This is the Business English Podcast Episode 87.
How do you make a living? Business English vocabulary for work conversations.
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Yeah, I do. I love to podcast. I love to talk with you.
I love to connect with our listeners and to try and hopefully make a difference.
So yeah, it is great to have that as a livelihood.
And today we're going to be talking about this word livelihood because we have a great question about this word.
So this is huge for Business English. And this was actually from YouTube.
So guys, well, now we are on YouTube with the Business English podcast.
I think this was for... all ears English on that one.
But I thought really good one. So we can talk about these words today on business English because it has to do with making money, making, you know, earning things.
So let's do it. 100%. Yes. And I love this.
So it's a great business topic. It also works in everyday life.
So We spend a lot of time, at least in the US, especially on the East Coast, as I've said before, we spend a lot of time talking about our careers and how we make money and what we do, our career paths.
And so you want to be able to participate in those conversations.
Right, Michelle? Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure.
And we also want to before we read the question.
So since we're talking about making a livelihood and all that today.
Go ahead and listen to All Ears English.
If you don't listen to All Ears English, you should.
We are over there four days a week. It's a huge, huge podcast.
So episode 15. Oh my gosh, it's small. 1505 it looks like is phrasal verbs for money that really pay off.
So that's a good one to check out along with today's episode. yeah guys go over and check that out that podcast when michelle says it's it's huge she means yes this podcast allers english gets eight million downloads a month so it's absolutely gigantic that means that tons of listeners love the show so go and become one of them you know if you are not currently following allers english podcast you should add it to your queue Okay, we have a question, right?
All right, you want to read it for us? Okay, this listener says, we don't know who the listener is.
I know, I don't have it, unfortunately. The listener says, hey, I like your podcasts.
I would like to ask a question. Is it okay to say someone is trying to make a livelihood or would it be someone is trying to earn a livelihood?
I took my English test today and I was pretty puzzled what to use before livelihood.
I wrote, make a livelihood. Please inform me which one is correct.
Yeah. Great question. I mean, let's talk about it.
So this one, it's a little bit tricky. I think we're going to talk through, you know, on All Ears English, our motto is connection, not perfection.
And I think we have to kind of come into this with that attitude as well, because Lindsay and I are going to talk about what we hear, what we hear is most natural, not necessarily what you might see in the grammar book, right?
Yeah. Yes, 100%. We give you the real English right from the way we say it.
So let's get into it. I mean, what is livelihood?
Yeah. So let's start there. So Merriam-Webster dictionary says livelihood is a means of support or sustenance.
So it's how you make money, right? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So being able to, yeah, be supported, support yourself, feed your family, pay your rent, pay your mortgage, how you make money.
Okay. So do you hear make a livelihood a lot, Lindsay?
No, you know, what I tend to hear is make a living, right?
When I think of make, I think of make a living as a chunk, not make a livelihood.
Right. I don't know. There's something about it.
I might hear it from time to time, but there's something about it that sounds a little awkward to me.
I feel like I hear earn, you know, like earn my livelihood, right?
Or like, oh, it's important to earn a livelihood and something you and something you love.
So I feel like earn sounds a little bit more common.
But even so, like, I feel like I just feel in general that living is more natural, more conversational than livelihood.
What do you think? Yeah, especially when it comes to putting make in front of it.
But I mean, both, I think both are great.
I mean, they essentially mean basically the same thing, wouldn't you say, Michelle, that they basically the same thing?
Yeah, yes, I would say too. Yeah, I mean, you can use like, so just as an example, you might just say livelihood by itself.
So you could say it's important to me to be successful at this project, because this is my livelihood. yeah i hope you understand that right yeah or for example her livelihood was in jeopardy when she missed four meetings in a row so what we're saying is here her job is in jeopardy therefore her livelihood the way she pays her bills are in jeopardy right michelle Right.
Exactly. So I like you want to say her living was in jeopardy, like their livelihood would make more sense.
That's true. That's a good. So, Lindsay, when did you realize that you wanted to make podcasting your livelihood?
Well. That's a good question, Michelle.
I never thought that it would become my livelihood, right?
And it's not 100%. We do a lot of other things at All Ears English, too, right?
That help us to become a company. But it's a good portion.
It's an important part of our business. I guess...
Maybe a couple of years after we started the podcast, when it became pretty popular, I thought, oh, wow, we have something special.
We have something that really resonates with our listeners.
And I thought maybe that could happen, but not before that.
So interesting how you started it and then you realized.
Oh, yeah. No, no, no. I didn't even know.
In 2013, when we plugged in the microphone, no one really even knew what podcasting was.
I mean, it was so new. there was not many podcasts out there certainly not any professional podcasters whatever that means right yeah right right i mean they'll talk about more about this word livelihood like what does it mean to people like it's more than how you make your money like i feel like this word livelihood it's it's more than like a paycheck even though it is but it's a lot more than that and i wonder if this is cultural as well That's a good question.
So you're saying, so there is a slight difference.
I said before, it's the same meaning living in livelihood, but maybe there are slightly different, right?
Livelihood, as you said, Michelle, I agree.
Pride, money, relationships, your view of yourself, your reputation, maybe in some cases, go into the concept of a livelihood.
Right. And it all kind of then relates to your identity, I think.
So this is this is huge. I mean, to say, oh, it's my livelihood.
It's just that word is to me very heavy.
It is heavy. I agree. Yeah. I think that's a really good word to put on it.
It's heavy. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, what other like so we were talking about the word living, right?
So let's let's get into that. What do you think about the word living?
It's good. I think it comes that probably breaks down more to money.
Would you say that like just being able to pay for your lifestyle?
Right, right, right. Exactly. I think that's more about about the money.
