careerism

[kuh-reer-iz-uhm]

noun

1. devotion to a successful career, often at the expense of one's personal life, ethics, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of careerism¹

First recorded in 1930–35; career + -ism

Example Sentences

That kind of careerism should, of course, be considered shameful in the journalism trade and might, in its own strange way, also be considered one of the reasons we find ourselves in our current crisis.

From Salon

For those in uniform, the question will be what wins out: careerism or institutional loyalty and integrity?

From Salon

Wolf, as Diane Fisher, an early staffer, recalls, “was a big believer in amateurism rather than careerism.”

From Los Angeles Times

Unfortunately, the mainstream media, for a variety of reasons including intellectual laziness and careerism, is clinging desperately onto those fictions of folk democracy even when the evidence is abundant and obvious to the contrary.

From Salon

Beyond moral cowardice, careerism, "bothsideism", "centrism", and financial concerns, many people in the mainstream news media and Fourth Estate are uncomfortable with big ideas about society and politics.

From Salon