Getting back on your feet
Surviving career setbacks
during the global economic crisis
By Jon Fernquest 
The
World Bank has put together a collection of easy to read profiles on workers around Asia who
are suffering and adapting to the ongoing
global economic crisis (See articles). Dealing with glitches in one's career and surviving them is just as important as choosing the right career to begin with.
getting back on your feet - getting
up aftter you fall down, succeeding again after you fail
setbacks - problems, things that happen that delay achieving your goal
profiles - short descriptions of a person
career - the job or long series of related jobs that you do and plan to do during your life
setbacks - problems, things that happen that delay achieving your goal
profiles - short descriptions of a person
career - the job or long series of related jobs that you do and plan to do during your life
(Read a Bangkok Post article about becoming a chef as a career).
Faces of the Crisis: Witaya Rakswong, 37, Bangkok, Thailand
CookWitaya’s wages have dropped almost 60 percent in the last two years.
He now gets by with careful spending and reducing the amount of money
he sends his mother every month.
wages - the amount
of money earned per hour by a worker
get by - make enough money to pay all your bills
just get by - make enough, but save nothing, almost do not have enough to pay bills
get by - make enough money to pay all your bills
just get by - make enough, but save nothing, almost do not have enough to pay bills
Before the crisis:
Two years ago, Witaya made 24,000 baht ($705) a month as a sous chef of a luxury hotel in Ubon Ratchathani. More recently, he worked at a pub on Ratchandapisek Road in Bangkok.chef - a trained
professional cook in a restaurant (See Wikipedia)
sous chef, sous-chef de cuisine, under-chef of the kitchen - is the assistant to the executive chef, second in command
a pub - the British word for a bar, a place where beer and alcohol is sold, food is served also
sous chef, sous-chef de cuisine, under-chef of the kitchen - is the assistant to the executive chef, second in command
a pub - the British word for a bar, a place where beer and alcohol is sold, food is served also
How has life changed since then?
Witaya and three of his co-workers lost their jobs when the pub they worked for in Bangkok saw a sharp decline in revenue. He now works as a cook at a Thai restaurant in the outskirts of Bangkok. He makes 10,000 baht (US$294) a month, which is almost 60 percent less than when he worked the hotel. “If you spend it wisely, you’d be able to get by,” he said. Still, he was forced to cut the monthly support he gives his mother back in Ubon Ratchathani by 20 percent—to just under 2,000 baht from 2,500 baht previously.co-workers - the
people you work with
outskirts - the edge or end of a town
monthly support - money sent every month to pay living expenses
outskirts - the edge or end of a town
monthly support - money sent every month to pay living expenses
What’s difficult about life during a financial crisis?
“It hurts everybody,” Witaya said. “Jobs are harder to find [as] employers reduce the workforce to save money. Even if you’re not laid off, you’re still affected by the crisis, because you’re stuck with more work to do for the same or less money. It stresses me out sometimes.”employers - companies
that hire workers
workforce - a company's workers
laid off - lose job because business is slow and no more work
stress - when you worry and think too much about problems
stresses me out - causes a lot of worry, makes you think about problems too much
workforce - a company's workers
laid off - lose job because business is slow and no more work
stress - when you worry and think too much about problems
stresses me out - causes a lot of worry, makes you think about problems too much
How is he getting by?
Witaya recent went to a job fair designed to help workers compete for jobs and acquire an international certificate to work overseas. Vocational training was offered for labor-intensive work and service jobs, such as electronics repair, welding, clothes-making and bartending.a job fair - a big
event where people looking for a job can talk to employers who have
booths at the fair
a certificate - official document proving that a person has completed a course of study
vocational training - practical training on how to do job tasks
labor-intensive work - work that is done more by workers than machines
getting by - making enough money to pay all your bills
welding - the job of joining pieces of metal together using electricity (ardc welding) or gas (See Wikipedia)
clothes making - also called a "tailor" or "seamstress" (See Wikipedia)
bartending - a person who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks such as beer and cocktails from behind a bar, must know how to properly mix hundreds to thousands of different drinks and cocktails (See Wikipedia)
a certificate - official document proving that a person has completed a course of study
vocational training - practical training on how to do job tasks
labor-intensive work - work that is done more by workers than machines
getting by - making enough money to pay all your bills
welding - the job of joining pieces of metal together using electricity (ardc welding) or gas (See Wikipedia)
clothes making - also called a "tailor" or "seamstress" (See Wikipedia)
bartending - a person who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks such as beer and cocktails from behind a bar, must know how to properly mix hundreds to thousands of different drinks and cocktails (See Wikipedia)
What does he hope for the future?
Witaya wants to go to Qatar after hearing about the good money other migrant workers have made working in the Middle East.migrant workers - people
who travel to another country to work (usually for higher wages)
(Source: World Bank, Faces of the Crisis, link)