A trip can transform your life: life and career experiences in contemporaneity

Abstract

Based on real data, the following case describes Marilia’s career and life paths. Marilia is a young executive who lives a moment of reevaluation in both professional and life aspects. A lack of life meaning led her to do volunteer tourism, seeking significant experiences and self-development in both career and life. The case aims to understand contemporary careers conceptions in its relations with the current marketplace, and how they are related to Marilia’s career decisions. Career is defined as a series of experiences that allows personal development and enhance individual employability. The case allows to (a) comprehend, throughout the volunteer tourism experience, how different experiences can foster and build contemporary careers thru theoretical frameworks like protean career, borderless career, kaleidoscope career, and sustainable career.(b) situate the raise of contemporary careers conceptions; (c) highlight the main features of these conceptions; (d) compare the traditional career path with the contemporary careers; (e) understand Marilia’s career decisions in life and work contexts, which includes the decision to travel in a volunteer tourism experience; (f) encourage the discussion of other life experiences that might add value to contemporary careers.