Career management: an ongoing process

This article is the last in a three-part series on career management. Reasons to pursue and ways to choose a suitable second career are discussed. A stalled career, a lack of achievement, or a wrong job choice are three reasons why people pursue new jobs or careers. To ensure satisfaction in a second career, individuals must examine an ego ideal--an idealized image of what they would like to be in the future. When a pharmacist's career stalls, introspection can help reveal behavior that interferes with career success. Periodic introspection and self-assessment can help an individual adapt to changes in a career and in the profession throughout the various life stages. For the pharmacist who chooses the wrong job, self-assessment and research of alternative opportunities will increase the likelihood that a second career will be satisfactory. The traditional hospital pharmacy career is linear; the pharmacist starts at the bottom of the organization and rises to the top. A nonlinear career strategy is now suggested because of limited positions at the top and an abundance of well-trained individuals. The nonlinear strategy moves a person indirectly in a career; short-term career moves are designed to meet long-term goals. Pharmacists can grow in a current or second career by using introspection and self-assessment and by adapting to changes that occur in the profession.