Meaningful Career Research Articles

The Meaning of Career Development to Women in Academics

The word refers to a series of work undertaken during the period of employment, regardless of or the status of the organization (Feldman & Arnold, 1983). Career is a life experience, behaviour, and attitude of a person with respect to the activities and work experience, values, and aspirations to develop throughout one's life-time (Bemadin & Russell, 1998). According to Hadipranata (2004) career refers to all the positions held by a person including house hold cores of a house wife. Flippo (1985) defines career as an employment which has separate activities, but interrelated, continued work, regular, and meaningful in one's life. According to Mathys (1983), career is a series of work and life experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant.Cascio (2002) mentions that career is the development of a person's work experience during the period of employment. Cascio began his definition by giving an example of the first employment until the end of his working life. Meaningful career by Cascio is an office that once belonged to the organization or to a single organization. According to Werther and Davis (1982), career is all work undertaken during the working-age person. Bhagwan and Bhushan (1981) define career as a respectable occupation in which a reasonable person in his youth hope to go forward and pursue it until he reaches the retirement.The term career does not only refer to the changes that are related to occupational mobility, improvement in an organization and the struggles of the employee to get a better position. Career is more likely related to mobility of the employee horizontally and sometimes vertically. It means that the word is no longer synonymous with a job within an organization. Today more and more individuals who have different life experiences are called 'dual career' because they do double job in two or three different organizations or it can be said that they may have different jobs at different organisations at the same time. It implies that there is no presumption that the organization has a system of unilateral control over individual careers since individuals have the right and ability to plan and manage their own careers.Based on all of the definitions above, it can be concluded that a career is a sequence of positions that has ever been owned by a person. The word used by the author of this paper is therefore that referring to the functional of the faculty members, especially academic women, during their service at the university. The functional level investigated in the research is the of a professor position which is the highest in the academic life which is attained gradually life a general or field marshal in the army. For this paper, career is defined as a series (sequence) of positions occupied by a person during a particular life time (Cascio, 2002). Career is interpreted as the work done formally with a focus on continuous improvement and the additional ability of an employee to reach higher level in an organisation (Bemadin & Russell, 1998).Career development requires time and individual efforts. Any employee who wish to succeed in career, has to prove that is able to carry out duties in accordance with the requirements of a given task or position. Thus, an employee who is not able to perform the duties or tasks prescribed by a particular job/ or position, can be categorized as a failure. This can cost such a person promotions hence, being stagnant, or delay in career development within an organization.Functional career of academic womenIn Indonesia, a functional career is a that comprises of aworking load, tasks, responsibilities, leadership tasks, and rights of government employees. The performance of duties is based on expertise, specific skills, and self-reliance. Functional career is stipulated in the Government Regulation Number 16, 1994. A functional is set based on the Presidential Decree which is determined based on the Minister's proposal. …

Job enrichment: creating meaningful career development opportunities for nurses

This paper presents an evaluation of a career development policy in South Australia which increased the number of senior staff nurse positions and provided senior registered nurses with time away from clinical duties to undertake agreed projects. We use Kanter's model of structural power and commitment theory to understand the dimensions of this policy. Development strategies for experienced staff who wish to remain at the bedside are needed, especially in smaller health services with limited opportunities for horizontal or vertical mobility. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with 54 senior staff nurses who participated in the career structure arrangements. The policy enhanced the structure of opportunity in three ways: by increasing the number of senior staff nurse positions, the ladder steps were improved; undertaking strategic projects developed new skills; and the job enrichment approach facilitated time out from the immediate pressures of ward work and challenged nurses in a different way. Through job enrichment, South Australia has found a novel way of providing meaningful career development opportunities for experienced nurses. Methods of job enrichment need to be considered as part of career development policy, especially where movement between clinical facilities is limited and staff wish to remain at the bedside.

