You and the World of Work

1. You and the World of Work Chapter #1

2. Chapter Objectives • Explain how to distinguish a job from a career. • Understand how your career plans will be shaped by your skills, interests, and lifestyle. • Understand why people work. • Understand how the workplace is affected by forces such as changing technology and the global economy. • Evaluate job outlooks when making career plans.

3. What is Work? • Consider your interests and skills when planning the kind of work you’d like to do. • Skills: • The things you feel you’re good at. • Examples: • Organized • Math • Interpersonal Skills • Interests: • Your favorite activities. • Examples: • Listening to music. • Dancing. • Playing a sport. • Working with Computers.

4. Jobs and Careers • Job: • Work that people do for pay. • The work usually consists of certain tasks. • Career: • A career is a series of related jobs built on a person’s interests, knowledge, training, and experience.

5. Impact on Lifestyle • Lifestyle: • The way you use your time, energy, and resources.

6. Why People Work • Three important reasons why people work are: • To earn money to pay expenses. • To fulfill their need to be with other people. • To receive satisfaction from doing a job well.

7. The Global Economy and the Job Market • The global economy has a direct impact on the job market. • Economy: • Refers to the ways in which a group produces, distributes, and consumes its goods and services. • Global Economy: • Refers to the ways in which the world’s economies are linked. • Job Market: • The demand for particular jobs. • You need basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities to meet the demands of the job market.

8. Changing Technology • Rapidly advancing technology has changed the workplace. • Trends in the workplace include the use of teams, outsourcing, and telecommuting. • Teams: • An organized group that sets goals, makes decisions, and implements actions within a company. • Outsourcing: • When businesses hire other companies or individuals to produce their goods and services. • Telecommute: • Work from home or an office center using a computer, fax, and telephone to perform their jobs.

9. The Job Outlook • Most new jobs predicted for 2012 will fall under the service-producing industries. • While you need to be aware of the trends and job outlook, seeking job satisfaction is also very important.

10. Homework Assignment • Read Chapter #1: “Making the Transition from School to Work” (pgs. 19-27) in the “From School to Work” textbook. • Answer Questions #1-10 under the “Facts in Review” section on pg. 28.

11. Bibliography • Kimbrell, G., & Vineyard, B. (2006). “Succeeding in the world of work.” Glencoe McGraw-Hill; New York.