DJ: Hello. A lot of you have probably just got your A-levels and you’re looking forward to going to university. But more and more young people are deciding to take a gap year before they start their degrees. Today I’m talking to a group of young people who’ve all decided to take a year out before they go to university. What are they going to do? Rosie? What are your plans?
Rosie: I’m going to work in a department store.
DJ: Why do you want to do that?
Rosie: Two reasons really. I’m going to study Management at university and this will give me the chance to find out what it’s like to work in a big organization. And I’ll also be able to earn some money.
DJ: What about you, Christopher?
Christopher: I’m going to do community work with a conservation group. I think it’ll be good to do something really useful. And I’ll meet a lot of interesting people, I’m sure.
DJ: Will you get paid for it?
Christopher: Well, we won’t get rich doing it, but we’ll be all right. We’ll get about £20 a week plus food and accommodation.
DJ: Helen, what are you going to do?
Helen: I’m going to travel around Europe.
DJ: Are you going to work there?
Helen: I hope so, or I’ll have to come home again. I might try and get a job—you know—in a hotel or something like that.
DJ: Why do you want to do it?
Helen: Well, mainly because it’ll be a change. After all, I’ve been at school for 13 years. I just want to do something different. It’ll give me new experiences and I’ll need to be more independent.
Note: A-levels英国普通中等教育证书考试高级水平课程, 也是英国学生的大学入学考试。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer Science Career Opportunities
Computer scientists and engineers continue to be in great demand. As businesses everywhere use increasingly sophisticated and complex computer technology in their daily operations, there is a greater need for the expertise of highly-skilled professionals. As a result, there are more jobs created in the U.S. than transferred offshore.
In fact, good jobs — offering a high salary, interesting work and benefits — are plentiful in the computer science field. However, to obtain one, you will need to complete a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in the subject area. Most colleges and universities offer degrees in computer science and computer engineering, and Cabrillo College courses transfer to the majority of them.
Once you have completed your degree in computer science, a typical career path is software development. The U.S. Department of Labor lists software developers among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. The most recent study predicts that software developer jobs will grow by 24.0% nationally in the ten-year period ending in 2026. By comparison, the average job growth rate for all occupations is 7.4% for the same period. In California, jobs for software developers, applications are expected to increase by 40.1%, between 2016 and 2026, far exceeding the average rate for all occupations of 10.7%.
Because of the high demand for job candidates with a computer science background, careers in computer science-related fields are well-remunerated. The average starting salary for a new computer science graduate is over $72,000 per year nationally, while the median salary for all software developers and programmers is over $103,000 annually. By comparison, the median salary for all occupations is $50,516 per year. Thus, as a computer science graduate, you can expect to make more than twice the salary of most occupations.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In many countries nowadays, it is not easy for a graduate to find a satisfying job. Among the ones who do find jobs, chances are that they will change the jobs within three months, according to a report released in 2015 by The World Employment Association in the USA.
Too often young people get themselves employed quite by accident, not knowing what lies in the way. They have no idea of opportunity for promotion, happiness and security. As a result, they are employed to do jobs that give them little or no satisfaction.
In the society where economy is not so satisfying, the school leavers face so much completion that they seldom care what they do as long as they can earn a living. Some stay long at a job and learn to like it; others quit from one to another looking for something to suit them. The young graduates who leave the university look for jobs that offer a salary up to their expectation. Very few go out into the world knowing exactly what they want and realizing their own abilities.
The reason behind all this confusion is that there never has been a proper vocational guidance in our educational institution. Nearly all attempt in the dark and their chief concern when they look for a job is to ask what salary is like. They never bother to think whether they are suited for the job or, even more important, whether the job suits them.
Having a job is more than merely providing yourself and your dependents with daily bread and some money for leisure and entertainment. It sets a pattern of life and, in many ways, determines social status in life, selection of friends, leisure and interest.
In choosing a career you should first consider the type of work which will suit your interest. Nothing is more painful than taking on a job in which you have no interest, for it will not only discourage your desire to succeed in life but also ruin your talents and ultimately make you a tired and bitter person.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________How to write a good news report
Journalism is a fast paced industry, requiring reporters to get the facts about newsworthy events and to write about them before a deadline strikes. It takes a certain amount of skill to be able to do this.
Firstly, get all the facts first. Journalists know this as the five W’s and one H which refer to who, what, where, when, why and how. These are the most important things to look for.
Secondly, look at the details. Most news isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Be sure to look at a story from different angles, and get to know the subjects of a story more intimately. It is sad to know that a woman is killed by a drunk driver, for example. But when you find out that the victim was an honour student and a very active member of a charity, it gives the story more depth and personality.
Thirdly, double-check facts to avoid errors. Sources may also make mistakes when giving you information and some may even cheat you. It is wise to get in touch with other sources. In a shooting incident, for example, getting the facts from the police and from both the criminal and victim is not enough. You should also interview other witnesses who may give information that will reveal more about the incident.
Fourthly, start writing the news, beginning with the lead. The lead is what hooks your readers and urges them to read on. Most leads are usually a summary of the story, but they can also be dramatic or take the form of a question or a quote in order to gain and retain readers’ interest.
Fifthly, write the body of the article. The most common form of a news report is the inverted pyramid. Here, the important information is given in the first few—if not the first—paragraphs. Other information relating to the story follows. This form is common because it allows editors to delete the last paragraphs if there are space constraints.
Last but not least, check your article for errors. If time permits, leave the article for a moment and then read through it again with a fresh eye. Grammar mistakes are embarrassing, and factual errors can result in a lawsuit.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Shift From Classroom to Career
For all the years spent in school preparing to enter the workplace, many recent graduates say that they struggle with the shift from classroom to career world and have difficulty adjusting to life on the job.
Writer and editor Joseph Lewis believes that most of our school experiences are fairly predictable, while life in the working world is far more uncertain. In school, for example, the pattern stays more or less the same from year to year. In the workplace, however, constant change is the norm, and one has to adapt quickly.
Another problem is that in school, many students spend a lot of time memorizing facts and repeating what they "learned" on tests. But in the workplace employees “are often expected to think critically and make decisions about their work, not just follow a supervisor's instructions." Less time needs to be spent in school on testing, says one recent report, and more on helping students to analyze information, solve problems, and communicate their ideas effectively.
Finally, in the workplace, employees must regularly interact with others and are often dependent on their co-workers for their success. In other words, if an employee has to work with others to complete a given project, that employee's success not only depends on his hard work and expertise, but also on how well his colleagues perform.
How can we better prepare young adults for the workplace?It is suggested that students should do an internship while they are in school. Volunteering part time at a company, hospital or government organization, for example, can help them gain experience and learn skills. Doing these will help prepare students for the realities of the workplace and make the transition from school to career world less stressful.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Are You a Team Player?
We hear a lot about team building these days.Team-building experts are hired by some corporations to lecture us on how to work more effectively with each other.And they organise awaydays-a time employees spend together away from their usual workplace.
Here in the UK,employees can take part in activities such as Zombie boot camps where military instructors train you how to fight walking “dead people”.For the brainier office workers amongst us there are crime investigations modelled on popular TV dramas like Sherlock Holmes and CSI.
Stressed-out city workers might have ukulele lessons made available to them.Why is that a good team-building exercise?Ukulele teacher Lorraine Bow says,“The fact that they can play a musical instrument within an hour is quite a fulfilling thing,really.It’s not competitive-it’s quite easy to do and a bit less intimidating than a guitar...”
Actually,a horse might be a bit more intimidating than an instrument.The animals are used by a company in Abu Dhabi which teaches leadership through horse training.Basically,you have to go in a yard with a horse and persuade it that you’re the boss by using body language.
Kelly Eide,co-founder of True Leadership,says,“The horses don’t care if your hair is purple,if you’re a man or a woman,if you’re old or young...It transcends (超越) all of those cultural boundaries-age,gender,religion,tradition,etc.-so that’s a perfect fit.And in an organisation where you really need groups of people to gel (相互磨合),who come from different backgrounds which have no common norms,you can teach that most efficiently with a horse.”
And the horse feels instinctively whether or not you are a natural leader.So if after you’ve done a good presentation your boss offers you a carrot,you’ll know where he might have learnt it from.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eighty-five percent of the jobs that today's students will do in 2030 don't exist yet,the Institute for the Future has predicted.That might seem like a high number to reach in only 10 years.But think about the non-mainstream careers that did not exist just a handful of years ago: social media manager,app developer and cloud computing engineer,etc.What role should colleges and universities play in preparing students for a workplace that is constantly changing? Educational institutions are trying to answer that question."We hope they will not only be prepared for whatever the job market looks like in 10,20 or 50 years but be the ones shaping it," said Jenn Stringer,professor at the University of Californian,Berkeley.Here are some of the approaches they're taking.
Some experts argue that the four-year learning model needs to be rethought in a big way. They say education can no longer be seen as something that stops when a person graduates from college.If students could take a year or two off school,get a job,and then return to school a few years later,the education system would offer true life-long learning and better adapt to changing technology.
Fewer employers are willing to train people on the job than the employers 50 years ago, largely as part of an effort to cut costs.To fill the job skills gap,some courses are offered as an add-on to a student's main degree.For example,the courses may include data analysis,web design and digital marketing.The goal is to offer students,a degree aside,some advantages when they seek jobs or promotions in the future.
Other institutions are trying to imitate the workplace within the traditional classroom. Several colleges have partnered with private companies,such as the software company Adobe, to integrate their products into the classroom.Professors at schools who partner with the company are encouraged to use the product for assignments.The idea is that students learn how to create a project that can be used in the real world and the"soft skills"such as teamwork and creativity.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Work is a very important part of life in the United States. When the early immigrants came to this country, they brought the idea that work was the way to God and heaven. This attitude still influences America today. Work is not only important for the salary, but also for social and psychological working, being productive. For most Americans, they are what they do. What happens, then, when a person retires at the age of sixty-five or seventy? It’s easy to imagine that retirement is no easy thing. Retirees often feel they are unproductive and no longer needed by others.
Once people retire, they may also get into financial trouble. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage of their salaries to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. After retirement, they have to change their lifestyles. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel, and other necessities.
Of course, not all senior citizens feel sad when they are in face of retirement. Working for so many years, they eventually have time to spend with their families or to enjoy their hobbies such as reading, traveling or joining some senior citizen clubs. Some continue to work part time; others choose to do volunteer work like helping young people to get started in new business.
American government is taking steps to ease the problems of retired people. They are building new housing, offering discounts in stores and museums and on buses, and providing other services, such as free courses, food service, and help with housework. It is wise to do so. Retired citizens are an important part of the population and their special needs must be concerned about. After all, everyone will be a senior citizen someday.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