The role of school community partnerships in building successful transition pathways for young people: one school’s approach

Western governments around the globe have become increasingly focused on the successful transition of young people from school to further education and/or training. It could be suggested that for many countries this is the key focus of their youth policies. Nevertheless, the divide between those young people who manage to successfully transition into a meaningful careers pathway and those who do not continues to widen. Establishing stronger welfare safety nets and better youth services that can respond more effectively to the needs of young people as they reach fruition have all been a part of the policy and practice developments of the last decade. And although these are all important aspects of a functioning community, at the centre of young people’s lives remains their connection to education and thus to their school. This connection, if successfully positive, can develop resiliency, community links, social capital and an economic future for young people. These are daunting responsibilities to place on one institution. This paper examines one school’s approach to establishing innovative careers pathways for young people. It also discusses the importance of partnerships between schools, community services and other community, government and parent stakeholders in the creation, application and evaluation of careers and transition programs.

Things I Didn’t Learn in Medical School

Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. rfragen@yahoo.comIn Things I Didn’t Learn in Medical School: Tough Lessons from a Lifetime of Practice , Dr Gary Fanning speaks directly to readers about the behavior he recommends for physicians to maintain the respect of the public. Although we should have learned some of his moral principles in grade school, high school, or certainly by college, his many illustrative stories depict physicians, other healthcare workers, and/or patients who either did not learn them or chose to ignore them. He says the book pertains mainly to those entering the medical profession or other healthcare professions, but others can learn from his experiences as well. Each of the 14 chapters in the book begins with excellent and relevant quotes from famous people.The “Introduction” and “Who Am I” chapters offer a description of Gary Fanning’s background, providing insights into where he is coming from when he stresses his philosophies concerning hand washing, alcoholism, drug use, and infidelity, the latter in a chapter entitled “Ignore Your Gonads.” His family, his mentors in school, and especially his Episcopalian minister influenced his ideas. Many readers will recall experiences similar to his and accounts of similar untoward incidents. For example, training hospitals in which operating room pharmacies have not implemented programs to confirm that returned drugs and controlled substances are what they are supposed to be may lose a resident a year to a drug problem.I am especially glad he wrote a chapter about respect for fellow human beings. He includes respect for patients’ rights to accept or refuse a prescribed treatment. He reminds us that we are not gods and should treat those nonphysicians with whom we work with respect as well as our fellow physicians even when we disagree with them. As an anesthesiologist for more than 50 yr, I too have observed too many incidences of disrespect.He strongly opposes government telling physicians how to practice medicine or interfering with the doctor–patient relationship, nor does he have any love for insurance companies. Dr Fanning says the practice of medicine is a business, and physicians should be fairly compensated for their work. Therefore, physicians in training should have some courses in economics. In the chapter on “Medical Original Investigations,” he includes valuable stories to illustrate his points.In the chapter entitled “Medical–Legal Issues,” he tells of his own experiences with lawsuits, offers ideas about how the system can be improved, and concludes with some worthwhile advice. When I was an intern, a philosophical internist told me the way to avoid lawsuits was first to know what you are doing and second to be kind to people. Dr Fanning lists five recommendations, the first two of which are what I was told more than 50 yr ago. The next three are to document, to trust your lawyer, and to remember it is all about money.Finally, Dr Fanning suggests that there is more to life than medicine and suggests ways to expand one’s horizons and enjoy life. Taking care of oneself is the first step toward having a full and meaningful career and life. Much of the advice is pretty basic in the chapters “There’s More to Life than Medicine” and “Take Care of Yourself,” but repetition never hurts. Dr Fanning’s stories are interesting but often tragic, sad, and/or humorous. As an anesthesiologist in the practice longer than Dr Fanning, I can especially relate to and enjoy his anecdotes, but I am sure any reader can gain insights and pleasure from this book.Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. rfragen@yahoo.com

