The concept of careers ranges from descriptions of jobs, occupations, or vocations to the pattern of work and work-related activities that develop through a lifetime. Career is defined in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (1999) as "a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in public, professional, or business life."

The perception of a career has various connotations. A "career" could be a "job." A job, again as defined in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (1999), is "a regular remunerative position; something that has to be done: task." A job might be washing dishes or typing reports. In other works, a job is a task.

An occupation, yet again as defined in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (1999), is "an activity in which one engages; the principal business of one's life: vocation." An occupation may mean practicing law, teaching school, and so forth. In other words, an occupation is a...