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Why Teaching Is Still The Best Job In The World

Besides teaching, there aren’t many jobs where it’s your job to work with so many children to make their life better on a daily basis.

why teaching is the best job in the world

7 Reasons Why Teaching Is Still The Best Job In The World

by TeachThought Staff

Sometimes, good teachers quit.  

Teaching is an increasingly demanding job with divergent influences, dynamic sources of innovation, and sometimes aging dogma that makes it all a struggle. It can be emotionally draining, and at times, impossible.

But in lieu of that–and in an age where start-ups are glorified, entertainment is endlessly emphasized, and tech is kind, teaching continues to be the best job in the world. Or at least I think so anyway. Here are 7 reasons why.

7 Reasons Why Teaching Is The Best Job In The World

1. The potential to transform lives

Ask any teacher who has helped a student in any number of ways, from academic to welfare and emotional learning, and they will tell you that life is not only good, but amazing.

2. It gives you the chance to be continuously creative

Of course, there are increasing levels of accountability in teaching, but teachers are allowed to be creative in every lesson. Even in observations, in fact most of all in observations, lessons are encouraged to be creative and interesting to engage the students. Teachers have so many opportunities to try new ideas, and indulge in iterative process to ensure the optimum learning environment is created.

3. It offers you a chance to continuously get better

Teachers are not only encouraged to seek continuous professional development, but can ask for observation on a regular basis, to provide opportunities to grow and learn from masters or more experienced practitioners. In so few professions is there such support, and considering that as a minimum, contracts are for a year, teachers have so much time to demonstrate improvement. A growth mindset is part of the foundation of teaching.

4. It is a grounding, humbling profession

The amount of work teachers do compared to remuneration is shockingly disproportionate, in 2 senses: firstly, in terms of how many paid vs non paid hours of work they receive, and secondly, in relation to other similarly creative and important (and not so important) vocations in our society. But that is not why teachers teach. So few teachers go into the vocation for the salary – it’s a calling before anything else.

5. There is always satisfaction somewhere

Teaching is a calling, and no one enters it without his or her inner voice telling him or her that. Of course, there are always some imposters, but the massive majority have their hearts in the right place. How cool is that for the students?

Having said that, teaching can be and is incredibly demanding, and often we can lose sight of that calling, bogged down in aspects of the profession that don’t seem to be connected to it. But on closer inspection, most of the extra demands are actually central to the job itself: explaining to parents where you are coming from; being observed; collaborating with others; marking.

Take this last aspect, crucial to understanding whether students are learning what you believe you are teaching. Yes, it is very time consuming, but perhaps one of the most important and fundamental weapons in a teacher’s arsenal; any good school will understand this and the other cited demands, and create an environment where they become part of directed time.

It is when these aspects are not acknowledged in directed time that the conditions for burnout are rife.

6. It’s a chance to truly lead the world in the 21st century

Introducing students to new technologies and ways of presenting, curating, and collaborating with others with what they know is truly exciting and truly invigorating. Modern teachers are actually pioneering pedagogy, and can and will be able to hold their heads up high in the future when we look back and see how learning in this day and age took a radical but enormously beneficial turn for the better.

Engaging students in greater collaboration, and instilling initiative in curation and the promotion of information leads to truly independent learning, and setting up such learning environments is an opportunity that all teachers now have before them. There are few more gratifying feelings than being needed.

7. The children

This is why we teach, isn’t it? To improve the lives of children? There aren’t many careers where you have the opportunity to work directly with children while trying to make their today a little smarter and their tomorrow a little brighter.

Of course, so much of the technological addition to teaching has all been achieved mostly through our own initiative, having to source and implement the enterprising learning strategies. But this only provides another string to our bow, and in the context of how important 21st-century skills are, another example of why teaching is such an amazing thing to do. Sometimes teaching is exhausting, but friends, always come back to the core of what we are doing.

We are change-makers, and that is something to be proud of. Long live teaching, still the best job in the world!

Adapted image attribution flickr user alexandersaprykin; 6 Reasons Why Teaching Is The Best Job In The World

TeachThought is an organization dedicated to innovation in education through the growth of outstanding teachers.

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Essays About Work: 7 Examples and 8 Prompts

If you want to write well-researched essays about work, check out our guide of helpful essay examples and writing prompts for this topic.

Whether employed or self-employed, we all need to work to earn a living. Work could provide a source of purpose for some but also stress for many. The causes of stress could be an unmanageable workload, low pay, slow career development, an incompetent boss, and companies that do not care about your well-being.  Essays about work  can help us understand how to achieve a work/life balance for long-term happiness.

Work can still be a happy place to develop essential skills such as leadership and teamwork. If we adopt the right mindset, we can focus on situations we can improve and avoid stressing ourselves over situations we have no control over. We should also be free to speak up against workplace issues and abuses to defend our labor rights. Check out our  essay writing topics  for more.

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5 Examples of Essays About Work

1.  when the future of work means always looking for your next job by bruce horovitz, 2. ‘quiet quitting’ isn’t the solution for burnout by rebecca vidra, 3. the science of why we burn out and don’t have to by joe robinson , 4. how to manage your career in a vuca world by murali murthy, 5. the challenges of regulating the labor market in developing countries by gordon betcherman, 6. creating the best workplace on earth by rob goffee and gareth jones, 7. employees seek personal value and purpose at work. be prepared to deliver by jordan turner, 8 writing prompts on essays about work, 1. a dream work environment, 2. how is school preparing you for work, 3. the importance of teamwork at work, 4. a guide to find work for new graduates, 5. finding happiness at work, 6. motivating people at work, 7. advantages and disadvantages of working from home, 8. critical qualities you need to thrive at work.

“For a host of reasons—some for a higher salary, others for improved benefits, and many in search of better company culture—America’s workforce is constantly looking for its next gig.”

A perennial search for a job that fulfills your sense of purpose has been an emerging trend in the work landscape in recent years. Yet, as human resource managers scramble to minimize employee turnover, some still believe there will still be workers who can exit a company through a happy retirement. You might also be interested in these  essays about unemployment .

“…[L]et’s creatively collaborate on ways to re-establish our own sense of value in our institutions while saying yes only to invitations that nourish us instead of sucking up more of our energy.”

Quiet quitting signals more profound issues underlying work, such as burnout or the bosses themselves. It is undesirable in any workplace, but to have it in school, among faculty members, spells doom as the future of the next generation is put at stake. In this essay, a teacher learns how to keep from burnout and rebuild a sense of community that drew her into the job in the first place.

“We don’t think about managing the demands that are pushing our buttons, we just keep reacting to them on autopilot on a route I call the burnout treadmill. Just keep going until the paramedics arrive.”

Studies have shown the detrimental health effects of stress on our mind, emotions and body. Yet we still willingly take on the treadmill to stress, forgetting our boundaries and wellness. It is time to normalize seeking help from our superiors to resolve burnout and refuse overtime and heavy workloads.

“As we start to emerge from the pandemic, today’s workplace demands a different kind of VUCA career growth. One that’s Versatile, Uplifting, Choice-filled and Active.”

The only thing constant in work is change. However, recent decades have witnessed greater work volatility where tech-oriented people and creative minds flourish the most. The essay provides tips for applying at work daily to survive and even thrive in the VUCA world. You might also be interested in these  essays about motivation .

“Ultimately, the biggest challenge in regulating labor markets in developing countries is what to do about the hundreds of millions of workers (or even more) who are beyond the reach of formal labor market rules and social protections.”

The challenge in regulating work is balancing the interest of employees to have dignified work conditions and for employers to operate at the most reasonable cost. But in developing countries, the difficulties loom larger, with issues going beyond equal pay to universal social protection coverage and monitoring employers’ compliance.

“Suppose you want to design the best company on earth to work for. What would it be like? For three years, we’ve been investigating this question by asking hundreds of executives in surveys and in seminars all over the world to describe their ideal organization.”

If you’ve ever wondered what would make the best workplace, you’re not alone. In this essay, Jones looks at how employers can create a better workplace for employees by using surveys and interviews. The writer found that individuality and a sense of support are key to creating positive workplace environments where employees are comfortable.

“Bottom line: People seek purpose in their lives — and that includes work. The more an employer limits those things that create this sense of purpose, the less likely employees will stay at their positions.”

In this essay, Turner looks at how employees seek value in the workplace. This essay dives into how, as humans, we all need a purpose. If we can find purpose in our work, our overall happiness increases. So, a value and purpose-driven job role can create a positive and fruitful work environment for both workers and employers.

In this essay, talk about how you envision yourself as a professional in the future. You can be as creative as to describe your workplace, your position, and your colleagues’ perception of you. Next, explain why this is the line of work you dream of and what you can contribute to society through this work. Finally, add what learning programs you’ve signed up for to prepare your skills for your dream job. For more, check out our list of simple essays topics for intermediate writers .

For your essay, look deeply into how your school prepares the young generation to be competitive in the future workforce. If you want to go the extra mile, you can interview students who have graduated from your school and are now professionals. Ask them about the programs or practices in your school that they believe have helped mold them better at their current jobs.

Essays about work: The importance of teamwork at work

In a workplace where colleagues compete against each other, leaders could find it challenging to cultivate a sense of cooperation and teamwork. So, find out what creative activities companies can undertake to encourage teamwork across teams and divisions. For example, regular team-building activities help strengthen professional bonds while assisting workers to recharge their minds.

Finding a job after receiving your undergraduate diploma can be full of stress, pressure, and hard work. Write an essay that handholds graduate students in drafting their resumes and preparing for an interview. You may also recommend the top job market platforms that match them with their dream work. You may also ask recruitment experts for tips on how graduates can make a positive impression in job interviews.

Creating a fun and happy workplace may seem impossible. But there has been a flurry of efforts in the corporate world to keep workers happy. Why? To make them more productive. So, for your essay, gather research on what practices companies and policy-makers should adopt to help workers find meaning in their jobs. For example, how often should salary increases occur? You may also focus on what drives people to quit jobs that raise money. If it’s not the financial package that makes them satisfied, what does? Discuss these questions with your readers for a compelling essay.

Motivation could scale up workers’ productivity, efficiency, and ambition for higher positions and a longer tenure in your company. Knowing which method of motivation best suits your employees requires direct managers to know their people and find their potential source of intrinsic motivation. For example, managers should be able to tell whether employees are having difficulties with their tasks to the point of discouragement or find the task too easy to boredom.

A handful of managers have been worried about working from home for fears of lowering productivity and discouraging collaborative work. Meanwhile, those who embrace work-from-home arrangements are beginning to see the greater value and benefits of giving employees greater flexibility on when and where to work. So first, draw up the pros and cons of working from home. You can also interview professionals working or currently working at home. Finally, provide a conclusion on whether working from home can harm work output or boost it.

Identifying critical skills at work could depend on the work applied. However, there are inherent values and behavioral competencies that recruiters demand highly from employees. List the top five qualities a professional should possess to contribute significantly to the workplace. For example, being proactive is a valuable skill because workers have the initiative to produce without waiting for the boss to prod them.

If you need help with grammar, our guide to  grammar and syntax  is a good start to learning more. We also recommend taking the time to  improve the readability score  of your essays before publishing or submitting them.

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The Best Job in the World: FREE Reading Passage and Comprehension Questions

September 11, 2020 by Mike

The narrator is an ethnomusicologist who studies the music of Ecuador. Learn about her fascinating career in  The Best Job in the World . Afterward, lead a discussion with your students about the pros and cons of the jobs they are familiar with.