Cognitive and affective processes underlying career change

PurposeAligning social identity and career identity has become increasingly complex due to growth in the pursuit of meaningful careers that offer very long‐term personal satisfaction and stability. This paper aims to explore the complex cognitive and affective thought process involved in the conscious planning of voluntary career change.Design/methodology/approachA review of recent findings relevant to voluntary career change decisions was performed in order to develop a better understanding of psychological and sociological processes contributing to the pursuit of an MBA degree and subsequent employee mobility.FindingsComplex rational and emotional thoughts contribute to the definition and pursuit of proximal and distal career goals which stimulate self‐efficacy drives as they are achieved.Practical implicationsBecause realistic forecasting of very long‐term distal goals is extremely challenging, career seekers must carefully consider how proximal and distal goal pursuit, such as an MBA degree, contribute to personal identity. Goal pursuit merely for the sake of advancing self‐efficacy will likely prove insufficient to anchor individuals within a career and cement their identity.Social implicationsAs part of their career change strategy, individuals frequently chose to enrol in an MBA program to rapidly develop competencies and experiment with new career options. Consequently, there is a growing disconnection between the career options offered by employers and the choices that employees are seeking.Originality/valueThe paper explores the psychological processes that contribute to the pursuit of “boundaryless” careers. Boundaryless career growth is attainable through improvements in communication that aid the definition of “reality”.

Careers in Cancer Prevention: What You May Not See from Inside Your Academic Department—A Report from the American Society of Preventive Oncology's Junior Members Interest Group

The American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) is a professional society committed to advancing cancer prevention and control and providing meaningful career development opportunities for members at every stage in their career ([www.aspo.org][1]). The Junior Members Interest Group was formed in

Gender Gaps

Young women with disabilities face multiple barriers in making the transition from high school to meaningful careers. This study used focus groups and individual interviews with high school girls with disabilities, college women with disabilities, high school special education teachers, school administrators and employers to examine career development and transition needs for young women with disabilities. Barriers and supports were identified in four major categories: a) individual/interpersonal skills, b) career options, c) school system issues, and d) disability needs. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

Spectrum: Education is the Solution to Improving Our Industry's Image

President's column Public mistrust and misconceptions about the oil and gas industry have grown after the 2010 Macondo blowout and the concerns raised over the environmental damage from hydraulic fracturing. It is very important for our industry to respond with factual information and to dispel the misinformation. Education is the answer, both in the schools and in our outreach to the general public. We must take ownership of the education about our industry. Oil and gas exploration and production is not an old-fashioned, dying industry; on the contrary, it is a very scientific, dynamic field that requires a high level of technology. Instead of talking mostly about our profession or the technology, which can become dry, we need to better communicate the excitement and importance of what we do. We must emphasize the role that oil and gas plays in daily lives. Oil and natural gas provide fuel for our vehicles and heat for our homes, and they are used to make myriad products that make modern life possible. Everyone’s quality of life depends on the availability and affordability of energy. And despite the promise of alternative sources, oil and gas remains the primary source of efficient and affordable energy. What can we as individuals and as SPE members do? From the individual’s standpoint, it can be overwhelming, but as part of a 100,000-member organization with resources at hand, a great deal can be accomplished. We start by working together with students and educators to raise the awareness of the role of oil and gas in our society, and its importance to our daily lives. This educational effort should first get the younger children interested in math and science, and then show the older children how their interests and passions can lead to a dynamic and meaningful career that benefits mankind. The SPE is working to educate teachers and students globally through its Energy4me program (www.energy4me.org) with workshops and classroom curriculum. The program’s flexibility offers an easy way for SPE sections and members to start community outreach programs, which can be big or small, ongoing or scheduled, and carried out with minimal cost or time investment. With more resources, members can engage corporate sponsors or partner with other organizations. Recently, the SPE Dallas Section joined with the Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute to host a daylong tour in North Texas to acquaint science teachers with the natural gas drilling process. It started with an informational session on topics such as the basics of gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing technology, and the history of the Barnett Shale in the region. Then the teachers toured a pad site to see drilling activities, a hydraulic fracturing facility to learn about the process and safeguards used, and finally, a completed pad location. This is a great example of how misinformation can be dispelled by educating teachers, who are also members of a community deluged with information, true and false, about hydraulic fracturing. The hands-on approach could help change public opinion for the better.

Living the dream? A qualitative retrospective study exploring the role of adolescent aspirations across the life span.

