Difference Between Job and Career (With Table)

Survival is very important for almost everyone and in
today’s generation, in order to survive, one needs to have enough resources.

Resources can be food, shelter, clothing and the likes. To
be able to acquire these resources, one would need to have money to buy them,
and in order to gain money, one needs to work.

A position or work can be viewed by different people in two different categories, one can see it as a job while the other may consider it as their career.

Job vs Career

The main difference between job and career is how a person treats their work. If a person feels like they are doing the work just to get their salary, then they consider it as a job. But if a person feels like doing the work gives them a sense of fulfillment and that it helps them grow as a person, then they consider it as their career.

Below is a deeper understanding of the differences between job from a career.


 

Comparison Table Between Job and Career (in Tabular Form)

Parameter of Comparison

Job

Career

Duration of Goal

Short Term

Long Term

Growth in Job

Not important, very low

Goal is to reach the peak

Purpose

To get salary

To gain experience

Result after work

Exhausted

Feeling Productive

Level of Effort

Minimum, give what is asked

Exceed expectation

 

What is a Job?

Job is a task or group of tasks one is expected to finish
effectively. Most people get jobs to earn for a living.

There are different kinds of jobs, two of the main difference includes part-time and full-time jobs. Full-time jobs mean that an employee would work for at least 8 hours daily and does the job on a daily basis.

Part-time jobs can be done in less than 8 hours, and it is not necessarily done on a daily basis.

Some people take whatever job is available even if it is not
their passion or not their field. As long as they can earn money, that would be
enough for them to survive daily.

Usually, people do not have a sense of fulfillment in their jobs. They deliver what is asked and goes home in time. They are working just so they could live. They need their jobs for survival.

 

What is Career?

The career gives a deeper connection to one’s work. Just like a job, it is also a group of the task. However, a person sees these tasks as challenges to make themselves a better person. A career is more personal than a job.

People usually consider their careers as a field they are passionate about. They care about their tasks and goes beyond what is expected of them.

They use all their skills, everything they have learned before to make sure they deliver work that is effective and efficient.

They see themselves being in the same field for a long time, maybe not in the same position, but on a higher level. People who see their tasks as their career are those people who are living so they could work better.


Main Differences Between Job and Career

  1. Job is done one a short-term basis while a career is a more long term. For people with jobs, their goal is to finish the task and get paid. While for people with careers, their goals do not revolve around pay alone. Their goal is to be able to help the company in the long run by doing a great job.
  2. Career is for people who want to grow in their field while the job is for people who only care about getting the job done. People who are on their career have longer plans like they want to get promoted and go for higher responsibilities while those with the job would usually end their employment and find another job once they get bored. What matters to them is that they earn their salary.
  3. The purpose of having a job is to earn money while the purpose of a career is to gain experience and connections. People with jobs are concerned with their salary alone so they could buy their necessities for survival. But with a career, it is not just the salary. It is more than that, it means being able to finish a job that can help their growth and will also have a positive effect on their company.
  4. With a job, one exerts little to just enough effort to complete the task while with a career, they go beyond expectation. This also means that people with careers don’t usually mind the number of hours they spend doing their tasks. As long as they finish it efficiently, they are willing to work the extra mile. While people with jobs usually start their work on time and go home on time. They do not see the importance of exerting extra effort if they cannot earn more from it.
  5. People with job go home exhausted while people with careers finish their work feeling productive. After their work, people with careers feel happy and are looking forward to working the next day, while people with job feel tired and would not want to work anymore but they need to because they need their salaries.

 

Conclusion

Job and career are two words people usually confuse themselves with. While both terms are used in employment, they differ greatly in how a person sees their work.

If they feel like their work is one with their goals, like they want to make sure they finish the task in a fulfilling way – that is what they consider as a career. If they see themselves in the future, being in the same field, doing greater things for their task, they consider this as their career.

On the other hand, if a person does the task just for the sake
of doing it, and just because they are asked to do it, then this is not a
career, it is merely a job. Usually, they do not feel a sense of fulfillment
with the task and they easily get bored with it.

Job is just a simple term for a group of tasks, but a career is a more personal one. When a person feels a connection between their goals in life and their task, it then becomes a career.

Career is more important than a job which means people
should look for a career and not just a job so they would be able to experience
life to the fullest.


 

References

  1. https://www.dbq.edu/CampusLife/OfficeofStudentLife/VocationalServices/WhatisaCareer/
  2. https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/job-definition-meaning/