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What are career development programs?

PublishedOct 22, 2024|Time to read min
Dhara Singh

Senior Associate, JPMorgan Chase

    Career development programs are opportunities for professionals of all skill levels (from new graduates to those working for much longer) to help them advance in their careers. This might look like a seminar, an e-learning course, or a degree program to help you build new technical or soft skills or help you train for a specific job function. Career development programs may help you prepare for future job transitions and managerial positions or simply help to set you up to excel further at your current job.

    Let’s break down the different types of career development programs that may be available to you and some signs that career development may be a good move for you. 

    First things first: What’s career development?

    Career development is often defined as the process of managing learning, work, and job transitions to achieve professional goals throughout a person’s career. In practice, this may look like the process of working towards better and more fulfilling job opportunities. While obtaining better jobs may be subjective — since that can mean different things to different people — this may mean working towards job opportunities that offer higher pay and more responsibility, among other attributes.

    People go about career development in a range of different ways, including:

    • Professional degrees
    • Online and e-learning courses
    • Mentorship
    • Networking
    • On-the-job training
    • Job shadowing
    • Career coaching
    • Career development programs

    What are some of the types of career development programs available?  

    There are many types of career development programs you may be able to enroll in to advance your career. Here are a few options to explore and consider: 

    1. Degree and certification programs

    Suppose you’re seeking a formal career learning and development program. In that case,  you may consider looking into whether an advanced degree (like a Master of Business Administration), bootcamps, or reputable certificate courses will help support your goals when it comes to developing your career. These programs, offered both in-person and digitally, often allow you the ability to network with teachers and peers in a more personal setting. Keep in mind the time commitment and expense of these options will vary considerably, and it may be helpful to explore a wide range of options.

    2. Self-paced career development programs

    If you prefer to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows for it, you may want to look into online courses or other digital self-paced programs to help you grow technical, job-specific, or soft skills. Many of these programs offer online communities or forums where you can ask questions to get additional personal support that may be helpful. 

    3. Corporate professional development programs

    Sometimes, companies offer employees  training and development  resources that they provide internally. These programs may take place in person or via videoconferencing (or some other avenue). Companies may also offer self-paced programs digitally. Lastly, another avenue to explore is that some companies have partnerships with career coaching or other external professional development companies that offer programs. 

    If you’re working at a company, you may consider asking your manager or human resources  for information about what resources may be available.

    One final thing to note is that the time commitment of these programs may vary considerably, which is one consideration to make before signing up for something.

    How do I know if a career development program would be helpful for me?

    While there isn’t one single metric to help you determine if a career development program is right for you, there are some general signs that one may be helpful:

    • You have a technical skill gap you’d like to fill
    • You need help designing a career development plan
    • You want to build your managerial or leadership skills
    • You’re looking for career progression support
    • You want to position yourself for promotions or more responsibilities 
    • You’re looking to gain skills to increase your earning potential
    • You’re looking to adapt to changes in your industry to remain competitive in your field 
    • You’re looking to explore new career paths
    • You need help developing soft skills like public speaking or building presentations 

    Other strategies that may help you develop in your career

    If you want to take control of your career growth , there are other strategies besides enrolling in career development programs to consider to help you advance in your career potentially.

    A few of those include:

    • Attending conferences and professional seminars to learn and network
    • Joining a trade organization to grow your connections
    • Joining a networking group to build job referral leads
    • Securing mentorships at your current company or through other avenues like a professional networking site
    • Finding a career counselor to help support your growth in a one-on-one capacity 

    Regardless of which path or multiple paths you choose, it may be helpful to research the avenues you’re considering pursuing to make sure they will ultimately be beneficial when it comes to meeting your career goals.

    Final thoughts

    There are numerous ways to grow your career and manage your professional growth . However, while there is no shortage of resources, from career development programs to conferences to mentorship opportunities, sometimes it’s taking the initiative that’s the hardest step. Seek support from mentors or other people you trust to get guidance if a career development program may be helpful for your growth.