This passage is one of fifty awesome reading comprehension passages available in my 5-star rated reading comprehension pack . Test it out for free below.

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177 College Essay Examples for 11 Schools + Expert Analysis

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College Admissions , College Essays

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The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I'll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 11 different schools. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 177 full essays and essay excerpts , this article is a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

What Excellent College Essays Have in Common

Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.

Visible Signs of Planning

Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. You'll see a similar structure in many of the essays. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place. After this sense-heavy imagery, the essay expands out to make a broader point about the author, and connects this very memorable experience to the author's present situation, state of mind, newfound understanding, or maturity level.

Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind. But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: analyzing it for drama and humor, for its moving qualities, for what it says about the author's world, and for how it connects to the author's emotional life.

Stellar Execution

A killer first sentence. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again: you have to suck the reader in, and the best place to do that is the first sentence. Great first sentences are punchy. They are like cliffhangers, setting up an exciting scene or an unusual situation with an unclear conclusion, in order to make the reader want to know more. Don't take my word for it—check out these 22 first sentences from Stanford applicants and tell me you don't want to read the rest of those essays to find out what happens!

A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Your goal? Don't bore your reader. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observations—anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else.

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Technical correctness. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly. If this kind of exactness is not your strong suit, you're in luck! All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice. Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it.

And if you need more guidance, connect with PrepScholar's expert admissions consultants . These expert writers know exactly what college admissions committees look for in an admissions essay and chan help you craft an essay that boosts your chances of getting into your dream school.

Check out PrepScholar's Essay Editing and Coaching progra m for more details!

Want to write the perfect college application essay?   We can help.   Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges.   Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Links to Full College Essay Examples

Some colleges publish a selection of their favorite accepted college essays that worked, and I've put together a selection of over 100 of these.

Common App Essay Samples

Please note that some of these college essay examples may be responding to prompts that are no longer in use. The current Common App prompts are as follows:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? 4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. 6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of 177 college essay examples responding to current and past Common App essay prompts. 

Connecticut college.

  • 12 Common Application essays from the classes of 2022-2025

Hamilton College

  • 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2026
  • 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2022
  • 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2018
  • 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2012
  • 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2007

Johns Hopkins

These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Coalition Application (which Johns Hopkins used to accept).

  • 1 Common Application or Coalition Application essay from the class of 2026
  • 6 Common Application or Coalition Application essays from the class of 2025
  • 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2024
  • 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2023
  • 7 Common Application of Universal Application essays from the class of 2022
  • 5 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2021
  • 7 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2020

Essay Examples Published by Other Websites

  • 2 Common Application essays ( 1st essay , 2nd essay ) from applicants admitted to Columbia

Other Sample College Essays

Here is a collection of essays that are college-specific.

Babson College

  • 4 essays (and 1 video response) on "Why Babson" from the class of 2020

Emory University

  • 5 essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) from the class of 2020 along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on why the essays were exceptional
  • 5 more recent essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on what made these essays stand out

University of Georgia

  • 1 “strong essay” sample from 2019
  • 1 “strong essay” sample from 2018
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2023
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2022
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2021
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2020
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2019
  • 10 Harvard essays from 2018
  • 6 essays from admitted MIT students

Smith College

  • 6 "best gift" essays from the class of 2018

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Books of College Essays

If you're looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers.

College Essays That Made a Difference —This detailed guide from Princeton Review includes not only successful essays, but also interviews with admissions officers and full student profiles.

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson—A must for anyone aspiring to Harvard .

50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays and 50 Successful Stanford Application Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe—For essays from other top schools, check out this venerated series, which is regularly updated with new essays.

Heavenly Essays by Janine W. Robinson—This collection from the popular blogger behind Essay Hell includes a wider range of schools, as well as helpful tips on honing your own essay.

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Analyzing Great Common App Essays That Worked

I've picked two essays from the examples collected above to examine in more depth so that you can see exactly what makes a successful college essay work. Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them.

Example 1: "Breaking Into Cars," by Stephen, Johns Hopkins Class of '19 (Common App Essay, 636 words long)

I had never broken into a car before.

We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back.

"Can you do that thing with a coat hanger to unlock it?"

"Why me?" I thought.

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. "The water's on fire! Clear a hole!" he shouted, tossing me in the lake without warning. While I'm still unconvinced about that particular lesson's practicality, my Dad's overarching message is unequivocally true: much of life is unexpected, and you have to deal with the twists and turns.

Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. I don't sweat the small stuff, and I definitely don't expect perfect fairness. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night.

But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me. I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to adapt.

Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me.

Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. It's family. It's society. And often, it's chaos. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence.

What Makes This Essay Tick?

It's very helpful to take writing apart in order to see just how it accomplishes its objectives. Stephen's essay is very effective. Let's find out why!

An Opening Line That Draws You In

In just eight words, we get: scene-setting (he is standing next to a car about to break in), the idea of crossing a boundary (he is maybe about to do an illegal thing for the first time), and a cliffhanger (we are thinking: is he going to get caught? Is he headed for a life of crime? Is he about to be scared straight?).

Great, Detailed Opening Story

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame.

It's the details that really make this small experience come alive. Notice how whenever he can, Stephen uses a more specific, descriptive word in place of a more generic one. The volunteers aren't going to get food or dinner; they're going for "Texas BBQ." The coat hanger comes from "a dumpster." Stephen doesn't just move the coat hanger—he "jiggles" it.

Details also help us visualize the emotions of the people in the scene. The person who hands Stephen the coat hanger isn't just uncomfortable or nervous; he "takes a few steps back"—a description of movement that conveys feelings. Finally, the detail of actual speech makes the scene pop. Instead of writing that the other guy asked him to unlock the van, Stephen has the guy actually say his own words in a way that sounds like a teenager talking.

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Turning a Specific Incident Into a Deeper Insight

Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

Stephen makes the locked car experience a meaningful illustration of how he has learned to be resourceful and ready for anything, and he also makes this turn from the specific to the broad through an elegant play on the two meanings of the word "click."

Using Concrete Examples When Making Abstract Claims

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally.

"Unpredictability and chaos" are very abstract, not easily visualized concepts. They could also mean any number of things—violence, abandonment, poverty, mental instability. By instantly following up with highly finite and unambiguous illustrations like "family of seven" and "siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing," Stephen grounds the abstraction in something that is easy to picture: a large, noisy family.

Using Small Bits of Humor and Casual Word Choice

My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.

Obviously, knowing how to clean burning oil is not high on the list of things every 9-year-old needs to know. To emphasize this, Stephen uses sarcasm by bringing up a situation that is clearly over-the-top: "in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed."

The humor also feels relaxed. Part of this is because he introduces it with the colloquial phrase "you know," so it sounds like he is talking to us in person. This approach also diffuses the potential discomfort of the reader with his father's strictness—since he is making jokes about it, clearly he is OK. Notice, though, that this doesn't occur very much in the essay. This helps keep the tone meaningful and serious rather than flippant.

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An Ending That Stretches the Insight Into the Future

But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The ending of the essay reveals that Stephen's life has been one long preparation for the future. He has emerged from chaos and his dad's approach to parenting as a person who can thrive in a world that he can't control.

This connection of past experience to current maturity and self-knowledge is a key element in all successful personal essays. Colleges are very much looking for mature, self-aware applicants. These are the qualities of successful college students, who will be able to navigate the independence college classes require and the responsibility and quasi-adulthood of college life.

What Could This Essay Do Even Better?

Even the best essays aren't perfect, and even the world's greatest writers will tell you that writing is never "finished"—just "due." So what would we tweak in this essay if we could?

Replace some of the clichéd language. Stephen uses handy phrases like "twists and turns" and "don't sweat the small stuff" as a kind of shorthand for explaining his relationship to chaos and unpredictability. But using too many of these ready-made expressions runs the risk of clouding out your own voice and replacing it with something expected and boring.

Use another example from recent life. Stephen's first example (breaking into the van in Laredo) is a great illustration of being resourceful in an unexpected situation. But his essay also emphasizes that he "learned to adapt" by being "different things to different people." It would be great to see how this plays out outside his family, either in the situation in Laredo or another context.

Want to build the best possible college application?   We can help.   PrepScholar Admissions combines world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've guided thousands of students to get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit and are driven to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in:

Example 2: By Renner Kwittken, Tufts Class of '23 (Common App Essay, 645 words long)

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver. I saw it in my favorite book, Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go," and for some reason, I was absolutely obsessed with the idea of driving a giant pickle. Much to the discontent of my younger sister, I insisted that my parents read us that book as many nights as possible so we could find goldbug, a small little golden bug, on every page. I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Then I discovered a real goldbug: gold nanoparticles that can reprogram macrophages to assist in killing tumors, produce clear images of them without sacrificing the subject, and heat them to obliteration.

Suddenly the destination of my pickle was clear.

I quickly became enveloped by the world of nanomedicine; I scoured articles about liposomes, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, targeting ligands, and self-assembling nanoparticles, all conquering cancer in some exotic way. Completely absorbed, I set out to find a mentor to dive even deeper into these topics. After several rejections, I was immensely grateful to receive an invitation to work alongside Dr. Sangeeta Ray at Johns Hopkins.

In the lab, Dr. Ray encouraged a great amount of autonomy to design and implement my own procedures. I chose to attack a problem that affects the entire field of nanomedicine: nanoparticles consistently fail to translate from animal studies into clinical trials. Jumping off recent literature, I set out to see if a pre-dose of a common chemotherapeutic could enhance nanoparticle delivery in aggressive prostate cancer, creating three novel constructs based on three different linear polymers, each using fluorescent dye (although no gold, sorry goldbug!). Though using radioactive isotopes like Gallium and Yttrium would have been incredible, as a 17-year-old, I unfortunately wasn't allowed in the same room as these radioactive materials (even though I took a Geiger counter to a pair of shoes and found them to be slightly dangerous).

I hadn't expected my hypothesis to work, as the research project would have ideally been led across two full years. Yet while there are still many optimizations and revisions to be done, I was thrilled to find -- with completely new nanoparticles that may one day mean future trials will use particles with the initials "RK-1" -- thatcyclophosphamide did indeed increase nanoparticle delivery to the tumor in a statistically significant way.

A secondary, unexpected research project was living alone in Baltimore, a new city to me, surrounded by people much older than I. Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research. Whether in a presentation or in a casual conversation, making others interested in science is perhaps more exciting to me than the research itself. This solidified a new pursuit to angle my love for writing towards illuminating science in ways people can understand, adding value to a society that can certainly benefit from more scientific literacy.

It seems fitting that my goals are still transforming: in Scarry's book, there is not just one goldbug, there is one on every page. With each new experience, I'm learning that it isn't the goldbug itself, but rather the act of searching for the goldbugs that will encourage, shape, and refine my ever-evolving passions. Regardless of the goldbug I seek -- I know my pickle truck has just begun its journey.

Renner takes a somewhat different approach than Stephen, but their essay is just as detailed and engaging. Let's go through some of the strengths of this essay.

One Clear Governing Metaphor

This essay is ultimately about two things: Renner’s dreams and future career goals, and Renner’s philosophy on goal-setting and achieving one’s dreams.

