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##  Changing Career Patterns. ERIC Digest No. 219.                               

Choi Joon Seo, a 31-year-old Korean who worked as regional marketing            manager for Nike in Hong Kong, resigned his job so he could pursue              his dream of building his own sports marketing company. (Jung et al.            2000) 
Heidi Miller of Citigroup and Mary Cirillo of Deutsche Bank,            two of the most senior women in U.S. banking, resigned their jobs to            look for new career challenges in e-commerce. (Currie 2000) 
Alan              Goldstein, in response to his growing interest in computer                      technology, resigned from his career as trauma surgeon at Kings                 County Hospital in New York, and, at age 49, formed his own software            company. (Mottl 1999) 
Glenn Gainley, after working his way to vice            president in charge of business units at Symbios, Inc., quit his job            at age 40 and returned to school to pursue a teaching career. (Black            1999) 
These examples of career changes reflect a common                       trend--increased job mobility. The linear career path that once kept            people working in the same job, often for the same company, is not              the standard career route for today's workers. Today, many workers              are pursuing varied career paths that reflect sequential career                 changes. This set of ongoing changes in career plans, direction, and            employers portrays the lifetime progression of work as a composite              of experiences. This Digest explores how changing technologies and              global competitiveness have led to redefinition of interests,                   abilities, and work options that influence career                               development. INFLUENCES ON CAREER MOBILITYJob mobility no                 longer carries the stigma once associated with job change, although             it can be emotionally stressful. Corporate upheavals of the early               1990s and low unemployment rates during the last part of the decade             have caused changes in job search and hiring practices. Companies,              especially those in technology fields that are in dire need of                  qualified, skilled, and experienced employees, are driven to recruit            workers away from their current employers. Workers, who see job                 mobility as a way to find work that is appealing, challenging, and              offers growth potential, are viewing career change as a way to                  progress through the uncertainties of the workplace. 
Job mobility             is most prevalent among individuals who are first entering the labor            market. According to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of              Youth, high job mobility characterizes the initial decade of a                  person's work experience (Keith and McWilliams 1999). Neal (1999)               reports that "men make two-thirds of their lifetime job changes                 during their first 10 years of work experience" (p. 255). Most of               this mobility is the result of job-to-job transitions rather than               unemployment and reflects the worker's desire to find a good career             match, often through lateral movement within the company. As                    first-time workers are quick to discover, the reality of a job                  doesn't always reflect a worker's expectations regarding salary,                responsibilities, and potential for professional development. This              may be one reason that approximately 33 percent of the college                  graduates who elect to pursue a teaching career leave the profession            within the first 5 years (National School to Work Office                        1997). 
The propensity toward job mobility is not unusual for                  workers of any age or experience in a society where new jobs and job            roles are created regularly as a result of technological advances               and global competitiveness. As global changes influence the way we              live, they also have strong implications for how we work. Employment            security is no longer tied to an organization, but rather to the                individual's career management and resilience skills. "You must be              prepared to live in an uncertain work world, where the only                     certainty is your skills, your flexibility, and your capacity to                adapt to change. That requires optimism and belief in                           yourself" (Moses 1999, p. 29). 
"Radical job changes are becoming a            model for some (workers) and a strategy for those who are forced                from their previous employment" (Sterrett 1999, p. 251). Sterrett               defines radical job changes as "career changes that occur when                  leaving one field and moving to a job quite different from the                  previous job" (ibid.). Most successful transitions of this kind                 involve a two-stage process in which the worker first searches to               find a suitable career match and then begins to look for a suitable             employer. Although these transitions are typically associated with              the early years of employment, radical job changes occur in midlife             as well, as evidenced in the examples at the beginning of the                   Digest. Workers who know their strengths, interests, and values and             are able to view themselves independently from their organizations              experience the greatest success. Typically, these workers are                   positive, confident, forward looking, continually learning, and                 flexible. QUALITIES THAT ENHANCE MOBILITYSelf-efficacy and a              positive attitude toward job potential are characteristics of adults            in a study conducted by Career Education Corporation of Hoffman                 Estates, Illinois. Results showed that "almost half of the working              adults said they would consider changing careers and one in four                said that they expect to make such a shift in the next 12                       months" (Dolliver 1999, p. 40). Although money was given as the                 prime motive for change, personal happiness was close                           behind. 
Confident in his ability to build his own sports marketing            company with a worldwide brand name, Choi Joon Seo left his job at              Nike in Hong Kong and, with two partners, launched HooChoo, a                   Korean-language online magazine about Korean sports. Choi plans to              use the website to develop HooChoo's brand name, which he hopes will            lead to the development of a full-time sports marketing                         company. "Physically and emotionally, I am exhausted," said                     Choi, "but it feels so good that I am doing what I like" (Jung et               al. 2000, p. 44). 
Foresight prompted Heidi Miller to direct her               attention to e-commerce, where she sees potential for growth. Now               working at priceline.com, Miller believes the company has excellent             prospects for cross-selling products and services over the Internet,            a potential she is not sure most insurance and banking conglomerates            realize (Currie 2000). 
Alan Goldstein was an early user of a                  portable computer, which he used to write his fellowship papers and             record his research data while in medical school. Soon Goldstein was            the computer guru for the surgical unit at Kings County Hospital,               where he later "oversaw a patient-registry database project and an              instruction program for surgical residents" (Mottl 1999, p. 123).               When a relative who owned a family business asked for his technical             help with computers, Goldstein became so interested that he took two            3-month leaves of absence from his prestigious position as trauma               surgeon and acting director of surgery to set up the family                     business's computer system. He enjoyed this work so much that he                resigned from his medical position to seek a new job. Goldstein is              now chief technology officer of Ultimate Software Group, Inc., a                company that develops human resource management                                 applications. 
