life long career

Meaning

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   A single job or profession that a person does for their whole working life.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; the standard spelling is two words or hyphenated: life long career or life-long career.

   Patterns

   • have a life long career
   • a life long career in something
   • spend a life long career doing something

   She wanted a life long career in medicine, not a series of short contracts.

   After thirty years at the same school, he could honestly say he had had a life long career in teaching.

Common combinations

a life long career in teaching

He built a life long career in teaching in the same small town.

a life long career in nursing

Many people see nursing as a life long career rather than a job.

pursue a life long career

She decided to pursue a life long career in science after her first laboratory class.

a life long career path

Choosing a life long career path at eighteen is hard for many students.

a life long career with one company

It is rare now to have a life long career with one company.

Synonyms and how they differ

career

Careers can be long or short and may include several employers, so 'career' alone does not promise a whole working life.

vocation

A vocation is work you feel called to do; it may last a lifetime, but the word stresses personal calling, not duration.

lifelong job

This is more informal and often suggests one employer, while 'life long career' stresses the profession itself.

Word family

lifelong adjective

Lasting for the whole of a person's life, as in a lifelong friend.

career noun

The series of jobs or the profession a person follows over time.

careerist noun

Disapproving: someone who cares mainly about getting promoted.

Commonly confused: life long career or lifelong?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “life long career”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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