But instead of listing off all the amazing things they’ve done to pursue their dream of working in nanomedicine, Renner tells a powerful, unique story instead. To set up the narrative, Renner opens the essay by connecting their experiences with goal-setting and dream-chasing all the way back to a memorable childhood experience:

This lighthearted–but relevant!--story about the moment when Renner first developed a passion for a specific career (“finding the goldbug”) provides an anchor point for the rest of the essay. As Renner pivots to describing their current dreams and goals–working in nanomedicine–the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” is reflected in Renner’s experiments, rejections, and new discoveries.

Though Renner tells multiple stories about their quest to “find the goldbug,” or, in other words, pursue their passion, each story is connected by a unifying theme; namely, that as we search and grow over time, our goals will transform…and that’s okay! By the end of the essay, Renner uses the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” to reiterate the relevance of the opening story:

While the earlier parts of the essay convey Renner’s core message by showing, the final, concluding paragraph sums up Renner’s insights by telling. By briefly and clearly stating the relevance of the goldbug metaphor to their own philosophy on goals and dreams, Renner demonstrates their creativity, insight, and eagerness to grow and evolve as the journey continues into college.

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An Engaging, Individual Voice

This essay uses many techniques that make Renner sound genuine and make the reader feel like we already know them.

Technique #1: humor. Notice Renner's gentle and relaxed humor that lightly mocks their younger self's grand ambitions (this is different from the more sarcastic kind of humor used by Stephen in the first essay—you could never mistake one writer for the other).

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver.

I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Renner gives a great example of how to use humor to your advantage in college essays. You don’t want to come off as too self-deprecating or sarcastic, but telling a lightheartedly humorous story about your younger self that also showcases how you’ve grown and changed over time can set the right tone for your entire essay.

Technique #2: intentional, eye-catching structure. The second technique is the way Renner uses a unique structure to bolster the tone and themes of their essay . The structure of your essay can have a major impact on how your ideas come across…so it’s important to give it just as much thought as the content of your essay!

For instance, Renner does a great job of using one-line paragraphs to create dramatic emphasis and to make clear transitions from one phase of the story to the next:

Suddenly the destination of my pickle car was clear.

Not only does the one-liner above signal that Renner is moving into a new phase of the narrative (their nanoparticle research experiences), it also tells the reader that this is a big moment in Renner’s story. It’s clear that Renner made a major discovery that changed the course of their goal pursuit and dream-chasing. Through structure, Renner conveys excitement and entices the reader to keep pushing forward to the next part of the story.

Technique #3: playing with syntax. The third technique is to use sentences of varying length, syntax, and structure. Most of the essay's written in standard English and uses grammatically correct sentences. However, at key moments, Renner emphasizes that the reader needs to sit up and pay attention by switching to short, colloquial, differently punctuated, and sometimes fragmented sentences.

Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research.

In the examples above, Renner switches adeptly between long, flowing sentences and quippy, telegraphic ones. At the same time, Renner uses these different sentence lengths intentionally. As they describe their experiences in new places, they use longer sentences to immerse the reader in the sights, smells, and sounds of those experiences. And when it’s time to get a big, key idea across, Renner switches to a short, punchy sentence to stop the reader in their tracks.

The varying syntax and sentence lengths pull the reader into the narrative and set up crucial “aha” moments when it’s most important…which is a surefire way to make any college essay stand out.

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Renner's essay is very strong, but there are still a few little things that could be improved.

Connecting the research experiences to the theme of “finding the goldbug.”  The essay begins and ends with Renner’s connection to the idea of “finding the goldbug.” And while this metaphor is deftly tied into the essay’s intro and conclusion, it isn’t entirely clear what Renner’s big findings were during the research experiences that are described in the middle of the essay. It would be great to add a sentence or two stating what Renner’s big takeaways (or “goldbugs”) were from these experiences, which add more cohesion to the essay as a whole.

Give more details about discovering the world of nanomedicine. It makes sense that Renner wants to get into the details of their big research experiences as quickly as possible. After all, these are the details that show Renner’s dedication to nanomedicine! But a smoother transition from the opening pickle car/goldbug story to Renner’s “real goldbug” of nanoparticles would help the reader understand why nanoparticles became Renner’s goldbug. Finding out why Renner is so motivated to study nanomedicine–and perhaps what put them on to this field of study–would help readers fully understand why Renner chose this path in the first place.

4 Essential Tips for Writing Your Own Essay

How can you use this discussion to better your own college essay? Here are some suggestions for ways to use this resource effectively.

#1: Get Help From the Experts

Getting your college applications together takes a lot of work and can be pretty intimidatin g. Essays are even more important than ever now that admissions processes are changing and schools are going test-optional and removing diversity standards thanks to new Supreme Court rulings .  If you want certified expert help that really makes a difference, get started with  PrepScholar’s Essay Editing and Coaching program. Our program can help you put together an incredible essay from idea to completion so that your application stands out from the crowd. We've helped students get into the best colleges in the United States, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.  If you're ready to take the next step and boost your odds of getting into your dream school, connect with our experts today .

#2: Read Other Essays to Get Ideas for Your Own

As you go through the essays we've compiled for you above, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Can you explain to yourself (or someone else!) why the opening sentence works well?
  • Look for the essay's detailed personal anecdote. What senses is the author describing? Can you easily picture the scene in your mind's eye?
  • Find the place where this anecdote bridges into a larger insight about the author. How does the essay connect the two? How does the anecdote work as an example of the author's characteristic, trait, or skill?
  • Check out the essay's tone. If it's funny, can you find the places where the humor comes from? If it's sad and moving, can you find the imagery and description of feelings that make you moved? If it's serious, can you see how word choice adds to this tone?

Make a note whenever you find an essay or part of an essay that you think was particularly well-written, and think about what you like about it . Is it funny? Does it help you really get to know the writer? Does it show what makes the writer unique? Once you have your list, keep it next to you while writing your essay to remind yourself to try and use those same techniques in your own essay.

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#3: Find Your "A-Ha!" Moment

All of these essays rely on connecting with the reader through a heartfelt, highly descriptive scene from the author's life. It can either be very dramatic (did you survive a plane crash?) or it can be completely mundane (did you finally beat your dad at Scrabble?). Either way, it should be personal and revealing about you, your personality, and the way you are now that you are entering the adult world.

Check out essays by authors like John Jeremiah Sullivan , Leslie Jamison , Hanif Abdurraqib , and Esmé Weijun Wang to get more examples of how to craft a compelling personal narrative.

#4: Start Early, Revise Often

Let me level with you: the best writing isn't writing at all. It's rewriting. And in order to have time to rewrite, you have to start way before the application deadline. My advice is to write your first draft at least two months before your applications are due.

Let it sit for a few days untouched. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and think critically about what you've written. What's extra? What's missing? What is in the wrong place? What doesn't make sense? Don't be afraid to take it apart and rearrange sections. Do this several times over, and your essay will be much better for it!

For more editing tips, check out a style guide like Dreyer's English or Eats, Shoots & Leaves .

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What's Next?

Still not sure which colleges you want to apply to? Our experts will show you how to make a college list that will help you choose a college that's right for you.

Interested in learning more about college essays? Check out our detailed breakdown of exactly how personal statements work in an application , some suggestions on what to avoid when writing your essay , and our guide to writing about your extracurricular activities .

Working on the rest of your application? Read what admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?   We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

The recommendations in this post are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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40 Best Essays of All Time (Including Links & Writing Tips)

I had little money (buying forty collections of essays was out of the question) so I’ve found them online instead. I’ve hacked through piles of them, and finally, I’ve found the great ones. Now I want to share the whole list with you (with the addition of my notes about writing). Each item on the list has a direct link to the essay, so please click away and indulge yourself. Also, next to each essay, there’s an image of the book that contains the original work.

About this essay list:

40 best essays of all time (with links and writing tips), 1. david sedaris – laugh, kookaburra.

A great family drama takes place against the backdrop of the Australian wilderness. And the Kookaburra laughs… This is one of the top essays of the lot. It’s a great mixture of family reminiscences, travel writing, and advice on what’s most important in life. You’ll also learn an awful lot about the curious culture of the Aussies.

Writing tips from the essay:

2. charles d’ambrosio – documents.

Do you think your life punches you in the face all too often? After reading this essay, you will change your mind. Reading about loss and hardships often makes us sad at first, but then enables us to feel grateful for our lives . D’Ambrosio shares his documents (poems, letters) that had a major impact on his life, and brilliantly shows how not to let go of the past.

3. E. B. White – Once more to the lake

What does it mean to be a father? Can you see your younger self, reflected in your child? This beautiful essay tells the story of the author, his son, and their traditional stay at a placid lake hidden within the forests of Maine. This place of nature is filled with sunshine and childhood memories. It also provides for one of the greatest meditations on nature and the passing of time.

4. Zadie Smith – Fail Better

Aspiring writers feel tremendous pressure to perform. The daily quota of words often turns out to be nothing more than gibberish. What then? Also, should the writer please the reader or should she be fully independent? What does it mean to be a writer, anyway? This essay is an attempt to answer these questions, but its contents are not only meant for scribblers. Within it, you’ll find some great notes about literary criticism, how we treat art , and the responsibility of the reader.

5. Virginia Woolf – Death of the Moth

6. meghan daum – my misspent youth.

Many of us, at some point or another, dream about living in New York. Meghan Daum’s take on the subject differs slightly from what you might expect. There’s no glamour, no Broadway shows, and no fancy restaurants. Instead, there’s the sullen reality of living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. You’ll get all the juicy details about credit cards, overdue payments, and scrambling for survival. It’s a word of warning. But it’s also a great story about shattered fantasies of living in a big city. Word on the street is: “You ain’t promised mañana in the rotten manzana.”

7. Roger Ebert – Go Gentle Into That Good Night

8. george orwell – shooting an elephant.

Even after one reading, you’ll remember this one for years. The story, set in British Burma, is about shooting an elephant (it’s not for the squeamish). It’s also the most powerful denunciation of colonialism ever put into writing. Orwell, apparently a free representative of British rule, feels to be nothing more than a puppet succumbing to the whim of the mob.

9. George Orwell – A Hanging

10. christopher hitchens – assassins of the mind.

In one of the greatest essays written in defense of free speech, Christopher Hitchens shares many examples of how modern media kneel to the explicit threats of violence posed by Islamic extremists. He recounts the story of his friend, Salman Rushdie, author of Satanic Verses who, for many years, had to watch over his shoulder because of the fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini. With his usual wit, Hitchens shares various examples of people who died because of their opinions and of editors who refuse to publish anything related to Islam because of fear (and it was written long before the Charlie Hebdo massacre). After reading the essay, you realize that freedom of expression is one of the most precious things we have and that we have to fight for it. I highly recommend all essay collections penned by Hitchens, especially the ones written for Vanity Fair.

11. Christopher Hitchens – The New Commandments

12. phillip lopate – against joie de vivre.

While reading this fantastic essay, this quote from Slavoj Žižek kept coming back to me: “I think that the only life of deep satisfaction is a life of eternal struggle, especially struggle with oneself. If you want to remain happy, just remain stupid. Authentic masters are never happy; happiness is a category of slaves”. I can bear the onus of happiness or joie de vivre for some time. But this force enables me to get free and wallow in the sweet feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. By reading this work of Lopate, you’ll enter into the world of an intelligent man who finds most social rituals a drag. It’s worth exploring.

13. Philip Larkin – The Pleasure Principle

14. sigmund freud – thoughts for the times on war and death.

