Choice is foundational to contemporary careers. Yet, it often is constrained and contested in imperceptible ways. We reposition Ciulla’s (2000) four reasons for work—meaningful work, leisure, money, and security—as discursive frames whereby people make career choices, craft their choice-legitimizing stories, and overemphasize the rhetoric of individual choice. These frames attend to, as well as underplay, profound discursive and material differences and socio-political and economic forces that enable and constrain career choice across lifespans. We describe and critique communication and related literature that extends and chal challenges each frame. We conclude by advancing a research agenda on communication, choice, and dignity.
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