Hello everyone!
As I´m the youngest of all TEFE-Ambassadors at the age of 18, I probably have the least teaching experience; still I worked quite many jobs. My first was my best: I did a one-week internship at an office for landscape-architecture - and I loved it. Even though I always knew that I want to be a teacher in the future I still wanted to explore different professions and broaden my personal horizon. After this one week not only I but my boss as well realized that I was really good at what I was doing, so the office kept me for 4 years. The only reason why I quit was moving to Passau for my studies.
Another internship that impacted me a lot was a month at a closed facility in the senior-centre for dementia and addicts. I accompanied and helped care-givers for 10 hours per day. And even though working the job for a life-time was never an option for me I'm very glad that I did this internship. With the knowledge I gained and the stories I heard I can appreciate the work gare-givers do like no other.
Alongside the above I worked as a bartender, waitress, saleswoman and tutor but those were personally less meaningful to me.
Thanks Karolina!
I have worked as a babysitter, English tutor and student assistant on a project basis. I think all of those jobs have influenced my career choice and competences profoundly. As a babysitter at a school event I have learned to cater to different personalities of children at once. I have furthermore, confirmed that I love to work with children and can be creative. This job I got through knowing the teacher who organized the event.
Afterwards, I worked as an English tutor. I was recommended to my student. This confirmed my love not only for the English language, but also for teaching it to the next generation There I have learned didactic skills, patience and how to keep the attention of students. Motivating students has turned out to be a key competence in that context and also a skill I transferred to the classroom.
My last job has been as a student assistant on a history project at the chair of medieval studies at the University of Passau. My tasks were to research and translate. There I learned to research thoroughly and work independently. I was made aware of the project by a person from the chair and recommended because I study the combination of English and History. This and a phone call is what convinced them to hire me.
All those skills have had an impact on my way of teaching and how I approach my work. For me I think the most important aspect of the hiring process has been working my network and connecting with the right people.
@margareta-wagener Thanks Margareta! I agree that connecting with other people and building your own working network really matters and can help in the future.
I don’t have an exciting story to share but however the jobs I had shaped my opinion on different professions. After my A-Levels I worked at an office where I scanned hundreds of sheets a day which was extremely boring. This however raised my awareness for dissatisfying jobs and how many people in our society spend their day doing monotonous activities. Every job should be appreciated, and I am so happy and thankful to have the chance to choose what I would like to do for the rest of my life.
During my studies I’ve been babysitting and giving private lessons – this confirmed my wish to work with children in the future. Private lessons are a great way to earn some money during my studies but at the same time it is amazing to help students with their problems at school. Every job helps to widen your horizon and is a valuable experience.
