What Is a Career? Types of Careers and How to Get Started

For working professionals, a career is what you strive for after studying and training in a specific field. When working to achieve a career, you may obtain skills, education, and experience that will help you advance from an entry-level role to a management position.

Learn more about what a career is, the various careers you may explore, and how to determine what kind of career you want to embark on.

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences

University of North Texas

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What is a career?

A career typically spans the entire duration of your professional work, including entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level positions, as well as everything before and in between. 

Typically, you build a career by filling many roles within the same industry. For example, a marketing professional may advance from a marketing assistant to a marketing manager to a marketing executive over the course of their professional lifespan. However, your career can also include several different occupations if you decide to change professions at some point in your professional career.

What is a career vs. a job?

While similar, a career and a job are not the same. Some important details distinguish a job versus a career. 

A career is a lifelong goal you work toward. The jobs you take help you work to reach that goal. A job is your position of employment and represents a way for you to earn money. You may take a job as a sales representative or delivery driver because you need a source of income. In contrast, you may take a marketing associate job to advance in the industry ranks and eventually move into a managerial position.

Types of careers

Depending on your passions, skills, knowledge, and experience, many careers may be the right fit for you. These careers often fall into one of four categories: knowledge-based careers, skills-based careers, entrepreneur-based careers, and freelance-based careers. 

Discover more about these four categories, as well as examples of jobs within each, to determine which career path you should explore:

Knowledge-based careers

A knowledge-based career relies on the knowledge you acquire through education or experience. Often, knowledge-based careers require that you become an expert in your industry or line of work. If you have strong analytical skills, are a problem-solver, and work well with others, you may consider pursuing a knowledge-based career. 

An example of a knowledge-based career is working in finance, such as accounting or financial advising. Other knowledge-based careers, like attorneys or physicians, may require you to obtain multiple advanced degrees.

Skills-based careers

Skills-based careers rely on your professional strengths and the skills you’ve developed over the course of your life. In skills-based careers, you may not need a bachelor’s or master’s degree to qualify for a role. Instead, it may be enough to demonstrate your skills to potential employers.

Skills-based careers can include the culinary or construction industries. For example, if you have strong construction skills, you might begin as a laborer and level up to the role of construction manager over the course of your career. In the culinary world, you may start as a line cook, move up to a sous chef, and finally work your way up to head chef, using your culinary skills every step of the way.

Entrepreneur-based careers

An entrepreneur-based career path is for creative thinkers who have big ideas and want to turn them into realities. If you have experience working in a particular niche, such as digital or content marketing, you may consider starting your own business and creating a roster of clients.

Many entrepreneurs work toward owning their own businesses, big or small. Other routes you may pursue include designing your own products or working in real estate. Entrepreneur-based careers may be perfect for individuals who enjoy having the freedom to work for themselves and explore their creative side.

Freelance-based careers

A freelance-based career path may begin with you working for a company. You may then leave the company to pursue personal ventures, seeking out clients and providing work as needed. For example, if you work as a junior copywriter for an advertising agency, in just a few short years, you might develop the skills and experience needed to connect with your own clients and be your own boss. 

Similar to entrepreneur-based careers, freelance-based careers offer you the freedom to work for who you want, when you want. While you may have deadlines to adhere to, you may not have to work the typical nine-to-five job, which may appeal to a person pursuing a freelance-based career.

How to start your career journey

To begin your career journey, you must first determine your passions and acquire the knowledge, skills, education, or experience you need for success in a specific industry. You can begin many careers in an entry-level role once you’ve completed your education, and as you gain experience, you may begin to advance to more significant roles.

Choose a concentration.

The first step you’ll want to take when planning your career goals is choosing an area that interests you. If your passion lies in writing, consider a career as a writer. If you have strong technology skills, consider exploring a career as a web or software developer.

Explore your education options.

Once you’ve determined your interests, explore the requirements needed for your career and your educational options. Typically, you’ll need to pursue a higher education degree to acquire additional skills and expertise in your niche. Your area of interest will often become your college or university major.

Gain experience.

After you complete your education and are ready to begin working, look for an entry-level role to provide experience. This is the first step of your career. It allows you to demonstrate your current skills, increase your knowledge, and learn more about your profession. As you gain experience, you may qualify for advanced roles and begin to move forward in your career.

Starting your career with Coursera

If you have a specific career goal, consider pursuing a bachelor’s degree with your major as your primary interest. A tailored degree to your chosen career could qualify you for specific roles in your field. 

However, if you would prefer to continue exploring your options, you may decide to gain a general degree that may apply to many different jobs and careers. For this option, explore the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences offered by the University of Texas. 

If you want to work in business or start your own, discover the Bachelor of Science in General Business, also offered by the University of North Texas on Coursera.

If you’re looking to build your skills across areas, consider Coursera Plus. You’ll get unlimited access to more than 10,000 courses, Projects, Specializations, and Professional Certificate programs in a variety of domains, including data science, business, computer science, health, personal development, humanities, and more.

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences

University of North Texas

DEGREE

Learn More

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