My cousin is a 28 year old bloke who has never worked, and is kept by his parents. What is worse is that he has a girlfriend (who works a few hours part time) and a 2 year old daughter.
He has been 'a student' for as long as I can remember, and lives in the house which belonged originally to my great grandparents, all fully refurbished by his mum and dad (my aunt and uncle).
He pays no bills, as my aunt pays for them. He buys no food, as my aunt does the Tesco run and drops off their food. He has no money of his own to speak of. His parents bought him a (second-hand admittedly) Range Rover, which they tax, insure and even fuel for him.
When he wants to buy clothes, he rings my aunt who meets him in town, and pays at the till for his needs. He has even had to ring his mother to go and buy and buy nappies for the baby, which she duly did.
It has always been like this, and always will be, he has openly declared his intention not to do a days work. He is an only child, and when people use the phrase 'spoiled', in this case it is the literal truth, as his parents have never taught him the value of anything, never taught him how to stand on his own two feet, or be a man and provide for his daughter.
I feel really sorry for him, for as a kept man he has never known what it is like to truly own anything, as nothing he has is his, paid for by his own hand.
god forbid if your aunt/uncle pop their clogs, he will be well and truly screwed :D
There is an article in one of today's Sunday magazine about a 29 year old student who is going into the world of work for the first time!:eek:
Basically she has done two degrees, a Masters and a PHD and apparently thats an excuse for never having worked :rolleyes:
Now frankly I find it appalling that someone of almost 30 has never had a job before and being at Uni is not an excuse either as all the people on my course either have Saturday jobs or holiday jobs. I have worked full time previousley, and did so from the age of 16-23 when I decided to go back to education.
If I was a potential employer I would not want to hire someone of that age who had not had so much as a Saturday job before. How will she understand the world of work?
As someone who is involved in recruitment for my own company, I can honestly say that there is no way I would hire such a person for work in the commercial world. She is too steeped in academia.
Probably she would be better off as a university lecturer.
Now frankly I find it appalling that someone of almost 30 has never had a job before and being at Uni is not an excuse either as all the people on my course either have Saturday jobs or holiday jobs.
You can get a 19K salary equivalent for doing a PhD, You don't need saturday or holiday jobs
Why do you find it disgusting? Not everyone in this world has to work for the money, some have inherited money you know?
Would you continue to work if you didn't financially need to?
A lot of people have never worked , my Godchild left school at 18 and has lived with her defacto for 15 years and never worked , no kids and I never see her doing much around the house .
Why work if you don't need to .
Why are you assuming that someone who won't settle for a crappy job (like you did) will go on benefits?
Because that's how the world works for most people. Most of us don't come from families that have a lot of money, so even if we want minor things such as vehicle maintenance and spending money, we have to work for those things, unless they're lazy and find a way to fund that laziness off the backs of the working (wo)man. Pretty much everyone who doesn't come from the wealthiest of families and who actually has some self-respect have had to go through a period in our lives when we have to take a regular, nothing special job that we can't wait to clock off from so that we can kick in even just slightly to the household's income.
This is how it worked out for me: In high school I earned money so I wouldn't have to hit up my parents every time I wanted to go somewhere with my friends. I wasn't driving at the time so they would drop me off and pick me up, but the movie tickets and fast food dining were on my tab. I even managed to buy some savings bonds with the rest of my money, which came in handy in my first year of college. In college (university), my income went toward buying books, incidentals, and paying for minor vehicle upkeep such as filling up the (gas) tank and oil changes. I would say that 90% of the CDs, DVDs, books, and magazines I own I purchased on my own. I also saved up money for an outfit to wear during interviews for full-time positions and put some money away in a savings account that ended up going toward the purchase of this house.
As far as "crappy jobs" go, I believe you learn a great deal about the meaning of work, what to want out of life, how to value every dollar/pound you earn, and how to deal with unpleasant situations from such jobs. If you're exposed to such things, you learn not to settle. You're ultimately a better employee whenever you *do* land that dream career. Employers are more likely to want to hire you if you actually have a work background to speak of, especially if you worked in the service industry (valuable customer service experience!) and have proved yourself a loyal employee (i.e. you don't do job hopping). You become more accustomed to selling yourself in job applications. And you actually see how the world works instead of becoming sheltered by the overidealistic world of academia.
