Jobs 1. What categories of jobs do you know? 2. What are the advantages and disadvatages of them? 3. What are the most popular jobs in Hungary these days? 4. What are the most typical summer or part-time jobs for students? 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in the summer? (Have you ever done any student jobs or summer jobs?) 6. Where would you like to work after graduation? 7. What is an ideal job like for you? 8. What happens if somebody becomes unemployed? 1.+2. We can group jobs in different ways. According to the field where people work we can speak about white collar jobs, blue collar jobs, pink collar jobs, gold collar jobs, grey collar jobs, green collar jobs, and some other colour-jobs. Blue-collar jobs are also called manual jobs or physical work. These jobs include being a car mechanic, brick-layer, joiner, electrician, plumber, pastry cook, baker, railwayman, cleaner, factory worker, bus driver, cook, policeman/policewoman, fireman, etc. To do these jobs you need to go to a vocational school and learn the trade well. These jobs require physical strength, stamina, as they are physically hard. These people often work outdoors, and these jobs are often monotonous and not too challenging. / These jobs are challenging and demanding and takes a lot of responsibility. Some workers have to work by the conveyor belt, they need to be skillful with their hands, they have to stand the heat. Workers get a wage (paid by the hours they worked) and they often have to work overtime or work at the weekend. Some jobs require shift-work, and workers do the night-shift or morning-shift. In Hungary we would need more skilled workers who are really good at their job. Pink collar workers work in the service industry. They are waiters, waitresses, shop assistants, hairdressers, beauticians, manicurists, and they work with people. White-collar jobs involve brainwork. Some of these jobs require a degree (university or college degree) and they are called professions. The job of doctors, dentists, architects, teachers, design engineers, psychiatrists, lawyers, judges, vets, interpreters, social workers, computer operators, nurses, economists, artists, engineers, actors/actresses, musicians belong here. These people go on higher education after the final exams at secondary schools and study at colleges or universities. They get a degree, which means they are well-qualified. They get a monthly salary at their workplace, but overtime is often not paid. These jobs are mentally tiring and demanding as you often have to take your work home and cannot turn off your brain. On the other hand, they can make a comfortable living and they don’t get their hands dirty. A gold collar worker is a highly professional person who has the mind of a white collar worker and the hands of a blue collar worker. People can work as a company secretary, an engineer, an airline pilot etc... Grey collar workers are skilled technicians, in most cases IT (Information Technology) workers. These jobs are also a combination of white and blue collar work. Green collar jobs are in connection with the environment and renewable energy. 3. The most popular jobs in Hungary these days are that of an economist, a lawyer, a doctor,a psychologist, a dentist, a chemist and jobs that involve IT (Information Technologies). These jobs are well-paid and appreciated, the employees can get a promotion and often get different fringe benefits (perks) such as a company car, a laptop, a mobile phone and different vouchers. 4. Student job centers usually offer jobs like handing out leaflets, working in a fast food restaurants, monitoring traffic flow, photocopying, baby-sitting, working as a shop assistant, gardening and agricultural work. 5. Students take up these jobs if they need some spare money to buy a new cell phone or to travel abroad with friends or if they are bored. When they do these jobs, they gain experience, make new friends and of course save money. They spend their time in a meaningful way, they can support their family and it gives them more self-confidence. It is true that the salary is not too high and the working conditions are sometimes bad, but young people are often flexible and the advantages compensate for the difficulties. 7. It is important for me to - get on well with my boss and colleagues - have a good chance of promotion - have helpful workmates - work in a pleasant atmosphere - get a good salary - have a lot of freedom in my job and not to - work overtime or have too much responsibility I would like to be a ___________________ 8. If you lose your job, (you are dismissed) you need to look for a new job in job advertisements or in job centres. First you need to apply for the job you would like to get. You have to write your CV (Curriculum Vitae) with references and a cover letter and after that you go to a job interview. At a job interview you have to be confident and determined and you should dress properly. You have to punctual and arrive in time. If you can agree on the conditions, you get the job. According to the working hours we can differentiate between part-time jobs and full-time jobs, shift work, fixed working hours and flexible working hours. If you have a part- time job/ you work part time, it means that you work 4 or 6 hours a day. There are some jobs that require only part time workers. These people often work in shifts. They can do the morning shift or the night shift. Student often work part time as well. If you have a full-time job / you work full time, it means you work 8 hours a day usually from 8 to 4. If you work fixed hours, you start and finish work at the same time every day. On the other hand, if you work flexitime, you can manage your own time and have your own schedule. Freelancers often work flexitime, for example journalists, artists (poets, writers, sculptors, painters). We can look for and find jobs in job centres, in job advertisements in newspapers – there are also classified ads – and in online advertisements. Working abroad: advantages: - you get a higher salary and you can even support your family at home you gain experience you can get to know a lot of foreign people and foreign cultures => you can have a lot of new acquaintances you can use a foreign language and you can learn it among native speakers disadvantages: - it is hard to find a job if you can’t speak the native language fluently you might have difficulty in making yourself understood you might feel homesick and might miss your family, friends and relatives it is difficult to get used to the customs of another country These days it is especially difficult to manage family and career and to jiggle between the two. People usually want to start a family only after finding a steady job and workplace, establishing a safe financial background, building a home for the family and setting a relatively high living standard. It means they often start a family only at or around the age of 30. After giving birth to a child, mothers can stay at home on maternity leave. After going back to their workplace they need to catch up. These days people are encouraged to take courses, to learn lifelong, to achieve more. Some people’s aim is to get higher and higher and to get promoted. If you become unemployed, you are on the dole and you get unemployment benefit for a short period. During this period you have to find a job. Teleworking means that you can work for a company or firm in your home using your computer. You don’t have to leave your home. It is getting more and more popular. The advantage of this kind of working is that you can work flexible hours and you can manage your time. It is especially useful for handicapped people and mothers with small children. On the other hand, you might feel isolated and lonely. For graduates it is very difficult to enter the labour market. Firms and companies usually look for employees who have some years of working experience but newly graduates of course do not have this. Internship is a good solution for this. It means that employers offer the opportunity to students to gain experience in their firm or company. In many cases graduates can’t find a job in the area where they live so they have to move. They can be far from their family which makes starting a career even more difficult.
