My Dream Job - Translator

When I was a little girl, people asked me quite often: “What would you like to do when you grow up?” I began by saying I’d love to be a vet. Then, I decided to be a biologist. Finally, I figured it out: my dream job is translating. It’s something I’d like to do very much, since I enjoy learning new languages. Interpreting is also quite interesting. Sometimes, there are people who think they’re the same, but translating and interpreting are different things.

Translating or interpreting?

On the surface, the difference between interpreting and translation is only the difference in the medium: the interpreter translates orally, while a translator interprets written text. Both interpreting and translation presuppose a certain love of language and deep knowledge of more than one tongue.

Translation

The differences in the training, skills, and talents needed for each job are vast. The key skill of a very good translator is the ability to write well, to express him/herself clearly in the target language. That is why professional translators almost always work in only one direction, translating only into their native language. Even bilingual individuals rarely can express themselves in a given subject equally well in two languages. And many excellent translators are far from being bilingual - they may not be, and need not be, fluent speakers of the source language (the language of the original text being translated). The key skills of the translator are the ability to understand the source language and the culture of the country where the text originated, and, using a good library of dictionaries and reference materials, render that material into the target language.

Interpretation

An interpreter, on the other hand, has to be able to translate in both directions, without the use of any dictionaries, on the spot.There are two types of interpreting: consecutive and simultaneous. In the most popular form of simultaneous interpreting the interpreter sits in a booth wearing a pair of headphones and speaking into a microphone. Strictly speaking, "simultaneous" is a misnomer: the interpreter can't start interpreting until he/she understands the general meaning of the sentence. Depending on how far in the sentence the subject and the verb are located, the interpreter into English may not be able to utter a single word until he/she heard the very end of the sentence in the source language! This should make it evident how hard the task of the interpreter really is: he/she needs to be translating the sentence into the target language while simultaneously listening to and comprehending the next sentence.

Sounds really nice and challenging, right? :-)

Source: http://world.std.com/~ric/what_is_int.html

Teen Jobs

Most teenagers, when they reach a certain age, feel the need for independence. That’s why they begin looking for jobs, to earn their own money, without having to ask from their parents. Others, when approaching college time, start working so they can save something to pay supplies, a room or house to stay, etc. So, which are the most common jobs teens choose?

Delivering newspapers: One thing that is important in this job is to get up early in the morning and meet the required schedule. Most all newspapers are to be delivered before seven a.m. but some could be earlier. There are weekly newspapers, daily newspapers and special flyers. Teens can deliver newspapers on foot, by bike, or sometimes by car. Depending on how long of a route and how many papers they have will determine what method of transportation they need to have. The paycheck can go from fifty dollars to seven hundred dollars or more a month, but this still depends on how many days a week and how many papers one delivers.

Make and sell bracelets: Bracelets and bands that are created by hand are always a popular item in schools and with children of all ages. These bracelets that are hand made are sometimes called friendship bands. They can also be worn by a boy and girl who are dating, collected by children to see how many different ones they can collect and wear at the same time. We can learn how to make these bracelets and bands online, in books or by asking other children who are wearing them. We’ll need some embroidery thread or yarn, sometimes-even macramé yarn, dangles, clips, scissors, and a place to get creative. It can be our bedroom, living room, or a space in the basement. We’ll be able to find supplies at craft fairs, at local thrift stores, in bulk online and in many other types of shops.

Children’s parties: Adults often have parties for special occasions for children for birthdays, kindergarten graduation and similar situations. We can help at children’s parties as a helper, as a clown, as a server, or just an extra pair of hands and make money at the same time. We can advertise our services by making flyers or small cards and passing them around. We must be sure to list our hourly wage on the flyer, so adults know if they can afford us or if they want the extra help for that price. We should be paid at the end of every job.

Babysitting: If we’re old enough, boy or girl, we can babysit other children that are younger, and make money while doing it. Parents often need a break, need to get out of the house when the kids are sleeping, to run errands even to go to work, and this is where your valuable services come into play. To start, we should at least take a CPR class. Most often parents will hire someone who has CPR experience rather than someone who doesn’t. We can advertise online in our local community site, hand out flyers house to house where we know that children are living, and have our parents spread the word.

Shall we... work?

Source: http://www.makemoneykids.com/

Female Workers

Unfortunately, many women are still discriminated around the world at their own workplaces. This is a very serious matter, since nowadays men and women all have the same rights, which includes career options. The following are some of the main reasons why there is gender discrimination at work:

Pregnancy - It is unlawful for the employer to dismiss a woman because she is pregnant or for reasons connected with pregnancy or maternity leave. It is also unlawful for the employer to deny access to holiday pay, sickness pay training or any other contractual benefit that all employees are entitled to. Pregnancy is not an illness and women do not suddenly become less capable of doing their job because of it. This video should be seen by every employer; a pregnant woman is as willing to work as anyone.



Pay discrimination - There are a number of ways pay discrimination can happen. Examples include:

- A woman is appointed on a lower rate of pay than her male colleagues a woman on maternity leave is denied a bonus received by other staff;

- Women's jobs are given different job titles and grades to those of men doing similar work;

- Part-time staff, mostly women, have no entitlement to sick pay or holiday pay.

Relationships - Some organisations have a policy of not hiring employees who have a relationship with someone who works for the same company. The term 'relationship' includes the following:

- A spouse or civil partner;
- A family tie;
- A personal relationship.

Professional associations with a "no personal relationships" policy may refuse an application for membership. Employers may refuse to recruit someone because of the policy, or they may use the disciplinary procedures against an employee who begins a personal relationship. This can sometimes involve dismissal.

Sources: http:// http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/
Video posted by YouTube user ITUCCSI.

The future for our jobs

Here are a few statistics on different types of jobs. As we can see, some sectors are expected to lose a large number of workers, while others will continue to grow. One of the reasons for this to happen is population changes. For example, a growing and aging population has increased the demand for health services. Equally important, population changes produce corresponding changes in the size and demographic composition of the labour force.

Office and administrative support occupations

Office and administrative support workers perform the day-to-day activities of the office, such as preparing and filing documents, dealing with the public, and distributing information. Employment in these occupations is expected to grow by 7.2 percent, adding 1.7 million new jobs by 2016. Customer service representatives will add the most new jobs, 545,000, while stock clerks and order fillers is expected to see the largest employment decline among all occupations, losing 131,000 jobs.

Education and health services

This industry supersector is projected to grow by 18.8 percent, and add more jobs, nearly 5.5 million, than any other industry supersector. More than 3 out of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare and social assistance or public and private educational services sectors.

Social Assistance and healthcare

Including public and private hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, and individual and family services, it will grow by 25.4 percent and add 4 million new jobs. Employment growth will be driven by increasing demand for healthcare and social assistance because of an aging population and longer life expectancies. Also, as more women enter the labour force, demand for childcare services is expected to grow.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

Overall employment in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting is expected to decrease by 2.8 percent. Employment is expected to continue to decline due to rising costs of production, increasing consolidation, and more imports of food and lumber. The only industry within this supersector expected to grow is support activities for agriculture and forestry, which includes farm labour contractors and farm management services. This industry is expected to grow by 10.5 percent and add 12,000 new jobs. Crop production will see the largest job loss, with 98,000 fewer jobs in 2016 than in 2006.

Sales and related occupations

Sales and related workers solicit goods and services to businesses and consumers. They are expected to add 1.2 million new jobs by 2016, growing by 7.6 percent. Retail salespersons will contribute the most to this grow by adding 557,000 new jobs.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm