'And what would you like to be when you are older, Kerim?' This seems to be a favourite question with adults trying to make 'light' conversation. I'm afraid my answer is usually 'Er.. I don't know really.' This answer tends to bring a sad look into their eyes.'You are not trying,' their eyes are saying. 'A big boy like you must know what he wants from life.'
Is it a disaster if a 13-year old doesn't know what he/she wants to do at 30? I went to talk to a vocational counsellor to find out. 'You mustn't worry too much about it,' said Selva. 'You've got time. There are about 20000 registered occupations at the moment so it's a difficult decision to make!'
20,000 occupations! The choice is more difficult than l thought! On top of that, there are new occupations registered every year. So, perhaps, the occupation of your dreams doesn't exist yet!
Are you, like me, having difficulty choosing an occupation? There is help at hand. To help me get started, Selva asked me to answer these three questions: What do you like doing? What are you good at? Well, I usually spend my spare time with the gang; I sometimes write letters to friend (and articles for the school magazine!); I play football twice a week(and watch it on TV three times a week!). I think I'm good at sports and quite good at writing. So, does that mean I can became a sports journalist? Who knows! But at least I know the fields I am interested in: sports and writing. 'That's a start,' says Selva. 'When you study more things at school and develop new interests, you can have a more precise idea of the occupation you want to do.'
It is not enough to know the names of occupations to really know what they are about. Talk to people in the profession and ask question: Can you work in teams? Can you do your work from home? Must you have special training? Must you put in extra hours?
Their answers can help you get a better idea of the job.
The last question to ask yourself is perhaps the most important: why do you want to work? To make a lot of money? To have long holidays? To teavel around the world?
Most people would like all that. But people also work to create new things, to be useful to
society, to help others. In short, to make the world a better place. There is a lot to do in that field, don't you think? So, what do you want to be when you are older?