Skip to main content

Sharon – Discovering a Profession

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Making Career Stories
  • 310 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, Scillio explores a case study of a person in the middle of a career transition. Sharon, burnt out by stress and overwork in a consulting firm, is reconstructing her career and trying to become a psychologist. The case study highlights her continuing struggle to find fulfilling work and achieve independence. A key theme explored is the way her new professional path promises a framework for her identity and a sense of career security. Another theme is the role of psychological self-work. The important concept of possible selves is introduced, as a way to understand Sharon’s deliberations and how she makes her career story.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra, H. (2007). Identity transitions: Possible selves, liminality and the dynamics of voluntary career change. Fontainebleau, France: INSEAD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohut, H. (1971). The analysis of the self. New York: International Universities Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Gennep, A. (1960 [1908]). The rites of passage. (M. B. Vizedom & G. L. Cafee, Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Scillio, M. (2017). Sharon – Discovering a Profession. In: Making Career Stories. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55179-1_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55179-1_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55178-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55179-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics