Career Thoeries - Essay Example

Introduction Multiple theories including behavioral, developmental and psychoanalytical are present today to guide the counselor in his/her practice. Theory provides a choice to depending, uncritically, on common sense. This is essential because common sense often is responsible for and/or reinforces biased and tyrannical practices (e.g. racial, gender prejudices etc.). Theory helps to ensure interactions are purposeful. Neglect of theory, leads to client and counselor frustration and a vagueness of intent. Moreover, the inability to express intended outcomes of careers education and guidance obstructs evaluation and makes it hard to argue the case in favor of maintaining a profession of guidance counselors. Theory can assist counselors and policy makers alike in evaluating the quality of provision. Without the formation and continuance of shared notions and values of the purpose and practice of counseling, evaluation is likely to be a faulty if not actually misleading process, (McNair, 1993:57). Holland’s Theory of Career Choice (RIASEC) John Holland’s Theory of Career Choice (RIASEC) argues that in choosing a career, people prefer occupations where they can be around others similar to them. They search for work environments that will let them use their skills and ability, and articulate their attitudes and values, while tackling enjoyable problems and roles. Behavior is influenced by an interaction between personality and environment. Hollands theory argued that "the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality” and that the six factor typology he expressed could be used to describe both persons and work environments. His typology provides an interpretative structure for a number of different vocational interest surveys, including the two measures he developed: The Vocational Preference Inventory and the Self Directed Search. The six personality and work environment types described by Holland are as follows: 1. Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented 1. Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific, explorative 2. Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic 3. Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing 4. Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading 5. Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical There are six basic types of work environment, which correspond directly to the personality types. Holland emphasizes that people who choose to work in an environment analogous to their personality type are more liable to be successful and satisfied. This idea is significant as it shows Holland’s theory can be elastic, incorporating combination types. Holland graphically represented the six types as arrayed on a hexagon. This graphic depiction serves to describe the empirically determined correlation between the different personality and environment types. The shorter the space between their corners on the hexagon, the more strongly they are related. (Holland, 1973) Super’s Life-Span/ Life-Space Theory Donald Super said that humans are anything but static and that personal change is continuous. Super’s Life-Span/Life Space is a very broad developmental model that attempts to account for the various significant influences on a person as they experience diverse life roles and diverse life stages. He has generated a life span vocational choice theory that has six life and career development stages. These six stages are: (1) The crystallization stage, ages 14-18, (2) Specification stage, ages 18-21, (3) Implementation stage, ages 21-24, (4) The stabilization stage, ages 24-35, (5) Consolidation, age 35, (6) Readiness for retirement, age 55 One of Super’s greatest offerings to career development has been his stress of the role self-concept development plays. Super acknowledged that the self-concept changes and develops all through people’s lives as a consequence of experience. People successively improve their self-concept(s) over time and apply those changes to their work and home environments. Here are some of Super’s main tenets: 1. Every human being has potential. People have skills and talent that they develop through diverse life roles making them proficient at a variety of tasks and several occupations. 2. In making an occupational choice, a person is expressing his/her understanding of self; his/her self-concept. People seek job satisfaction through work roles where they can express themselves and realize and develop their self-concept. Self-knowledge is vital to career choice and job satisfaction. 3. Career development is a life long process that occurs throughout the major life stages: growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance and disengagement. Each life stage has an exclusive set of career development tasks and is responsible for the changes and decisions that persons make from career entry to retirement. 4. These six stages are not just chronological. People cycle through each of these stages when they go through career transitions. 