Elfas Chikanga

Choosing the actual lovely and reliable career is an extremely difficult assignment to effectively accomplish in everyone`s dear life. However, I carefully considered a number of factors. I confidently observed that a teaching career would mostly suit my circumstances which were nearly gloomy. Some of the salient considerations that undoubtedly won my averagely gifted mind were; employment opportunities after graduation, my financial status, training period, career`s benefits, personal desires and expected benefits for my future toddlers. It is the chief intention of the writer to critically elaborate on the above highlighted factors in detail.

Employment opportunities in Zimbabwe had become pitifully scarce. Industries had surely shut down. When my close crony updated me about the current teachers` college requirements for admission, I immensely considered the fact that soon after graduation I will be obviously employed as a permanent educator. I then decided to apply for admission at Hillside teachers` college, one of the famous institutions in Zimbabwe. I considered an essential merit that when I graduated I would freely select the province, district and even the school to work in. That freedom primarily motivated me to choose teaching as my convenient career. Numerous trained educators were needed in Zimbabwean secondary schools. Therefore, I was optimistic that I will surely acquire an occupation after graduation. The opposite is currently experienced by graduates in areas such as engineering, nursing and business studies.

The second factor that enormously affected my fairly wise decision was my family`s financial status. I came from a very impoverished family. My mother was unemployed and she survived with endurance through subsistence farming. My father had conked in 2003 and my young sisters also yearned to learn at a boarding school. A teaching career was the most reliable path for me to follow because of low tuition fees and the loans awarded to students. I knew that my mother would not be stressed up trying to search for my college fees. The student loans would greatly assist me. My mother would only source funds for transport costs, food and clothes. Considering the fact that my mother was unemployed and that no one would assist her, I realized that it was worthy for me to join the teaching career where college loans would rescue her from troublesome financial burdens.

The reasonable training period required for one to be a qualified teacher also vastly motivated me to pursue this career. As a high school graduate, I was confident that it would only take me two years to accomplish the training. Such a short and painless training career was really convenient for me considering the fact that my mother, a widowed old woman did not have the sufficient financial capabilities to send my sisters to high school. I greatly aspired to assist her paying school fees for them. With that desire in mind, I genuinely embraced the teaching career.

Furthermore, teaching has a copious of benefits that I observed from my humble neighbors and some arrogant distant relatives. I knew that I would not continuously labor till the end of the year. I was conscious that I would enjoy working five days per week and three lengthy holidays every year. I greatly anticipated enjoying these benefits. I also wanted to work in rural areas where there is free accommodation and water. Absence of transport costs incurred when travelling from school to my

abode also coerced me to pick up this humble career. I loathed a career where job opportunities would be strictly found in urban areas characterized by mercilessly expensive accommodation, transport, food and water. Teaching became the career that triumphed in my mind out of a plethora of options which were readily available for me.

Deep in the core of my sensitive heart, I really loved teaching. I wanted to play with children. Laughing and joking with young ones had successfully stolen my heart. I knew that the young minds would usually fail to perform excitedly at school due to lack of proper advice. I wanted to test the viability of my beliefs and ideas on the young ones` success. I wished to persuade the hearts of the innocent souls so that they would appreciate the importance of education. It is only at school where I will find children to educate not only the curriculum of the school, but the critical definition of life. Basing on the above explained personal wishes, I eventually decided to join teaching.

I chose teaching as a trustworthy career believing that one day I will have an immediate family to responsibly support. I despised the idea of watching my biological children travelling on foot very long and tiresome distances while going to school. I wanted to stay with my children. I was optimistic that one day my children will learn at my school. I wished to intimately monitor their academic performance and journey through working closely and persistently with their subject teachers. Nothing else would offer me such huge benefits except teaching.

Higher chances of getting a job after graduation, poor financial status, duration of the career`s training, benefits such as free accommodation, free weekends and three lengthy holidays every year, personal desires such as loving to play with innocent minds and other merits such as watching my children growing and learning were the essential factors that mostly affected my choice of a teaching career. Other career options would brutally stress up my old mother. I hated staying at a college for numerous years because I honestly wished to relieve my mother from the enormous burden of paying school fees for my young sisters. I loved the idea of enjoying three holidays every year. I personally wished to play with young ones. Finally, I knew that I will certainly get a job after graduation and because of that I eventually decided to join a teaching career.