Even now, now that I have my career and am a part of the regular middle class, I feel so much more respect for a young kid who goes out there and hustles behind the counter of a Burger King than some layabout who doesn't do jack except for opening their gaping maw and yapping on about the "tyrrany of income" or somesuch. That young kid is more likely to go places than the couch fungus who talks a big game but doesn't step up and prove him/herself on the court.
There are loads of these perpetual students around and have been for years. I have certainly known a few. They go from course to course. The reason they are perpetual is that there is no way they can ever pay back their loans.
There is an article in one of today's Sunday magazine about a 29 year old student who is going into the world of work for the first time!:eek:
Basically she has done two degrees, a Masters and a PHD and apparently thats an excuse for never having worked :rolleyes:
Now frankly I find it appalling that someone of almost 30 has never had a job before and being at Uni is not an excuse either as all the people on my course either have Saturday jobs or holiday jobs. I have worked full time previousley, and did so from the age of 16-23 when I decided to go back to education.
If I was a potential employer I would not want to hire someone of that age who had not had so much as a Saturday job before. How will she understand the world of work?
You seem to assume that throughout the time she's been studying for her 2 degrees, Masters & PHD she's been getting pissed up every night and smoking pot. That's all students do, right?
You seem to assume that throughout the time she's been studying for her 2 degrees, Masters & PHD she's been getting pissed up every night and smoking pot. That's all students do, right?
No I don't think that at all. I just find it really shocking that a person could reach the age of 30 without having so much as a part time job in a shop.
No I don't think that at all. I just find it really shocking that a person could reach the age of 30 without having so much as a part time job in a shop.
Well you should be over the shock now, you must have heard of people with wealthy parents who give them an allowance.
If I didn't have to work and enjoyed studying, I wouldn't be rushing off to find work.
Never understood this dignity of work or work ethic thing.
If I didn't need to work, I'd quite happily do buggerall.
I have never had a paid job and I am 18. I have been at college and I did apply for a few things but they never got back to me. I did work experience with college and I did voluntary work in the summer. I am hoping to go on and do an apprenticeship soon though
Jodie266: Eh, you're still way young, and you have been doing volunteer work, which is admirable. I am totally crossing my fingers for you re: your apprenticeship hopes!
Prince Monalulu et al: Maybe it's just my Sober American Puritanism showing, but I don't see why coming from wealth should proclude someone from having some sizeable experience with having a j-o-b. I went to college (university) with some people of privilege and they all had their weekend jobs, same as everyone. Their parents did this so that their kids would learn how to hustle and thus be able to manage the family businesses better once they inherited them. But yeah, that SAP thing.
As far as academia goes -- it ain't all that hard work. I mean, yeah, sure, it's very challenging at times, but it's not like you can't do a 20 hour a week job on top of maintaining full-time status at school. Unless you're going to a really, really tough school such as Oxford or Cambridge (or in the U.S., an Ivy League school, and heck, I went to a "public Ivy" myself), in which case you should be a big smartypants who should be cranking out the answers. I've read MIT blogs of students who detail part-time jobs amongst their research and paper-writing duties, so they do it. (But yeah, that SAP thing. Again)
Raring_to_go: Thanks! I feared my post might have been a little long and ramble-y -- blame one of my high school English teachers on that -- but I like that you like my style.
There is an article in one of today's Sunday magazine about a 29 year old student who is going into the world of work for the first time!:eek:
Basically she has done two degrees, a Masters and a PHD and apparently thats an excuse for never having worked :rolleyes:
Now frankly I find it appalling that someone of almost 30 has never had a job before and being at Uni is not an excuse either as all the people on my course either have Saturday jobs or holiday jobs. I have worked full time previousley, and did so from the age of 16-23 when I decided to go back to education.
If I was a potential employer I would not want to hire someone of that age who had not had so much as a Saturday job before. How will she understand the world of work?
They won't care if she has a phd. Depending on her field, she's going to be in great demand and can expect much higher earnings as a result of her qualifications.
There isn't much to understand about the "world of work". Work experience is important but it does not follow that academic achievement is worthless. Do you really think that a potential employer would be put off an otherwise entirely suitable candidate, just because they had never worked on the tills in Tescos at the weekend or flipped burgers in MacDonalds? I think the skills learned in such part-time workplaces are greatly overstated.
