A Critical Reflection on Career Development

The science and professional practices of vocational psychology and career development are brought into question via a critical polemic informed by the work of Foucault, with a particular focus on the application of theory and techniques of objective assessment and psychometrics. It is asserted that the scientific and professional discourse and constructs of traditional approaches to career development have been reified. The context of this discourse is discussed with respect to the risk that career development scientists and practitioners have become unwitting or complicit instruments of a broader economic and political discourse. Their alignment with the client is ultimately questioned.