This essay reveals Freud’s disillusionment with the whole project of Western civilization. How the peaceful European countries could engage in a war that would eventually cost over 17 million lives? What stirs people to kill each other? Is it their nature, or are they puppets of imperial forces with agendas of their own? From the perspective of time, this work by Freud doesn’t seem to be fully accurate. Even so, it’s well worth your time.

15. Zadie Smith – Some Notes on Attunement

“You are privy to a great becoming, but you recognize nothing” – Francis Dolarhyde. This one is about the elusiveness of change occurring within you. For Zadie, it was hard to attune to the vibes of Joni Mitchell – especially her Blue album. But eventually, she grew up to appreciate her genius, and all the other things changed as well. This top essay is all about the relationship between humans, and art. We shouldn’t like art because we’re supposed to. We should like it because it has an instantaneous, emotional effect on us. Although, according to Stansfield (Gary Oldman) in Léon, liking Beethoven is rather mandatory.

16. Annie Dillard – Total Eclipse

My imagination was always stirred by the scene of the solar eclipse in Pharaoh, by Boleslaw Prus. I wondered about the shock of the disoriented crowd when they saw how their ruler could switch off the light. Getting immersed in this essay by Annie Dillard has a similar effect. It produces amazement and some kind of primeval fear. It’s not only the environment that changes; it’s your mind and the perception of the world. After the eclipse, nothing is going to be the same again.

17. Édouard Levé – When I Look at a Strawberry, I Think of a Tongue

This suicidally beautiful essay will teach you a lot about the appreciation of life and the struggle with mental illness. It’s a collection of personal, apparently unrelated thoughts that show us the rich interior of the author. You look at the real-time thoughts of another person, and then recognize the same patterns within yourself… It sounds like a confession of a person who’s about to take their life, and it’s striking in its originality.

18. Gloria E. Anzaldúa – How to Tame a Wild Tongue

19. kurt vonnegut – dispatch from a man without a country.

In terms of style, this essay is flawless. It’s simple, conversational, humorous, and yet, full of wisdom. And when Vonnegut becomes a teacher and draws an axis of “beginning – end”, and, “good fortune – bad fortune” to explain literature, it becomes outright hilarious. It’s hard to find an author with such a down-to-earth approach. He doesn’t need to get intellectual to prove a point. And the point could be summed up by the quote from Great Expectations – “On the Rampage, Pip, and off the Rampage, Pip – such is Life!”

20. Mary Ruefle – On Fear

Most psychologists and gurus agree that fear is the greatest enemy of success or any creative activity. It’s programmed into our minds to keep us away from imaginary harm. Mary Ruefle takes on this basic human emotion with flair. She explores fear from so many angles (especially in the world of poetry-writing) that at the end of this personal essay, you will look at it, dissect it, untangle it, and hopefully be able to say “f**k you” the next time your brain is trying to stop you.

21. Susan Sontag – Against Interpretation

In this highly intellectual essay, Sontag fights for art and its interpretation. It’s a great lesson, especially for critics and interpreters who endlessly chew on works that simply defy interpretation. Why don’t we just leave the art alone? I always hated it when at school they asked me: “What did the author have in mind when he did X or Y?” Iēsous Pantocrator! Hell if I know! I will judge it through my subjective experience!

22. Nora Ephron – A Few Words About Breasts

This is a heartwarming, coming-of-age story about a young girl who waits in vain for her breasts to grow. It’s simply a humorous and pleasurable read. The size of breasts is a big deal for women. If you’re a man, you may peek into the mind of a woman and learn many interesting things. If you’re a woman, maybe you’ll be able to relate and at last, be at peace with your bosom.

23. Carl Sagan – Does Truth Matter – Science, Pseudoscience, and Civilization

24. paul graham – how to do what you love.

How To Do What You Love should be read by every college student and young adult. The Internet is flooded with a large number of articles and videos that are supposed to tell you what to do with your life. Most of them are worthless, but this one is different. It’s sincere, and there’s no hidden agenda behind it. There’s so much we take for granted – what we study, where we work, what we do in our free time… Surely we have another two hundred years to figure it out, right? Life’s too short to be so naïve. Please, read the essay and let it help you gain fulfillment from your work.

25. John Jeremiah Sullivan – Mister Lytle

A young, aspiring writer is about to become a nurse of a fading writer – Mister Lytle (Andrew Nelson Lytle), and there will be trouble. This essay by Sullivan is probably my favorite one from the whole list. The amount of beautiful sentences it contains is just overwhelming. But that’s just a part of its charm. It also takes you to the Old South which has an incredible atmosphere. It’s grim and tawny but you want to stay there for a while.

26. Joan Didion – On Self Respect

Normally, with that title, you would expect some straightforward advice about how to improve your character and get on with your goddamn life – but not from Joan Didion. From the very beginning, you can feel the depth of her thinking, and the unmistakable style of a true woman who’s been hurt. You can learn more from this essay than from whole books about self-improvement . It reminds me of the scene from True Detective, where Frank Semyon tells Ray Velcoro to “own it” after he realizes he killed the wrong man all these years ago. I guess we all have to “own it”, recognize our mistakes, and move forward sometimes.

27. Susan Sontag – Notes on Camp

I’ve never read anything so thorough and lucid about an artistic current. After reading this essay, you will know what camp is. But not only that – you will learn about so many artists you’ve never heard of. You will follow their traces and go to places where you’ve never been before. You will vastly increase your appreciation of art. It’s interesting how something written as a list could be so amazing. All the listicles we usually see on the web simply cannot compare with it.

28. Ralph Waldo Emerson – Self-Reliance

29. david foster wallace – consider the lobster.

When you want simple field notes about a food festival, you needn’t send there the formidable David Foster Wallace. He sees right through the hypocrisy and cruelty behind killing hundreds of thousands of innocent lobsters – by boiling them alive. This essay uncovers some of the worst traits of modern American people. There are no apologies or hedging one’s bets. There’s just plain truth that stabs you in the eye like a lobster claw. After reading this essay, you may reconsider the whole animal-eating business.

30. David Foster Wallace – The Nature of the Fun

The famous novelist and author of the most powerful commencement speech ever done is going to tell you about the joys and sorrows of writing a work of fiction. It’s like taking care of a mutant child that constantly oozes smelly liquids. But you love that child and you want others to love it too. It’s a very humorous account of what it means to be an author. If you ever plan to write a novel, you should read that one. And the story about the Chinese farmer is just priceless.

31. Margaret Atwood – Attitude

This is not an essay per se, but I included it on the list for the sake of variety. It was delivered as a commencement speech at The University of Toronto, and it’s about keeping the right attitude. Soon after leaving university, most graduates have to forget about safety, parties, and travel and start a new life – one filled with a painful routine that will last until they drop. Atwood says that you don’t have to accept that. You can choose how you react to everything that happens to you (and you don’t have to stay in that dead-end job for the rest of your days).

32. Jo Ann Beard – The Fourth State of Matter

Read that one as soon as possible. It’s one of the most masterful and impactful essays you’ll ever read. It’s like a good horror – a slow build-up, and then your jaw drops to the ground. To summarize the story would be to spoil it, so I recommend that you just dig in and devour this essay in one sitting. It’s a perfect example of “show, don’t tell” writing, where the actions of characters are enough to create the right effect. No need for flowery adjectives here.

33. Terence McKenna – Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness

34. eudora welty – the little store.

By reading this little-known essay, you will be transported into the world of the old American South. It’s a remembrance of trips to the little store in a little town. It’s warm and straightforward, and when you read it, you feel like a child once more. All these beautiful memories live inside of us. They lay somewhere deep in our minds, hidden from sight. The work by Eudora Welty is an attempt to uncover some of them and let you get reacquainted with some smells and tastes of the past.

35. John McPhee – The Search for Marvin Gardens

The Search for Marvin Gardens contains many layers of meaning. It’s a story about a Monopoly championship, but also, it’s the author’s search for the lost streets visible on the board of the famous board game. It also presents a historical perspective on the rise and fall of civilizations, and on Atlantic City, which once was a lively place, and then, slowly declined, the streets filled with dirt and broken windows.

36. Maxine Hong Kingston – No Name Woman

A dead body at the bottom of the well makes for a beautiful literary device. The first line of Orhan Pamuk’s novel My Name Is Red delivers it perfectly: “I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well”. There’s something creepy about the idea of the well. Just think about the “It puts the lotion in the basket” scene from The Silence of the Lambs. In the first paragraph of Kingston’s essay, we learn about a suicide committed by uncommon means of jumping into the well. But this time it’s a real story. Who was this woman? Why did she do it? Read the essay.

37. Joan Didion – On Keeping A Notebook

38. joan didion – goodbye to all that, 39. george orwell – reflections on gandhi, 40. george orwell – politics and the english language, other essays you may find interesting, oliver sacks – on libraries.

One of the greatest contributors to the knowledge about the human mind, Oliver Sacks meditates on the value of libraries and his love of books.

Noam Chomsky – The Responsibility of Intellectuals

Sam harris – the riddle of the gun.

Sam Harris, now a famous philosopher and neuroscientist, takes on the problem of gun control in the United States. His thoughts are clear of prejudice. After reading this, you’ll appreciate the value of logical discourse overheated, irrational debate that more often than not has real implications on policy.

Tim Ferriss – Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide

Edward said – reflections on exile.

The life of Edward Said was a truly fascinating one. Born in Jerusalem, he lived between Palestine and Egypt and finally settled down in the United States, where he completed his most famous work – Orientalism. In this essay, he shares his thoughts about what it means to be in exile.

Richard Feynman – It’s as Simple as One, Two, Three…

Rabindranath tagore – the religion of the forest, richard dawkins – letter to his 10-year-old daughter.

Every father should be able to articulate his philosophy of life to his children. With this letter that’s similar to what you find in the Paris Review essays , the famed atheist and defender of reason, Richard Dawkins, does exactly that. It’s beautifully written and stresses the importance of looking at evidence when we’re trying to make sense of the world.

Albert Camus – The Minotaur (or, The Stop In Oran)

Koty neelis – 21 incredible life lessons from anthony bourdain.

I included it as the last one because it’s not really an essay, but I just had to put it somewhere. In this listicle, you’ll find the 21 most original thoughts of the high-profile cook, writer, and TV host, Anthony Bourdain. Some of them are shocking, others are funny, but they’re all worth checking out.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca – On the Shortness of Life

Bertrand russell – in praise of idleness, james baldwin – stranger in the village.

It’s an essay on the author’s experiences as an African-American in a Swiss village, exploring race, identity, and alienation while highlighting the complexities of racial dynamics and the quest for belonging.

Bonus – More writing tips from two great books

The sense of style – by steven pinker, on writing well – by william zinsser, now immerse yourself in the world of essays, rafal reyzer.

Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

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An Olympics Scene Draws Scorn. Did It Really Parody ‘The Last Supper’?

Some church leaders and politicians have condemned the performance from the opening ceremony for mocking Christianity. Art historians are divided.

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A screen depicting a person painted in blue near fruit. Behind is a rainy Paris street with part of the Eiffel Tower and Olympic rings visible.

By Yan Zhuang

A performance during the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday has drawn criticism from church leaders and conservative politicians for a perceived likeness to Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of a biblical scene in “The Last Supper,” with some calling it a “mockery” of Christianity.

The event’s planners and organizers have denied that the sequence was inspired by “The Last Supper,” or that it intended to mock or offend.

