Something that society forces upon
people, esp. nowadays. If you do not have a career,
people automatically assume you are a lazy good-for-nothing
bum. An unnecessary thing to have, and it's a shame that so many
people spend all their lives aspiring to have a career. The concept is installed into most western children from birth, as their first twenty-odd years of their life is dedicated to "education", which generally teaches people to become "clever". Being "clever" means you will have a "good" career.
The majority of humans hate their careers, and up dying miserable. But hey, at least they paid off their mortgage.
Also, a pretentious way of saying "job".