Home   |  Issues  |  The Daily Star Home | Thursday, October 04, 2007

By: Hitoishi Chakma

Money is a never ending woe for young people all over the world unless their name happens to be Paris Hilton. Careers boggles the mind wondering which would provide more of the crinkly notes with which to buy goods. RS highlights one of the most lucrative jobs for beginners and also one of the most demanding - teaching.

With all the drama going on out there at Seattle Grace Hospital (Grey's Anatomy anyone?) being a doctor is a big dream right now! You name the hip and happening careers; being a doctor is one of them. The huge salaries, the medical challenges, the feeling of importance you get when you know a person’s life is in your hands, the warm glow that comes from knowing you’re making a difference...yes, it’s a great career to have.

This article isn’t about that, though. This is about starting out on a journey towards your ultimate career, be it as a doctor, a lawyer, or anything else. For young people between the ages of 16 and 20, it’s always a good idea to get some job experience. It looks good on your resume, and the cash you earn doesn’t hurt either. Let's not be the couch 'tomatoes' anymore.

When talking jobs for teens, the first option anyone thinks of is teaching. It requires fewer qualifications, and is easier to do. Too many are already doing it. So I will hit it there, where it MATTERS the most: how you can land a teaching job! But first, what type of teacher do you want to be?

Home Tutor:
It is the best choice for you if you are in high school. The most common way of getting a job as a home tutor is by spreading the word among your relatives, friends, peers etc. If that doesn't work, in order to really end up getting a tuition you might have to get yourself enlisted with one of the ‘media' out there. A medium is an organization that supplies home tutors to students. The parents call them and then they call you. Most of them can be found around Nilkhet and Moghbazar (keep a look out on the newspaper too). Calling them up and getting yourself enlisted will take around 200 tk. And then once they get you a tuition job you might have to share your first one/two month's salary 50-50 with them.

The pros and cons: Fairly at an average of two hours everyday, four/five days a week, you will be able to earn around 3 to 5 thousand taka. And if you can make your student work hard for it and thus earn him/her a good grade in the exam, the parents are known to land the teacher some extra pay.
Just after any exam finishes you will not be able to get any tuition. Even the tuition jobs you already have will let go of you for a month or so, because they would be too busy visiting places rather than going an extra mile with the syllabus. But right before exams the parents usually put pressure on the teachers to come and teach everyday of every week.

School Teacher:
If you want to teach in a school you would at least have to be at your A level/ HSC or past that (college?). But don't expect yourself to be teaching 7th/8th grade. The best you might get is the pesky kids from 3rd/4th grade. In order to get a job at a school drop your CV at each and every school you come across at the year end. Chances are they might call you back to fix an interview. Also be sure to go through the newspaper each morning.

The pros and cons: At the end of each month you are assured a hefty amount of 5 to 8 thousand without any dilly-dally. Even if you don't want it they'll put it in your pocket (I'm kidding)! Also you will have a fixed number of students to teach around the year.

Because it's a school, this job will entail you to be there from 8 am to 2 pm. Just 2 hours everyday won't do.

Lastly try to be one of those cool teachers. Don't just try to keep your student on the run to bring out a good result. Sometimes let it loose, talk about music, movies or better, talk about the opposite sex if both you and your student are of the same sex! BUT, if you are a guy and your student is a girl, do NOT talk about girls! Mind it!


   

 
 

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