According to Ginzberg et al., career decision-making occurs in three phases.
1. Fantasy: Takes place until about the age of eleven. Children role play and imagine themselves in various work situations. During this phase, children begin to think about which careers they might like to do in the future.
2. Tentative: Children begin to make tentative or preliminary career choices based upon information gathered through the following sub-phases:
• Interests (Age 11 or 12): The child makes more concrete decisions about him or her likes, dislikes, and interests.
• Capacity (Age 13 or 14): The teenager becomes more aware of his or her particular abilities as they relate to potential career.
• Values (Age 15 or 16): The teenager considers their personal values and priorities in life, as well as his or her occupational lifestyle.
• Transition (Age 17 or 18): At this point, the individual becomes aware of the decision for making a vocational choice.
3. Realistic: Adolescents start to crystallize and specify occupations of interest. This final phase is made up of the following sub-phases.
• Exploration: After considering options, the individual begins to narrow his or her career choices.
• Crystallization: The individual commits to a specific career field.
• Specification: The individual selects a job or professional training program as required by their career of choice.
Ginzberg (1984) stressed that "career choice is a lifelong process of decision-making for those who seek major satisfactions from their work."
According to Ginzberg, the point of his theory is that people make their career decisions which balance their interests and values with the opportunities and talents available, as well as the cost of pursuing the oppurinities.