The Journal of
Post-Traditional Careers
Reimagining Professional Life: Critical Perspectives
on Career Transformation
About the Journal
Our aims
The Journal of Post-Traditional Careers is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication dedicated to critically examining traditional concepts of professionalism, career identity, and workforce structures while reimagining and reengineering the future of work
and life.
Rather than accepting inherited notions of professional success, linear career progression, and work-life separation, our journal amplifies research that interrogates these concepts while showcasing innovative approaches to career development that center human flourishing, authentic expression, and collective wellbeing.
We provide a platform for scholarship and thought leadership that questions fundamental assumptions about how careers should unfold, what constitutes meaningful work, and whose interests are served by various career frameworks.
Editorial Vision
We believe that the current moment demands more than incremental reforms to existing career models. Traditional approaches to professional and workforce development—characterized by institutional conformity, hierarchical advancement, and antiquated definitions of success—no longer adequately serve the diverse ways people seek to create meaningful work lives.
Our journal provides space for scholarship that:
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Critically analyzes both conventional career and workforce models
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Documents innovation in career design, workplace organization, and professional identity development
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Amplifies marginalized voices that resist or transcend traditional professional constraints
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Imagines alternatives that prioritize human dignity, authentic expression, and sustainable ways of organizing work and life
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Bridges theory and practice by connecting research with the lived experiences of career transformation
Scope & Focus Areas
We examine how traditional career models perpetuate systemic inequities and explore whose interests are served by conventional professional frameworks. Our research interrogates assumptions about career success, professional identity, and advancement while documenting resistance to exclusionary and antiquated professional norms.
Identity and Authenticity:
We prioritize research on how individuals integrate their full identities into their professional lives, with a particular focus on how marginalized communities create careers that honor their authentic selves while challenging oppressive professional norms.
Emerging Work Structures:
From solopreneurial ventures to cooperative organizations, we analyze new forms of work organization and their implications for career development. We critically examine the role of technology in reshaping professional life, investigating both the liberating and constraining aspects of emerging work arrangements.
Organizational Innovation:
We showcase organizations that challenge traditional employment models and hierarchical structures, documenting alternative approaches to leadership, performance evaluation, and workplace culture that prioritize human well-being over productivity extraction.
Speculative and Visionary Work:
We welcome creative research that imagines new possibilities for careers, workforce structures, and the reimagining
of professional life.
Target Readership
We serve a diverse community of scholars, practitioners, and professionals, including:
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Researchers studying workplace culture, professional identity, career development, and organizational innovation
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Career development practitioners committed to authentic, client-centered approaches that honor diverse career paths
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Organizational leaders interested in workplace innovation, cultural transformation, and justice-oriented business practices
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Independent professionals creating alternative career paths across various industries and disciplines
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Policy researchers examining work, economics, and social justice implications of career model transformations
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Educators reimagining preparation for diverse professional futures
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Anyone questioning assumptions about work, career, and professional success
Publication Philosophy
We reject the false binary between academic rigor and practical relevance. Our journal demonstrates that scholarship can be both methodologically sophisticated and immediately useful to people creating alternative career paths. We seek research that not only analyzes current conditions but also contributes to building more equitable and fulfilling futures of work.
Every article we publish should offer something valuable to both academic discourse and practical career development, whether through critical analysis that exposes hidden assumptions, documentation of successful innovations, or imaginative speculation about alternative possibilities.
Interested in Publishing Your Work?
Complete the Article Submission Form