The Occupational Career Revisited

The concept of occupational career was first proposed by Black in the 1970s within the occupational behavior frame of reference. This model reflected the career choice literature of the time and relied heavily on role theory, general systems theory, human development, and occupational choice. The concept of occupational career is revisited here in light of the evolving discipline of occupational science, changes in the concept of career, and changes in society. A new model is proposed for examining not only the occupational career of an individual but also the concept that every occupation has a career. The new formulation retains themes of human development, choice, and career, as well as incorporating notions of meaning, context. It replaces the notion of role with that of occupation. The feedback loop of general systems theory from the original model is expanded to a more complex structure as suggested by dynamic systems theory.