In the performance broadcast during the ceremony, a woman wearing a silver, halo-like headdress stood at the center of a long table, with drag queens posing on either side of her. Later, at the same table, a giant cloche lifted, revealing a man, nearly naked and painted blue, on a dinner plate surrounded by fruit. He broke into a song as, behind him, the drag queens danced.

The tableaux drew condemnation among people who saw the images as a parody of “The Last Supper,” the New Testament scene depicted in da Vinci’s painting by the same name. The French Bishops’ Conference, which represents the country’s Catholic bishops, said in a statement that the opening ceremony included “scenes of mockery and derision of Christianity,” and an influential American Catholic, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota, called it a “gross mockery.”

The performance at the opening ceremony, which took place on and along the Seine on Friday, also prompted a Mississippi-based telecommunications provider, C Spire, to announce that it would pull its advertisements from Olympics broadcasts. Speaker Mike Johnson described the scene as “shocking and insulting to Christian people.”

The opening ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said at the Games’ daily news conference on Saturday that the event was not meant to “be subversive, or shock people, or mock people.” On Sunday, Anne Descamps, the Paris 2024 spokeswoman, said at the daily news conference, “If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

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More From Forbes

100 best cities to live, work and visit, ranked in a new report.

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According to a new report, London is the best place to live, work and visit on the planet.

There are the best places in the world to live , the best places to work and the best places to visit . But what are the best cities in the world that combine all three attributes: best places to live, work and visit? An annual report from Resonance —a global consulting firm—has the answers.

Every year, Resonance ranks the 100 most popular cities in the world based on quality of life, work and travel. For 2024, the methodology looked at more than 270 cities with a population of a million-plus residents, then used 24 metrics—from educational attainment to culture and more—to rank each spot in three categories: livability, lovability and prosperity.

This year, London stole the crown for the ninth year in a row. “London still reigns over all global cities,” the authors wrote in the report. “Despite crippling COVID lockdowns and economic devastation. Despite Brexit. Despite a war in Europe. The city is more indomitable and part of the global discourse than ever.”

What makes London so appealing? According to Resonance, England’s capital tops both the livability and lovability indices. It also beats all other global cities in several subcategories: Instagram hashtags, Facebook check-ins and Tripadvisor reviews. London also performed well in the educational attainment and culture subcategories.

Look around—the evidence for London is all over the place. There’s plenty of wealth, from sales of luxury homes to financial investments. “According to fDi Markets, the Financial Times’ foreign investment tracker, London has pulled in the most foreign direct investments into tech from international companies since 2018, ahead of New York, Singapore and Dubai,” writes Resonance.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

Paris was named the second best place in the world to live, work and visit.

And for travelers, there’s a lot to love. “The culinary industry is being reborn after dozens of the city’s most iconic restaurants shuttered over the pandemic,” says Resonance. Plus: “dozens of newly opened and equally daring hotels await.” And travelers are responding—London ranked third for the biggest international traveler spend with a staggering $16.07 billion.

The second best city to live, work and visit in the world is Paris. Resonance calls out the fact that the city is “future-proofing itself with visionary sustainability and investment attraction.” And even though it has been “battling monumental social and economic challenges,” Paris has many reasons to come in number two. The World Travel & Tourism Council recently named Paris the world’s most powerful urban tourist destination, with a hospitality industry worth $35.6 billion last year—“and projected to grow to $49 billion by 2032,” says Resonance. Paris has also become a lot more livable and lovable, with reduced car traffic, a cleaner and healthier Seine river, pedestrian-focused amenities and more.

Coming in third on the list this year is New York City. “The greatest city in America is urban recovery writ large, with a dizzying roster of new shows, hotels and parks—and record real estate price,” says Resonance. “This city is back.”

Besides New York City’s high ranking, the United States fared well in 2024 with 24 cities on the list—more than any other country. Following New York City was San Francisco. Though it has had some high-profile challenges, the city ranked number seven overall. “Despite San Francisco’s meticulously documented challenges, job opportunities and infrastructure buildout pave the way as the world continues to rush in like it always has,” says Resonance.

Rounding out the top five U.S. cities are Los Angeles (at number 15), Chicago (number 16) and Washington, D.C. (number 17).

Read on for the 100 best cities in the world to live, work and visit.

New York City was named the third best city in the world to live, work and visit—and the top city in ... [+] the United States.

Ranked: The 100 Best Cities To Live, Work And Visit

  • London, England
  • Paris, France
  • New York City
  • Tokyo, Japan
  • San Francisco
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Seoul, South Korea
  • Rome, Italy
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Beijing, China
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Vienna, Austria
  • Milan, Italy
  • Toronto, Canada
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Budapest, Hungary
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Stockholm, Sweden
  • Munich, Germany
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Lisbon, Portugal
  • Zurich, Switzerland
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Doha, Qatar
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • San Jose, California
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Warsaw, Poland
  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Taipei, Taiwan
  • Austin, Texas
  • Oslo, Norway
  • Osaka, Japan
  • Hong Kong, China
  • Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Athens, Greece
  • Frankfurt, Germany
  • Vancouver, Canada
  • San Diego, California
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • Miami, Florida
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Montreal, Canada
  • Glasgow, Scotland
  • Shanghai, China
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Houston, Texas
  • Busan, South Korea
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Naples, Italy
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Manchester, England
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Liverpool, England
  • Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Minsk, Belarus
  • Lyon, France
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Bogota, Colombia
  • Krakow, Poland
  • Valencia, Spain
  • Santiago, Chile
  • Birmingham, England
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Bucharest, Romania
  • Leeds, England
  • Muscat, Oman
  • Ottawa, Canada
  • Cologne, Germany
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Calgary, Canada
  • Nagoya, Japan
  • Dusseldorf, Germany
  • Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Sapporo, Japan
  • Bilbao, Spain
  • Baltimore, Maryland

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Professions & Career — Job

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Essay Examples on Job

What makes a good job essay topics.

When it comes to choosing a topic for your job essay, it's important to consider What Makes a Good essay topic. A good job essay topic should be relevant, engaging, and thought-provoking. It should also allow for in-depth analysis and discussion. In order to brainstorm and choose a good job essay topic, consider your own interests and passions, as well as current trends and issues in the job market. Additionally, think about the potential impact and significance of the topic, as well as its potential for generating new ideas and insights. A good essay topic should also be specific and focused, allowing for a clear and concise discussion.

Best Job Essay Topics

  • The Gig Economy: The Future of Work
  • The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment
  • The Rise of Remote Work: Pros and Cons
  • The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
  • The Role of Company Culture in Employee Satisfaction
  • The Future of Traditional 9-5 Jobs
  • The Influence of Social Media on Job Searching
  • The Benefits and Drawbacks of Freelancing
  • The Psychology of Work-Life Balance
  • The Impact of Technology on Job Automation
  • The Evolution of Job Interview Techniques
  • The Role of Soft Skills in Career Success
  • The Influence of Gender in the Job Market
  • The Future of Entrepreneurship
  • The Psychological Effects of Unemployment
  • The Impact of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
  • The Importance of Networking in Career Development
  • The Role of Mentoring in Professional Growth
  • The Challenges of Work-From-Home Burnout
  • The Influence of Globalization on Job Opportunities

Job essay topics Prompts

  • Imagine a world where everyone works from home. How would this impact the job market and society as a whole?
  • Write about a time when you faced a major career decision. What factors did you consider and how did it shape your career path?
  • If you could create your dream job, what would it be and why? How would it benefit both you and the community?
  • Reflect on a mentor or role model who has had a significant impact on your career. What lessons did they teach you and how did it shape your professional development?
  • Explore the concept of work-life integration. How can individuals achieve a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives in today's fast-paced world?

Choosing a good job essay topic requires careful consideration and creativity. By brainstorming and considering current trends and issues in the job market, as well as your own interests and passions, you can select a topic that is relevant, engaging, and thought-provoking. The best job essay topics are those that allow for in-depth analysis and discussion, as well as the generation of new ideas and insights. With these recommendations and creative prompts in mind, you can take your job essay writing to the next level.

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Discussion on How to Find The Job You Love

The impact of technology on the future of work, job satisfaction is more important, a reflection of my job fair presentation and the opportunities presented, job questions, the job of video game artist ant the universities where you can be taught it, the connection between job satisfaction and job attitudes, how it jobs are better than other, working as a freelancer, personal writing: criminal justice career choices, human resource management: pros & cons of diversity in workplace, a file cabinet helps keep your home office organized, the profession of a lawyer, why i want to be a journalist, the profession of a lineman: pros and cons, civil engineering as an occupation, career profile research assignment: a career of social worker, first working day - the skillsusa review, office space movies review, profession of film and video editor, relevant topics.

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The 8 Best Jobs in the World

Are you still working hard or hardly working.

essay the best job in the world

If you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. (Ollyy / Shutterstock.com)

They say if you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. As children, almost everyone knows exactly what they want to be when they grow up, and some of these dreams are truly creative. Luckily, there are plenty of jobs nowadays that will let you live out these dreams without ever feeling like you’re at work. Almost none of these positions existed a few decades ago - so even if your personal dream job is not on the list there’s a good chance you could just invent it yourself.

1. DISNEY IMAGINEER

Estimated pay: $30,000-$130,000 per year Location: North America & Asia Difficulty: You actually need to be an engineer for this: 8 Job Description: The official job description for a Disney Imagineer (imagination + engineer) includes the term "dreamers and doers," so you already know where this is headed. As an imagineer you are tasked with dreaming up your wildest ideas and make them a reality at Disney amusement parks around the globe. If you like to dream big and make millions of people smile with your creations, this is the job for you.  

If you can dream it up, you can build it. (psgxxx / Shutterstock.com)

2. PROFESSIONAL CUDDLER

Estimated pay: $30,000-$100,000 per year Location : Anywhere you like Difficulty: You’re literally getting paid to hug people: 2 Job Description: The first professional cuddle cafe opened in Japan a few years ago - and they’ve already made their way across the ocean where most professional cuddlers work as freelancers. The job is exactly what it sounds like, people pay you to cuddle for up to an hour, so if you’re a hugger and cuddler, this is your dream come true. There is even a convention for cuddlers, and one cuddle pro is working on a certification process.

You can make a pretty lucrative career out of cuddling and make lots of people happy. (Bartashevich Karyna / Shutterstock.com)

3. PRIVATE ISLAND CARETAKER

Estimated pay: $15,000-$120,000 per year Location: Some lonely island, far away from civilization Difficulty: Private islands need lots of upkeep, but your downtime is on an island: 5 Job Description: With the growing trend among the super rich to buy private islands comes a growing demand in caretakers for these tropical paradises . If you are lucky enough be chosen for this privileged work, you will spend your days in locations others can only dream of visiting - and you’re even getting paid for it.

Taking care of an entire island is not stress free, but imagine the view on your days off. (Space-kraft / Shutterstock.com)

4. BEN & JERRY'S FLAVOR GURU

Estimated pay: $40,000-$200,000 per year Location : United States Difficulty: Most gurus have a background in food science: 6 Job Description: Your childhood dreams have finally come true and you can now officially become a Ben & Jerry's Flavor Guru . This job entails blending ice cream, candy, and all types of syrupy goodness into the perfect dessert, then tasting obscene amounts in the name of "quality control." Sounds unhealthy? Maybe, but you will be the happiest person on earth.

