Working In Work Research Paper

There are literally thousands of different careers, most of which you probably have only a vague notion about. How do you find out about them? There are a number of tools at your disposal. To begin with, your college probably has a career resource center that likely contains many reference books, periodicals, DVDs,
CDs, and software programs describing various occupations. Career counselors are also available either at your school or in your community. Speaking to people working in various careers is another valuable way to learn about what is really involved in a particular career. Work internships, summer jobs, and volunteer work are other avenues for learning about career possibilities and whether they might be right for you.
As you begin your career
As an
“educated thinker,” you will be able to respond quickly and successfully to the unplanned changes and unexpected opportunities that you will encounter as you follow—and create—the unfolding path of your life.
Thinking Passages
FINDING MEANING IN WORK
Do you work to live, or live to work? In difficult economic times, “work” becomes a necessity and an anxiety; we search for (and stay in) jobs that may not fulfill us creatively or intellectually but may simply keep us solvent and insured. In the previous pages, you worked through a series of thinking exercises designed to help you balance your natural talents and skills with your need to find a career path.
The following readings describe attitudes about, and approaches to, kinds of
“work” that seem more like vocations than mere jobs. A vocation is, literally, a calling; when you have a vocation to do something, you simply cannot imagine yourself doing anything else. In the first essay, college teacher Carlo Rotella describes the fierce commitment of his student Russell to the art and science of boxing. The dedication and discipline Russell develops in the ring will serve