My plans for the future

Generally speaking it's so not easy for a school-leaver to decide on his or her future career. There are a huge number of occupations and it is hard to make the right choice. As for me, when I was a child my dream was to be a vet. I remember a few of my teachers very well. I remember Irina Petrovna, who taught us for the first year. Her classroom was so nice – there were models of animals and pictures of birds on the walls. This fired me up with a great enthusiasm for animals which lasted two years after that. But I can say now this job doesn't really challenge me.

For me, choosing a career is not only a matter of future prestige and wealth. In my opinion, a job should be interesting and socially important. To my mind people have to find satisfaction in their job. Money is naturally very important. It enables us to buy more, to improve our homes, to expand our style of life etc. I have never heard somebody to say «I am happy in my work, I don’t need more money, and I will stay as I am». But isn’t just money. Job satisfaction sometimes means taking on more responsibility which can sometimes best be found by moving to different business or making a fresh start.

I am a second-year-student now and I have chosen ecology as an area of specialization. I am sure it is a very demanding job. That is why I am looking now for opportunities for further development of my abilities and knowledge in the chosen field.

I am ambitious. I like to win competitions; to set records may be, to score over, to be the best. I have a career plan I think. I’d like to be a pro or a top specialist.

I think I am good at chemistry. It was my favourite subject at school and I am sure it is one of the most important subjects at the University.

I am the leader of the student Government at the Department. To my mind it is a good opportunity to develop my organizational and interpersonal skills and give me a solid background. I have some achievements I suppose. I took part in the university conference last year. My topic was GMO. I was asked a lot of questions. It was really nice.

I am sure the most important qualities in the make-up of a good specialist are to be hard-working, to be careful about time (I mean not to waste it), to speak foreign languages and have linguistic ability, to be scientifically-minded, to be energetic and enthusiastic, to study for extra qualifications in free time, to be sociable, to know about computers and to be a natural leader may be, not to be a lazy, do-nothing coach-potato or a mouse potato.

I am willing to be actively engaged in research, in scientific discussions covering problems concerning ecological situation in the world and in the Arkhangelsk Region. That is why my dream is to be a postgraduate student. My goal is to achieve a high degree of proficiency. I hope I’ll get my Bachelor's degree in two years, and then I am planning to complete my master’s degree. And I’d like to begin my PhD program.

The Northern Arctic Federal University’s international reputation helps to attract researchers from many countries all over the world. Postgraduate study at NArFU offers us the opportunity to study the subject of our first degree at an advanced level, or develop new skills and knowledge. The University offers us the opportunity to enhance our career prospects by developing knowledge and skills relevant to our chosen career.

It is to be added that the academic staff of The Northern Arctic Federal University are supportive and friendly. There is a perfect atmosphere for study and research. It is very valuable to be supported and listened to in an atmosphere of mutual respect. My university lectures encourage me in my desire of choosing my future career.

Topical vocabulary

to be a vet	стать ветеринаром
this job doesn't really challenge me	на этой работе я не могу как следует проявить себя
matter of future prestige and wealth	вопрос престижа и достатка
to enable	давать возможность, право (что-л. сделать)
a demanding job	ответственная работа
to find satisfaction in	находить удовлетворение в чём-л.
to expand our style of life	жить свободнее
to move to different business	заняться совершенно другим делом
to make a fresh start	начать всё заново
an area of specialization	область специализации
demanding job	ответственная работа
the student Government	студсовет
interpersonal skills	навыки межличностных отношений
score over	выигрывать
a postgraduate student	аспирант
to achieve a high degree of proficiency	достичь высокого уровня профессионализма
Bachelor's degree = first degree	степень бакалавра (после 3-4 лет обучения в высшем учебном заведении)
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc/B.S.)	бакалавр естественных наук
Master’s degree = advanced degree	Cтепень магистра, промежуточная между бакалавром и доктором, присваивается после 1-2 лет учебы в магистратуре.
to begin PhD program	начать писать диссертацию
Postgraduate study	учеба в аспирантуре
mutual respect	взаимное уважение
the academic staff	преподавательский состав
research	(научное) исследование; изучение; изыскание; исследовательская работа
career prospects	карьерное развитие

Exercise1.

Match the highlighted words or word combinations in the text with their definitions.

1. the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone;

2. the kind of education and experience you have had;

3. a person who spends large amounts of leisure or working time operating a computer;

4. to intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of smth;

5. the pleasure that you feel when you do something or get something that you wanted or needed to do or get;

6. important or significant in that situation or to that person;

7. to give support, confidence, or hope to someone;

8. a thing done successfully with effort, skill, or courage;

9. young people who have just left school;

10. an animal, plant, or other organism whose genetic structure has been changed by genetic engineering.

Exercise2.

Which of the following do you think are the two most important qualities in your future boss?Rank them, then discuss in pairs. a) respectfulness, b) sociability, c) moral values, d) sense of humour, e) intellect, f) empathy, g) romantic nature, h) taste in books/films, i) attractive appearance, j) punctuality k) generosity.

Exercise3.