There is a lack of longitudinal research linking adolescent career aspirations to adult outcomes other than career and income attainment. Drawing on Nurmi's (2004) and Salmela-Aro, Aunola, and Nurmi's (2007) life-span model of motivation and using quantitative survey data at ages 16, 23, 33, 42, and 50 years, combined with retrospective interview data at age 50 (collected from 25 members of a British cohort study born in 1958), we aimed to gain a more rounded understanding of the role that adolescent career aspirations play in shaping not only adult career development but also adult identities and well-being. Twenty-two of the 25 participants fulfilled their adolescent career aspirations later in life through achieving (a) the exact career they aspired to or (b) the social status of the career they aspired to. In relation to adult personal identity and well-being, the findings suggest that what matters is not just whether a person aims high at age 16 (i.e., to be a professional or a manager) but also whether the person remembers having strong or meaningful career aspirations. Further themes, gender differences, and implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Supported employment outcomes for transition age youth and young adults.

Supported Employment (SE) can help transition age youth and young adults to obtain employment and develop meaningful careers and financial security. The purpose of this analysis is to examine the role of SE in achieving employment outcomes for youth (ages 18-24) and young adults (ages 25-30), compared to outcomes for older adults. Given the importance of employment to the quality of life of young people in establishing work histories and starting careers, it is important to have a better understanding of what client and program characteristics result in better employment outcomes. Data are from the Employment Intervention Demonstration Program (EIDP), a multisite randomized controlled trial of SE among 1,272 individuals with psychiatric disabilities in 7 states. Among all study participants, youth and young adults had significantly better outcomes in terms of any employment and competitive employment than older (>30 years) adults. However, in multivariable models of participants randomly assigned to SE, young adults had significantly better outcomes than youth or older adults. Other significant predictors of employment and competitive employment were future work expectations, not receiving Supplemental Security Income, and receipt of more hours of SE services. Characteristics of youth, young adults and SE programs that enhance employment are discussed in terms of policy and practice.

Gender Gaps

Young women with disabilities face multiple barriers in making the transition from high school to meaningful careers. This study used focus groups and individual interviews with high school girls with disabilities, college women with disabilities, high school special education teachers, school administrators and employers to examine career development and transition needs for young women with disabilities. Barriers and supports were identified in four major categories: a) individual/interpersonal skills, b) career options, c) school system issues, and d) disability needs. Recommendations for practice are discussed.

Squeezing or blurring: young adulthood in the career strategies of professionals based in Italy and England

In moving the first significant steps into a meaningful graduate career, young adults need to elaborate strategies, which consist in identifying and activating what seems useful in one's own context of reference. Specifically looking at the meaning of being young adults in two countries belonging to different welfare systems and thus diverging regimes of transitions to adulthood, i.e. Italy and England, this paper analyses how two groups of early career professionals conceive of and forge the specific position they occupy in the life cycle in the course of developing particular strategies of career construction. The findings of 60 in-depth interviews compare and contrast a first dimension of young adulthood accounted for as a favourable condition to delimit, emphasise and be collocated within in order to maximise its potential. This is the case of young adults based in England, who ‘squeeze’ their youth to enact career strategies. The second dimension is constructed as a penalising condition not to be associated with, in an effort to reduce the discomfort it causes. It is the case of young adults based in Italy, who work out their strategies while feeling caught in the blurred and indefinite condition of youth.

Crafting scholarly life: Strategies for creating meaning in academic careers

AbstractJob crafting, which occurs when individuals proactively make changes to their jobs, can be a useful tool for academics seeking more meaningful careers. We suggest changes to the cognitive, task, and relational aspects of academic jobs that can infuse scholarly work with more personal meaning. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Changes in Medical Students' Views of Internal Medicine Careers From 1990 to 2007