Finally, I found it! – Chin Shuen

Back in primary school, being questioned about ambition by the teachers seemed to be very normal. Excited, every student would be so eager and proud to share his or her ambition to everybody in the class. Pilot, doctor, teacher, policeman and lawyer are the most popular ambitions and answers that could be expected by the teachers. These decisions were made mainly because of the influences by television programs that portray the professional looks of those people when they are working, and the attractive salary that they earn.

Moving on to secondary school, when everybody is being asked about his or her ambition again, most begin to doubt, some do not even have one (or most likely disappeared). These situations may be because they are confused of their own identity, that they are not sure about what kind of people they are. In this stage, they might be afraid of taking up responsibilities and accepting new challenges as they are unsure if they could handle those jobs well.

Now, in the university, some do not know what to study but are forced to study something just because they do not want to feel left out, as more and more of their friends begin studying something in the university. As in the case of some, in their final year of studying degree, they do not even know what job that they could do when they come out from the university later!

As for me, my doubts ended in secondary school, particularly in my last year of school before graduating. Of all the options I obtained from the website: pathologist, teacher, doctor, forensic scientist; and based on my secondary school results, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), or the Malaysian Certificate of Education, I could definitely get into a good university if I had wanted. However, I had to give up on those available options because of the advice given by my teachers and family members. These were among the opposing remarks that I had received when I said I wanted to be a pathologist or a doctor.

‘Please don’t.’

‘You will have no life, as you will need to commit your hours or days to your patients in the hospital.’

‘You will have no time for your family and not to mention about finding a partnerin your life.’

Then I gave up on that option.
When I chose teaching as my future career, my teachers all advised me again.‘Please don’t try to be one.’
‘It is very stressful.’
‘You should try to do something big with the intelligence that you have.’Again, I gave up.

I admitted, at that time I did not have enough confidence and time to really sit down and think about a career that was suitable for me in the future. Despite doing the personality tests in my school and attending all types of education fair and career talks, I still did not

have any idea about my future occupation. When the day of graduation came nearer, I began to be anxious and nervous as I did not want to be a useless person in the society.

Out of the blue, I reminisced on what my Form Three teacher in the secondaryschool once told me, ‘You are suitable to study psychology, you are the psychological type of human.’ Well, she did not mention the reason for her words, which left a great question mark in my head: Why did she say so? I did not really pay much attention to what she said, because I did not put psychology into my priority list of careers at that time.

Not long after finishing my SPM, I began searching and researching all sorts of information, just to justify her sayings. Finally, I found it. I found a career that somehow suited my personality; outgoing, organized and responsible – a human resource manager.

In January 2017, I began my first semester of foundation year in UCSI University with full scholarship being awarded by the university. I still remembered, my first subject was Fundamentals of Oral Communication. I liked that subject very much and started applying what I learnt in my daily life. Soon, in the second semester, I had another communication subject, Human Communication, which I scored a GPA of 4.0 in both that subjects. I was extremely happy and delighted as I finally found my passion in a field that I had never really explored. I discussed this matter over with my family and got their support. My mother suggested that if I am really interested in that field, I could go on to further my studies in my Masters and PhD. So, right now, I am in my first year of pursuing the degree program in psychology in UCSI University, where I still insist on my future occupation – a human resource manager. This will be a reality in another 5 years’ time.

The Last Place You Look – Bess Katerinsky

I was over 30. I had a steady job in a well-established sector of the banking industry. I had paid off all my debt, had plenty of savings, and even had funds to take vacations and donate regularly to charity. Sounds pretty perfect, right?

I was also unmotivated, unengaged, and completely unhappy in my professional life. The work was repetitive and tedious to me; I felt like I was trapped on top of an ever-growing pile of pointless paperwork. No other jobs in banking or finance appealed to me in terms of career advancement, either. Perfect? Not for me, and I wanted a way out.

A career change wasn’t just a vague desire for me, it was necessary for my happiness. There’s a big difference, however, between knowing that something isn’t right for you and knowing what isright for you. That’s where my real search began. I did know one thing: that I wanted my career to be an enjoyable challenge, in a field of work that I found truly meaningful. But what work was that?

As a child, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to be “when I grew up”. I took aptitude tests in my early teens, which said I should work in a laboratory. In my college years, I took several personality tests with wildly differing results, including one that suggested I join the clergy! Over the following years I tried different jobs, but nothing ever seemed right. I took so many tests, but none of them really felt like they managed to pinpoint my true passion.

