How Time-Flow Shapes Three Meanings of Midcareer (Report‪)‬

Midcareer is sometimes referred to in broad terms, while on other occasions it is defined quite specifically. In these latter cases, it is confusing that the timeframe intended to represent midcareer varies widely from one writer to the next. This article has a twofold aim: to investigate different chronological references by career development theorists who use the term midcareer, and to discuss what practical usefulness there is in the patterns identified. An inherent problem in specifying a midcareer timeframe, as expressed by Staudinger and Bluck (2001) is that: