Week 6

The perspective of a career theory as being a linear progression of events that leads to an occupation does not wholly encompass the multitude of factors that influence the ultimate careers we take on. I agree with Bloch (2005) that humans are always looking for a pattern of events, interests, and behaviors that are linear in fashion. I think that it is that humans find stability in a progressing sequence of events rather than admitting to the actual complexity of life. I personally thought of my own career development in this manner. First, I would go on to college and after graduating, I would go onto graduate school with the goal of becoming a professor at a university where I would conduct research pertaining to spatial cognition and episodic memory. The various networks that humans are tied to such as education, career, and community all have an effect on us, but the attempt to create order seems to limit our abilities to understand that life is incredibly complex (Bloch, 2005).  I also appreciate that the environment also plays a role in the development of a career although we may not realize it. The article made me realize the numerous connections created with one individual, and that one decision/choice can never be isolated as humans are but one entity within an expansive network (Bloch, 2005).

The case study in the article demonstrated that although Marion felt stable within her position at the agency and that progression to higher management positions was only natural as her abilities were recognized she became increasingly distressed (Bloch, 2005). Upon hearing the story of the younger counselor, she once again felt capable of pursuing her counseling job but with another agency (Bloch, 2005). I am interested to find out what Marion actually ended up doing because the case study ended while she was in the midst of a transition. I feel that she again pursued a counseling job, but I would be interested to know with what type of population and what type of agency. The seven connectors discussed in the article would also be interesting to apply to the case study. Marion was open to change and felt that counseling was her calling as well as feeling harmony and unity in her counseling work, but was she able to find balance and energy to perform her new career? Did she find a new agency where she felt a feeling of community among her co-workers and clients?

Bloch, D. P. (2005). Complexity, chaos, and nonlinear dynamics: A new perspective on career development theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 194-207.