The Key to Choosing the Right Career
When I graduated from college, I liked lots of things. But love? Passion? That would have been an
exaggeration. Choosing a career path is usually a confusing and stressing experience. Many will tell you to
“follow your passion” or “do what you love”, but this doesn’t seem very useful advice.
We all want to choose a career that will make us happy, but how can we know what that will be? In fairness,
how are you supposed to know if you will be happy as an investment banker or an artist or a professor, if
you haven’t actually done any of these things yet? Who has ever, in the history of mankind, taken a job and
had it turn out exactly as they imagined it would? So if passion and expected happiness can’t be your guides,
what can be? Well, you can begin by choosing a career that fits well with your skills and values. Since you
actually have some sense of what those are (hopefully), this is a good starting place. But a bit less obviously,
you also want to choose an occupation that provides good motivation for you as well. There are two ways
you can be motivated to reach your goals. Some of us tend to see our goals as opportunities for
advancement, success and rewards. The rest of us see our goals as being about security - about not losing
everything we’ve worked so hard for. So, if you are starting a new venture, make sure that you've got a
healthy balance of promotion and prevention.
QUESTIONS
1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are
given for only TRUE or FALSE. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)
a) It is not always easy to decide what career to follow.
b) In order to make a good career choice you can begin by considering what you are good at.
2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy
from the text. (Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)
a) Mention two reasons why the author of the text believes it is hard to make a career choice.
b) Explain two manners of achieving your objectives and choosing the right career.
3.- Find the words in the text that mean:
a) puzzling (paragraph 1); b) matches (paragraph 3); c) achieve (paragraph 4); d) risky activity (paragraph 4)
(Puntuación máxima: 1 punto)
4.- Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the word(s) in brackets when given.
(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)
a) Usually people ________ (motivate) by both promotion and prevention
b) Cal Newport’s is the________ (good) career advice book I ________ (ever read).
c) Nobody is to blame ________ making a wrong career choice. It is difficult to be sure ________ what you
want to do when you are very young.
5.- Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic. (Puntuación máxima: 3 puntos)
Respuestas a la pregunta
1. a) It is not always easy to decide what career to follow.
The author states that it can be difficult to choose a career, as you may not know what you want to do or what will make you happy.
b) In order to make a good career choice you can begin by considering what you are good at.
The author suggests that you can start by looking at your skills and values when choosing a career.
2. a) Mention two reasons why the author of the text believes it is hard to make a career choice.
The author believes that it is hard to make a career choice as you may not know what you want to do, or what will make you happy.
b) Explain two manners of achieving your objectives and choosing the right career.
The author suggests that you can start by looking at your skills and values when choosing a career. You can also look at your goals and see if they are about promotion or prevention.
3. a) puzzling (paragraph 1);
The author states that it can be difficult to choose a career, as you may not know what you want to do or what will make you happy.
b) matches (paragraph 3);
The author suggests that you can start by looking at your skills and values when choosing a career.
c) achieve (paragraph 4);
The author suggests that you can look at your goals and see if they are about promotion or prevention.
d) risky activity (paragraph 4)
The author suggests that you can look at your goals and see if they are about promotion or prevention.
4. a) Usually people ________ (motivate) by both promotion and prevention
The author suggests that you can look at your goals and see if they are about promotion or prevention.
b) Cal Newport’s is the________ (good) career advice book I ________ (ever read).
I have read many career advice books, but I believe that Cal Newport’s is the best.
c) Nobody is to blame ________ making a wrong career choice. It is difficult to be sure ________ what you want to do when you are very young.
I believe that making a wrong career choice is not necessarily a bad thing. It is difficult to be sure of what you want to do when you are very young.
5. Write about 100 to 150 words on the following topic.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of following your passion when choosing a career?
There are many advantages and disadvantages of following your passion when choosing a career. On the one hand, if you are passionate about something, you are more likely to be successful and happy in that field. On the other hand, if you choose a career based on your passion, you may be less likely to be successful if you are not good at it. You may also be less likely to be happy if you are not successful.