The Big Break, in vocational psychology dictionary

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Dictionary of Vocational Psychology

The Big Break

It is commonplace in folk descriptions of career development to refer to the "big break," or a great and rare opportunity the presents itself to an individual, in which successful performance will propel the individual into a successful career. Although vocational psychologists have not examined the big break as a distinct vocational situation (although some have discussed chance and serendipity), it would be a mistake to assume that big breaks do not exist. In fact, some moments and situations are much more critical than others in determining the future coure of an individual's career. Some are indeed so important as to be absolutely critical, so that if one were to look back on the course of a career one might say that if things had not gone well, that entire career path might have been precluded.

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