The United States faces a shortage of primary care physicians and declining number of medical students choosing primary care careers. We conducted a secondary analysis of 2 similar national surveys of senior medical students from 1990 and 2007 that addressed student characteristics, specialties chosen, clerkship experiences, perceptions of internal medicine (IM) compared with other specialties, and influential aspects of IM. We compared responses from 1990 and 2007 by analyzing a merged data set of identical items from the 2 surveys (65% of the items). The total sample of 2421 students comprised 1244 at 16 schools in 1990 (response rate, 75%) and 1177 at 11 schools in 2007 (82%). In 2007, there were more women (52% vs 37%, P < .001) and more educational debt (mean, $101 000 vs $63 000, P < .001). Similar proportions of students planned IM careers (23% vs 24%), although plans to practice general IM dropped from 9% to 2% (P < .001). The appeal of primary care as an influence toward IM declined from 57% to 33% (P < .001). More 2007 students reported high satisfaction with the IM clerkship (78% vs 38%, P < .001). Both cohorts thought that workload and stress are greater in IM than in other fields. Students in 2007 felt that opportunities for meaningful work in IM were greater than did students in 1990 (58% vs 42%, P < .001). More students in 2007 than in 1990 viewed IM as a potentially meaningful career. However, the 2007 students had higher debt, more negative perceptions of workload and stress in IM, and less career interest in general IM. To rebuild the generalist physician workforce, improving students' experience of IM in medical school is no longer sufficient. Bolder reform will be required to improve the educational pipeline, practice, and payment of generalist IM physicians.

Counselors' Perspectives on Using the Career Style Interview With Clients

The authors investigated counselors' perspectives on using the Career Style Interview (CSI) with clients who had career concerns. Participants were a purposive sample of 34 counselors who had been trained in and who had used the CSI with clients. The findings indicated that the counselors viewed the CSI as a helpful and positive career counseling intervention. It was most effective at identifying clients' life themes and assisted them with making meaningful career decisions. Implications of these findings for career counseling practice and research are also discussed.

Closing the Gap: Flexible and Dynamic Design Education to Better Prepare Digital Media Design Students for Professional Practice

The dynamic and fast changing nature of digital media presents many challenges for design professionals as well as for design educators. Managing the increasing complexity of technology is one of them. Surprisingly, the digital media design industry's switch to multidisciplinary collaborative teamwork as a response to the increasing complexity of technology has been rarely anticipated by higher digital media design education perhaps because subject 'silos' make collaboration more difficult. Major research into the employability of graduates from design disciplines in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia revealed that employers are concerned about the preparedness of undergraduate digital media design students when entering the profession. The research highlighted the lack of professional skills and soft skills such as verbal communication of ideas and teamwork. Clearly it is time to respond to the widening gap between professional practice and design education. Currently under development and testing at an Australian university is a new learning and teaching model, referred to as the POOL Model. This new model is a multidisciplinary system of interdependent collaboration and expertise exchange across university, industry and community sectors. The Pool Model is based on existing resources and implemented as an integral part of the curriculum at undergraduate level in order to prepare students for collaborative multidisciplinary practice and meaningful careers in industry. This paper describes the development and implementation of an alternative learning and teaching model. The rational for the development of the model is described and its evaluation through the application of accepted research principles and methodologies.

The Value of Life Design Counselling for an Adolescent who Stutters

This study reports the results of a life design approach case study with an adolescent with stuttering. A variety of postmodern techniques were used to engage the adolescent in life design conversations about a preferred and meaningful future. Post-intervention, the individual seemed more capable of making a career choice with a sense of empowerment or personal agency. Life design counselling enabled the individual to engage in meaningful career exploration.

Reminiscing the PIDE (Honouring Prof. A. R. Khan)

