Career genogram
A career genogram is a family map of working life. It keeps the usual structure and symbols, then labels each person with their occupation, education, and career moves, so the influences, patterns, and expectations that shaped a family's careers become visible across generations.
Free to start · No signup · Export to PDF, PNG & Word
What a career genogram shows
The same family structure as any genogram, focused on work. These are the layers that turn a plain family map into a career one.
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Occupation labels
Each person tagged with their job or field, so the family's working life reads at a glance, not buried in notes.
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Education & training
Degrees, trades, and qualifications that shaped each person's path into their career.
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Career transitions
Major moves, retraining, and changes of field that show how a working life actually unfolded.
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Family work patterns
Professions that repeat down a line, or branches that broke away, made visible across generations.
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Values & expectations
The spoken and unspoken messages about work, success, and status passed from one generation to the next.
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A clear index person
The client or student marked at the center, so the map reads from the perspective of the person exploring their own path.
A career genogram example
A three-generation genogram with an occupation label on each person. Read it top to bottom and the family's working life, and one repeating pattern, comes into focus.
Symbols & templates you'll use
Build on the standard symbol set so your genogram reads correctly, then start from a layout instead of a blank canvas and add the career labels.
- Three generations with the client as the index person
- An occupation label on every family member
- Education, training, and qualifications where known
- Significant career transitions and changes of field
- The values and expectations about work that run through the family
- Genogram symbols The complete key: every shape, line, and marker, ready to label with careers.
- Career genogram template A ready-made starting point with the structure in place, so you just add the work.
- Exploring heritage and identity instead of work? See the cultural genogram guide for that coursework angle.
How to build one
Three steps, whether you draw it yourself or let AI build the first draft from a description of your family.
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Add the family
Type or paste your family's details, upload a document, or record a voice note. AI reads names and relationships into the canvas.
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Label the careers
Add an occupation, education, and any major transitions to each person, with the client marked as the index person.
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Refine & export
Tidy the layout and the labels, then export to PDF, PNG, or Word to submit for a course or use in a counseling session.
Career genogram questions
What is a career genogram?
A career genogram is a family map that focuses on work and education. Alongside the usual structure and relationships, each person is labeled with their occupation, training, and key career moves, so the influences and expectations that shaped a family's working life become visible across at least three generations.
What should a career genogram include?
At minimum, three generations with the client as the index person, each member labeled with their occupation or field, and notes on education and significant career transitions. Many also capture the family's values and expectations about work, plus the relationships that reinforced or pushed back on them.
How is a career genogram different from a regular genogram?
The structure and symbols are the same. What changes is the focus: a career genogram layers occupation, education, and vocational patterns over the family map instead of medical history or clinical assessment, so it reads as a picture of working life rather than health or family-systems dynamics.
How do you make a career genogram?
Add three generations of your family, label each person with their job and education, then mark the career transitions and the relationships that influenced them. With Genogenie you can describe your family in plain English, or upload a document, and let AI build the first draft, then add the occupation labels and refine it.
Is the career genogram maker free?
Yes. You can build and export a career genogram for free with no account required, which covers most coursework and career-counseling needs. Paid plans add unlimited projects, premium templates, and advanced export options.