Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Business / Management / Human Resources / Difference Between Career and Occupation

Difference Between Career and Occupation

July 18, 2011 Posted by Hasa

The key difference between career and occupation is that the career is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of one’s life and with opportunities for progress whereas occupation is a person’s principal work or business, specifically as a means of earning a living.

Career and occupation are two very closely related concepts that confuse many people. This is because if one looks up a dictionary, the two words are synonyms. Though there are many similarities between the two terms, there is also a subtle difference between career and occupation. We know that the occupation of a person may be farming, but that does not tell us everything about his career, which is the sum total of all his experiences, events and jobs that he may have undertaken in his lifetime.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Career
3. What is an Occupation
4. Side by Side Comparison – Career vs Occupation in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is a Career?

Career is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of one’s life and with opportunities for progress. Career is a word that connotes images of a lifetime of achievements, events, and everything else that goes in the name of progression in our chosen profession. So, a career comprises all that a person has done or undergone in his professional life so far and what he intends to do in the future. Careers usually bring us a sense of achievement as it is a journey built on your skills, knowledge and experience.

Difference Between Career and Occupation

Career path is a word we often associate with a career. Career path basically refers to various positions an employee moves through as he or she grows in an organization. For example, you may start your career as a teaching assistant, then gradually move on to the positions of teacher, assistant principal and principal.

What is an Occupation?

Occupation basically refers to one’s job or profession. We can define it as a person’s principal work or business, specifically as a means of earning a living. A person’s occupation is more or less depends on his educational qualification (at least in western countries). So, if an individual studies science and later peruses engineering at the undergraduate level, engineering becomes his occupation. It becomes his identity of sorts, and he remains an engineer for his life unless he decides to switch his occupation and become something other than an engineer.

Key Difference Between Career and Occupation

There are clearly demarcated occupations such as a doctor, engineer, lawyer, administrator, farmer, carpenter, plumber, electrician, and so on. However, as mentioned above, it possible for a person to change his occupation once or many times in a single career.

What is the Difference Between Career and Occupation?

Career is an occupation a person undertakes for a significant period of one’s life and with opportunities for progress. On the contrary, an occupation is a person’s principal work or business, specifically as a means of earning a living. This is the key difference between career and occupation. Thus, a career is a broader concept than occupation, and it is possible for a person to have more than one occupation during his career.

Difference Between Career and Occupation in Tabular Form

Summary – Career vs Occupation

The key difference between career and occupation is that career is an occupation a person undertakes for a significant period of one’s life and with opportunities for progress. On the other hand, occupation is a person’s principal work or business, specifically as a means of earning a living. It is possible for a person to have more than one occupation during his or her career.

Image Courtesy:

1.”111932″ by geralt (CC0) via pixabay
2.”1372458″ by Alexas_Fotos (CC0) via pixabay

Related posts:

Difference Between Profession and JobDifference Between Profession and Job Difference Between Career and JobDifference Between Career and Job Difference Between Group and Team Difference Between Voluntary and Compulsory Redundancy Difference Between Personal Management and Human Resource Management

Filed Under: Human Resources Tagged With: career, Job, occupation, profession

About the Author: Hasa

Hasa is a BA graduate in the field of Humanities and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in the field of English language and literature. Her areas of interests include language, literature, linguistics and culture.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Bank Rate and Base Rate

Difference Between Bank Rate and Base Rate

Difference Between Equity and Capital

Difference Between Kindle Fire HD and Nook HD

Difference Between B Cell and T Cell Lymphoma

Difference Between B Cell and T Cell Lymphoma

Difference Between Stable and Metastable

Difference Between Stable and Metastable

Latest Posts

  • Difference Between Barium Sulfate and Barium Sulfide
  • Difference Between dNTP and DdNTP
  • Difference Between Phenolic Resin and Epoxy Resin
  • Difference Between Receptor and Effector
  • Difference Between Kepler and Newton Law
  • Difference Between Imine and Enamine
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.