 ENTERING THE WORKFORCE |
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So, you've decided to enter the workforce after you leave school. For now, at least, you will leave the books, study and exams behind and enter the world of work. Getting a job is part of growing up, but it will also mean major changes to the lifestyle you have known...
JOB OCCUPATIONS AND CAREERS:
Think about work in three different ways - jobs, occupations and careers. A
job is what one person does at one time in their life. For example, the person
who teaches you math's has the job of math's teaching. An occupation is a group
of similar jobs - so all the teachers in your school have the occupation of
teaching. A career is a collection of all the jobs that one person has had in
their life and a career also includes education and home duties. It is quite
acceptable to have several jobs which don't mark you as having one single occupation,
but most people like the sense of identity that belonging to a particular area
of work provides.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
There may also be times when you experience a period of unemployment. Enforced
unemployment is nothing to be ashamed about. It is only when people are voluntarily
and unproductively unemployed that the experience becomes negative. Job search
allowances are available for people who are genuinely using their time to seek
work, and advice and counselling services are available from CES job centres
and Career Reference Centres.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES:
Earning a full-time wage will be a new and exciting part of your life, compared
with the relative poverty of your school pocket money days and part-time jobs.
The concept of budgeting is one you will have to become familiar with - in the
past this would have been done by your parents. It won't be easy learning how
to budget your money and not spend it all on those teenage temptations; records,
CD's, magazines, stereos and junk food!!! You may even need some help from an
older brother or sister to work out a plan; money to be saved for the future,
some into an expense account for special occasions, clothes and presents, and
limit yourself to a certain amount for weekly expenditure. This amount may have
to cover board, transport costs, lunches and the cost of going out with friends.
Of course, how you plan to spend/save your money depends on your circumstances.
If you are living in a flat with friends you should assume that it will cost
you a lot more - electricity, gas, bond, phone, rent per month, furniture etc.
are just some of the things for which you will be financially responsible.
HOW WILL MY LIFESTYLE CHANGE?
Working will give you an amazing feeling of freedom. All of a sudden there will
not be homework each night or tests to study for - managing this new freedom
will be a real challenge. You will notice a change in lifestyle especially if
you have friends who have decided to continue their education. Times you used
to spend together may now be harder to find. When they're free, you'll be at
work and while you will have every night free they will be studying. Therefore
meeting new people and making new friends will be an important part of your
new lifestyle. For some school leavers, entering the workforce is quite frightening
because it means you are leaving behind the security and familiarity of school.
However, just remember that anything new always takes time to get used to -
you will adjust and find a way to settle into the workforce. This step is merely
the first of many new, strange and exciting steps you will take in your life
- it is after all, just the beginning!