EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MEDIA SECTOROliver Kaplan

Full Time• Full time employment is employment in which a person works a set number of

hours defined as such by there employer.

• The "standard" work week consists of five eight-hour days, commonly served between 9:00AM to 5:00PM totaling 40 hours.

• Advantages:• Full time workers receive many perks from there employer such as being

offered health insurance or a good pension scheme and receiving sick pay and holiday entitlement.

• Disadvantages:• A full-time job makes it difficult to handle family obligations, particularly for

workers who have young children or ill relatives.

Part Time• A part-time worker is someone who works fewer hours than a full-time worker.

There are no specific number of hours that makes someone full or part-time.

• Advantages:• Part-time workers get the same treatment for: pay rates, pension

opportunities, holidays, training and career development, selection for promotion and transfer, redundancy and opportunities for career breaks.

• Disadvantages:• However when times are bad for a company, part time workers are typically

laid off before full-timers, because they do not always have the expertise of full-time workers. Part-timers may not be promoted as quickly as regular employees, if at all.

Freelance • Freelance workers are often considered to be self employed and have the

freedom to pick and choose there projects and companies they would like to be associated with.

• Rather than working for a single company as an employee freelancers tend to work on a contract basis for a variety of companies.

• Advantages:• Freelance workers are not under as much stress as they have nobody to

answer to other than their clients. They are technically their own bosses.

• Disadvantages:• Freelancers can become isolated. As a freelancer without employees, you

have no interaction with management, staff or other employees.

Shift Work• Shift work is work that takes place on a schedule outside the traditional 9am to

5pm day. It can involve evening or night shifts, early morning shifts, and rotating shifts. Many industries rely heavily on shift work, and millions of people work in jobs that require shift schedules.

• Advantages:• In rotational shifts there usually are three shifts, i.e. morning, evening and night

shifts. Most rotational shifts are repetitive and do not require special skills from shift to shift and hence they are interchangeable. There is tremendous convenience in this type of shifts because you can plan your day's work in such a way that you do not neglect office or home.

• Disadvantages:• Accessing food while on long shifts is not easy. You have to compromise and

eat what you get, which limits your options, especially if you are trying to stick to a healthy diet. This can lead to some shift workers getting various health complications later in their lives.

Temporary• Temporary work refers to an employment situation where the working

arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization.

• Advantages:• Temporary employees may have the opportunity to achieve permanent

employment status after the time period has lapsed.

• Disadvantages:• If you are in temp employment that is only expected to last for a few weeks,

some employers can be really bad to work for. As you are only seen as a ‘short term fix’ you can be given little attention or care. The permanent staff may not be bothered to communicate too much to you – because next week you will be gone. This can be rather disconcerting.

Voluntary• Voluntary work refers to work that is unpaid. Rather than for financial gain

individuals or groups take part in voluntary work to benefit another group, individual or organization.

• Advantages:• Voluntary work is a great way to use free time productively, to develop skills

and to help the community.

• Disadvantages:• The situation can arise where voluntary workers are exploited and

undervalued.

Piece Work• Piece work is work that is paid for the piece that is produced rather than paid

by time.

• Advantages:• Rather than the bosses setting deadlines for the workers, the workers set

their own deadlines and sometimes even finish the task before the stipulated time. Everything is dependent on them, including the money which they make so that is why they take their job very seriously and even work from home when they think that they are running short of time.

• Disadvantages:• Workers have the fear of losing out on wages if they are not able to work due

to some reason.

• Workers may work for long hours to earn more wages, and thus, may spoil their health.

Fixed Term• A fixed-term contract is a term usually used to refer to a contractual

relationship between an employee and an employer that lasts for a specified period.

• Advantages:• In the UK any employee on a fixed-term contract for four or more years will

automatically become a permanent employee, unless the employer can show there is a good business reason not to do so.

• Disadvantages:• It is common for fixed term employees to not receive entitlements like paid

sick leave.