Reinvigorating the study of careers

Before discussing how to innovate the study of career development using insights from life-span psychology and life course sociology, researchers might benefit from reconsidering whether they are studying careers or studying vocational behavior. While the word "career" seems ubiquitous in vocational psychology research, there are important differences between the study of vocational behavior, occupational roles, and career development. In this article, I urge researchers to (a) reconsider the meaning of career and research on career development, (b) adopt prospective, longitudinal research designs, and (c) concentrate first on processes of development and then on the content of careers. Considering these suggestions may ready vocational psychology for true innovations such as studying human development through work and relationships. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).