This article provides a five-year historical synopsis of how central government policies are impacting on careers work in England's secondary schools. It shows attempts to reshape and re-engineer careers provision for young people, through an evolving careers experiment. The extent to which such exogenous arrangements are facilitating and/or impeding progress to secure independent and impartial careers guidance for young people is considered. Some brief comparisons are made to other national careers policy developments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A blame culture and evidence-based rhetoric has crept into England's policy discourse. The career development profession has largely been left on the periphery of the careers experiment and this article seeks explanations of this oversight. There are tensions yet to be resolved when it comes to a quasi-market experiment in careers work and the role of government. Key lessons learned are outlined for consideration by policy-makers, academic and practitioners both within and outside of the UK.