have experience
career-related stereotypes. Gender is a factor
included in multiple career development theories
and approaches including, Social Learning and
multicultural career counseling.
Social and Economic Conditions- All of our
career choices take place within the context of
society and the economy. Several career choices,
theories, such as Social Cognitive Career Theory
and Social Learning, address the context in
addition to other factors.
Childhood Fantasies- What do you want to be
when you grow up? You may remember this
question from you childhood, and it may have
helped shape how you thought about careers then,
as well as later in life.
 Work with your career counselor!

It’s important to understand that career choice is

not made based on any one factor. Our choices
are subject to many influences- individual, cultural,
social, and environmental. The combination and
interaction of various influences on your decision-
making are unique to you and your situation. There
may also be multiple options, several “good fits”
for you instead of a single, right choice.
 Super’s Career Development Theory

Donald super influenced the idea that developing a

sense of self and realize that you change overtime
is important when planning your career.
One of Donald Super’s greatest contributions to
career development has been his emphasis on the
importance of the development of self concept.
Ginzberg’s theory enumerated three stages in
a person’s career development:
Fantasy (from birth 11 years old)
Tentative (11-17 years old)
And Realistic (After age 17)
Super thought that Ginzberg’s work had
weaknesses.
 Super’s five life and career development stages
STAGE AGE CHARACTERISTICS
Growth Birth 14 Development of self-concept,
attitudes, needs and general
world of work
Exploration 15-24 “trying out” through classes,
work hobbies. Tentative choice
and skill development
Establishment 25-44 Entry-level skill building and
stabilization through work
experiences
Maintenance 45-65 Continual adjustment process
to improve position
Decline 65+ Reduced output ,prepare for
retirement