Experience can be a predictor of successful career              transition, as evidenced by Goldstein's success. His medical                    position gave him experience in developing team structures,                     assessing people and skills, and communicating with staff. His                  computer experiences provided him with new technological skills. In             his own way, Goldstein was an active participant in lifelong                    learning, able to transfer his learning to a new environment. 
The             ability to be flexible and readjust his goals to accommodate his                values and personal interests made it possible for Glen Gainley to              make his move from business to education. While working at the                  chipmaking firm, Symbios, Inc., Gainley became increasingly aware               that his prime interest was in helping children and his community.              Because he had set aside money for retirement and the college                   education of his three children, Gainley was financially and                    emotionally able to quit his job and return to school for a teaching            certificate (Black 1999). He was willing to accept the entry-level              salary that often accompanies a midcareer change and engage in                  teaching--a career that some workers leave because salaries don't               meet their economic needs. 
Kidd (1998) suggests that career                   counselors give attention to the roles of emotion in the career                 development. She reports that it is often the sequences of feelings             and behaviors that one experiences in his/her work role that affect             the next career transition in the path to career                                development. "Feelings of success spur action" (ibid., p.                       280). 
Eric Watson, who worked for 21 years for a giant insurance              company, had become vice president for global diversity. Having a               great interest in the advantages of diversity, Watson attempted to              bring a new view of diversity to his organization: "The new                     diversity is about differences of all kinds, even those that come               from within a company itself" (Galagan and Salopek 2000, p. 52). As             he broadened his thinking about diversity, Watson came to realize               how diversity tools could help an organization deal with radical                organizational change. Looking for an opportunity to embrace this               challenge, Watson left the insurance company to become executive                director of work force capability for an oil and natural gas                    business. Watson contends that he will have company leaders modeling            the behaviors of a diverse company within 5 years. His commitment to            diversity and experiences of success were strong motivations for his            career move. CONCLUSIONAlthough changing careers may seem                 overwhelming to many, the examples presented in this Digest show                that changes are possible--and probable. Employment will be                     increasingly characterized by sequences of decisions and work/role              transitions. Similar sequences of behaviors, experiences, and                   judgments will influence ever-changing career patterns.  For workers            who seek continued and rewarding employment, career management                  skills will become increasingly important. Workers will need to be              able to identify their strengths, goals, and skills; conduct ongoing            assessments of their values and goals; monitor themselves and their             job situation; and develop the interpersonal and negotiating skills             needed to manage organizational career systems (Kidd 1998). Life                changes and career changes often go hand in hand, offering the                  skilled and flexible worker opportunities to use these changes to               personal advantage. REFERENCESBlack, P. "Go to the Head of the            Class." BUSINESS WEEK, no. 3650 (October 11, 1999): 174. 
Currie,              A. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." EUROMONEY no. 371 (March 2000):            6. 
Dolliver, M. "Maybe It's Not Too Late to Become a Fireman."                ADWEEK 40, no. 36 (September 6, 1999): 40. 
Galagan, P.  A. and                Salopek, J. J. "Thinking Differently about Differences." TRAINING               AND DEVELOPMENT 54, no. 5 (May 2000): 52-54. 
Jung, S.; Dolven, B.;            Dawson, C.; and Saywell, T. "Lured by the Net." FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC            REVIEW 163, no. 19 (May 11, 2000): 44-46. 
Keith, K., and                      McWilliams, A. "The Returns to Mobility and Job Search by Gender."              INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS REVIEW 52, no. 3 (April 1999):                   460-475. 
Kidd, J. M. "Emotion: An Absent Presence in Career                   Theory." JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL BEHAVIOR 52 (1998): 275-288. 
Moses,            B. "Career Intelligence: The 12 New Rules for Success." THE FUTURIST            33, no. 7 (August-September 1999): 28-35. 
Mottl, J. N. "Different             Career Paths Lead to IT." INFORMATIONWEEK no. 763 (November 29,                 1999): 123-126. 
National School to Work Office. SCHOOL TO WORK AND            PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS. RESOURCE BULLETIN.                       Washington, DC: National School to Work Office, 1997. (ED 416                   394) (http://www.stw.ed.gov/factsht/bul0306b.htm) 
Neal, D. "The               Complexity of Job Mobility among Young Men." JOURNAL OF LABOR                   ECONOMICS 17, no. 2 (April 1999): 237-261. 
Steen, M. "A Career                Change to IT from a Different Field? Difficult, But Not Impossible."            INFOWORLD 21, no. 38 (September 20, 1999): 84. 
Sterrett, E. A. "A             Comparison of Women's and Men's Career Transitions." JOURNAL OF                 CAREER DEVELOPMENT 25, no. 4 (Summer 1999): 249-259. 
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This             project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the            U.S. Department of Education under Contract No. ED-99-CO-0013. The              content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views              or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of             trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement            by the U.S. Government. Digests may be freely reproduced and are                available at http://ericacve.org/fulltext.asp.                               **Title:** Changing Career Patterns. ERIC Digest No. 219.                               **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** For full text: http://www.ericacve.org/fulltext.asp.                         **Descriptors:** Adult Education, Adults,  Career Change, Career Counseling,  Career             Development,  Career Education, Case Studies, Counseling Techniques,             Employment Patterns, Individual Characteristics, Individual                    Development,  Occupational Mobility,  Personality Traits, Trend                 Analysis, Work Attitudes                                                     **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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