Editors' Picks
Author: Dr. Yasuhiro Kotera, MA.
Affiliation: University of Derby, Derbyshire, Derby, UK.
Hello, this is Yasuhiro Kotera, Associate Editor for the MRIC Global.
In this issue of Editors Picks, I would like to draw your attention to an article written by Freya Tsuda-MacCaie of the University of Derby, UK, discussing career changes, becoming more common in these years. Even in Japan, where lifetime employment was the standard, employees have started to change their careers more frequently in the past 20 years. Unsurprisingly the ‘Career Consultant’ qualification has become a national certificate since 2016. In many occupations and many countries in the world, thinking about your career is important.
Freya’s leading study, in which she analyzed the data from interviews with career changers, reported that their stories of career changes were explained in the form of the Hero’s Journey, a conceptual framework developed by Joseph Campbell, a professor of literature (who is also known to influence Star Wars!).
Roughly speaking, the Hero’s Journey entails 3 phases:
i) Departure (e.g., the call to adventure)
ii) Initiation (e.g., the road of trials, the meeting with the Goddess)
iii) Return (e.g., rescue from without, freedom to live).
Many career changers felt that something must change in their old career (Departure), encountered a triggering event or person (Initiation), and changed to a new career where they felt more natural fit (Return).
In the current circumstances impacted by the pandemic, career changes maybe even more common today. Researches like Freya’s may be helpful to those who are thinking about or in the process of changing careers.
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