ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the reasons why people should take charge of their own career planning and development. It identifies ways in which they can assess where they are in their career vs. where they expected to be when they entered the L&D field. The chapter also explores opportunities for advancement in and beyond learning design and technology. A job is a specific position or work for which a person gets paid. An occupation is a type of job with the same job duties. A career is a journey that lasts throughout life. Career includes education, training, work experience, and community involvement. It also includes unpaid work and hobbies. The do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to career planning and development is grounded in the literature on career planning and self-management. Career self-management aligns with a research stream, namely, the stream of research focused on subjective career success.
