Career vs Profession
Career and Profession are two words that are often confused when it comes to their meanings. They are construed to have the same meanings. In fact, they are characterized by different meanings.
The word ‘career’ is used in the sense of ‘occupation’ and word ‘profession’ is often used in the sense of ‘full time job’. This is the main difference between the two words. Observe the two sentences:
1. I can foresee a nice career for him.
2. His career is cut short by the accident.
In both the sentences, you can see that the word ‘career’ is used in the sense of ‘occupation’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I can foresee a nice occupation for him’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘his occupation is cut short by the accident’.
Observe the two sentences:
1. He was true to his profession.
2. He loved his profession.
In both the sentences, you will find that the word ‘profession’ is used in the sense of ‘full time job.’
It is interesting to note that the word ‘profession’ has its adjectival form in the word ‘professional’. On the other hand the word ‘career’ is often used only as a noun. It is used in the formation of several other words like ‘career-building’, ‘career advancement’ and the like.
Words such as ‘professional writer’, ‘professional singer’ would mean ‘full time writer’, ‘full time singer’ respectively. On the other hand, career of students is generally guided by the career guidance cell in colleges. These are the differences between career and profession’.