In your wildest childhood dreams you probably imagined doing exactly this. (ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com)

5. WATER SLIDE TESTER

Estimated pay: Around $26,000 per year Location : Around the world Difficulty : You go down waterslides all day: 4 Job Description: This is one of those things that only children can dream up, but wouldn't you know it - it's an actual job. There is a little more to this position than just slipping down water slides though. You check the height, speed, water quantity and landing of the flumes. But between all the safety checks, there is plenty of time to have a whole lot of fun.

What could possibly be more fun than being on waterslides all day? (Ikonoklast Fotografie / Shutterstock.com)

6. PROFESSIONAL NETFLIX WATCHER 

Estimated pay: Around $20,000 per year Location : At home Difficulty : Your main challenge will be not falling asleep: 2 Job Description: Yes, there is actually a small select group of individuals who literally get paid to sit on the couch all day and watch Netflix. A Netflix tagger's job is to sift through massive amounts of shows and movies, and categorize them based on nuanced emotional facets that a computer might not be able to catch. If you've ever wondered how Netflix seems to know what you like, even if you don't even know yourself yet, these are the people responsible.You won't get rich doing it, but if watching Netflix is your thing, this might just be your personal dream job.

This job can be both thrilling and relaxing - it's your choice. (Antonio Guillem /Shutterstock)

7. LUXURY BED TESTER

Estimated pay: Around $20,000 per year Location : Luxurious hotels around the world Difficulty : Your job is to sleep in comfy beds: 0 Job Description: You probably joked about this a million times. There are actually people out there who get paid to sleep in the most luxurious beds in the world and then report on their experience. If you'd rather spend less time in bed, the HolidayInn in London tested a new service where people can order a human bed warmer who will get into their beds and pre-warm the bed before sleep.

This running gag is actually true - you could be a tester for luxury beds. (bart78 / Shutterstock.com)

8. PROFESSIONAL TRAVELER

Estimated Pay: Around $50,000 per year Location : Planet earth Difficulty : Traveling a lot can be tough, but you get to see the world for free: 4 Job Description: Who wouldn't like to be on vacation for ever. Well, now you can - as a professional traveler. In 2009, TheBigTrip.com was looking for candidates to be a travel correspondent for the site with all travel expenses paid and full health insurance - in addition to the salary mentioned above. One lucky employee actually got to travel the US for 12 weeks while writing a travel blog and hosting webisodes for the site.

Being a professional traveler could just be the single best job in the world. (baranq / Shutterstock.com)

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Why the Teaching Profession is the Best Job in the World

Misty hance.

  • September 13, 2019

Teacher sitting at a table surrounded by students.

Many teachers will tell you that despite the stress, testing, and paperwork, teaching is still the best job in the world. Those who don’t teach often joke that it is because teachers get three months off in the summer. However, those that do teach know that the reasons behind this statement are so much deeper.

Observing that “Ah-ha” Moment

For many teachers, getting to observe the moment a child grasps a new concept is absolutely breathtaking. Most teachers understand there is a constructive struggle that comes with learning new material. For some students, they grasp the idea and move forward with application of that skill. For others, it takes longer to be able to understand how to tackle a skill. However, when that struggling student first discovers the way to solve a problem or complete a science experiment and their eyes brighten and their smile widens, the teacher shines within. It is that “Ah-ha” moment that makes the struggle of the learner fade away and the teacher shares in the pride of knowing a new skill has been mastered.

Every Day is Something New

Because children are so inquisitive and learn at different rates, there is no way to predict what each day will bring. Some days students come in eager to learn, and other days they come in needing to share about a recent trip, new pet, or last night’s ballgame. Many teachers love this uncertainty and enjoy the challenge of never knowing what the day may bring.

Every Year is Different

In a similar way, every year can be different for a teacher. That is why teachers get a new plan-book every year. Some classes as a whole may have been exposed to more experiences and may grasp skills quickly. Some may have had a disruptive previous year and need more counseling and support before learning can begin. Sometimes a teacher may choose to loop with a group of students and change grade levels with that group. Some may choose to teach a different subject or content area. No matter what, teachers have the opportunity to change each year and often they enjoy this flexibility and diversity of their job.

Positively Impact Young People

Many teachers realize and love the fact that they have the chance to positively impact student’s lives. For some students, school can be the best seven hours of the day. It is a place to feel safe, receive a warm meal, and know that someone cares. In addition, teachers can be a sounding board for students with personal issues. They can offer advice or find community support for a family problem. Teachers are able to help students understand that mistakes are for learning and shape their goals for the future.

Thinking Outside of the Box

For many adults, their ideas are fully developed, and it is hard to see another side of an issue. Teachers get the opportunity to see how students often bring different perspectives to a situation. They may find a new way of solving a problem or be able to help a friend in a way that the teacher had not considered. When teachers open their classroom for discussions on topics, the teacher often is the one who learns a new approach.

Watching Children Grow

Whether it is watching a student grow physically, emotionally, or academically, there is a sense of accomplishment on the part of the teacher. Watching a child grow from a baby-faced child to full-bodied youth in the course of a year is something most parents get to do only once per child, but teachers can see this transformation every year. Likewise, seeing a fledgling reader develop into a child who reads fluently with comprehension of the story can be just as exciting. Teachers get the opportunity to view these changes with a classroom full of students every year and continue to see them grow as they move grades throughout the school.

Professional Growth

Because teaching is not a stagnant career, there are always opportunities to grow professionally. Curriculum may change or new strategies may make learning easier. Teachers get the chance to be a part of this change and see how it affects student progress. In addition, teachers also get the chance to learn new jobs and advance in their field if it suits their interest. Some teachers may develop a love of helping students read and decide to become a reading coach. Some may love to see English Language Learners blossom in both the language and the content standards, then they may become certified in that area. Others may realize their love for leading and work to advance to the level of an administrator. Education is a career with many opportunities for professional growth and development.

Children Say the Funniest Things

Many careers are mundane work in stuffy offices with opinionated grownups talking about boring topics. Teaching is far from this setting. Students can come out with some of the funniest sayings, jokes, and thoughts that makes teaching a true joy. When a student spouts their rendition of something mom has said over dinner or summarizes a story in a matter-of-fact way, it can provide the chuckle a teacher needs to make it through the day. This is one of the best reasons teachers love their jobs, because they love their students and their perspective.

Building Lasting Relationships

Whether it is for a semester or for an entire school year, teachers have the opportunity to build relationships with their students . When a teacher becomes an active listener and provides support for students in all aspects of their lives, students will remember this. Years later, when shopping at the store and a grown child calls you by name and stops to catch you up on their progress, it is spectacular. Likewise, when a teacher gets the chance to teach the child of a former student or work alongside a former student who is now in the teaching profession, it can be exhilarating to know that you were a part of that successful story.

When all of these wonderful reasons are combined, it is easy to see why teaching is the best job in the world.

*Updated April 2021

  • #TeachingProfession

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THE ARTICLE

50 candidates for ‘best job in the world’.

The world will soon know who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants: “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to feed them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that they were now looking at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people applied for the job.

   

The next stage in the selection process is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an eleventh person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island for a formal interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a slice of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to narrow down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their 'fit' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

1. JOBS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about jobs. Change partners often. After you finish, sit with your partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

 

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. DREAM THIS OR THAT: Everyone has a dream this or a dream that. Write about your dream things in the table below. Talk about what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you found out.

Job

 

 

House

 

 

Boss

 

 

Partner

 

 

Car

 

 

Holiday

 

 

4. DREAM JOBS: Students A strongly believe dream jobs do not exist; Students B strongly believe they do. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. RESPONSIBILITIES: Rank the following from the hardest duty to the easiest. Talk about your rankings with your partner(s). Change partners.

____  relaxing on the beach

____  feeding the fish

____  maintaining a blog

____  cleaning the pool

____  reading books by the pool

____  hiking around the island

____  collecting the mail

____  answer e-mails

6. TOURISM: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘tourism’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.

The “best job in the world” is to look after a desert island.

T / F

b.

One of the duties of this job is to catch and cook fish.

T / F

c.

There are 15,000 species of fish living on the Great Barrier Reef.

T / F

d.

More than 35,000 people applied for this wonderful job.

T / F

e.

Website visitors will choose a shortlist of 10 candidates.

T / F

f.

Website visitors can look at the video applications of the candidates.

T / F

g.

All of the applicants for the best job in the world are Australian.

T / F

h.

Tourist officials want someone who is motivated and professional.

T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.

position

a.

post

2

look after

b.

reduce

3.

promote

c.

job

4.

mail

d.

choose

5.

applied

e.

publicize

6.

process

f.

match

7.

select

g.

care for

8.

current

h.

method

9.

narrow down

i.

went for

10.

fit

j.

present

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1.

a tropical island off the

a.

of fish

2

writing a blog to promote

b.

of the applicants

3.

over 1,500 species

c.

the area

4.

The successful applicant will get a

d.

of 50

5.

over 35,000 people

e.

salary of nearly US$100,000

6.

The next stage in the

f.

of paradise

7.

applications of all 50

g.

coast of Queensland

8.

The current shortlist

h.

applied for the job

9.

they all want a slice

i.

selection process

10.

the motivation and professionalism

j.

hopeful caretakers

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The world will soon ____________ who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the ____________ of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to ____________ the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells ____________: “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to ____________ them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s ____________ department announced on Tuesday that they were now ____________ at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people ____________ for the job.

 

 

The next stage in the selection ____________ is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will ____________ ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an eleventh person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 ____________ caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island for a ____________ interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The ____________ shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a ____________ of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to ____________ down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their '____________' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

 

LISTENING:  Listen and fill in the spaces.

The world will _____________________ get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties _____________________ the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the area. Other responsibilities _____________________, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants: “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t _____________________ all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that _____________________ at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 _____________________.

The next stage _____________________ is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website _____________________ person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island _____________________. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. _____________________, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a slice of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to narrow _____________________. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants _____________________ the job and Tourism Queensland”.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘tropical’ and ‘island’ .

 

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

STUDENT DREAM JOB SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about dream jobs in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

 

STUDENT 1

_____________

STUDENT 2

_____________

STUDENT 3

_____________

Q.1.

 

 

 

 

Q.2.

 

 

 

 

Q.3.

 

 

 

 

Q.4.

 

 

 

 

Q.5.

 

 

 

 

DREAM JOBS DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘job’?

c)

Are you surprised about what you read in this article?

d)

What three adjectives would you use to describe tropical islands?

e)

Do you think you’d be good at this job?

f)

What’s your dream job?

g)

What do you think the person will write about for six months?

h)

Do you think the salary is about right for this job?

i)

Why do you think the salary is so high for this job?

j)

What responsibilities have you had at work?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

Have you ever been through a selection process?

c)

Do you like going to job interviews?

d)

How would your life change if you got your dream job?

e)

Do you think people doing dream jobs, like actors, singers and sports stars, should be happier?

f)

Do you think there are any bad things about this job?

g)

Who would be better at doing this job, a dancer, chef, scientist or student?

h)

What kind of person would best fit this job?

i)

Who do you think has the best job in the world and why?

j)

What questions would you like to ask Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle?

The world will soon (1) ____ who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a (2) ____ island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to (3) ____ the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants: “There are (4) ____ 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to (5) ____ them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that they were (6) ____ looking at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people applied for the job.

The next stage in the (7) ____ process is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an (8) ____ person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island (9) ____ a formal interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a (10) ____ of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was (11) ____ discussion to narrow down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their (12) ‘____' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.

