Choosing an Occupation

One of the most difficult problems a young person faces is deciding what to do about a career. There are individuals, of course, who from the time they are six years old "know" that they want to be doctors or pilots or fire fighters, but the majority of us do not get around to making a decision about an occupation or career until somebody or something forces us to face the problem.

Choo­sing a career and getting a job are two things; any person passes through in his life. When millions of young people leave school, they begin an independent life. Some of them start working, go into busi­ness; some of them keep upgrading their schooling to receive higher education.Young people can learn about professions in magazines and advertisements. Magazines for teenagers often offer question­naires, quizzes to help young people to find out their interests and abilities more clearly and to make a decision concerning their future occupation.

While choosing a career one should take into consideration all main possibilities that his future profession might provide: the profession must be interesting, one have to be sure of his future (that means that one will be able to find a job after his graduation from the university or institute), a profession must be well-paid, otherwise you won't be able to support yourself and your future family. During our school life, we begin to think about our future life, our job. There are many professions in the world, so it is quite difficult to choose and make a decision. Some follow their own choice; some follow parents' advice, because they can help concerning future plans.

Choosing an occupation takes time, and there are a lot of things you have to think about as you try to decide what you would like to do. You may find that you will have to take special courses to qualify1" for a particular kind of work, or may find out that you will need to get some actual work experience to gain enough knowledge to qualify for a particular job.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people you can turn to for advice and help in making your decision. At most schools, there are teachers who are professionally qualified to counsel you and to give detailed information about job qualifications. And you can talk over your ideas with family members and friends who are always ready to listen and to offer suggestions. But even if you get other people involved in helping you make a decision, self evaluation is an important part of the decision-making process.

In Britain there is a special service for school leavers, the Careers Advisory Service, which helps young people who are looking for their first job. Careers Officers give practical advice on interview techniques, application forms, letters, pay, National Insurance and Trade Unions.

One business organization that you may use when you are job-hunting is an employment agency. There are the state employment services and nonprofit agencies that do not receive fees for finding jobs for people. There exist also some private employment agencies which receive a fee. Some employment agencies see applicants without an appointment. These include the state employment services and nonprofit agencies. Counselors there may spend a few minutes with each applicant. But an agency that deals with technical and higher-salaried jobs, spends much more time with each applicant. Appointments are necessary in this type of agency, where a counselor may be able to see only a few applicants a day.

An interview for any kind of job, whether the interview is obtained through a friend, classified advertisement, or an agency, generally requires an appointment. It is important to be on time for your appointment. If you have made an appointment and cannot keep it, or if you will be more than ten minutes late, you should always call the interviewer. If you do not cancel the appointment or notify the interviewer that you will be late, you will create a negative impression on your possible employer.

To make efficient use of time, American business people schedule their days hour by hour. In most American business situations, appointments are a necessary courtesy.

 

Questions:

1. What is the most difficult problem for a young person?

2. Why don't the majority of young people know what they want to be?

3. When do they make a decision about an occupation?

4. Whom can you turn to for advice when making your decision?

6. What is the most important part of the decision-making process?

7. What do young people do after leaving school?

8. Where can young people learn about professions?

9. Who can help young people concerning future plans?

10.What is a great advantage of choosing our future career being a school pupil?