Why you shouldn't work in the field you're trained in

Robert
Treborlang
Australia

Why you shouldn't work in the field you're trained in
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People in other countries work hard so that they can get somewhere. In Australia people work hard so they can get away from it and do something else.

Australia is a modern and progressive nation where new work ethics apply. You have far greater career prospects if you hate what you do. It means that you are broadminded and open to any offers that may come along. People who claim that they actually enjoy their work and are having fun soon get their comeupappance. They are looked on as narrow-minded and amateurish and not taken seriously at all. This is because as children Australians have been taught that if something is enjoyable then probably it's not only bad for them but weakens their character as well.

As a result Australia is full of architects who hate buildings, farmers who hate the land, publishers who hate books and waiters who hate people.

Proud, freedom-loving beings, Australian workers hate to be thought of as slaves to their profession. To earn the respect of your colleagues, therefore, it's important to always have another out. Make it clear to everyone that though you have a great job you are secretly planning to:
(a) mine opals at Coober Peddy
(b) run a fishing trawler off Cairns
(c) open a hairdressing shop in Wagga.

  Best to look for a job you have no expertise in whatsoever. Remember that Australia is a pioneering nation and here people think it a sign of intelligence to have succeeded in a profession they never trained for.

  When choosing an apprenticeship or course of study, pick a field you have no intention at all of being involved in.

  Australians study, of course, as assiduously as the rest of the world. Everyone is very keen to acquire the profession which they know they are not going to practise. Parents are especially eager for children to do this.
  "You should always have a trade, Bianca, to fall back on."
  "You never know, Tom, when being a dentist might come in handy."
  "It's a good idea to have a few apprenticeships up your sleeve, Trent."

  Should you happen to train as an opera conductor there is every chance that your real success will come from the manufacture of plastic sewerage pipes. As a well-trained psychiatrist or pediatrician you owe it to your self-respect to make a fortune on the property market. Should your background be nuclear physics you might try your luck patenting an impermanent tattoo for teenagers. After four years of training as a sailmaker, could you hope for any more self-satisfying job than renovating pubs in Tibooburra?

  Or you may choose to change professions several times in a lifetime.

  "I've come to complain about the cupboards you installed."
  "Sorry, can't help you."
  "Aren't you the carpenter?"
  "That was last week. I'm into tree surgery now."
  "What am I going to do then?"
  "Tell you what. I've got a mate, I trained with at cookery school who's thinking of giving up his hairdressing practice and getting into home decorating. Why don't you give him a call?"

  All in all, your ambition should be to become the complete suburban renaissance person - multi-faceted, multi-talented and multi-jobbed.

Copyright © 1991-2002 - Robert Treborlang

Robert
Treborlang
Australia

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