Jobs, Professions and Work

 Published: 21.09.2029

Jobs, Professions and Work

Wage, Salary and Income

          A salary is paid to professional workers. It is the total amout of money they get paid each year, usually divided into 12 parts. A base salary is fixed to an agreed amount per month or year and includes holidays and sick leave benefits. A variable salary includes additional pay according to performance and can include other bonuses. In the Czech republic, all government employees earn a salary fixed by tables, according to their education, work position and years of experience.

          A wage is usually paid each week, for the work done. An hourly wage, also called a time rate, means that a person is paid a fixed amount for every hour they work. A legal minimum wage is the minimum amout of money a person can be paid.

          An income means money recevived on a regular basis, for work or through investments. It can be a wage, a salary, social and retirement benefits, or money earned form business, such as renting an apartment.

People Practising Law

Everyone who graduates a law school is a lawyer. It does not matter what kind of school this person graduated or the length of the programme. However, not every lawyer can represent their client at court. This person only has a legal qualification and can become a legal practitioner.

          A barrister is a person who graduated law in England, Wales, New Zealand or Australia. To represent a client at court, they have to first obtain a license from the Bar Council. They are involved in complex issues and provide specialist legal advice in specific areas of law.

          A solicitor has a legal qualification and a practising certificate. They usually provide legal advice, proofread documents, meet clients, draft case notes and prepare cases for the court stage. They also assist with business sales and purchases. 

          A lawyer with a license, for example from the Bar Council, is called an advocate. This means they can represent a client in court. A Senior Advocate is a title given by court to advocates with long years of practice. 

         An attorney can proctise law in a particular jurisdiction. They represent their client and have a professional code of conduct with confidentiality. In the US, an attorney has to pass the bar examination by the American Bar Association, so he is qualifies to reperesent clients at court. An Attorney General is an advocate who represents the government in its cases and provides legal advice to the government. 

          A counsel is a term sometimes used for lawyers who provide ligal advice. 

          In criminal cases, the person who appears on behalf of the state is called the Public Prosecutor. In civil cases, the person who appears on behalf of the state is called the Government Pleader.

Types of Work

Manual work is physical work, it can be further divided into skilled and unskilled jobs. Unskilled manual work requires no education and can be done by anyone. Usually, these are the worst paid professions, such as cleaners, porters and assembly line factory workers. Skilled manual work requires some qualification, at least a training course, but usually three years of apprenticeship. For some manual workers, a four year study finished by graduation is required. Today, these professions are in high demand, such as plumbers, electricians and mechanics. People doing manual jobs are sometimes called blue-collar workers, because of the colour of uniforms in factories.

          Intellectual work is done mentally, it requires higher education, usually at least a bechelor degree. These professions are usually better paid and receive a guarenteed salary. Typical intellectual prefessions are teachers, lawyers, architects, doctors and accountants. Some of these jobs are considered quite presigious, such as surgeons and university professors. These professionals are sometimes called white-collar workers, because they do not work with their hands and their clothes does not get dirty.

          Work for the emergency services usually requires both higher education and physical fitness. Professions such as fire fighter, paramedic, state police officer and soldier are physically demanding and sometimes dangerous. They require special courses and constant learning of new methods and laws. 

The state sector includes work mostly in various offices, government departmens, courts, schools and health service. These jobs offer a guaranteed salary and stability.

          The private sector offers work in business, from small firms to huge international corporations. These employers usually have higher demands on working hours, on the other hand, some companies offer their best employees higher salaries and many benefits. 

          Freelancers work only for themselves, which can be sometimes difficult, but it gives more freedom. Many freelancers struggle with getting loans, paying taxes and finding clients, but some start a sucessful business and become rich.

Some professions are highly preferred by one gender. Typical men jobs are a truck driver, mechanic, soldier, miner or plumber. Typical women jobs are a teacher, nurse, hairdresser, secretary and receptionist.

Some jobs require employees to wear uniforms according to titles, ranks, duties and environments. Uniforms provide physical protection during work and also serve for quick identification, in some cases, they also serve as a form of advertisement.

          In the private sector, many professions, such as waithesses or receptionists, are required to wear al least partially standardised clothes. Luxury services, such as expensive hotels, require their personel to wear uniforms. Many manual workers, such as plumbers or builders, wear protective clothing and sometimes, the company provides standarrdized clothes in a certain colour and with the company logo. Many fast-food chains are known to have special uniforms for all their staff.

          Emergency services, such as firefighters and police officers, are required to wear uniforms when working. This allows the public to easily identify these professionals, especially in difficult situations. Some professions, such as lifeguards, require specialized uniforms for their environment.

          All medical staff is required to wear uniforms, when in hospital. Many hospitals have colour codes to help easily identify nurses, doctors and allied healthe presonel. These uniforms are designed to keep them comfortable and protect them from germs. Hospital clothes are sometimes reffered to as scrubs, because they need to be clean all the time and the hospital sometimes provides laundry services for its employees. Also, in special conditions, such as laboratories and in departments with infectious patients, the hospital provides its employees with special protective gear.

          The army is known to have specialized uniforms, that are mandatory to wear for all soldiers in active duty. These uniforms are colour coded according to army branches, so that pilots or military police are easily recognized. The colour of the uniform is changed according to conditions in the field to provide cammouflage and modern uniforms provide protection against infrared identification.