5. A munka világa.

5/1. Diákmunka, nyári munkavállalás

5/2. Pályaválasztás, továbbtanulás vagy munkába állás.

Student jobs and career options later in life.

Fő szempontok:
What things people consider when they choose a career
How you will choose your future career
The benefits of part-time jobs for students
If you have ever had a summer job.

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. During your life
you will spend a lot of hours at work so it is really important that you do something you enjoy
and are passionate about. After all, it will be the biggest part of your day for the rest of your
life. In spite of this many people choose a career just because it is popular or offers good
opportunities and career prospects. Another important thing they consider is that the job pays
well, or that it is an easy job. Later they realize that they are doing something they don’t like
at all and would rather do something else.

When you make a choice a lot depends on your preferences and personality. If you are
enthusiastic [enthjuziasztic] (lelkes) about something, for example sport, music, art or
anything else, the best idea is to find some career possibilities in that field. If you have no idea
what to do, it’s a bit more complicated. In this case it is useful to write a list of things that are
important for you in a job. It can be flexible working time, variety of activities, high salary
and so on. Then, based on your preferences you can try to choose a career which satisfies your
needs. This way you may choose more wisely.

Student jobs
Before picking a career, it is useful to try various jobs for example as a student. Students who
work part-time can get some experience for their future job. A student working as a sales
assistant will learn how to sell products and will also see how the boss manages the business.
In addition, when doing a part-time job, students can practise and apply the knowledge they
got at school and from books. Furthermore, they can earn money for themselves and they may
understand how difficult it is. Finally, if they are lucky and good enough at the job, they
might be offered full time employment is the future.

Own experience
For these reasons I worked during the summer in the past years.
In the last two years I worked in a fast-food restaurant called McDonald’s. I worked in the
kitchen. I had to roast the meat, and toast the bun. After that I had to fill the sandwiches with
ingredients. Sometimes I had to fry french fries too. Occasionally my job was cleaning. At
this point, I scooped up (összeszedni) the garbage from the tables that guests had left there.
And I had to wipe the table. I usually finished work quite early so I could enjoy my summer
holiday the rest of the day. I would like to do some kind of part-time job during my university
studies too.

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My ambition, future plan
My ambition in life is to find a job that makes me happy. Regardless of what I choose I want
to be satisfied with my decisions. When I get my degree I hope it will open up new doors and
good possibilities for me. I would like to enjoy my work so for me it is not important what
others suggest or think. I simply want to do what I think is the best for me.
After graduation I would like to study at a medical university. I would like to become a
doctor. To tell the truth I am very interested in health.
I find it exciting to discover the cause of the disease (izgalmasnak tartom felderíteni a
betegség okát), and if it manage (és ha ez sikerül) to help others is a very uplifting feeling.
(másokon segíteni egy felemelő érzés)

Rövid kérdés rövid válasz

What part time and holiday jobs have you had so far?
My jobs have always been flexible part-time jobs but unfortunately none of them were career
related. In the last two summer I worked in a fast-food restaurant called McDonald’s. Most of
the time I worked in the kitchen. To get the jobs I didn’t need any previous experience. I
could earn not so bad, I got 1000 Forints per hour.

How did you find your student jobs?

There is a school cooperative in Győr, called Fürge Diák. They can offer varied work
opportunities to students. They also have a websites. I needed to register with these websites
and enter my personal information, availability and field of interest. I indicated (jeleztem)
where I would like to work. And they help me to find the right job. One of my friends was
already working in this restaurant. He was very satisfied with the job. That’s why I also
wanted to try this job. It was a really effective method helping me to find student jobs on
several occasions.

What was your boss like in your summer job?

I can’t complain. He was positive and understanding. If I didn’t know what to do, he was
there to help me even if he was very busy. As he was experienced he exactly knew what
problems I had to face. He monitored my work, gave me feedback form time to time,
appreciated my work and these motivated me a great deal.

Why do you think it is good for companies to employ students like you?
By employing students like me companies can save a lot of money because we require lower
salary, and we can use innovative technoligy and computers. We have the ability to follow
computer applications, work longer and harder and have the ability to learn quickly.

What has been your most enjoyable summer job?

In the last two summer I worked in a fast-food restaurant called McDonald’s. Most of the time
I worked in the kitchen. To get the jobs I didn’t need any previous experience. Most of the
staff were students, so a very young team came together,that’s why the atmosphere war very
pleasant. After a workday we usually had fun, we went to pubs, or played football or we were
just hanging together in the city.

What were your motivations to work during the secondary school year?
I wanted to work up to 15 hours a week. I had several reasons. I wanted to receive real work
experience, prepare myself for future employment, gain skills, develop my resume, develop
networt with employers, obtain career-related work and of course I needed some money.

