Listener Lyric Unit
The Listener Lyric unit was a podcast project that we created. I worked with Evelyn Yaskin to record a podcast, interviewing each of our parents to find out what the key to job satisfaction is. We called our podcast the “Career Query”
Interview Transcript
Looking for jobs isn’t a walk in the park. This is the career query, a podcast about the possible questions on what job makes the best use of your life. I’m Owen,
Evelyn: And I’m Evelyn. We are two high school students interested in how to choose a job that can provide the most happiness.
Welcome message:
Owen: Working. It’s something we all have to do at some point in our lives, and they say that there is a career path for everyone. Well, it’s a path for some lucky folk, more of a maze for others and there are some questions in the career journey that everyone must face at some point.
Evelyn: Like how can I get paid for doing nothing all day? Jokes aside, we all wonder what career path is best for us, and what will set us up for a satisfying retirement, feeling like we accomplished what we wanted. Is there a secret to job satisfaction? Today we’re joined with ….
Scott (machine learning graphics engineer) Interview clip:
Owen: One of the insights that my dad had was that there are no closed doors to a career. He believes that if you want a job, there will always be a way to get there with enough connections and dedication. (13:25)
Evelyn: Another great point he brought up was the fact that you don’t have to pursue exactly what you enjoy for free time because free time and work time can be separate and that is totally okay. An important part of work for him is the introduction of new challenges and discovering new problems to solve.
- There’s not one answer to what can be a great job or not
- Other factors play into the process of enjoying a job like spending free time and your money earned from your work on different passions, that can also lead to satisfaction in one’s life
- It’s important for people to stay happy and creative.
Kris (marriage and family therapist) interview clip:
- Learned about career choice in 8th grade
- She worked her dream job in the past but decided to move to a different practice because of other reasons
- We asked her is there is a secret to choosing a job and she responded with:
- “Notice where your interest has peaked, note what you’ve been most interested in talking about. Those are great signs of what you’ll want to pursue as a job.” (2:43)
- It’s easy to overlook a passion while fixing on another one, Kris says to reflect on what you enjoy talking about most and put effort into that.
- Part of what job she chose was maintaining time for her kids and for other things (3:50)
- This is the same theme that we heard in Scott and Steve’s interview, that job satisfaction comes from many factors outside of the job itself.
Steve Interview Clip
- Switched jobs around a lot
- First, worked as a food delivery driver, and then was a fed-ex driver
- Started 4 of his own companies, and is now CEO of a healthcare company called Health Gorilla (00:18)
- Never really knew what path he was going to take, and is still experimenting (2:00)
- Choosing a career isn’t a one time decision, switching around throughout your life is a choice that a lot of people take because they want to put effort into different paths to keep their lives flexible
- Wished he has more pressure/guidance from his parents in what career to choose (3:30)
- Is happy with the amount that he works, and is happy overall in satisfaction as well
- Find motivation, stay happy and focused and that is how you become successful
- Journalist Ms. BETTY BAYE, in a broadcast about reflecting on a career – “Greatness, I told my audience a dozen years ago, is hitting your pillow every night, convinced that you’ve done your best, and it’s knowing that, at the very least, you’ve done no harm to people who don’t deserve it.”
- Maybe one’s satisfaction comes from not only the kind of job, but also the motivation factors that play into the job as well, just like Scott was saying
- End clip: “stay hungry, stay foolish” (4:16)
- Steve brings up the fact that a person doesn’t have to stay in one job to stay happy. He’s still looking for creative outlets everyday and ways to help in so many different forms. I think it’s important for people to realize that it’s okay to not always stay on one path, you can be creative in so many ways, as long as you’re satisfied with it.
Inna interview clip
- Was always working at some sort of medical job
- Is now a primary care physician and is a geriatrician
Process
We started by discussing ideas, and then found that we both had a common interest in job satisfaction. We decided on this topic and then moved on to writing interview questions. Since adults have a lot more job experience, we interviewed each of our parents. We discuss their responses in the podcast, and thats it.
Reflection: I really enjoyed this project, one specific part that I enjoyed was the freedom of topic. We were able to choose anything that we wanted to talk about..