THE WORLD OF WORK – CHOOSING A CAREER

Every person on the world must have a supply of money, which is spent on expenses for living. And, of course, the usual way to earn money is to have a job. There is an uncountable amount of various professions. Some are only for men, some only for women, some for the young and some for the elderly. The entire economy could be divided into three spheres – primary, secondary and tertiary.

 

The primary sphere

The primary sphere means agriculture, fishing, hunting, wood cutting and mining. To sum up, the primary sphere is all the branches of economy, which use natural sources. The basic role of agriculture is to produce food and some materials for industry. The agriculture can be divided into plant and animal production. The animals are bred both for making food and for industrial production. Cows are kept all over the world; they are used for milk, meat, bones and skin.

 

The secondary sphere

The secondary sphere means industry. Factories produce various items, some are used for final usage), some for getting raw materials (oil towers, oil tankers, mine equipment), some for industry (equipment of factories, power stations) and some for agriculture (tractors, harvesters). There are many branches of industry, which cooperate with each other. One of the basic branches of industry is energetic, which produces electrical energy for the other branches.

 

The tertiary sphere

The tertiary sphere means services to people. It includes shops, travel agencies, restaurants, museums and galleries, offices, banks, church organisations, hospitals, schools, and also science. Altogether they are called non-productive economy. The number of people employed in services is different in different countries – the more developed country, the more people in services.

 

JOBS

 

Jobs are very important feature of people’s lives because they spend at work a lot of time. Those who have a full time job spend at work eight hours a day from Monday to Friday or if they work on shifts even evenings and weekends.

 

Finding a job

Finding a job can be one of the most interesting, exciting but also stressful times of our lives. The idea of a job for life has become old-fashioned. Today there is a lot more flexibility and personal choice. You may try several jobs or have two or more careers in your lifetime. That’s why one of the most important things you can do is to think about what you are good at or interested in, what you don’t like at all and what you are qualified for. Some professions require university diploma in certain specialization – like doctors, lawyers, vets, teachers and economists. For other jobs practical training is more important – like waiters, shop-assistants, bricklayers, plumbers and car mechanics.

 

Qualities for a job

The job market is getting more and more competitive so it is necessary to have qualities certain jobs need. For example – someone who is helpful, patient and generous should work with people – teacher, social worker, nurse. Someone who is emotional and creative could be a good journalist, designer or artist of some kind. Someone who is logical and organized is a good person to work with computers and machines. Someone who is confident, strong and is a natural leader would be a good manager of other people in business.

 

Look for a job

When you know what kinds of jobs you would like, you need to prepare your diploma (university or secondary school) and your curriculum vitae and you can go to an employment agency, look for a jobs in the newspapers, search the internet, e-mail or telephone companies directly, or do all of these to find out who has a job opening.

 

At the interview

No matter how you find a job, the most important thing is to remember that it´s necessary to make a good impression. This is essential at the job interview and while you are actually working, too. The most important is a clean, neat appearance, being on time and not leaving early, showing that you are open-minded and want to learn all you can and a smile and cheerful attitude isn’t bad either.

 

Jobs for teenagers

Teenagers between the age of sixteen and nineteen are usually expected to make their choice whether to continue their education or enter the world of work. Those who want to earn some money as soon as possible might face a lot of problems finding a suitable job because of lack of qualifications and experience. The job market has only odd jobs or seasonal jobs to offer them.

 

 

My dream job

I would like to work as: _____

 

 

People are often classified as being either blue-collar workers, white-collar workers and people who work in the service sector.

 

Blue-collar

Blue-collar workers typically perform manual labour and earn an hourly wage. Blue-collar work may be skilled or unskilled, and may involve manufacturing, mining, building and construction trades, mechanical work, maintenance, repair and operations maintenance or technical installations. The term blue-collar is derived from 19th century uniform dress codes of industrial workplaces. Industrial and manual workers wear durable clothing that can be dirty, soiled, or scrapped at work. A popular element of such clothes has been, and still is, a light or navy blue work shirt. Blue is also a popular colour for coveralls, and will frequently include a name tag of the company/establishment on one side, and the individual’s name on the other. Often these items are bought by the company and laundered by the establishment as well.

