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BACK-UP
CAREERS
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1 Warm up
You are going to listen to a podcast about back-up careers. Discuss the questions in pairs or small
groups.

1. Do you have a hobby, or second job, that you make money from? If not, do you know anybody
who has?
2. How stable do you think your job is?
3. Would you ever be tempted to leave a stable position to pursue a job you found really interesting?
Why/why not?
4. Would you rather have a high-paying job that was very unstable, or a very stable job that wasn’t
well-paid?
5. Do you have any hobbies that you might be able to make money from in the future?

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2 Pre-listening task: business and general English expressions

Match the words and expressions in bold with the correct definitions.

Group 1:

1. Sandra kept her knitting business on the back burner for a while, before her tutorial videos began
to go viral. (idiom)

2. For some businesses, being able to pivot successfully can mean survival in these difficult times.
(v)

3. After my marriage broke down, I pressed the reset button and retrained as a music teacher. (idiom)

4. We decided to take the plunge and invest a large amount of our savings in our new business. I
hope it works out! (idiom)

5. Depending on how the chips fall with my company, I’m hoping to retire in five years. (idiom)

6. Max told us that he was going to quit his job, but he hasn’t followed through. He’s still working
for that awful company. (phr. v)

a. start over, as if from the beginning

b. (of an idea, plan, etc.) left for the present time, to be done or considered later

c. change direction or change the way in which something is done

d. decide to do something important or difficult, especially after thinking about it for a long time

e. the idea that the outcome of a future situation or event is uncertain

f. finish something that you have started

Group 2:

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1. Our boss told us that investing in property is a safer bet than investing in tech start-ups, but I’m
not so sure. (idiom)

2. My cousin’s bank managed to weather the economic storm, but many people, including my cousin,
lost their jobs. (idiom)

3. The marketing department has been trying to dispel common myths about healthy lifestyles.
(collocation)

4. The best advice my father gave me about work was to be proactive when finding a job. You can’t
just sit back and wait for the offers to come to you. (adj.)

5. If your business is too reactive, it risks being left behind by the market. (adj.)

6. My father’s pet project is restoring and selling old motorcycles. (n)

a. prove a commonly held belief to be wrong

b. controlling a situation by making things happen rather than waiting for things to happen and then
reacting to them

c. an activity, goal or hobby that is pursued out of personal interest rather than necessity

d. deal with a difficult situation without being harmed or damaged too much

e. something that is more likely to be successful or to happen

f. reacting to situations or events rather than acting first to change or prevent something

Now, discuss these questions in pairs.

1. How can businesses weather economic storms?

2. In general, do you think it’s a safer bet to stay with an employer for as long as possible, or is it
better to keep pursuing higher-paying positions?
3. Have you ever been tempted to press the reset button?
4. Do you know anybody who makes a lot of plans but never follows through?
5. Would you describe yourself as more proactive or reactive?
6. What would inspire you to take the plunge and try a new career?

3 Listening for specific information

Listen to the first part of the podcast, and answer the questions below.

1. Which two reasons does Anika give for some people turning to back-up careers?

2. Which career did Anika’s client Susie leave behind?

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3. Which profession did Susie move into?

4. Which two things is Susie’s new profession less likely to be affected by?

5. Which particular concerns does Anika mention?

6. Which three things does Anika mention that may explain why some people are reluctant to take
the plunge?

7. What does Anika think it is best to focus on?

4 Listening for comprehension

Listen to the first part of the podcast again. Using information from the podcast itself, answer the
questions true, false or not given.

1. Mick is a career consultant.

2. Anika defines a back-up career as a second profession that you have studied or trained for.

3. Susie decided to change careers because she felt that her old job wasn’t paying enough.

4. Susie was happy with her new career straight away.

5. According to Anika, another name for a back-up career is a “Plan B”.

6. Anika feels like her job is under threat.

7. Anika thinks that you’re more likely to succeed professionally if you enjoy your job.

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5 Listening: business vocabulary

Part A: Match the words with the correct definitions.
Glossary:
drop-shipping (n): the act of selling goods that you do not keep in stock on a website, using a third-party
supplier

Group 1:

1. propel (v) a. earn money from something, especially a business

2. lucrative (adj.) b. describing something that can be adapted to meet greater
needs in the future
3. monetize (v) c. producing a large amount of money; making a large profit
4. scaleable (adj.) d. move, drive or push something forward or in a particular
direction
5. aspirational (adj.) e. describing something that many people may want to achieve,
own or gain
Group 2:

1. driven (adj.) a. determined to succeed, and working very hard to do so

2. perseverance (n) b. a problem or difficulty that must be solved or dealt with
before you can achieve something
3. hurdle (n) c. fit together all the separate parts of something, for example a
piece of furniture
4. assemble (v) d. the quality of continuing to try to achieve a particular aim
despite difficulties
5. portfolio (n) e. a collection of photographs, drawings, etc. that you use as an
example of your work, especially when applying for a job

Part B: Complete the sentences with the missing words from Part A. You may need to change the
form of the word. You need 6 items from Part A.