Eventually, on yet another attempt at discovering a line of work that would be ideal for me, I went to Google. I searched “what is my perfect career”, and the results included a website called “What Career is Right for Me?” The test was a little different than ones I’d taken before, and gave me several unexpected suggestions when I was finished. One in particular caught my eye: Interpreter/Translator. At first, I dismissed it, as I’m only fluent in English. But it made me think about another career I had long considered but never pursued: teaching English as a foreign language.

Of all the careers I had ever thought about, teaching was one that I was never sure I could do. I believed that being able to teach well was a gift that you were born with, and I just didn’t know if I had the gift. I also worried that I didn’t have enough patience to teach, and that I wouldn’t be able to really make students learn.

But the thought of becoming a teacher just didn’t go away. It stayed in my mind, until I finally contacted a school where I could get a certification in teaching English as a foreign language. The advisor I spoke to was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and answered all my questions. In the end, I decided to take the training. I learned a lot in my course, but two points stood out as especially important. First, that teachers don’t “make students learn”, but they are responsible for facilitating that learning. And second, that good teaching may be gift, but it is also a skill – and that skill can be developed and endlessly improved on.

One year later, I have my certification. I have several students that I teach English to privately, and I also help teach in an ESL (English as a Second Language) class held at a local community center. I wouldn’t say that my work is never difficult, or that I never get tired or frustrated. But teaching makes me happy, where no other job ever has. There is a joy in watching someone’s eyes light up when they learn something new and understand it; in my new career, I get to experience that joy.

You may have heard the saying “when you’re trying to find something, it’s always in the last place you look”. That really is true, but it’s true because once you find what you’re looking for… you stop looking. So, keep trying to find your perfect career, and don’t stop looking until you find it.

After all, if I can do it, anyone can.

To Heal or not to heal: My Path to Medicine – Andrey Sebastian Gonzalez

When I was growing up, Law, Medicine, Engineering were synonyms of one word: Success. Throughout my childhood, I’ve been surrounded by dedicated and hardworking people who have made their careers a living dream.

My dad has always been fond of electronic equipment and became an electronic engineer. My mom, who grew up in a male-dominated society, decided to enter the field of mechanical engineering but my late grandfather, who was a successful businessman, convinced her to become an industrial engineer, still successfully reputable.

In actuality, my parents’ family is a mix of doctors, engineers, and lawyers; people who have set the bar very high. As such, I told myself that being anything else would result in an unhappy future, one that can be avoided if I push myself, and study hard. All of my high school years have been filled with academic prowess. I moulded myself into the perfect student: high grades, a perfectionist nature, and complete devotion to school which became a second home at that point.

However, it came to a great personal inconvenience. I had a dearth of the social skills that my classmates made up for their lack of effort. I missed the self-reflective period that most teens encounter, and never understood what I was aiming for. “Just be better” I repeated to myself. But my scholarly luck ran out once I entered college.

Regular, average, typical. That is what I became after high school. I wasn’t any different from any other student that joined the Science Program. Everyone was the best student at their high school. Everyone thought that they were smarter and unique because of their strong dedication to getting an A.

The only difference for me is that most already had their career goal set: finish college, enter an elite university, all while volunteering, playing a sport, joining clubs, and tutoring (if they still had time). Meanwhile, I was left out of the future doctors or engineers or the other high-achieving career club that my classmates (or my competition) created.

I lost the drive I had in high school, the one that awarded me with Student of the Year for my graduating class and a reputation for being the smartest kid. Most importantly, I lost my identity. Since those early years, I had one defining feature: my intelligent. That’s what most described me. I always believed that my future was still secure because of how smart I felt.

Some days, being intellectually smarter than my classmates gave me a sense of superiority. I never realized how arrogant and condescending I acted around them. I got the best grades and recognition from teachers. The closer I got to a perfect GPA, the higher my self-esteem.

Once in college, I had to redefine how I saw myself. The first year of college served to explore myself, an overdue process. I learned that I had various passions apart from school: sci-fi books and movies, astronomy, jogging, volunteering, and learning languages. Slowly but surely, I was gaining insight into what I love. Now, I tell myself: “Just be happy.” I now see the world as people who try to achieve happiness instead of my competition who will steal my successful future.

While learning American Sign Language, or more commonly called ASL, I learned about the Deaf community, one that is undervalued. For one, their access to information is unequal to people who can hear. Also, they are equal and not “less” than others, a term I thought I understood until I finally accepted that they are capable of doing everything except hear. For that reason, I am proud to be an advocate for Deaf rights.

