UNIT 5: WORK AND CAREER
My name‿ is Diego. I have taught history for nine years,│ an(d) the question my students‿ ask most‿ often‿ is not‿ about the past│ but‿ about their prospects,│ which‿ is‿ a reasonable‿ anxiety an(d) one‿ I cannot‿ honestly resolve.
In my country,│ health care‿ an(d) technology dominate the advice they are given,│ because both sectors‿ are‿ expanding‿ an(d) remuneration‿ in nursing now exceeds mine. Yet the assumption that technology provides‿ a safe berth‿ is questionable. Automation displaces repetitive tasks first,│ and‿ a good deal‿ of junior technical work‿ is precisely that,│ which‿ is why my cousin was made redundant‿ at fifty-four‿ an(d) his function‿ outsourced‿ abroad. Simultaneously,│ universities‿ are producing‿ an‿ oversupply of graduates‿ in fields│ where credentials no longer guarantee anything,│ and‿ employers have learned to treat‿ a degree as‿ a screening device rather than‿ a qualification.
What‿ I tell themtell'em‿ is not to choose‿ on the basis‿ of salary,│ because the sum promised‿ at‿ eighteen‿ is not the sum received‿ at fortyfor-dy. Prestige‿ is discretionary and‿ expires with the market that conferred‿ it. If‿ I were‿ eighteen now,│ I would look for work‿ I could‿ improve‿ at‿ indefinitely,│ expec(t) to retrain‿ at leas(t) three times,│ an(d) treat‿ employability rather than‿ employment‿ as the asset worth‿ accumulating.