Choosing an Occupation

Finishing school is the beginning of the independent life for millions of school leavers. Many roads are opened before them: vocational and technical schools, institutes and universities. But it is not an easy thing to choose a profession out of more than 2,000 existing in the world. Some pupils follow the advice of their parents, others can't decide even after leaving school.

As for me, I made my choice long ago. I want to become a sailor. My choice of this occupation didn't come as a sudden flash. During all school years Geography, Maths and English were my favourite subjects. I've read a lot of books by Ukrainian and foreign writers. I understand that reading books helps people in self-education and in solving different life problems.

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.

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 qualify 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 to make a decision, self-evaluation is an important part of the decision-making process.