Until about two decades ago, researchers considered career maturity primarily in terms of adolescents who struggled with the tasks that, when successfully completed, resulted in a viable career choice. Previously it has been suggested that the term "career adaptability" should replace the term "career maturity" in the study of adult vocational development. Vocational development does not end with career choice, but depends in adulthood on the individual's ability to meet vocational tasks adaptively. Whereas adolescent vocational development progresses as the individual's career maturity increases, adult vocational development progresses as the individual's career adaptability increases. Vocational development does not end with career choice, but depends in adulthood on the ability to adapt rather than on the level of maturity. Recent research projects have examined: (1) adults in the establishment stage of career development in order to discern the adaptive tasks and coping strategies of the vocational developmental tasks of that stage; (2) health-care employees in the maintenance stage of career development; and (3) two models of mentoring and how mentoring helps adults adapt to tasks that arise in both the exploration stage and the maintenance stage. (ABL)