B2 – Upper Intermediate
There is a new trend in some societies. It’s having more than one occupation. There is someone who is a part-time computer programmer and a part-time musician or someone who is a teacher by day and a bartender by night.
Click on the links below to listen to and read the transcript of this BBC 6 Minute English podcast about having several jobs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/6-minute-english/ep-170413
Discussion Questions:
1. When you were young, how did you answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up”?
2. What do you do now? Are you interested in getting another job? If so, what kind?
3. What does the term “portfolio careers” mean?
4. What might be the good and bad things about having portfolio careers?
5. Think of other reasons why having multiple jobs is becoming a trend.
3 replies on “Multiple Careers”
1. When I had eleven or twelve years old I always answered this question with this word: pilot. Pilot of airplanes of course. Then when I was in the school and I needed to choose If I would prefered to study mathematics and physic or latin and language I chose the second option because I hated the mathematics and I didn’t want to see it never and ever. For this reason when I went to the university I needed to choose an specific type of career. Something without a lot of mathematics. And I chose Journalism.
2. Now I only have one work. It have more relation with the publicity, the ads and this type of things but it’s not very very different than the work that I had in the past in the newspapers or magazines. Specially because in all the comunication media need to have an important department of publicity. Probably the ads is the most important revenue for the mass media.
I’m very interested also in the world of the electronic events, clubs and parties in relation to dj world.
3. I think that is a group of people that have two works at the same time.
4. Probably is good for learn a lot of different things but then I think that is impossible to have time for doing very good all the work. Specially if one of them requires to have a lot of time. I think that if you have a job that need to have all of your senses in this work it’s impossible to have time for other works. Only if you are a machine and don’t need to sleep or something similar you will can do it.
5. Maybe because the people need to earn more money for pay the taxes, the flat, the car and all the things that you need in your life and don’t have enough with the salary of only one work.
When I was Young I wanted to be pianist and painter.
Now I am engineer but I play piano and paint pictures on week ends. I am not interested in getting any other job, I enjoy working as engineer.
When you have adquired skills doing several types of professional careers, you can sale yourseft showing your Portfolio Careers.
A good thing about having portfolio careers is that you have the possibility to calm and rest you mind changing continuosly of jobs during the same day.
A bad thing about having portfolio carrers is that it could be a little stressing activity.
Recently, in Spain, precarious job offers are increasing and companies are hiring people for few hours per day. Hence, I think it is possible to take advantage of this situation with aportfolio carrers, working in several jobs per day.
Keep on trying to improve your writing skills through this exercise. You are doing great!
A good thing about having portfolio careers is that you have the possibility to calm and rest you mind changing continuosly of jobs during the same day.
> A good thing about having portfolio careers is that you have the possibility to stay calm and rest your mind despite having to continuously change from/to work from one job to another on the same day.
Keep at it!