I first arrived at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, then simply the Institute of Development Economics, at the beginning of October 1960. It was located on the top floor of the Old Sindh Assembly Building on Bunder Road in Karachi. At the time the Joint Director, the resident head of the Institute, was Irving Brecher, a Canadian economist. The Director of the Institute was Emile Despres, the ex-officio head of Ford Foundation’s Pakistan Project administered from Williams College, later from Stanford University, who spent only a few weeks each year at the Institute. The Institute had a number of foreign research advisers funded by the Ford Foundation Project and a handful of Pakistani staff members, very few of them at senior levels. For me the Institute was a refuge. Since my graduation from the Dhaka University at the end of 1959 I had been teaching in the Department of Economics. I had also been selected for graduate studies in England starting the fall of 1960 under an award of the newly-instituted Commonwealth Scholarship programme. In July 1960 I was dismissed from my teaching position at the University due to alleged undesirable political antecedents during my student days. A few weeks later my scholarship for study abroad was also withdrawn by the Government of Pakistan whose approval was a prerequisite for the finalisation of the award. The prospect of alternative employment was bleak with little private sector demand for economics graduates at the time. I had been interviewed by Emile Despres and his colleagues who were on a recruitment mission the previous winter in Dhaka. The teaching appointment at the University, coming on the heels of the interview, had preempted a possible offer from them. A few weeks after I lost my scholarship, I received a telegram from the Institute offering me the position of a Research Officer (later named Staff Economist). This rescued me from what appeared to be virtual banishment from all possibility of a meaningful career. This was the beginning of the series of many kind acts by the Institute and its members which over time made me accustomed to treating it as a home even after my formal employment in it ended.

The POOL Model: Foregrounding an alternative learning and teaching approach for digital media design in higher education

Recent studies show that current higher digital media design education generally fails to equip students with the expertise and skills suited to the requirements of the industry. This is a result of design education largely adhering to a curriculum model developed for and applicable to multimedia design practice in the 1990s. Utilization of this model persists, although it has become increasingly unviable due to rapid technological advances and a resultant shift in the industry away from the individual designer and towards collaborative team design. An alternative learning and teaching model is currently under development at a regional Australian university, referred to as the POOL Model. This new model is a multidisciplinary system of interdependent collaboration and expertise exchange across university, industry and community sectors, intended for implementation in undergraduate curriculum to prepare students for collaborative multidisciplinary practice and meaningful careers in the industry. Using data obtained by industry, design educators and students, this article evidences the rationale for the development of the model, which will form the basis for the ongoing development of the new curriculum through trial and revision.

Conversations: Discover Who You Are

President's column In the past decade, an increasing number of organizations have been creating networks, mentoring programs, and coaching and leadership training for women in the workplace. Today, women represent a significant portion of the educated talent pool in most of the developed and emerging world in a broad range of industries, lead countries and companies, and hold an unprecedented amount of power in their hands and minds. The oil industry is not an exception. From field technicians to engineers and geologists, and to vice presidents and presidents, women are making huge contributions to this historically male-dominated industry. According to the US Labor Department, the women in the US workforce, for the first time surpassed the men by 800,000 in January 2010. Canada achieved this milestone in 2007. And as I am writing this column, four female astronauts are orbiting the earth on the space station, another historical milestone, and a giant step for womankind! While there have been remarkable gains, the number of women in the science and technology industries is less impressive. For example, the share of women employed in the US oil and gas industry stands at a mere 17.5% according to a recent report by Catalyst. Another recent study conducted in the US, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Letitia Corum Memorial Fund, the Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund, shows that while the number of women in science and engineering is growing, men continue to outnumber women, especially in the leadership roles. The study also reveals that fewer women than men major in science and technology fields. By graduation, men outnumber women in nearly every science and engineering field, earning only 20% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. The number of women declines further at the graduate level and even more in the transition to the workplace. The same study points at evidence that social and environmental factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering. Many associate science and technology fields with “male” and humanities and arts fields with “female.” The striking disparity between the numbers of men and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics has often been considered as evidence of biologically driven gender differences in abilities and interests! Such perceptions adversely affect women’s decisions to pursue interest in science and technology areas. As I travel the world and speak to SPE members, I have been asked whether our industry provides opportunities for a woman to develop a meaningful professional career. The question is even more alarming when it is posed by female students who are already enrolled in petroleum engineering departments or female young professionals who have been employed and engaged in the industry for some time. We have a challenge to address, one that can seriously limit the industry’s access to a significant talent resource, adversely affect its image, and consequently threaten its ability to grow. I suggest that both women in the industry and the industry itself have important roles to play in resolving these issues.