You have to make a lot of choices in your life. Some decisions are easy to make. Others are not because they will determine the course of your future life. Choosing a career is certainly one of the most serious decisions you have to make. Deciding to take or not to take a job is usually equally challenging. Most people think of careers and jobs as one and the same things. However, they are totally not. In fact, they are two completely different things, even though they are often used as synonyms.

A job is something you do for a living. It consists of certain tasks that you have to perform. When you perform them, you are paid for your services. Simply put, a job is a tool for generating income. You can do any job. It may not be corresponding to your educational background or to your personal interests.

A career is a term used to describe your professional life. It is an occupation that corresponds to your educational background, skills and talent and work experience. You have to choose a career, but in order to keep it you have to plan it and manage it.

It is worth giving an example that illustrates the difference. Let's say that someone is working as a school teacher. This is his job. However, he has a career in education or in teaching. He might have a short career, so far, but in the future he will most likely develop it. For instance, this teacher might become a school headmaster or start teaching in a college or university, as a professor. In this way, he will still have a career in education or teaching, but he will not have the job of a teacher.

There are other notable differences between jobs and careers that are worth discussing. You cannot advance in a job. You can get a higher position within a company or within an industry. For instance, you might have had a data processing job, but now, after promotion, you are a manager. These are two different jobs that involve different work tasks and responsibilities. However, you are still having a career in data processing. In this respect, you can advance in your career, but you cannot advance in a job. This is one of the major differences between the two terms. Another way to see it is to think of jobs as the tools for advancing in a career, which is your professional path.

The choice of a job is very different from the choice of a career. When you are choosing a job, you base your decision on criteria, such as remuneration, work environment and work schedule. You take into account your lifestyle and your individual circumstances. When you are choosing a career, you take into account completely different factors. These include your interests, your educational background, your skills, your talent and your future plans. These differences also confirm that jobs are a means to an end, while careers are much more of a life choice and even a lifestyle.

 A job is something you do routinely. You have the tasks set for you and you have to do them. You do not have to do any major long term planning. This is not the case with careers. You are responsible for your own progress. You set your goals and you determine the ways, in which you can achieve them. You have to plan your career, as you are planning your life. You have to have a clear idea where you want to be in five and in ten years and devise a plan with which to get there. Then you have to work hard to accomplish the goals. Basically, on a job, you are working for your boss. In a career, you are working for yourself.

You can look at the differences between the two in a psychological aspect. A job offers stability and security. It gives you a peace of mind that you and your family are financially secured. A career, on the other hand, is al about taking challenges and taking risk. You have to work your way to the top and this is not easy. You are more likely to get competition rather than to get help. Still, all will be worth it in the end.