Job vs. Career vs. Calling

Have you heard the parable of the bricklayers?

The setting is London. Just after midnight on a Sunday in early September 1666, a fire breaks out in a small bakery. The wind quickly fans the flames into a firestorm that sweeps through the medieval city.

The Great Fire of London leaves most of the city in ruins in four days, including the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral. Crews get to work, and most of London is reconstructed by 1671. But rebuilding St. Paul’s will take 33 years. From this reconstruction period, we get the story of three bricklayers.

It goes like this:

One morning, a young girl walks by the cathedral construction site and sees three men laying bricks on a low scaffold. She stops by the first bricklayer and asks, “What are you doing?”

“I’m laying bricks,” the man says. “I’m working hard to feed my family.”

The girl continues to where the second man is perched, spreading mortar and quickly placing bricks. Again, she asks, “What are you doing?”

The second bricklayer’s response is similar: “I’m constructing a wall,” he says. “I’m a builder, and I’m working on this cathedral.”

The girl walks further to where the third man is working and asks the same question: “What are you doing?”

The man stops whistling, looks up from his work, and smiles at her. “Well,” he says with pride in his voice, “I’m a cathedral builder. I am building the house of God.”

Same work, different beliefs

I share the story of the bricklayers with my students to illustrate how three people doing the same work can have very different experiences.

Most people need to work to live. But for some people, work is meaningful and enjoyable, while it feels like necessary toil for others. Why is this?

The terms “job,” “career,” and “calling” can help us understand these differing experiences, which stem from different beliefs about the purpose of work.

The first bricklayer has a job. Laying bricks needs to be done so he can get a paycheck and feed his family. People who experience work as a job believe the purpose of working is to get paid so they can pay the bills. They might say: “I work in construction” or “I work in an office.”

The second bricklayer has a career. Yes, bricklaying pays the bills, but it’s also his identity. A career refers to work you do for a significant period of your life with opportunities for progress. People with a career focus on developing skills that set them up for future success, and they’ll probably work in the same industry for a long time. They might say: “I am a builder” or “I am a manager.”

Now, the third bricklayer has what we could call a calling. He’s doing the same work as the other bricklayers but infuses it with a sense of meaning. For him, laying bricks contributes to a more significant effort in building a place of worship. He is rebuilding St. Paul’s Cathedral, the iconic spiritual home of London. He is building the house of God.

A calling refers to work you do because you enjoy it and think it matters. People who experience work as a calling believe they’re contributing to something beyond themselves. They might say: “I build homes for people who need them” or “I help employees thrive.”

What kind of work do you have?

You can experience any work as a job, a career, or a calling. It doesn’t matter what type of work you do. What matters is your beliefs about the purpose of work.

You have a job if you believe work is only a way to make money. You have a career if your work is central to your identity and sense of progress. You have a calling if your work contributes to something beyond yourself.

A job, a career, or a calling. Which do you have now? When you go to work in the future, which do you want?

Having a calling doesn’t mean you aren’t worried about paying your bills or progressing your career. Instead, think of jobs, careers, and callings like a pyramid. Each builds on the last by adding a layer of meaning.

People who experience work as a calling still need to make money and can be interested in advancing professionally and building skills. But they also believe their work matters.

You might think you’ll be happier at work if you have a calling rather than a job, and you’re correct — people who feel that their job serves a higher purpose report higher levels of job satisfaction.

If you want a calling but don’t have one, you might choose to change jobs or careers to do work you believe matters. But you also might reflect on how your current work positively impacts others and choose to focus more on those aspects.

Remember that it’s not the type of work you do but your values and beliefs that determine whether you have a job, a career, or a calling.