You take on many roles during your life, often at the same time. These life roles all contribute to your ‘career’.

• You’re a family member. Different cultures define family in different ways. You could be a parent and/or a child, or a member of an extended family. Families often include people who are not actually related to you by blood.
• Most people are learners. There are lots of ways you can be a learner. You could be a university student, a primary school student or a self-directed learner.
• Being a worker means taking part in either paid or unpaid productive activity.
• If you’re in a relationship with another person, one of your life roles is that of spouse or partner.
• Your religious or spiritual practice might be an important life role for you. Some people belong to an established religion. Others may be involved in a less defined pursuit of meaning, purpose or understanding of self.
• What you do in your leisure time, outside work demands or duties, involves you in different life roles. You might play a sport, belong to a fan club, run a school choir, or practise some kind of art or craft.
• As a citizen, you express yourself as a member of a community or society; for example, you take on volunteer work, become a community leader, join an association, or be politically/socially active.
• As a friend, you enjoy the company of other people, or do things for them—mind their children, bring them a meal when they’re sick or throw a birthday party for them.

All these roles change with time. For example, the roles of parent and child may be reversed as a parent ages and perhaps requires a carer.

All your different roles in life involve developing or enhancing skills that you can transfer from one relationship or association to another. Many of these skills can become useful in paid work, even if we learn them through a friendship, or through involvement in community work.

When you’re considering your career, take all your life roles into account. The more of yourself and your talents you get to use in your working life, the happier you’ll be.

See the Life balance activity in My Guide to explore how much time you spend on each of these roles and if you would like to make any changes.