Work,careers, and aging

This article relates the literature on work and profession to that on aging as a life-long process. The authors maintain that meanings attached to chronological age arise, in large measure, out of the work experience. An individual's career frames expectations about what he/she should be doing at different ages and thus serves as a yardstick against which to measure life process. Five stages of the work career are identified: (1) preparation and exploration, (2) learning the ropes, (3) coming to grips, (4) settling in, and (5) exiting.