ABSTRACT
In all these aspects of life we are experiencing a 'career': we start out as newcomers to the activity, and we learn in various ways to do it better. A career as a primary school teacher is not something which happens in isolation from our other careers. Careers often compete with each other. Careers are not only vertical, some of the most satisfying can be lateral or may more commonly combine both vertical and lateral elements. The newcomer evolves their own way of teaching based on remembering how they were taught, rare opportunities to observe colleagues, their own idea of what teaching should be, and to a limited extent their professional training. For men promotion becomes less likely after forty whereas some women are only just beginning to formulate their career plans. The most successful vertical climbers are usually those who are best able to read the changing opportunity structure and formulate a realistic career map and timetable.
