Dream jobs

So what is a dream job? Well that's a very hard thing to define, for some it's a glamorous career with lots of money, for others it's simply having a job that you look forward to every day. To offer some guidance we have come up with a few jobs that we consider to be 'dreamy'. Let us know what you think!

Racing car driver
Being a racing car driver is much like being a trained athlete, they spend as much time in the gym as they do on the track perfecting their car. Most racing car drivers start young in go-karts and smaller engined cars before moving onto faster vehicles. In the UK it's all about Formula 1 racing whereas in the US, NASCAR rules the roost. Money, glamor and fame all come to the lucky few racing car drivers that become household names.


Underwater photographer
If you love water and the ocean then this could be one of the best dream jobs for you, underwater photographer spend most of their life traveling the world to photograph the many wonders of the ocean. Assignments could last for months following rare sharks for the national geographic or could be over in a weekend with action shots from a surfing competition. You obviously need to be a good diver and photographer plus you'll need to spend some money on a good camera. Most underwater photographers work on a freelance basis and while you may not become a millionaire, you can certainly earn a very respectable living. Finding a good career that could also be a passion is hard to find, perhaps underwater photography could be yours.

Airline pilot
If you ever seen the film, 'catch me if you can' you'll know that few jobs attract as much respect and recognition as that as being an airline pilot. Traveling the world and getting paid to do makes it a dream job for many. To be an airline pilot you'll need to be good at maths and have first class health and fitness. Most pilots either come from a military background or apply to an in-house training scheme with one of the major airlines. Training takes a couple of years and then a few more years of practical experience before you'll make it as a captain. It's a well paid career, most experienced pilots earn in excess of $100,000 a year, definitely a dream job.

Teach English abroad

What better way to see the world and immerse yourself into the local community than by teaching English. It's a tried and tested formula for many backpackers to fund their travels while on the road but it can also a full time professional career for many people.
To teach English abroad you don't need much in the way of formal training, most native English speakers just require a certificate known as a TEFL - they can be obtained in a matter of weeks. However for posting's at more prestigious international schools, you will be required to possess both experience and often a teaching degree.
The salary for English teachers is often quite reasonable, especially when compared to good jobs which local do, For example, in Thailand and English teacher could expect to earn around 40,000 Baht a month - which is about the same as a dentist in Thailand.
Wages in better developed countries increase drastically, Korea, Singapore and Saudi Arabia are all know for their generous expat benefits package. But good wages should only be incidental to why you want to teach in the first place. You'll get an incredible amount of job satisfaction from teaching and you'll no doubt make some good friends as you travel.

Reasons to be an accountant

It may not be everyone's idea of an exciting profession but it certainly does have quite a few advantages that make it a great profession for the future. For starters, you will have great job security since nearly all businesses are required by law to submit accountants every year creating an annual workload.
As with many other similar good jobs that require dedication and qualifications, accountants earn far in excess of the national average wage. In fact newly qualified accountants start on around £40,000 ($60,000) which increases with experience and promotion.
It's also a career that gives you the option to travel, most of the large accountancy firms are multinational and actively promote secondments overseas. So if you always fancied working in Australia but are unsure how to move there, working for a large firm and transferring overseas is a good way to do it.
To become an accountant requires specialist in-house training, most employers offer training contracts for both school leavers and degree holders. The latter are normally fast tracked intensive training that sees them qualified within 3 years.
Once you have a few years experience there are a few ways to advance your career, either you could apply for a partnership post within a large firm or you could form you own accountancy firm. As a partner you will have a share of the companies annual profits as well as your own salary.

Good careers - become a speech therapist

Speech therapists help a wide range of people who have a voice disorder, it may be as a result of an accident, an illness or something a person was born with. Speech disorders, such as a stutter, are extremely common and the recent Hollywood blockbuster, The King's Speech, highlighted how a trained speech therapist can assist people to overcome their issues.
As well as stutters, speech therapists can also assist people who have trouble producing sounds as a result of memory disorders or short attention spans. Their knowledge of how the throat and voice box work can also assist people with swallowing disorders. Such disorders are common amongst cerebral palsy sufferers, people with learning difficulties and people with brain injuries.

Skills
Being a speech therapist is a caring profession so you should be someone who enjoys working with people. You also need to be compassionate and patient as progress can be slow, there is no quick fix in this industry and you must be determined to overcome the challenges presented to you. You also need to be able to relax your patients so they become comfortable with you, having a sense of humour helps too.

Study
In order to work as a qualified speech therapist you will have to study at university, as with most good jobs, you need to be dedicated if you want to succeed. You should apply for a three or a four year degree that is certified by the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists. The degrees often go by a slightly different name, such as speech pathology or language therapy. If you have already studied a related field at undergraduate level you may be eligible to complete a diploma or Masters to become qualified.

Opportunities
The future is good for speech therapists as there is currently a shortage of qualified people. There are also numerous opportunities to work abroad as many countries around the world welcome qualified practitioners.