Classification of Career

Career can be of three sub-types:

Monolithic career is identified with pursuance of career in one institution or departmental jurisdiction.

Cadre-career is one where a cluster or conglomeration of posts are arranged vertically i.e. hierarchically from lower to higher with different levels of responsibilities. Here, any member belonging to that cadre, can be deployed to any of the posts, within the cadre-jurisdiction, commensurate with the seniority, pay, experience, qualification etc.

Inter governmental careers are identified with more than a single governmental jurisdiction. An example of this is All India Services, where members belonging to this service move from Centre to the States to occupy administrative positions.

In America also, a good example of this kind of career pattern has been discernibly characterized by movement among the three levels of public development federal state and local.This type of career pattern in a sense indicates the end of monolithic career identified with one institution or government.

There can also be two other concepts of career, namely, closed career and open career, depending on the limitations on entrance or the norm of recruitment.

This closed career system can be described as ‘Monasteric’ system, which means that once, at an young age, usually pre-determined, one enters the ‘Monastery’ or a specific cadre order, one has to spend an entire life time in that jurisdiction with no chance of coming out of it.

The open-type career system, permits entrance at any or all grade-levels, though this multi-level induction would be governed by certain qualification requirements and competitive eligibility conditions prescribed for such grades or groups of categories of posts. Those already in that service, on fulfillment of stipulated eligibility conditions, can apply for such recruitment. An important feature of the open career system is that there is positive encouragement for inducting of new talent at middle and upper levels.