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CHAPTER ITHE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUNDINTRODUCTION

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because ineach of us
there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and
greater strength for our nation.
-John F. KennedyThe ideal career combines the dream of what a person wants to be with the reality of finding and
working at a job that leads to that aim.Picking a career is the most important decision the average student makes. It
shouldinvolve a self-critical analysis: Where does my talent lie, How can I hone it, and what is thereality of earning
a living by using it?Some lucky persons, definitely in the minority know exactly what they want to be-Doctor,
Lawyer, Nurse, Investment Banker, Engineer and Writer. Most people of college age totend to be confused, even
about what major to choose, according to Dr. Edward Jennings,President of Ohio State University.If, after
graduating, you find that the realities of the Job market require that you take a
Job you dont like, try to keep the vision of what you really want and love in front of you, and
over the years try to keep prepared and alert so that you can seize the opportunity if it comes.Along the way you
can find plenty of advice because career planning is a relatively new field,growing more professional all the
time.To the Filipino, knowledge is acquired through education. And most of us generallyagree that education can
be obtained inside and outside school. We believe that the primarysources of knowledge are the schools. Thus,
the higher a person achieve on the formal

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educational ladder, the more he/she attains knowledge and expectedly acquires moreemployment
opportunities.The importance of education is basically for two reasons. The first is that the training of a
human mind is not complete without education. Education makes a man right thinker. It tellsman how to think and
how to make decision.The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment
of education; man is enabled to receive information from the external world; to acquaint him withpast history
and receive all necessary information regarding the present. Without education, manis as though in a closed room
and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windowsopen towards outside world (Khan, 1989).Most
of the employer of today requires his prospective employees to be well educated.They require expertise. So,
education becomes an eligibility criterion for employment into anysector of the industry. We are rewarded for
exercising the expertise required for the field weventure. We are weighed in the market on the basis of our
educational skills and how well wecan apply them. T
hats why education is very important because it equips us with all that is
needed to make our dreams come true and open doors of brilliant career opportunities thatfetches us for better
prospects in career and growth. (M. Oak, 2000)Prepare yourself for a career that is based on the realities of your
talent and the jobmarket, and find a job to support and educate you. But also prepare for a career to keep
youmentally stimulated. If a job does not offer both, you might consider studying for career on theside. In that way
we can combine reality with the dream. Dreams can be practical.An important message today is that companies
that traditionally had paternalrelationships with their employees now hire and fire them with much more ease and
much lessconscience.

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Todays career beginners must understand that they probably will not spend more than a
few years in their first job or with their first company. On average they probably will change jobmore than
five times during a lifetime of work. Tod
ays young careerist probably does not want
to think in terms of retirement when starting a job, but financial planning has become moreimportant than
ever in todays insecure job market for prospective middle managers.