 

Educational requirements:

A distinctive element of blue-collar work is the lesser requirement for formal academic education which is needed to succeed in other types of work, with many blue-collar jobs requiring only a high school diploma. Blue-collar work typically is hourly wage-labour. Usually, the pay for such occupation is lower than that of the white-collar worker. Especially skilled blue-collar jobs may pay very well compared to white collar jobs. Sometimes the work conditions can be strenuous or hazardous, also known as the 3 Ds: Dirty, Demanding, and Dangerous.

 

White-collar workers

White-collar workers refer to a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales coordination tasks. „White-collar work“ is an informal term, defined in contrast to „blue-collar work“. They include individuals who work in sales, clerical and technical occupations, the professions (law, medicine, and education) and business management.

 

In recent times workers have had varying degrees of latitude about their choice of dress. Dress codes can range from relaxed — with employees allowed to wear jeans and street clothes — up to traditional office attire. Many companies today operate in a business-casual environment where employees are required to wear dress pants (business trousers) or skirts and a shirt with a collar. Because of this, not all of what would be called white-collar workers in fact wear the traditional white shirt and tie.

 

Pink-collar workers

In the past we could also hear the term pink-collar worker who is employed in a job that is traditionally considered to be women’s work. The term arose to distinguish these female-orientated jobs from the blue-collar worker, a worker in manual labour, and the white-collar worker, a professional or educated worker in largely office positions.

 

These „pink-collar“ careers did not require as much professional training as white-collar professions, nor did they carry equal pay or prestige. These were areas of employment that men rarely, if ever, employed:

 

Women:

The roles of women began changing during the twentieth century and have kept evolving throughout the decades. In 1988 women made up forty-four percent of the managerial and executive work force while balancing demanding roles outside of work. Seventy percent of these women are married and sixty-two percent have children and hold high-level positions in prestigious companies. Women who are mothers and wives excel with managerial tasks because they plan and prioritize multiple tasks at home. Most women who juggle duties at home are efficient, focused and organized at work.

 

Today problems

Compared with some periods from the history, the social-economic situation is remarkably better. However, there are some troubles. The most important one is unemployment – despite somebody’s wish and ability to work, he / she can’t get a job. Usually it is because there is only a little need for his / her sort of qualification. Compared with the situation in the past, when to get workers was a problem, today it is the opposite – workers are not able to find a job. The most serious situation is in non-developed countries, where the number of people is growing fastly and the local factories are closing down, or there are not any at all. In the Czech Republic, the areas with the highest number of unemployed people are the northern Bohemia and northern Moravia – there used to be a great number of professions in mining and metallurgy, but today there are not so many jobs as in the past. In the recent years, there is a trend to work in a foreign country for a couple of years to gain experience.

 

 

 

The professions

Teachers give children an education. They teach children write, read, count. Sometimes they can help if the child have problem.

Doctors treat patients at their surgery.

Dentists look after about your teeth.

Nurses help look after patients.

Vets treat sick animals. They shall have a lot of knowledge about animals.

Barristers present criminal cases in court.

Solicitors deal with routine legal work.

Surgeons perform operations in hospital.

 

Skilled manual jobs

Mechanics repair cars.

Electricians install wiring and sockets.

Plumbers install and repair pipes.

Bricklayers build the walls of houses.

Carpenters or joiners work with wood.

 

Office jobs

Receptionist is the person who welcomes visitors, for example in the hotels.

Personal assistant is the person who assists the managing director.

Admin assistant is the person who does general jobs in an office.

Personnel manager is the person who deals with any problems with the staff.

Secretary is a person who prepares refreshment. She types, phones. She invite person to office.

 

Factory jobs

Sales manager is responsible for selling the goods.

Production manager is responsible for making the goods

Quality controller is responsible for testing samples as the goods are produced.

Supervisor is in charge of a team of workers.

Managing director is the boss!

 

The emergency and armed services

• a sailor
• a fire fighter in the fire brigade
• a paramedic in the ambulance service.
• joining the army to become a soldier.
• a pilot in the air force.
• a senior police officer.

 

Two- word jobs

Lorry driver drive lorry.

Shop assistant he or she sell us the goods in shops.

Window cleaner he or she cleans windows.

Bank clerk he or she work in a bank.

Driving instructor teach us in driving school.

Taxi driver drives taxi.

Traffic warden controls traffic on the crossroads.

Security guard he watches over some object.

Social worker he or she helps resolve problems in households.

Estate agent works in estate agency and he can sell the estates.