My research has been prompted by the issue of needing to understand refugees and asylum seekers and how they adapt to new careers. Using an integrative approach drawn from vocational psychology and refugees and asylum seekers studies, this research explores the working lives of refugees and asylum seekers and what it is they are doing to adapt to their careers in Australia. Bauman (2004) in his book ‘Wasted Lives’ argues that refugees and those seeking asylum are the ‘wasted lives’ of globalisation, stripped of all identities but one, that of being stateless, statusless and functionless. In Australia at present refugees and asylum seekers undoubtedly face enormous challenges and this label is both poignant and confronting, conjuring up images of suffering, loss, trauma and victimisation. This research project in support of the work completed by Morrice (2011) is not about re-telling the stories of passive victims; rather it explores the resourcefulness of people who are actively adapting to new circumstances in which they have found themselves. It is hoped this research will demonstrate how refugees and asylum seekers resist the limiting social positioning and identities imposed by the asylum process and how they negotiate the somewhat difficult political, policy and cultural conditions in Australia in order to plan, adapt, attain or retain their careers.