According to Sears (1982), career development is "the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical, and chance factors that combine to shape one's career." This definition was advanced by the Illinois Career Development Task Force that engaged in more than a year of deliberation. Career development is grounded in career theory, including Super's (1957) life-span career theory. Applied to career development, the significance of Super's (1957) theory is that it emphasizes career development as an ongoing process that continues throughout an individual's life. Career development programs and services can assist to "improve individual career awareness, exploration, choice, preparation, and management". Successful, ongoing career development helps individuals of all ages to make a variety of transitions throughout their lifetimes: between different levels of education, from education to work, and between work and education. This paper discusses the integral role of career development in supporting programs of study and career pathways. This paper discusses the following: (1) the importance and benefits of career development; (2) organization and implementation of career development; (3) how career development relates to programs of study and career pathways; (4) the roles of career development; Programs of Study (POS), and Career Pathways; (5) the integration of career development, POS, and Career Pathways; (6) career services providers' role in career development; (7) the challenges to career development; (8) the challenges to guidance counselling; (9) the national standards aligning school counselling and career development; and (10) the next steps to the implementation of a comprehensive career development system.