career

We use the word "career" when talking about a person’s area of employment or field of work. Some people confuse this word with "job," but you can have many different jobs within one career:

• Rihanna would like a career in broadcasting.
• What kind of career would you like to enter?
• My neighbor has had a long career as an accountant.
• Asha gave up a career in business administration because she wanted to have children.
• Bill restarted his career as a lawyer after ten years as a stay-at-home dad.
• Many people go to college because they want a good, solid career.

These sentences might help you understand the difference between the words "job" and "career."

• I‘ve had five different jobs during my career as a teacher.
• Lana loves her career, but she hates her current job.
• Brian accepted a job in Los Angeles because it would help advance him in his career.

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This page was first published on April 17, 2012. It was amended on January 21, 2015.