When individuals think about their careers, they often use the metaphor of a journey to make sense of their experiences (Inkson, 2004, 2007). They think of their careers as having movement, as getting them from place to place. Nelson Mandela, for example, described his career as a Long Walk to Freedom:
I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not yet ended. (Mandela, 1994, p. 751)
This chapter will cover the nature of the landscapes in which careers are enacted and their effects on the career traveller. It will describe some significant features of recent and current landscapes and the ways in which they are changing. It will speculate briefly about the future careers landscape. It will look only at the industrialised countries.
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Inkson, K., Elkin, G. (2008). Landscape with Travellers: The Context of Careers in Developed Nations. In: Athanasou, J.A., Van Esbroeck, R. (eds) International Handbook of Career Guidance. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6230-8_4
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