I have gone on a humanitarian trip to Ghana where I spent three weeks with Deaf kids of all ages, helping them come to term with their Deaf identity, meanwhile learning about mine. That trip taught me that I enjoy being part of their community and being surrounded by children. I felt comfortable around them.

After that trip, the thought of becoming a doctor came back. I pushed it in the back of my mind until I asked myself what kind of person I wanted to be. “A healer,” I told myself.

A few months later, I announced, once again, to my parents that I needed to become a physician. It seemed that it was the best way to heal someone.

They decided to test me by bringing me to a hospital where my mom’s cousin was a neonatal doctor. She showed me the neonatal ward which was something that my parents called a fantastic opportunity. Instantly, I felt in the right place. My curious nature overtook me and I asked how this and that worked, how was that baby’s condition, and how were they helped.

Santiago and Noella were the names of the first neonatal babies I encountered. Usually, names don’t stick in my brain, but them, I will never forget.

From that day, I told myself that I would work harder than ever to accomplish my dream: to heal all the Santiagos and Noellas that I could.

Now, I dedicate myself to become smart again, but not for my identity. This time, it was to prove that I can be successful in making my dream come true: healing children.

Career, Family, and Well Being – Aayushi Gupta

Career, Family and your own well being are three important pillars of life, if any pillar goes in not in proper position, the rest of the pillars will be at stake and you life will be in trouble. I see it as a tripod. If you take your camera tripod and if you try it with just two legs, you will never get a still image.

While considering career, the most important thing you need to consider is the interest. How much interest do you have in that particular field? Can you enjoy your work? If yes, go ahead with it, if no, then I would recommend that leave it. Just for example: Cristiano Ronaldo plays football because he is interested in, he loves playing football. It was his sole interest that made him such a great player. It was his interest because of which he practiced so much football. It was his interest that he excelled in the game even after failures.seem to know exactly what they were born to do. For others, it can take more time and thinking. While career paths change more frequently nowadays, it’s important to choose something you’ll find fulfilling.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t put a lot of thought and consideration into what you’d like to do. If you can stick with one career for a long time, it can be very beneficial. You’re likely to get several promotions throughout your lifetime.

There are several important factors in choosing a career. 1. Are Your Interests?

Before you start any new career path, it’s always a good idea to think about the things that truly interest you when it comes to a work environment. A good place to start is by thinking about the things you do well. How could they be applied toward a career? Maybe you’ve enjoyed certain aspects of past jobs and want a career with more focus on those specific things. Perhaps you want a medical job that’s a bit different.

2. Your Attitude

Some people have different attitudes toward different work environments. If you’re self- motivated and have a positive attitude about hard work, you might be best suited for a leadership position or even a high-stress job. Don’t shy away from careers that may challenge you. If you have an attitude of excitement about working, it could be that your old jobs weren’t fulfilling because they weren’t challenging enough.

3. What Are Your Strongest Skills?

If you’ve ever had a job interview, you’ve probably had to list some of your useful skills. Whether these are talents you’ve always had or skills you’ve developed over the years, they can be crucial in deciding what you want to do next.

4. Education and Training

Most jobs require some type of education and/or training. Sometimes, it can be learned on the job. Other times, the training required only takes a few weeks. Determining the level of education you’re willing to obtain is important in choosing the right career path.

5.Defining Success

Your definition of success is crucial to the type of career you choose. Some jobs will reward you with a large paycheck. Others will give you the opportunity to help people

6. Job Availability

Sometimes, one of the easiest places to start in choosing a career path is determining which jobs are in high demand. It can be frustrating and overwhelming to start down a path with a limited number of options. You’ll likely end up in a position you weren’t expecting and may have to spend years working your way up.

Some people work their entire lives in one industry. Others seem to bounce around several times before landing on a job that really sticks for them. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee

all the research and experience in the world will make you love your job after you’ve been involved in it for a while.

However, it’s far too easy to jump into a career headfirst without the right precautionary steps. By staying in one career for a long time, you’ll learn more, develop relationships, and can be extremely successful. So, take the time to consider certain factors before taking the plunge.

Once you have a basic idea about a career that interests you, create a roadmap. It’s not cliché to combine your dreams with reality. If you have the right resources in place, it’s possible to find a fulfilling career that will last for years.