In the brief span of my lifetime, the term “career” has evolved from meaning something respectably akin to “lifelong vocation” to now designating a temporary choice college-age adults make to satisfy their guidance counselors and parents.  Granted, that is a slight exaggeration but stay with me!

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, their “Numbers Guy”, Carl Bialik asked: “Do Americans really go through careers like they do cars or refrigerators?” He goes on to say based on his research that much of what we hear points to growing job instability and increased autonomy of workers. Among the most-repeated claims is that the average U.S. worker will have many careers—seven is the most widely cited number—in his or her lifetime.