Theory Of Career Development Essay Research Paper

Theory Of Career Development Essay, Research Paper

Theory of career development

Marie Doxey

There are many ways to develop theories of career development. Mainly the ideas result from personal experience including but not limited to sociological, economic, family life and environmental conditions. Other reasons why people make career decisions rely on personality and inner self. There are many theories to refer to but as our world changes everyday in many ways so does career development. As we become aware of those changes , we are challenged to develop new theories in order to adapt to the new variations in our society.

Our society in which we live in has a great impact on developing a theory. It is the background and common ground that conditions and guides our behavior to choose our career. This effect may be considered a general factor but it is the greatest factor. In order to survive in society, compliance must take place. Society presents certain rules and abidance is necessary for conformity. Society depicts what is considered as acceptable behavior, family life, available resources, freedom, environment, economics, and ultimately career choice. The only possibly resilient factor to societal pressure and conditions may be the inner self which motivates individuals and sets people apart from one another.

Career development is a continuous process due to the changes in society and environment. Super’s concept includes economic factors influencing career development and relates them to society and labor market. The economic influence is manifested in family life and status. One’s financial background affects career background. Financial security is a partial factor and can act as one less obstacle towards reaching career goals. Although financial aid is readily available, family background and wealth may result in higher expectations. It is very common to see many families with several members carrying out the same tradition of either being doctors, lawyers or related careers.

Family traditions and values must be considered as a contributing attribute. Family expectations and traditions apply a certain amount of pressure on its members’ decision making. Values most likely stem from family influence. As we grow up and constantly change, our values may be the most resilient to outside influence. Those values are mostly instilled throughout the developmental years. Ginzberg, Ginsburg, Axelrad and Herma base their theory on the concept of developmental standpoint. Our family life relating to ethics, religion or lack of it, parents or guardians’ values, has a great impact on the maturation of our values. Most everything revolves around one’s values. Career choice must adhere to a certain extent otherwise conflict arises within the person or between the person and the source of conflict.

Family lifestyle is also an element in ultimate career choice. One’s family class and accommodations sets and guides one’s motivation to achieve a comfort level accustomed to. The higher class can motivate higher achievements in order to continue or resume the lifestyle acquainted with. It also seems that higher income or status may also be related to one’s intellectual abilities. Goltfredson’s discusses intellectual level and its relation to career choice and level of accomplishment.

Environment is unescapable as a major influence and that would include, family style, society, economics, culture and many other factors. Heredity may also be a factor in one’s choice of career to a certain extent and from some point of view. Some behaviors are believed to be hereditary such as alcoholism, tolerance level, and many others. Intelligence is also believed to be somewhat hereditary. Therefore, some people may be more fortunate than others in that aspect or less fortunate, because ultimately, intelligence is a major aspect of the level of achievement.

After discussing certain factors of career development which caught my attention and were somewhat more relative to my experiences than other theories, I would like to relate some of those elements to my life. Society’s role in my career choice manifested itself in many different and nontraditional ways. Born in Lebanon, I moved to the United States at the age of thirteen. I had absorbed a fair amount of the Lebanese culture by that age. That aspect served as a motivator for me to succeed against all odds due to the language barrier and despite the fact of feeling different. I had to try harder to achieve ordinary tasks such as reading and comprehension. Without the knowledge of the English language, I was forced to work harder. I achieved a 4.0 GPA in my first year of school and was a member of the National Honor Society. The dictionary was my best friend. Having attended a private French Catholic school ( we all know how strict nun teachers can be) in Lebanon, I was geared into a direction already, of focusing all my energies on school and family life. I resumed that direction as I entered school in a totally different culture. I tested at the junior level in high school at the age of fourteen. The American culture had not influenced any of my behavior yet. I graduated at the age of fifteen. I did not have the opportunity of choosing a career or planning for one due to the fact that the issue was never discussed at school or at home. I sent for college information on my own b