ESL WORKSHEET - Changing career

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

CAREER CROSSROADS

LinguaHouse

Apr. 6, 2025

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of language: Business English
Tags: Companies and Jobs; Business People; Business Skills; Business Ethics; Jobs; Work; Developing an Argument; Article Based; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 04/06/2025

This lesson looks at what happens when you decide to change your career. Students will read an article about what the signs might be that you need to change and what you may need to do. Exercises focus on reading and listening skills, and related vocabulary and offer students the opportunity to discuss questions on the topic. (by Joe Wilson)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Speaker 1: I felt as though I’d got as far as I wanted to go. I was working in sales for a company that sold electronics which I really enjoyed, but the only way to progress was to go into management. I’d spent seven years learning sales and talking to customers and I wasn’t learning any new skills. Management just wasn’t interesting to me as it’s organizing people and doing paperwork. I’d learned a lot about computers while I was doing it, so I decided to take a course in computer science to use them instead of selling them. I kept working in sales for a while but cut back my hours so that I could focus on the course. I had the misery of having no free time for a while which was difficult with family and friends. But now I work for a software company and write programs that help people learn computer science. Being new to computer science actually helped me because I know what it’s like to be a learner. I’m much more fulfilled by my work now.
Speaker 2: I had children with my wife. I was working in the restaurant industry which means working nights all the time. I’d usually work until about 2 or 3 in the morning and then I’d be asleep until about 10 or 11 and I was always grumpy because I was so tired. So, I never saw my little girls and my wife wasn’t happy because I wasn’t helping with anything and was always absorbed by the work I had to do. It was scary, but I opened my own cafe. We sell pastries and cakes that I make myself with the help of my employees. We open at 6 and close at 3. Now I can spend each evening with my family and read bedtime stories to my daughters. It fits in a lot better with our lives. I had to invest all of our savings in the cafe, but I’m now making more money than I did in the restaurant. By the end of next year, I will have saved up the same amount as I spent on the restaurant. I get up early and I’m able to teach my staff about baking which I love.
Speaker 3: I worked in a bank and I hated how stressed I was all the time. I made good money, but I was always panic-stricken about the possibility of making a mistake. I had to make big decisions about people’s money all the time, so if you get it wrong, it creates a lot of problems. I decided to retrain as a teacher and use my maths skills to help younger children understand money. I had to study in the evenings for about two years which was hard work as all I wanted to do when I got back from the bank was relax and watch a movie. But I kept going and now I teach math to 9 and 10-year-olds. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it when you see them understand something for the first time. To be honest, I miss the money I used to make sometimes. I am less stressed, generally, although this job can still be stressful. Organizing a classroom full of noisy kids when you’re exhausted is harder work than I expected.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/business-english/career-crossroads. Accessed on April 9, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.