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At what age will you finish your education?
It depends on the level of education I will have. If I go to university or college I will get my
bachelor’s degree at the age of 21/22. If I study further, I will get my master’s degree at the
age of 23/24. But is may happen that I can’t get into any institution of higher education, so I
will finish my studies at the age of 19.

How would you look for work?

First of all I have to find out what I am good at and what jobs suit me best. I can go to the
local jobcentre where agents help me with offers, hints, interview tips and tips on creating my
CV and cover letter. Then I can search for jobs in the local or national newspapers and
magazines. I have to write and send my CV and covering letter to show that I am the right
person for the job. It’s also useful to use the Internet, there are more job vacancy and general
job websites.

What is your ideal job like?

My ideal job is exciting, and challenging. I would love to work in a job in which everyone is
motivated, helpful and works hard. My ideal job would be one where there is a positive work
culture, where I have the opprtunity to learn a lot, where I culd become successful and where
sometimes I can say no.

Would you like to work flexi time?

It sounds nice to have a flexible work schedule instead of the traditional workweek which
means working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.
If I had a family, I would need more time in the mornings to take the kids to school and in the
afternoon to take them home. We could also spend more quality time together.
For example if I worked from home flexible working arrangement would be much better, I
could start and finish work any time although I don’t want to work from the early morning to
late night 7 days a week. But I’m afraid, if I become a doctor, I should work all day long.

What job would you never do?

I would never work as a policeman, a soldier or a window washer on skyscrapers. They are
dirty or dangerous jobs. Moreover, I could not even do any jobs where I would have to work
with little kids, because I have no patience for them.

What do you think of Lifelong Learning?

I usually hear that I have to learn forever whatever my occupation will be if I want to be
competitive. I know that it doesn’t mean that I will always be a university or college student.
There are more and more free, interactive, online courses organised by higher educational
institutions that help people stay cognitively active and earn more money.

Munkahely váltás, munkahely keresés

It seems to be fashionable for people to change their jobs. Some people have to work too
much, some too little, others get bored with their jobs or fed up with their colleagues because
of backbiting. People always want more money and higher positions. If I want to change my
job, I must look at the advertisements in the newspapers, magazines or nowadays on the
Internet. You must write your curriculum vitae or profile. I wish I can agree with my future
boss on my starting salary, the office hours and the lunch break, the amount of paid holiday I
would be entitled to. He also shows me round the office and tells me what my responsibilities

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would be. As the job and the conditions appeal to me I accept that I would be on probation for
the three months. Of course, you should be adequately paid for your work so that you don’t
have to work on the side.

Munkahely csoportosítás
Jobs can be grouped in several ways as, e.g. manual and non-manual jobs. The workers
doing manual work often referred to as blue-collar workers. The ones doing mainly brainwork
are called white-collar workers. Some jobs need university qualifications, and these are
professions; others don’t and these are skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. Skilled people are
those who have learnt a trade such as pastry-cook, turner, joiner, plumber, shop assistant, car
mechanic, railwayman, tailor, barber. Unskilled jobs, such as the job of factory hand, do not
require special training.

Other occupations are the followings:

– Professions: Design/electrical engineer, psychiatrist, solicitor/barrister/lawyer, judge,
physician(doctor), vet, interpreter, (chartered) accountant, clerk, model, social worker,
university professor, teacher, architect, surgeon, computer programmer
– Trades and other occupations: caretaker, cashier, dustman, coach, chimney sweep, hotel
receptionist, cook, coal miner, house painter, air pilot, postman, travel agent, technician,
salesman, baby sitter, shoemaker, librarian, speech-therapist, glazier, …

Unemployment
I am afraid I don’t really know exact figures about how many unemployed inhabitants are
there in Hungary. All I know is that at the moment unemployement is still rising. The
unemployed may feel guilty about being out of work even if it is not their fault. They feel they
are useless and a burden on a state. They join the dole queue and receive just enough money
not to starve. In my opinion some people don’t want to work, because they can get enough aid
from their councils; others haven’t got a suitable trade and some firms claim much more than
they should. You should have 3-5 years training in your trade and you should speak two
languages fluently although they don’t want to get you enough salary.

Nyugdíj
The retirement age in Hungary is 65, but these age limits are going to be changed in the near
future. There are some opportunity to be able to get pensioned off at an earlier age. One of
them is for only a women, who have been in employment for at least 40 years. The other
possibility, if you have special occupations. There are some occupations from which people
can get pensioned off at an earlier age. As far as I know a few such jobs are that of a miner, a
policeman, a fireman and the soldier.

Fizetés
It seems to me that in today’s Hungary wage-earners earn more than salary-earners, especially
if they work in private industry. For example the starting salary wages of a skilled worker
with three years’ training are higher than the commencing salary of a teacher or a doctor with
eight or nine years’ training. However I think more you learn, more you earn.
I consider it is also a good idea to set up your own business. For girls who don’t want to go to
university, I would recommend to become a hairdresser or a beautician. Both are good jobs
for getting tips.