1. Our boss a list of goals for our department. I don’t think we’ll achieve them!
2. During the interview, I could tell that the candidate was , so I offered her the job
on the spot.
3. My business coach told me that all start-ups should be and that a lack of ambition
was the worst thing that could happen to a new business.
4. When applying for creative jobs, remember to put together a so that recruiters
can see your work.
5. Not many of us are able to our hobbies, but if you can turn a passion into a
successful business, you might end up enjoying life a lot more.
6. Jim’s business failed at the first . He couldn’t find any investors.
Part C: Look at the underlined phrases in the sentences below. In pairs, discuss the meanings of the
two phrases. Do you agree or disagree with each sentence?
1. We have too much information at our fingertips, which makes it much harder to focus on tasks.
2. Even if you are unhappy with your current job, it’s better to stay put than look for something new,
as a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

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6 Listening for specific information

Listen to the second part of the podcast. Decide whether the statements are true (T), false (F) or not
given (NG) according to the information given in the audio.

1. The phrase ‘side hustle’ has been used by celebrities, and on television.

2. According to the host, ‘side hustle’ is a term for making money from something you enjoy, such as
a hobby.

3. According to Anika, in order to be successful you need to spend a significant amount of money on
advertising.

4. Anika studied fine art before becoming a career consultant.

5. Mick suggests that artists could make some money by selling t-shirts through a drop-shipping
business.

6. According to Anika, Generation Z have grown up surrounded by advertising.

7. Anika thinks that it’s easier to find a career now compared to the twentieth century.

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7 Listening for comprehension

Listen to the second part of the report again. Select the answer that most accurately reflects the
information given in the audio.

1. Which example of a side hustle does Anika initially give?

a. making yoga videos

b. becoming a TikTok influencer

c. developing social media apps

2. What does Anika say you should look for in a backup career?

a. something that could make you rich

b. something you can do alongside your current career

c. something very stable

3. According to Anika, how could young people make money from gaming?

a. by using Twitch

b. through Tiktok

c. by making YouTube videos

4. Which qualities does Anika think are necessary in order to succeed in business?

a. Perseverance, arrogance and having good social and organizational skills.

b. Perseverance, being driven and sociable and having good organizational skills.

c. Perseverance, confidence and having good social and organizational skills.

8 Talking Point
In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions.

1. Why do you think that younger people might be less attracted to the idea of a "job-for-life"?
2. Do you agree with Anika about the qualities necessary to succeed in business? Would you add
any others?
3. Are side hustles more common because people have a shorter attention span than they used to?
4. Is monetizing your hobby always a good idea? Can you think of any negative aspects to trying to
make money from a passion or interest?
5. Do you feel less secure in your job than you did ten years ago?
6. In the future, will people still have jobs for life, or will this become very uncommon?
7. If you owned a business and became aware that an employee was pursuing a side hustle, how
would you react?

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9 Roleplay activity

Read each scenario carefully. In pairs, choose TWO scenarios to roleplay. After completing each
conversation, switch roles.

Scenario 1

Student A wants to start training for a back-up career in journalism but doesn’t know where
to start.

Student B is a career consultant and wants to encourage Student A to change careers.

Scenario 2

Student B plays guitar as a hobby and is curious about making some money from it.

Student A is a close friend who has tried, unsuccessfully, to start a side hustle from a hobby
in the past and wants to advise Student B against monetizing their hobby.

Scenario 3

Student A wants to quit their job to focus on a new idea that they believe will be much more
lucrative.

Student B is Student A’s husband or wife and is concerned that they haven’t thought their
plan through.

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10 Optional extension

Complete the short text with the correct words and expressions from Part A in Task 2. You may need
to change the form of the words.

1
It started out as a conversation about into a new career. Ed, my colleague, had
been having doubts about his future at the company. He was considering
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, which I thought was a bit extreme, and starting over completely. I
remember saying to him that the business was going well and that it might not be a good idea to
3
throw away such a stable job. He said that we can’t know , and
that anything can happen in the future. He wasn’t certain that our company could
4
currently affecting the country, and, since he already had a project
5
, he thought it might be the right time to pursue a fresh start.

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I honestly didn’t think he’d on it, but he did! He left his career in
marketing behind him and started a new company creating digital music for movies. He said that
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he felt like it was the , and that he had a good feeling about his
project. At the time, I thought he was crazy, but then things got bad at work, and I was fired
several months after Ed quit. A few weeks later, he sent me an email. He said that he was sorry to
hear how things had gone, but that I was welcome to join him in his new start-up. After a
8
discussion with my wife, I decided to .

Two years later, and our new business is doing well. Although I intend to keep working with Ed, I
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now have a of my own: a podcast about changing careers and side
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hustles. In my latest episode, I discuss the importance of being , and continuing
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to keep an eye on the job market, rather than being , and
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some about having a back-up career. I hope you’ll tune in!

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