(a)

known

(b)

knowing

(c)

knows

(d)

know

2.

(a)

tropical

(b)

tropics

(c)

tropically

(d)

tropic

3.

(a)

promotion

(b)

promoting

(c)

promote

(d)

promoter

4.

(a)

more

(b)

over

(c)

up

(d)

higher

5.

(a)

fed

(b)

feed

(c)

feeder

(d)

feeding

6.

(a)

current

(b)

moment

(c)

now

(d)

present

7.

(a)

selection

(b)

section

(c)

dissection

(d)

vivisection

8.

(a)

elevenses

(b)

eleven

(c)

elevenfold

(d)

eleventh

9.

(a)

by

(b)

with

(c)

at

(d)

for

10.

(a)

chop

(b)

slice

(c)

punch

(d)

slap

11.

(a)

much

(b)

many

(c)

lots

(d)

loads

12.

(a)

fitter

(b)

fits

(c)

fit

(d)

fitted

WRITING: 

Write about dream jobs for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about the dream reef job. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. DREAM JOBS: Make a poster about the five best jobs in the world. Why do you think so? Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. DUTIES: Write a magazine article about the job on the Great Barrier Reef. Include imaginary interviews with the successful candidate three months into the position, and Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle. Ask him three questions about the job. Give him three reasons why you should get the job. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

T

b.

F

c.

F

d.

T

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

position

a.

job

2

look after

b.

care for

3.

promote

c.

publicize

4.

mail

d.

post

5.

applied

e.

went for

6.

process

f.

method

7.

select

g.

choose

8.

current

h.

present

9.

narrow down

i.

reduce

10.

fit

j.

match

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

a tropical island off the

a.

coast of Queensland

2

writing a blog to promote

b.

the area

3.

over 1,500 species

c.

of fish

4.

The successful applicant will get a

d.

salary of nearly US$100,000

5.

over 35,000 people

e.

applied for the job

6.

The next stage in the

f.

selection process

7.

applications of all 50

g.

hopeful caretakers

8.

The current shortlist

h.

of 50

9.

they all want a slice

i.

of paradise

10.

the motivation and professionalism

j.

of the applicants

The world will soon know who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants : “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to feed them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that they were now looking at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people applied for the job.

The next stage in the selection process is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an eleventh person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island for a formal interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a slice of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to narrow down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their ' fit ' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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essay the best job in the world

The 10 best jobs in the world

What makes a great job? Is it the salary, the working hours, the variety? At Success at School, we've compiled our very own list of the best jobs in the world. We've based our list on various different factors, some include salary*, whereas others are simply based on working lifestyle . In our top ten, you'll find some of the highest paying jobs placed alongside interesting jobs that you wouldn't normally expect to find in a top ten.

'The best jobs in the world according to Success at School' Tweet this to your followers

1. Anaesthetist

What is an anaesthetist.

An anaesthetist  is a medical doctor who gives patients local anesthetics when undergoing surgery.

What does an anaesthetist do?

They work closely with surgeons and nurses and are responsible for monitoring patients' life functions during medical procedures.

How much do anaesthetists earn?

Throughout the world, but particularly in the United States, anaesthesiology is one of the highest paying jobs on the market. In the UK, anaesthetists can expect to earn between £44,000 and £96,000 per year. For more information, read our article on how to become an anaesthetist .

2. Airline pilot

What does an airline pilot do.

An airline pilot is responsible for flying planes to destinations all over the world. This glamorous job has made our top ten, not so much because of the salary (although airline pilots are paid well) but because of the travel opportunities that come with the job.

What qualifications do you need to be an airline pilot?

To become an airline pilot, you'll typically need to have five GCSEs including Maths and Physics and preferably two A-Levels. Although it's not essential to have a degree, most airline pilots will have studied at university.

How much do airline pilots earn?

In the UK, airline pilots typically earn between £24,000 and £110,000, making it one of the best jobs in the world for both salary and lifestyle. Take a look at our hospitality, leisure and tourism career zone for more information on careers in travel .

What does a surgeon do?

A surgeon carries out medical procedures on patients in hospital using medical tools and technology. A surgeon typically works in a team with other surgeons and assistants.

What qualifications do you need to become a surgeon?

In order to become a surgeon , you'll need to have A-Level qualifications in Science subjects in order to be accepted in to university to study medicine. Becoming a surgeon can take some time as there is a lot of study required. A medical degree typically lasts four years, and medical residencies can last anywhere from 3-10 years.

How much do surgeons earn?

The typical salary of a surgeon in the UK is between £44,000 and £94,000, making it a high paying job. Given the responsibility you have as a surgeon, we consider it to be one of the best jobs in the world.

4. Chief executive

What is a chief executive.

A chief executive is the highest position available within a company or organisation. As a chief executive, you could work for a company with as few as one employee (yourself) or with thousands.

What do chief executives do?

Chief executives are generally responsible for making important decisions about the future of a company. The are responsible for ensuring that an organisation operates as it should and makes money.

How much do chief executives earn?

A chief executive in the UK can expect to earn between £45,000 and £120,000. However, this figure varies greatly from company to company. This job makes our top ten list of the best jobs in the world, not because of its high salary but because it can enable you to be your own boss and work for yourself.

What does a lawyer do?

A lawyer helps people who are having legal trouble. Their job involves settling legal disputes and representing people in court where necessary.

What qualifications do you need to become a lawyer?

In order to become a lawyer, you'll need to have good passes at A-Level. Competition to study law at university can be tough and it typically takes 4 years to complete a law degree. Once qualified, it can sometimes take a further 3 years training with a law firm before you can practice. If you're interested in a career as a lawyer , find out more on our law career zone.

How much do lawyers earn?

The average salary of a lawyer in the UK is between £25,000 and £100,000. We've added this job to our best jobs in the world because of the variety that the profession has to offer.

6. Architect

What does an architect do.

An architect designs buildings that shape the built environment around us. An architect typically spends time working on technical drawings and blueprints.

What qualifications do you need to become an architect?

To become an architect, you'll need to complete a 5 year university course recognised by the Architects Registration Board (ARB). After graduating, you'll also need to have 2 years professional experience.

How much do architects earn?

The average salary of an architect in the UK is £30,000 to £60,000. We think working as an architect is one of the best jobs in the world because you'll be responsible for designing buildings that will be around for hundreds, even thousands of years.

7. Video game tester

What does a video game tester do.

A video game tester is employed by games production companies to test their latest video games and give their feedback on the product.

What qualifications do you need to become a video game tester?

In general, you don't need any qualifications to become a video game tester but it's a popular job. You will need to be passionate about video games and their productions and be able to communicate your feedback in a clear way.

How much do video game testers earn?

Many video game testers work on an 'as needed' basis or as freelancers, so salaries will vary. However, you can expect to earn between £24,000 and £33,000.

8. Entrepreneur

What is an entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is someone who owns or invests money in several businesses. An entrepreneur can work over many different industries or specialise in one particular area.

What does an entrepreneur do?

Although this role is very varied, an entrepreneur, typically looks for investment opportunities in order to make money. They often start their own businesses, rescue failing businesses by investing money in them or become involved in large, well-established companies.

How much do entrepreneurs earn?

It's very difficult to calculate the average salary of an entrepreneur. Successful investors can make millions, whereas unsuccessful entrepreneurs may never make anything and actually find themselves in debt. Although being an entrepreneur comes with a lot of risk, we think it's one of the best jobs in the world because it's so diverse. If you're interested in becoming an entrepreneur , take a look at our entrepreneur career zone.

9. Freelance writer or designer

What does working freelance mean.

Being freelance means working on a contract basis rather than as an employee of a company.

What do freelance writers and designers do?

Freelance writers and designers typically write/design for creative agencies or private clients over a range of different industries. Because freelancers work contractually, they are usually free to work from anywhere.

How much do freelancers earn?

The average salary of a freelancer can vary greatly as some may only work part-time. According to Payscale.org, however, the average salary of a freelance writer in the UK is between £18,000 and £46,000.

10. Songwriter

What do songwriters do.

Songwriters typically write songs to perform by themselves or they write songs for other people. Songwriters like Guy Chambers have had a very successful career writing songs for popular artists

What qualifications do you need to become a songwriter?

In essence, you don't need any qualifications to work as a songwriters although the industry is very competitive. You'll certainly need to have a good grasp of English and Music and understand what makes a good song.

How much do songwriters earn?

The average salary of a songwriter varies greatly. If you're successful, you will earn royalty fees every time your song is covered by an artist or used in a TV commercial, which can be very lucrative. Most songwriters however, remain at amateur level and don't usually make any money from their efforts. We've included songwriter among the best jobs in the world as the recognition you can potentially receive can be huge. For more information on becoming a songwriter , take a look at our performing arts career zone.

*Pay data is taken from National Careers Service unless otherwise stated.

Related posts

What are Key Skills? Employability Skills to Help You Get a Job

How to Balance Work and Study as a Student

Being Your Own Boss: What Does it Take to Work for Yourself?

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Paris Olympics organizers apologize after critics say 'The Last Supper' was mocked

essay the best job in the world

Paris Olympic organizers apologized Sunday to people offended during a tableau of the opening ceremony that depicted the Greek god Dionysus and an ancient festival meant to honor him. Critics said it mocked “The Last Supper.”

During Friday's ceremony, there was a moment on the Debilly Bridge over the Seine when the camera cut to French DJ and producer Barbara Butch, who describes herself as a "love activist." Butch wore a blue dress with a silver headdress and as the camera panned out, she was flanked by drag queens on both sides. Later appeared a nearly naked man painted in blue − a portrayal of Dionysus, the god of wine-making, vegetation, fertility and ecstasy − on a dinner plate surrounded by food. He then sang as the people around him danced, and it turned into a runway scene where models walked across.

The scene has been met with backlash as people say it mocked "The Last Supper," the famous painting from Leonardo da Vinci that shows Jesus Christ with his 12 apostles at his last supper, where he announced that one of the apostles would betray him.

Several Christian and Catholic organizations around the world have denounced the moment since then. The French Bishops’ Conference, which represents the country's Catholic bishops, said in a statement that the scene was a "mockery and derision of Christianity" and it was thinking of religious followers who were "hurt by the outrageousness and provocation of certain scenes." Well-known Bishop Robert Barron in Minnesota  said in a video that it mocked "a very central moment in Christianity."

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on social media that it was "shocking and insulting" to Christian people.

Telecommunications provider C Spire also said it was pulling all of its advertising from the Olympics as a result of the scene.

What did Paris Olympic organizers say about controversial segment?

Thomas Jolly, the opening ceremony’s artistic director, said at  the International Olympic Committee's daily briefing at the Olympic Games on Saturday that the moment was not meant to "be subversive or shock people or mock people." During the opening ceremony, the official Olympic Games social media account said the blue person, played by French singer and actor Philippe Katerine, was Dionysus and it "makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings."

Jolly also said on French TV station BFMTV on Sunday , "The Last Supper" was "not my inspiration" for the segment, and he also spoke about the meaning of Dionysus.

"The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone," he said.

Still, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized on Sunday for those offended by the scene.

"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance," Descamps said. “Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

The IOC said on social media that it took note of the apology from Paris 2024.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more .

An ex-'Below Deck Med' cast member now crews a private luxury yacht in the Bahamas with her boyfriend. They work 16-hour days but say it's the best hospitality job they've ever had.

