Sassaman--Ch. 4

Blog #3

This week’s readings were dense and made me really contemplate a lot about my own career development.  It’s hard not to think of how these things may be applied to your own life.  Additionally, I was thinking of my mom’s career path yet again.  My mother is very religious.  She raised her children in the church (more on that to follow), and it is her guiding principle in life.  I especially thought of her when reading about Super’s Lifespan, Life-Space Theory.  My mother worked in a factory for over 35 years before it closed.  This job was not related to spirituality, and she did not receive much satisfaction from it besides making money for her family, a good schedule, and good benefits and vacation.  After losing that job she went back for a short certification program to become a certified nurse’s aide (CNA).  In this role she is MUCH more fulfilled.  She enjoys her work at an adult daycare center, and feels as though it aligns better with her spiritual beliefs.  She even makes less money there than she did at the factory, but she still likes it better.  She has some issues with coworkers, and will often pray about it and fins peace with helping the clients and not letting coworkers deter her from her work.  I really amore my Mom for doing her type of work, and I see that her current job is more in line with her self-concept, and she is much happier and satisfied in the workplace. 

                Another part of the readings I related to was the holistic views of how religion/spirituality is tied into career paths.  In the Duffy article Witmer & Sweeny’s Hollistic Model talks about how “spiritualty serves as a primary influence of development of values” (as quoted in Duffy, 2006).  And since aligning your values in the workplace will make a person more satisfied in life and in work, I cannot see how to ignore spirituality when considering careers.  As I stated above, my mother had all her children in church twice a week for as long as I can remember.  I know that church really helped me shape my morals and values as a child that I still carry with me today, regardless of how religious I consider myself.  And for me, having a career that does not conflict with those values, and in fact even uses and celebrates those values of selflessness, doing good for all, etc., is of utmost importance to me. 

References

Brown, D. (2016).  Career information, career counseling, and career development, (11th ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: Pearson. 

Duffy, R. (2006).  Spirituality, Religion, and Career Development: Current Status and Future Directions.  The Career Development Quarterly, 55, 52-63.