“Learn,” Education for Better Work for Self-Reliance (2016)
“Learn,” Education for Better Work
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Learn—Maximum Time: 45 Minutes
Read:In the past week, you began to explore possible job options. Today you will look more deeply into those job possibilities and move toward making a decision about what job you want. To help you with this process, you will learn about the following:
Know how much income you need to become self-reliant.
Understand your job realities.
Know who to talk to.
Update your self-reliance plan.
1. Know How Much Income You Need to Become Self-Reliant
Read:“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28).
To become self-reliant, you need a job that pays well enough to provide for your needs and your family’s needs. You have been tracking your expenses for a couple of weeks to give you an idea of your current expenses. Your next step is to estimate how much more income you need to be self-reliant. The job you select should provide that amount of income.
2. Understand Your Job Realities
Read:Last week you selected three types of jobs you are interested in, and you committed to learn more about them during the week. We will now look more closely at some important realities regarding jobs to help you narrow your choice and then choose a training path.
Reality 1: Employers pay well for some jobs and very little for others.
Read:Understand what employers value. Many people have the ability to work at a fast-food restaurant, so pay is low. Very few people have the ability to perform heart surgery, so pay is high.
Meet Arlene, age 44. Arlene was working part-time as a nurse when she seriously injured her back while moving a patient. With a son on a mission and two other children at home, she and her husband worry about having enough money. Arlene wants to return to work in the field of health care but needs to do so in a less physically demanding way. She is interested in doing medical coding, being a medical office assistant, or doing other medical administration jobs. Now she needs to see how much those jobs pay and what it would take to move into that type of profession.
As Arlene considers what job to pursue, she finds that to earn at least as much as she made as a nurse, she should choose medical administration, since the other two choices don’t pay as much.
Reality 2: Some jobs aren’t in demand in your area.
Read:Some jobs are disappearing and may not have a future in your area. Technology replaces some jobs, and some jobs are now primarily done in other countries.
Meet Rachel, age 48. Rachel is divorced and has one married daughter and two teenage sons still at home. She completed two semesters of college many years ago but never finished college. She has worked at various jobs and currently works in a grocery store. She is somewhat active in the Church but often has to work on Sundays. Rachel has always struggled to make ends meet, but she’s a hard worker. Rachel wants to get a degree so she can get a better job to provide for her family and be more active in the Church.
One of the jobs Rachel was interested in was small electronic repair. However, as she looked into it, she couldn’t find anyone working in that field because there is hardly any need for that work in her area. She removed this job from her list of options and focused on other jobs and training.
Meet Juan, age 33. Juan is married and has three young children. He works construction during the day and as a cook in the evenings. He wants a better job to replace the two he has, and he wants to be a better provider. He lives near a large industrial seaport. Juan is wondering about welding. After some research, he finds there are many jobs for welders and it could be a good option for him. He will start looking into training options, knowing they could lead to a good welding job.
Reality 3: It may take multiple steps to get to the job you want.
Read:Some jobs take a lot of training and time to qualify for. Some training is expensive and may not be available in your area. Many jobs also require experience in addition to the training. You will want to know what steps may be needed to obtain the jobs that interest you.
Meet Yuko, age 36. Yuko worked in housekeeping at a hotel for several years. She wasn’t making much money. She thought she would like to work as the hotel general manager, but it seemed impossible. She decided to move forward, knowing it wouldn’t happen all at once. She took these steps over a 10-year period:
She worked hard in her housekeeping job and proactively solved problems.
When a shift supervisor position opened, she got the position.
She went to school and got a degree in hotel management while still working as a shift supervisor.
She got a job as a front office manager.
After three years of doing great work as a front office manager, she reached her goal of becoming a general manager of a hotel.
Reality 4: Work is work. You won’t enjoy everything about your job.
Read:Understand the nature of work. Some people wait for the perfect job to come along—a job they think they won’t have any difficulties doing. For example, Stefano turned down several job opportunities because they were “beneath him” when he should have taken them.
Successful people move forward and take jobs, knowing they will like some things and dislike other things about their jobs.
As you talk with people this week about your possible jobs, be sure to ask what the people like and do not like about their jobs.
3. Know Who to Talk To
Read:This week, narrow down your list of three jobs to one. Then explore the training and education options to help you qualify for that job. The best way to learn more about these jobs and narrow them down is to talk with people who work in these types of positions and ask them any questions you might have.
Discuss:How will talking with people help you narrow your choice of jobs?
4. Update Your Self-Reliance Plan
Discuss:What are the most important things you learned in today’s group meeting?