Jobs

From Advanced Expert CAE ed. Longman.Pearson

I'd like you to compare and contrast these photos, saying what personal qualities these jobs would require.

Sample answer

Right ... Well, these photos show a teacher, a doctor and a hairdresser. Looking first at the teacher and the doctor, I think these jobs are similar because they both require sensitivity and tact. To do either of these jobs, you must need a lot of patience. I suspect neither of these

people would survive without a good sense of humour because their work must get quite stressful at times. In my opinion, these jobs are both more important than being a hairdresser, but the hairdresser must also make people feel good about themselves and be patient if they have difficult customers!

Th e most obvious difference between the jobs is that a doctor needs a lot of knowledge and technical skills, whereas for a teacher of young children, I imagine the most important thing would be creativity and energy. A hairdresser is somewhere in the middle. You would also have
be creative to be a hairdresser but also have technical skills,
Although I think they are easier skills to learn than a doctor's. And I suppose being a good listener might not be quite as essential for a teacher as for a doctor. To be a hairdresser, you must listen a lot too, or you might give people haircuts that they don't like!