Multiple careers

Having multiple careers is the growing trend in the late 20th century and early 21st century whereas a career comprises the work activities that can be identified with a particular job or profession. These multiple careers can either be concurrent (where a worker has two simultaneous careers) or sequential (where a worker adopts a new career after having worked for some time in another career). Both may occur for different reasons. Sandra Kerka (2003) reports that "'studies in the United States at the end of the seventies already showed that between 10 and 30 percent of the economically active population had experienced at least one career change in a 5-year period' (Teixeria & Gomes, 2000, p. 78). Of 91 skilled young adults in Germany, only one-third had continuous careers in the first 8 years after graduation and over half were employed in other occupations at least once (Heinz 2002). The phenomenon of reverse transfer provides an indirect clue: Townsend (2003) found that 62% of bachelor's-degree holders who enroll in community colleges were seeking an associate degree or certificate in order to make a career change."