Right. And you can say to make a living.
I think that's very common. You might hear earn a living as well.
But to me, what do you think you hear more frequently make or earn? make a living i think make a living for sure yeah i think it just sounds more naturally a natural maybe earn is okay as well but i'm just telling you what sounds natural to me totally yeah i think make a living is what i would say there for sure um and yeah i do think it's a little bit more common so again like we said making a living is earning money for example he made his living selling books but it wasn't his passion So you could also say his livelihood was selling books.
Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. I guess make a living is pointing more towards the money.
Yeah. Yeah. A little bit. I think so too.
I think so too. And I also just think livelihood sounds a little bit more heavy, as you said.
Yeah. Yeah. Like heavy. Um, so, or, or you might hear this all the time.
You would say like, what do you do for a living?
You'll hear that all the time. You wouldn't, nobody would say like, what's your livelihood?
No. No. Right? Yeah. So for our listener, we can definitively say, you're going to use make a living 90% of the time.
And just that 10%, you might sneak it in there in a deeper conversation.
Right, right, right. Exactly. I mean, I think that those are like, definitely just the main things there.
I think livelihood is a heavier word. And make a living is maybe a little bit more common.
Or rather than to say, like, make a livelihood.
Not saying that it can't be done. But I'm just telling you what what we hear what we would use.
Yeah, completely, completely. And I don't see really any other differences.
I think those are the key core differences right there.
Let's throw out a few more examples for our listeners here.
Yeah, here we go. All right. The first one is I don't want to put my livelihood in danger because of a mistake.
Yeah. Yeah. And I want to work hard to make the best living I can.
Right. Okay. She makes her living as an entrepreneur.
Her parents are so proud. Lindsay, that could be you.
Or his livelihood was compromised when he was rude to his boss.
I mean, some some jobs are very high stakes, right?
Some jobs. Well, maybe if you work in a hospital, you know, if you make too many big mistakes, it could risk your livelihood or risk the way you make a living for sure.
Other high stakes jobs. I don't know. Air traffic control or something.
Yeah, that is high stakes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
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40% alcohol by volume. 80 proof. OK, Michelle, so should we talk about the idea of a job versus a career?
What should we do next here? Sure. Let's just get just, you know, just a little bit before we wrap up the episode today.
I mean, like, what do you think? That's what this kind of led me to is, you know, when we're talking about livelihood and a living, it made me think of this idea of like, what is a job and what is a career?
Lindsay, what do you think? it's a great question i think oh yeah i think a job is just any way you make money i think a career is something you work on your whole life maybe you have an education for it a degree you may continue to get certified for it and where presumably you kind of move up in in the ranks depending on what kind of company you work for right what do you see the difference Yeah, I think that's a good point is that a career like continues.
Like, I mean, I mean, you can say, oh, it's my job about your career.
Sure. But I don't think like like let's say you're like you're in high school and you have you work at a summer camp.
Like you wouldn't say like, oh, I have to like, oh, it's my career.
Like unless you were considering like staying in that field of like education or, you know, something like that.
If it's just like a summer, like you wouldn't say like a summer career.
No, it's a summer job. No, for sure. A hundred percent.
Yeah. You're, I think you get, we don't really start our careers in the U S until we're after call out of college.
If we go to college, right? So 22, maybe you get an internship or something.
You start your career. Yeah. Right. You may, or, or you, you might have internships in college.
I had a lot of internships in college, or I mean, you might, there are some people who really know what they want to do from a very early age.
And so they might be working towards a career from a younger age, but, um but you know i think i think it's good to like think about what you want your career to be so how do you think people find more of a career How do they find more of a career?
What do you mean by that? Then a job, then a job.
Oh, how can they like identify what it is?
Yeah. Oh, like how do you get one? Like how do you get a career rather than a job?
Or think of what you want it to be. So I mean, well, what I'm getting at here is like, think about what you want to do, what you love to do.
Like, do you want this to be your hobby or your career?
And do you see yourself in it long term?
So these are just things to think about, right?
So you might need a job. because to make money right and that moment maybe you need a job like temporarily and then you know you get to a place where then you actually some people might use a job to fund getting their career like let's say you are going back to school you might need a job to help fund that um so that that's another difference as well Or another great example of that in New York, a lot of act Broadway actors, actresses will fund their career, their acting career with a job, waiting tables or bartending or something.
That's a good example. Right, right, right, right.
And I think that opportunity, that potential for growth is huge, like Lindsay was saying.
Yeah. Um, but it's also okay to not have your job be your whole life.
Like there's a lot of pressure to do that now.
Um, so some people, they want to have a real career.
They want to be really immersed in it, but it's also okay to say, I want to have my job, make my money, come home and that's fine.
Yeah. And I think the world's coming around to this a little bit more now.
You know, this concept of it is OK to do that, you know, post pandemic after we've all kind of been like working from home.
I think people are starting to have a mentality like that if they want that.
Right. Mm hmm. Yeah, true. Yeah. OK, this is a great topic.
Hot topic today, Michelle. What's a hot topic for our listeners?
Well, this was a great question. So we talked over some vocab and some of the differences, how we might use them.
And when we gave some insight on jobs and careers, things that, you know, are important to talk about.
So but we hope that whatever you guys do, you are happy and that we here on the Business English podcast can help you grow in your job or your career or both.
Absolutely. Don't be afraid to talk about this stuff.
I do wonder, like you said, Michelle, if it is more cultural to talk about your career more or less in different cultures.
I think in the US it is pretty common. So engage in those conversations, guys.
Use these expressions. And of course, as always, hit follow on this podcast.
All right. This was fun. Thanks again for the listener question and have a good day.
Talk soon, Michelle. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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