There is a difference. I have had two careers. First was a Licensed Embalmer/Funeral Director, Second was Sales/Sales Management Mutual Funds/Employee Benefits.
To me, a job is working to get by and cover daily, weekly and monthly expenses. A career is something with a promotion ladder and other benefits. Generally a carrer has tougher requirements to meet with than a job does, but not always.
I had a job, a very good job but just a job. To me, a career indicates some sort of an actual plan for personal growth, advancement, success. I had no plan, I just bumped along and somehow success found me.
After I got out of the Navy, I had multiple different jobs, from working in a horse stables at a amusement park, to being a horseback trail guide at a regional park, to using a drill press, to being in EMS. Now, career wise, working in warehouse, shipping/receiving, stockroom, purchasing and inventory management. This all started in 1982.
Using your guidelines, I guess I've had 2 different careers. First career was the 21 years I did in the Air Force. Got to do a lot of different things, see incredible places, enjoy different cultures and normal advancement. Second career was when I started at the first level at the Ethanol Plant. They start you off in the Dryer Area, where you deal with the by-product of corn mash. After that, you work your way up to Preperation to Fermentation and finally to Distillation. Each step had it's rewards and something I enjoyed. Was a Distillation Operator when I left to move to Tennessee after 15 years. Now I'm just an hourly worker, but only for 57 more days.
As I see it, I have had several jobs but two careers. One was in the paper bag industry and, within that career, I had three jobs - Hoerner-Waldorf, Champion Paper, and Duro Bag Company. My second career was in EMS, and that included five jobs - Los Fresnos EMS, Texas Southmost College, Catalina Ambulance Service, Texas State Technical College, and Advanced Cardiac & Trauma. I could add the State of Texas EMS Division to that too, because I worked as a skills examiner throughout my EMS career. Although I have worked for several web directories, some as a volunteer, others paid, I don't consider that to be a career because it is pretty much a matter of being paid for doing something that I like to do, and without an advancement schedule.
I always thought a career as being driven by a college degree. Choose an area of interest and pursue it. Mine was to become an administrative assistant but that changed along the way after working with a temp agency on office related assignments. It became a matter of 'where' I wanted to work and more importantly 'why' I wanted to work there.' Working on the front lines as a receptionist/secretary for 24 years I found that I was very helpful in ways beyond my position just for 'being me.' I was often told 'I should be 'this or that' which got me to thinking 'Hmmm.' Then began my journey through the temp agency which led me to as position as a medical biller doing medical billing and insurance claims. I was able to help and educate many people about health insurance and loved all 18 years of it.
To me a Career is what you want to spend most of your life doing, while a job is something you do to pay the bills, etc. when you aren't able to work in your Career area. A Career is where you use the gifts God blessed you with, where you feel fulfilled and where there is usually new things to learn and growth and advancement. A Career should be in an area that you feel passion and interest in and that you can see yourself doing for most of your life. A job is what pays the bills until you find your Career.
I did not go to college out of high school, so had lots of jobs: -Retail -Drove Coca-Cola truck filling machines -Managed Hess gas station during odd/even crisis (but they did host the Mgr Meeting at a Playboy Club) -Worked for International Farm equipment dealership as a mechanic -Installed/serviced alarm and access control systems in DC office buildings That last job transitioned me into office admin work...with a high school diploma! I went to night classes, started out on an electronics path (and ran out of classes I could take in the evening) so switched to accounting. That job moved me into Purchasing & Inventory Management. I got my professional certification and did that for 15+ years. Out of survival in doing inventory forecasts, I learned how to data mine and do some pretty complex analysis. Doing forecasts touched Marketing, Sales, and Finance, and I started to share data with them. That transitioned into my next 20 years as a Business Analyst. My Ops/Database experience also go used as an informal Systems Analyst, since I knew what the data elements really represented to the business. "Sales" can have so many definitions. I've got to say when I moved from outside of DC to this very rural community, people here are not "what they did." Up north the first thing you talk about is where you work/what you do. I've made friends here and for the longest time had no idea where they worked...they never raised it and I didn't ask. The folks here truly work to live, in the healthiest way. They always seem to make it. And no one would use the word "career." I'm grateful for what I've had, because I get bored with repetition. The risk in a career is latching your identity to a corporation. I wanted "better," but tried to be realistic about it (probably my "control" side.)
I didn't know what I wanted to do out of high school, so after a few dead end jobs, I enlisted in the Air Force. Their testing qualified me for electronics so I was sent to school. I found that work interesting, so after discharge I went to college for a degree in the field. Later I worked as a tech in several manufacturing facilities sometimes pleasurable and sometimes not. Basically I found pleasure in troubleshooting and finding solutions to malfunctioning equipment.
I was an Aerospace Lab Test Engineer for most of my 36 years of employment at McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing. It was both a job and a career, providing good benefits including a great savings plan, and a lifetime pension. Hal
I never had a "career" I was a government employee for 31 years,14 for DoD and the rest for the USPS. I worked to put food on the table and pay the bills.