📘 Part 3: Employment

This episode's vocabulary

To pigeonhole (verb) - to have an often unfair idea of what type someone or something is:.

To start out (phrasal verb) - to begin your life, or the part of your life when you work, in a particular way>

Guidance (noun) - help and advice about how to do something or about how to deal with problems connected with your work, education, or personal relationships.

To put a price/value/figure on something (phrase) - to say what you think the price or value of something is.

To compensate (verb) - to pay someone money in exchange for work they have done or a service they have provided.

To deem (verb) - to consider or judge something in a particular way.

Supply and demand (idiom) - the idea that the price of goods and services depends on how much of something is being sold and how many people want to buy it.

To command (verb) - to deserve and get something good, such as attention, respect, or a lot of money.

Well off (adj.) - wealthy.

To remunerate (verb) - to pay someone for work or services.

Questions and Answers

M: Do you think schools should provide career advice to students?

R: I don't see the harm in it, provided they aren't pigeonholing them before they even get started out in life. Students always benefit from a little guidance. That's literally the role of teachers in the process of learning. Well, and the role of students is to receive the guidance as well.

M: Who should receive a higher salary, young people or older people?

R: I suppose that depends on who you ask, but it makes sense that people who are older generally get paid more since they usually have more experience and can do more. And younger people tend to have well less experience and require greater investment in terms of time and resources. So I suppose it's less about age and more about ability.

M: Do you think doctors should be well paid?

R: Assuming they do their jobs well, yes. It's hard to put a price on saving lives and helping others, but I think people can agree generally that it should be a high one. Doctors work hard and should definitely be compensated accordingly.

M: What kinds of jobs deserve a high salary?

R: Well, the ones deemed economically valuable would be the easiest and most obvious answer, probably. It's also determined by supply and demand. So if you have a skill that's in high demand but not many people can do it, then you can definitely command a higher salary compared to someone with a more easily accessible skill.

M: What kinds of jobs receive a low salary?

R: Generally speaking, it's the jobs that most people can do with minimal training and effort, since the investment and risk are fairly low. For example, a receptionist doesn't require that much technical knowledge compared to something like a senior engineer. So that makes sense that one would be paid less than the other.

M: What jobs are well paid in your country?

R: That's a good question. I feel like everyone feels like they aren't paid enough these days. However, people who are seen to have a lot of responsibility at work, especially for the well-being of others or their property are probably quite well off. That includes lawyers and CEOs, for example.

M: Hey, thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: No problem.