BAZA ZNANJA

Kurs: - Pre-Intermediate

Modul: Modal Verbs

Autor: prof. Gordana Matorkić

Naziv jedinice: Searching for the Job of Your Dreams

SEARCHING FOR THE JOB OF YOUR DREAMS

‘And what would you like to be when you grow up?’ seems to be a favourite question with adults who want to make ‘light’ conversation. Usually, my answer is ‘I don’t know really’. This reply might bring sadness in their eyes as they are saying ‘A big boy like you must know what he wants from life.’

Is it a disaster if a 13-year-old cannot make up his mind about his future occupation? Rather upset, I went to talk to a vocational counselor. ‘You mustn’t worry about it,’ said Mrs. Jennis. ‘You can take your time. There are about 20.000 registered occupations at the moment, so it can’t be easy to make a decision.’

20 000 occupations! On top of that, there are new occupations registered every year. So, for the time being, the job of my dreams may not exist at all! Mrs. Jennis told me that, as a first step, I must answer three questions that she provided for me. These are: What do you like doing? What are you good at? What are your hobbies? Well, I could spend the whole day with the gang; I occasionally write letters to friends (and articles for the school magazine!); I must have a football match at least twice a week and watch it on TV at least three times a week! So, should this mean I can become a sports journalist? Who knows! But now I am certain about the fields I am interested in: sports and writing.

You can’t get the picture about what the occupations really are about, according to their names only. You should talk to people and ask them questions like: Can you work in teams? Can you do your work from home? Must you have special training? Must you put in extra hours? Their answers may help you get a better idea of the job.

The last question to ask yourself is perhaps the most important. Why do you want to work? Would you like to earn a lot of money, have long holidays or travel around the world? Most people would like all that. But people also work to create new things, to be useful to society, to help others. In a nutshell, to make the world a better place. We could do a lot in this field, don’t you think? Now, it’s easier for me to think about my future profession. And do you know what your ideal job is?