Chapter 1: Introduction to Career Information, Career Counseling, and Career Development

My blog is from the 9^th edition of the book.  I ordered the 10^th but have not yet received it in the mail, so my page numbers and information may be slightly different!

I found Brown’s (2007) chapter on the introduction to career information, career counseling, and career development to be both interesting and truthful in many of the points that were made.  I feel that it was important that the author opened the chapter with a short discussion about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his famous “I have a dream” speech.  King called for a nation that was free from racism and discrimination in all aspects of life, including the workplace.  Although the Civil rights legislation has made many of the changes, there still seems to be a large gap in the discrimination found within jobs in today’s society.  Brown states that “social justice cannot be fully realized unless people have meaningful jobs.  It is not enough to have legislation that precludes discrimination in the workplace when the opportunity to prepare these jobs is missing.  Wage differentials between men and women and white and minority workers illustrate clearly that economic equity is an unrealized dream” (Brown, 2007, pg.1).  It is easy to realize that there will be more social justice if people can find more meaningful jobs. However, how do people go about finding these meaningful jobs?  I believe that’s where career development and counseling play an important role.  Over the years, career counseling has grown and changed in many different ways.  However, I feel that the whole process is lacking.  I believe that career counselors are lacking in knowledge of all of the available occupations that are out there.  I also feel that career development counselors are constantly working under one umbrella of careers and they usually do not account for the individual and their needs and skills.  The book did a nice job of showing this when it compared the pairs of people and their economic status, values, and education levels.  According to Brown, “Economic status, quality of basic and advanced education, and values passed on by the family and others influence career choice and occupational attainment.  Career development practitioners must assume a perspective that includes individuals within their contexts” (Brown, 2007, pg. 5).  All of these points seem to lead back to career development counseling.

 I found the section on the need for career development services to be closely related to my own experiences with career development and career counseling.  Most of the section discusses the fact that there seems to be a greater need for career development and career counseling.  I can remember the career counseling that I received in high school.  I sat in front of a computer screen, answered a bunch of questions and then the computer spit out potential jobs based on my answers.  My top two answers were a crew mate on a ship and a podiatrist.  That was all of the career counseling I received.  I feel that career counseling is a huge stepping stone in helping young people gain some direction in their lives along with employment. Career counseling should not just provide people with potential jobs, but it should also teach skills on how to job hunt and have successful interviews.  As Brown states, “the demand for comprehensive career development programs has never been greater, and the pressure on career development coordinators, school counselors, and special educators responsible for the transition from school to work is at its peak” (Brown, 2007, pg. 11).  I hope throughout the course of the semester that I will learn more about my own career choices and how to successfully counseling young people regarding career opportunities. 

Brown, D. (2007). Career information, career counseling, and career development. (9th ed.).   Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.