IELTS Speaking part 1 | Work

In the first part of the IELTS test the questions are always related to either work/study or where you live. However, the questions are rewritten from time to time. The examiner will ask ‘In this first part I’d like to ask you some questions about yourself, let’s talk about what you do. Do you work or are you a student?

Think about the following –

1. Where do you work?
2. What is your profession?
3. How long have you had your job?

Examples

• At the moment I am working for an engineering company as I am an engineer. It is a medium sized company and we have work all over the country so I’m often away from home. I’ve been working for this company now for about three years.
• Currently I’m working as a nurse at the Prime Hospital. I’ve been in Dubai for about five years now and have had a number of jobs, but I’ve been at this hospital for about 3 years now. I really like this job because it’s very close to where I live so it’s convenient to get to work.

There are many things that you might like about your job such as the location, the people you work with. promotion prospects, good boss. salary or job satisfaction. Usually when giving an answer to a question like this people will give a list of things they like about their job and the most important at the end.

Think about the following –

1. What do you find most enjoyable about your job?
2. Do you have good work colleagues?
3. Is the salary most important to you?
4. Are there good prospects with your job?

Examples

• Well, one of the things I like about my job is seeing a project being completed from start to finish. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction once the job is finished, hopefully within the time frame. However, I would say the most important thing for me is my boss as he always asks for my opinion, he doesn’t just tell me what to do. For example, if there is a problem, he will also ask for my opinion on how to solve it.
• As I’m a nurse, what I enjoy most is seeing people recover from an illness. I find my job very rewarding and chose this profession because I am able to help people, I don’t think I could do any other job to be honest. Also, the team I work with are great. It really makes a difference if you have good work colleagues as in my last job, I didn’t really get on very well with some of my workmates.

Project – (Noun) (c) – UK /ˈprɒdʒ.ekt/ US /ˈprɑː.dʒekt/ – a piece of planned work or an activity that is finished over a period of time and intended to achieve a particular purpose

Sense of satisfaction – collocation

Profession – (Noun) (c) – UK /prəˈfeʃ.ən/ US /prəˈfeʃ.ən/ – any type of work that needs special training or a particular skill, often one that is respected because it involves a high level of education

Is there anything you don’t like about your job?

For most people there are one or two little things that they might not like about their job, but overall, they probably find it rewarding otherwise they wouldn’t do it. However, some people are fortunate enough to be able to do a job they truly love.

Think about the following –

1. Do you have to work nightshifts?
2. Do you have to work away from home?
3. Do you work unsociable hours?

Examples

• As I mentioned earlier, the company I work for has contracts all over the country so that means my job involves a lot of travelling and sometimes I may have to stay on site for a couple of weeks. It’s not too bad but I do miss my family when I’m away from home.
• Being a nurse means that I often work unsociable hours which I don’t mind really, but in the summer when I see all of my friends going out for a night on the town, I kind of I was doing that as well. As I alternate between night shifts and day shifts in the winter it’s easy to sleep during the day, but in summer I find it difficult as it is light outside, so my job can be quite tiring then.

Contract – (Noun) (c) – UK /ˈkɒn.trækt/ US /ˈkɑːn.trækt/ – a legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between two different people or groups

Site – (Noun) (c) – UK /saɪt/ US /saɪt/ – a place where something is, was, or will be built, or where something happened, is happening or will happen.

Unsociable hours – collocation – working at the weekends and in the evenings i.e. night shift.

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For most people there are one or two little things that they might not like about their job, but overall, they probably find it rewarding otherwise they wouldn’t do it. However, some people are fortunate enough to be able to do a job they truly love.

Think about the following –

1. Do you have to work nightshifts?
2. Do you have to work away from home?
3. Do you work unsociable hours?

Examples

• As I mentioned earlier, the company I work for has contracts all over the country so that means my job involves a lot of travelling and sometimes I may have to stay on site for a couple of weeks. It’s not too bad but I do miss my family when I’m away from home.
• Being a nurse means that I often work unsociable hours which I don’t mind really, but in the summer when I see all of my friends going out for a night on the town, I kind of I was doing that as well. As I alternate between night shifts and day shifts in the winter it’s easy to sleep during the day, but in summer I find it difficult as it is light outside, so my job can be quite tiring then.

Contract – (Noun) (c) – UK /ˈkɒn.trækt/ US /ˈkɑːn.trækt/ – a legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between two different people or groups.

Site – (Noun) (c) – UK /saɪt/ US /saɪt/ – a place where something is, was, or will be built, or where something happened, is happening or will happen.

Unsociable hours – collocation – working at the weekends and in the evenings i.e. night shift.

• Well, as I am an engineer, I don’t think I will change my profession as it took me four years at university to become an engineer however, I do plan on changing the company I work for as I plan to move overseas. I like being an engineer and I’m the kind of person that likes a stable job and if you find the right company you can have a job for life as long as the economy is good.
• I don’t think I could do any other job as I mentioned earlier. I love the nursing profession as it gives me the opportunity to work in other countries. I plan to move to the USA once I get my required IELTS band score as I know there are a lot of job opportunities there.