5. People play different roles throughout their lives including the role of “worker.” Job satisfaction increases when a person‘s self-concept includes a view of the working-self as being integrated with their other life roles. (Super, 1990) My Career Path As a newly high school graduate in 1998 I began a career path in child development. I enrolled in the local community college and started taking classes. Soon I met a wonderful man and we married just before graduation with my Associates in Child Development. I was excited to use my new found knowledge and was blessed to get on teaching pre-school at a local private school. Soon I found my self restless with the pre-school age children and wanted to move up. This met I needed more school. However, the education program conflicted with my current work schedule and I was forced to quit. I was able to get a tutoring job to make ends meet through school. However, after teaching high school for a year I realized it was not quite the job I had pictured in my head. So I began applying any and everywhere I could that I met requirements. I soon got hired by the local mental health clinic to provide social rehab. My boss, Virginia Gleghorn, was thrilled I had teaching experience. This experience proved to be most useful in the mental health world. I begin learning about mental health diagnosis and medications. This was very interesting. I started trying to spend as much time with Virginia and the Psychiatrist on staff, Lisa Falls, as possible. Dr. Falls was very influential to me as I considered returning to school to study for career counseling as an occupation. Career development Analysis Holland’s theory of career development is based on trait-factor matching, that is it matches personality types with work environments. Thus after an analysis of my personality type (I am a caring and socially conscientious person) it would be matched to corresponding occupation. Social people create a social environment. For example, they mainly value people who are helpful, friendly, and dependable who are good at good at teaching, counseling, nursing, giving information, and solving social problems etc. If following Holland’s theory of career development my career can be said to be moving in the right direction, as I am a social person and the occupation of teacher/counselor suits my personality type. As a teacher I was in a nurturing role to children and my social aim of giving back to my community was fulfilled. However this theory does not satisfy or explain the reasoning behind my career change from teacher to counselor. This leads us to Super’s life-span theory. According to Super a persons self concept and knowledge are in constant change at various stages in life. So assuming at the time of my leaving high school my self knowledge led me towards a career as a teacher, my chosen career path at that time was correct. But with the passage of time my self concept was refined and I wished for change in the direction of my career , I assumed that a change from kindergarten to high school teaching would provide me with the job satisfaction I craved. However this was not so this meant my self knowledge was incomplete as I was making the wrong career choices. This led to a period of exploration during which I was exposed to mental health counseling in the course of my work at local health clinic. My contact and communication with local psychiatrist Dr. Falls helped to gain proper self knowledge that has now propelled towards the occupational choice of a career counselor. Comparative analysis Both Holland’s and Super’s theory have their advantages and disadvantages. Holland’s theory narrows down the work environment suitable to certain personality types and requires an analysis of the clients’ behavior and thinking to determine his/her personality type. Super’s theory also requires self analysis and self knowledge on the part of the client to guide him/her to the right career path. In both cases the role of the counselor is to first help the client to realize and accept his own nature. In the case of Holland’s theory the counselor then advises the client to careers suited to his/her choice and the same is true for Super’s theory. However Super provides for the possibility for growth and changes of self knowledge in the client. Accordingly a period of exploration and change occurring at any stage in life is accounted for and the counselor guides the client towards seeking job satisfaction even if it means switching jobs mid-career, before reaching maintenance and stability stages in life and career. This is the major difference and advantage that Super’s theory has over Holland whose theory is static in comparison. Although identification of a personality and matching it to a work environment is initially important but follow up and provision for change is vital especially important in todays ever changing economic environment, where downsizing is common and many have to learn and change occupations mid-career. Conclusion A person’s career is one of the most important life activities occupying nearly half of an adult life. When enjoyed, a career can bring satisfaction and happiness, contribute to higher self-esteem, and ultimately aid to a healthy life adjustment. When work is disliked a person can experience stress, boredom, tension, frustration, low self-esteem, and even physical illness. To a great degree work determines our individual identity and worth and can influence our self-concept (George & Cristiani, 1995). As suggested by Cook (1991), work is a means by which adults connect with the world around them. It is clear to see how career development plays such an important role in an individual’s life. Bibliography Cook, E.P. (1991). Annual review: Practices and research in career counseling and development, 1990. The Career Development Quarterly, 40, 99-131. George, R. & Cristiani, T. (1995) Counseling: Theory and practice (4th ed.) Needham Highest, MA: Simon and Schuster. Holland, John L. 1973. Making Vocational Choices: a theory of careers Prentice-Hall, McNair, S., (1993) Conclusions and Recommendations in WATTS, A.G., STERN, E., & DEEN, N., (Eds) (1993) Careers Guidance Towards the 21st Century Cambridge: CRAC Super, D.E. (1990) A Life-Span, Life-Space Approach to Career Development in Brown, D. Brooks, L. & Associates (2nd edn) Career Choice and Development San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp197-261. Read More