--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We figure great careers aren't made…" description: "\"We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced.\" — Thomas Jefferson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg" --- # We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced. ![“We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg) > “We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced.” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Career success comes from lived experience, not just planning. **In simple terms:** Careers are built by doing. Key Takeaway Embrace experiences to shape your career. Themes career development experience learning Mood reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - job interviews - internships - project leadership - skill acquisition Key Concepts practical wisdom growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn experiences into career growth? - What experiences matter most for your goals? A Different Perspective Experience alone may not guarantee success without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) ## Related quotes > [Our careers aren't paths so much as landscapes that are navigated. We're free agents, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs -- each with our own unique brand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ferrazzi/our-careers-aren-t-paths-so-much-as-landscapes-that-are-navigated-we/) [Keith Ferrazzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ferrazzi/) > [Maybe careers aren’t something you can really plan for. They just sort of happen, like brown eyes or flat feet. I took one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-juby/maybe-careers-aren-t-something-you-can-really-plan-for-they-just-sort/) [Susan Juby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-juby/) > [“Our careers aren't paths so much as landscapes that are navigated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ferrazzi/our-careers-aren-t-paths-so-much-as-landscapes-that-are-navigated/) [Keith Ferrazzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ferrazzi/) > [Most entertainment careers aren't going to end in fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/most-entertainment-careers-aren-t-going-to-end-in-fame/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [There are people that have had great careers, but without that Super Bowl, man... that Super Bowl carries so much weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-parsons/there-are-people-that-have-had-great-careers-but-without-that-super/) [Micah Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-parsons/) > [I think it's a real shame so many schools have taken out the hands-on classes. Art, music, auto mechanics, cooking, sewing, these are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/i-think-it-s-a-real-shame-so-many-schools-have-taken-out-the-hands-on/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Great careers are getting easier to find and audition for, but harder to keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/great-careers-are-getting-easier-to-find-and-audition-for-but-harder/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [There are plenty of guys who played great golf, had great careers and only won a few majors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-miller/there-are-plenty-of-guys-who-played-great-golf-had-great-careers-and/) [Johnny Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-miller/) > [Providing career growth and development opportunities for our people is of paramount importance, and that's why we surround and support our diverse employee team…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-doughtie/providing-career-growth-and-development-opportunities-for-our-people/) [Lynne Doughtie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-doughtie/) > [The fumes of the most disordered imaginations were recorded in their religious code, as special communications of the Deity; and as it could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-fumes-of-the-most-disordered-imaginations-were-recorded-in-their/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [So there's a choice that I made to tell stories that are still psychological melodramas about domestic issues. The challenge is to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/so-there-s-a-choice-that-i-made-to-tell-stories-that-are-still/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) > [I'm still in the first baby steps of my career, so I've got so much to learn and so much to figure out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-booth/i-m-still-in-the-first-baby-steps-of-my-career-so-i-ve-got-so-much-to/) [Douglas Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-booth/) > [I don't think you have to have experienced things to understand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birdy/i-don-t-think-you-have-to-have-experienced-things-to-understand-them/) [Birdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birdy/) > [Success is not as sweet if youve never experienced failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/success-is-not-as-sweet-if-youve-never-experienced-failure/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [As human beings, we aren't as individual as we'd like to believe we are. And I think that's what makes acting possible. Despite the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-human-beings-we-aren-t-as-individual-as-we-d-like-to-believe-we/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Career quotes > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [There are so many things you can do with your life, you can go to school and study toward your career, you can become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/there-are-so-many-things-you-can-do-with-your-life-you-can-go-to/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [I am a very big fan of Brian Eno, of his work as an artist and making his music, and as a producer. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/i-am-a-very-big-fan-of-brian-eno-of-his-work-as-an-artist-and-making/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [If I can beat a proven champion like Canelo, that will take my career to a different level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennady-golovkin/if-i-can-beat-a-proven-champion-like-canelo-that-will-take-my-career/) [Gennady Golovkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennady-golovkin/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [“The vocation of a man lies in his vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-vocation-of-a-man-lies-in-his-vision/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [You can have a career and kids who love you. But you have to nurture yourself and find a way to be fulfilled so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-reitman/you-can-have-a-career-and-kids-who-love-you-but-you-have-to-nurture/) [Catherine Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-reitman/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Even though I'm already successful and have a career, it is always good to have your eggs in more than one basket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/even-though-i-m-already-successful-and-have-a-career-it-is-always/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) [Browse all 11,387 Career quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Jefferson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they-re-experienced/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Career" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they-re-experienced/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f6/thomas-jefferson-43_career_we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they_196402.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We figure great careers aren't made. They're experienced.” — Thomas Jefferson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Jefferson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We figure great careers aren't made....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they-re-experienced/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-figure-great-careers-aren-t-made-they-re-experienced/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```