SSC English First Paper | Unit Nine | Lesson: 2 | Unconventional jobs | Weird jobs around

A. Look at die following pictures and discuss with your partner what yon see in them.

B. Head the text and answer the following questions.

What type of job do you want to have? Ia it a highly paid and high-profile conventional job most people like? Yes, you can have it It is matter of your choice and an important decision that would help you advance in your life. But have you ever thought of other types of jobs out there— cool, fun, exciting, even strange or weird jobs you never knew existed? What are they? Did you ever wonder who picks up the chewing gum left on a park bench or who assesses whether a piece of furniture is comfortable enough or who constructs glass eye¬balls or who farms oysters in the middle of the ocean? These are all odd, unexpected, wild, unconventional, strange or just plain weird jobs and careers. They are not your traditional career choices, but somebody out there does all these things, gets paid for it, and enjoys life like anybody else.

There are hundreds of such jobs to take if you want to travel the less taken ways of life. You have to decide on several questions:

• What companies will recruit/hire me?

• Do I actually get a paycheck?

• What type of education/diploma will I need?

• Can I make a living doing this?

Your answers to these questions will help draw your career roadmap and help you decide if you are ready to take the challenge. Decide if you want a change. A lot of strange jobs also allow you to work part-time or freelance when it fits your schedule. This way you can get a taste of freedom, a secondary income, and build experience at the same time.

Do you have interests beyond writing memos and attending boring meetings? If so, you may wonder how you can find a strange job. Hobbies are a good place to start. What do you do for fim? Do you stuff animals, act like Charlie Chaplin, or make model cars? There are people out there working in fields, making money off their hobbies. Maybe they are testing mountaineering equipment, develop-ing fragrances, trying new brands of undergarments, or saving sea turtles. And they are getting paid good wages too.

Questions

1 'But have you ever thought of other types of jobs out there—?' What does 'other types of jobs' mean here?

2 There are four particular strange and weird jobs mentioned in para one of the text. Which one of them seems to be most weird to you and why?

3 Before going for an unconventional and strange job the author has suggested several questions to decide on. Rearrange them, beginning from what you think is the most important to the least. Add some more questions to the list that might be important to consider.

4 What are some other strange part-time jobs mentioned in the text?

5 What type of job is referred to by the expression 'writing memos and attending boring meetings'? Do you think the author's observation on the particular job is justified? Why/Why not?

C. Look at the following dialogue and act it out in pairs.

X : Have you heard of a job like picking up the chewing gums lelft on a park bench?

Y : Yes, I have. I know one person who does that job. 

X : What do you think of the job?

Y : Sounds rather funny/odd/crazy/ though. But what's wrong?

You can go for it as long as you enjoy it. And if it pays, I think it's fine.

Now make dialogues on the following:

1 Assessing the comfort of a piece of furniture

2 Farming oysters in the middle of the ocean

D. Arrange a debate in the class in favour of and against strange jobs.

E. Work in pairs. Make a list of adjectives used in the text to describe strange jobs (at least 10). Are you familiar with all of them? If yes, use them in your own written sentences. Compare with your partner's.

If no, try to   guess their   meaning   from   the context. Then

look up a dictionary to get the meanings. Finally use them in your own sentences.

F. A number of strange jobs have been mentioned in the text. Do you know any one around you who does one of the jobs? If yes, write a paragraph on him/her.

If no, first select a job. Then try to imagine who around you could successfully do that particular job. Write why you think so.

If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:

Lesson: 3 | Floral career