  • This couple takes guests on eight-day luxury yacht trips priced at $34,000 per trip.
  • They work intense 16-hour days, cooking and cleaning, and are also tour guides and onboard entertainers.
  • But they say it's way better than other hospitality jobs they've had in the past.

Insider Today

The British couple Lily Davison and Nik Dorward are the faces that'll greet you when you board the  Sailing Location , a private luxury yacht that takes passengers around the Bahamas for $34,000 a trip.

Davison, who starred in the eighth season of " Below Deck Mediterranean ," a reality show about staff who work on luxury yachts and serve demanding clients, now works primarily as the private chef on board Sailing Location.

But because it's a two-person crew working a 55-foot yacht, the couple wears multiple hats. They do everything from cleaning and steering the boat to acting as tour guides and taking their guests snorkeling and spearfishing.

It's a demanding job: The couple works 16-hour days for 18 weeks a year. But they say it tops all the other hospitality jobs they've had.

Life working on board a luxury yacht

The crew takes guests on  eight-day trips  in the Bahamas, starting in Nassau on the island of New Providence and going to the Exumas islands.

They do two trips a month during their nine-month sailing season, which is from November to July.

Dorward started working on the yacht in April 2022. Davison joined him in October that year, and they started dating shortly after.

Their yacht has a maximum capacity of eight guests, who are housed in four guest rooms — a large queen owner's suite and three queen guest suites.

The yacht also has a large upper deck, a lounging area, an open kitchen, and a convertible saloon area, which can be opened for 180-degree open-air dining.

Davison, 25, told BI the couple steer the yacht to the Bahamas' most "Instagrammable" locations.

Experiences include seeing Pablo Escobar's sunken plane at Norman's Cay, swimming with nurse sharks at Compass Cay, seeing the filming location of James Bond's "Thunderball" in Staniel Cay, and feeding the Exumas' iconic swimming pigs.

A large chunk of their clientele is American, given Nassau's proximity to Florida.

Long days for the two-men crew

The duo wakes up at 6:30 a.m. every day before their guests rise. The first task on Davison's schedule is to prepare a hot meal for them as soon as they're up.

Related stories

Being a private chef on a yacht in remote islands means she must thoroughly prepare in the days before each voyage. She gets her guests' dietary requirements and other food specifications in advance, which allows her to plan the meals.

"We go to the most remote islands you could probably ever go to, and so we have to buy everything before," Davison said. "I plan my list and literally triple-check it because once we're at sea, there is really no place to get anything."

After breakfast is done, she clears it down and sets the table with Dorward's help. She then jumps straight into preparing lunch, followed by a snack, dessert, and dinner. Besides cooking and steering, the two also work hard to keep their guests entertained.

"We take people snorkeling probably twice a day," Dorward, 32, said. "We'll do wakeboarding and tubing off the boat and take them spearfishing."

Even after it's dark and their duties are winding down, Davison said she tries to keep things interactive with the guests by hosting game nights "just to make sure everyone's having a great time."

They normally work until 9 p.m. when their guests retire to their suites, but Davison said they're technically on call 24 hours a day, for eight days straight.

Tops other hospitality jobs

Before getting the yacht job, the couple both worked in several hospitality gigs, from teaching sailing to working in the food and beverage industry.

But they say that working on board the Sailing Location is the best hospitality job they've had despite the long hours and strenuous work.

For one, their living expenses are low, because on the boat, they don't need to pay rent.

They do need to pay for their own food and drinks, which they estimate comes to about $500 a month per person.

Dorward said being on the yacht is a great job "if you can take the hit of being away from people like your family."

And Davison said they hadn't had any nightmare guests, unlike when she was on "Below Deck Med."

"One of the guests was so drunk he came into our cabins all the time when we were trying to sleep," she said.

But mostly, the experience of being on the yacht itself is rewarding, Davison said.

"I love it because yet to be on the water all the time," she said, "and you're basically living on a beautiful boat and in a beautiful place."

Watch: Why it costs $1 million a day to run one of the world's biggest cruise ships

essay the best job in the world

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  4. 📚 Personal Experience Essay on the Best and Worst Jobs

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  5. Steve JobsOne of the Most Successful People in the World Is Steve Jobs

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  1. The best job in the world

    Personal online tutoring. EnglishScore Tutors is the British Council's one-to-one tutoring platform for 13- to 17-year-olds. Listen to the information about the 'best job in the world' competition and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

  2. Why Teaching Is The Best Job In The World

    Here are 7 reasons why. 7 Reasons Why Teaching Is The Best Job In The World. 1. The potential to transform lives. Ask any teacher who has helped a student in any number of ways, from academic to welfare and emotional learning, and they will tell you that life is not only good, but amazing. 2.

  3. Essays About Work: 7 Examples And 8 Prompts

    5 Examples of Essays About Work. 1. When The Future Of Work Means Always Looking For Your Next Job by Bruce Horovitz. "For a host of reasons—some for a higher salary, others for improved benefits, and many in search of better company culture—America's workforce is constantly looking for its next gig.".

  4. The Best Job in the World: FREE Reading Passage and Comprehension

    b) she studied journalism in college but now works as a music producer. c) she works as a journalist, but as a hobby she records songs. d) her work requires her to have the skills of both a journalist and a music producer. 3. In paragraph 2, the term "specialty" most closely means. a) area of weakness. b) area of focus.

  5. What Is the Best Job in the World? 15 Career Options

    Broadly, however, here are some of the best jobs in the world: 1. Fashion consultant. National average salary: ₹ 2,87,361 per year Primary duties: Fashion consultants, also commonly referred to as stylists, work with clients to help them choose accessories, outfits and cosmetics, depending on their needs. Fashion consultants perform research ...

  6. Top 10 Jobs of the Future

    7. Data Detective - Openings for data scientists remain the fastest growing job in the tech-heavy "Algorithms, Automation and AI" family of the CJoF Index since its inception, and continued to see 42% growth in Q1 '21. Looking at the jobs of the future 2030, Data science will still make up an in-demand skill.

  7. 2024's 100 Best Jobs in America

    Median Salary. $84,140. Education Needed. Master's. Load More. US News ranks the 100 best jobs in America by scoring 7 factors like salary, work life balance, long term growth and stress level.

  8. 177 College Essay Examples for 11 Schools + Expert Analysis

    6 "best gift" essays from the class of 2018 . You really can find everything at the library. Books of College Essays. If you're looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers.

  9. The Best Job in the World

    The true story of the man with the Best Job in the World The Best Job in the World is the story of how following your passions can lead to life-changing opportunities. Adventurer Ben Southall shares his experiences and lessons learned as the winner of the inaugural Tourism Queensland's Best Job in the World campaign, and reveals how this has led to ongoing opportunities since.

  10. Half of Canadian Town Jasper Destroyed by Fast-Moving Wildfire

    As much as half of Jasper, Alberta, which lies inside one of the country's most-visited national parks, has been destroyed, officials said. By Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai Ian Austen reported from ...

  11. Brittney Griner Is 'Head Over Heels' for the Americans Coming Home in a

    Michael Conroy. United States' Brittney Griner, center, stands on the court during the national anthem prior to a women's basketball game against Belgium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug ...

  12. At Least 4 Dead in Apartment Block Collapse Following Gas Explosion in

    MOSCOW (AP) — At least four people died after an apartment block in Russia's Ural Mountains collapsed following a gas explosion, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said Friday. Fifteen people ...

  13. 40 Best Essays of All Time (Including Links & Writing Tips)

    1. David Sedaris - Laugh, Kookaburra. A great family drama takes place against the backdrop of the Australian wilderness. And the Kookaburra laughs…. This is one of the top essays of the lot. It's a great mixture of family reminiscences, travel writing, and advice on what's most important in life.

  14. Germany Joins U.S.-Led UN Command in South Korea Policing Armistice Border

    PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (Reuters) - Germany officially joined the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea on Friday, joining a group of nations that police the border with North Korea ...

  15. 'It's the best job in the world, but one of the hardest, loneliest

    'It's the best job in the world, but one of the hardest, loneliest, most misunderstood roles in a school.' Understanding the complexity of the SENCO role post-SEND reform Helen Curran ,

  16. The best jobs in the world

    4. Island Caretaker. OK, everyone lists this but what a job! It was advertised as "Officially the best job in the world" in 2009 and involved working for the Queensland Tourism Board. The role was a newly created position designed to help promote the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef to the world.

  17. An Olympics Scene Draws Scorn. Did It Really Parody 'The Last Supper

    Some church leaders and politicians have condemned the performance from the opening ceremony for mocking Christianity. Art historians are divided.

  18. Ranked: The 100 Best Cities To Live, Work And Visit

    According to a new report, London is the best place to live, work and visit on the planet. Every year, Resonance ranks the 100 most popular cities in the world based on quality of life, work and ...

  19. Fact check: Trump made at least 10 false claims about Kamala ...

    Former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024.

  20. Job Essay: Most Exciting Examples and Topics Ideas

    Job essay topics Prompts. Imagine a world where everyone works from home. How would this impact the job market and society as a whole? ... The best job essay topics are those that allow for in-depth analysis and discussion, as well as the generation of new ideas and insights. With these recommendations and creative prompts in mind, you can take ...

  21. The 8 Best Jobs in the World

    The best jobs in the world. Estimated pay: $30,000-$130,000 per year Location: North America & Asia Difficulty: You actually need to be an engineer for this: 8 Job Description: The official job description for a Disney Imagineer (imagination + engineer) includes the term "dreamers and doers," so you already know where this is headed. As an imagineer you are tasked with dreaming up your wildest ...

  22. Why the Teaching Profession is the Best Job in the World

    Professional Development. (Updated on April 27, 2021) Teacher Resources Professional Development. Many teachers will tell you that despite the stress, testing, and paperwork, teaching is still the best job in the world. Those who don't teach often joke that it is because teachers get three months off in the summer.

  23. Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Dream Jobs

    50 candidates for 'best job in the world' The world will soon know who will get the "best job in the world". The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the ...

  24. Harris nears vice presidential announcement as her team tests out top

    Kamala Harris is in the thick of choosing a vice presidential running mate, with her campaign eying an announcement in the coming days that would be immediately followed by a joint tour of a ...

  25. The Hottest Job Market in a Generation Is Over

    The pandemic-induced hiring spree is waning, leaving U.S. workers with more ordinary prospects.

  26. Best Jobs in the World

    A chief executive in the UK can expect to earn between £45,000 and £120,000. However, this figure varies greatly from company to company. This job makes our top ten list of the best jobs in the world, not because of its high salary but because it can enable you to be your own boss and work for yourself. 5. Lawyer.

  27. Paris Olympics organizers apologize after 'The Last Supper' backlash

    Critics said an opening ceremony scene mocked Christianity. The artistic director said it was meant to be a pagan celebration, not "The Last Supper."

  28. Venezuela Court Asks All Presidential Candidates to Begin Vote

    CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's top court on Thursday accepted a request by President Nicolas Maduro for all presidential candidates to present their vote tallies, as a dispute about results in ...

  29. Norah O'Donnell to leave "CBS Evening News" anchor desk after ...

    "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell plans to leave her role at the anchor desk after the 2024 election and take on a new position at the network.

  30. Life working on board a luxury yacht

    They work 16-hour days but say it's the best hospitality job they've ever had. ... Watch: Why it costs $1 million a day to run one of the world's biggest cruise ships. Advertisement