I've had crappy part-time jobs in the past and I never bother to put them on my CV as they add nothing to it. I have never been very impressed by those kinds of jobs on CVs that have been sent to me while hiring either.
I'm 20 and i've never had a job. Its not like I haven't tried though.
I'm 25 and only had one paid job, it's not like I tried either, because I went to Uni away from home, no-one at home was interested during the holidays in employing me. So I just had to manage on my savings, in order to keep going during the holidays.
Comments
god forbid if your aunt/uncle pop their clogs, he will be well and truly screwed
It would be a fantastic irony, if they quietly allowed him to continue using them and their money, only to leave it to charity on their death! :eek:
As someone who is involved in recruitment for my own company, I can honestly say that there is no way I would hire such a person for work in the commercial world. She is too steeped in academia.
Probably she would be better off as a university lecturer.
Why are you assuming that someone who won't settle for a crappy job (like you did) will go on benefits?
Would you continue to work if you didn't financially need to?
What are you implying by that?
Why work if you don't need to .
Because that's how the world works for most people. Most of us don't come from families that have a lot of money, so even if we want minor things such as vehicle maintenance and spending money, we have to work for those things, unless they're lazy and find a way to fund that laziness off the backs of the working (wo)man. Pretty much everyone who doesn't come from the wealthiest of families and who actually has some self-respect have had to go through a period in our lives when we have to take a regular, nothing special job that we can't wait to clock off from so that we can kick in even just slightly to the household's income.
This is how it worked out for me: In high school I earned money so I wouldn't have to hit up my parents every time I wanted to go somewhere with my friends. I wasn't driving at the time so they would drop me off and pick me up, but the movie tickets and fast food dining were on my tab. I even managed to buy some savings bonds with the rest of my money, which came in handy in my first year of college. In college (university), my income went toward buying books, incidentals, and paying for minor vehicle upkeep such as filling up the (gas) tank and oil changes. I would say that 90% of the CDs, DVDs, books, and magazines I own I purchased on my own. I also saved up money for an outfit to wear during interviews for full-time positions and put some money away in a savings account that ended up going toward the purchase of this house.
As far as "crappy jobs" go, I believe you learn a great deal about the meaning of work, what to want out of life, how to value every dollar/pound you earn, and how to deal with unpleasant situations from such jobs. If you're exposed to such things, you learn not to settle. You're ultimately a better employee whenever you *do* land that dream career. Employers are more likely to want to hire you if you actually have a work background to speak of, especially if you worked in the service industry (valuable customer service experience!) and have proved yourself a loyal employee (i.e. you don't do job hopping). You become more accustomed to selling yourself in job applications. And you actually see how the world works instead of becoming sheltered by the overidealistic world of academia.
Even now, now that I have my career and am a part of the regular middle class, I feel so much more respect for a young kid who goes out there and hustles behind the counter of a Burger King than some layabout who doesn't do jack except for opening their gaping maw and yapping on about the "tyrrany of income" or somesuch. That young kid is more likely to go places than the couch fungus who talks a big game but doesn't step up and prove him/herself on the court.
You seem to assume that throughout the time she's been studying for her 2 degrees, Masters & PHD she's been getting pissed up every night and smoking pot. That's all students do, right?
Nothing really. They just go from school to University then back to school.
No I don't think that at all. I just find it really shocking that a person could reach the age of 30 without having so much as a part time job in a shop.
Well you should be over the shock now, you must have heard of people with wealthy parents who give them an allowance.
If I didn't have to work and enjoyed studying, I wouldn't be rushing off to find work.
Never understood this dignity of work or work ethic thing.
If I didn't need to work, I'd quite happily do buggerall.
Jodie266: Eh, you're still way young, and you have been doing volunteer work, which is admirable. I am totally crossing my fingers for you re: your apprenticeship hopes!
Prince Monalulu et al: Maybe it's just my Sober American Puritanism showing, but I don't see why coming from wealth should proclude someone from having some sizeable experience with having a j-o-b. I went to college (university) with some people of privilege and they all had their weekend jobs, same as everyone. Their parents did this so that their kids would learn how to hustle and thus be able to manage the family businesses better once they inherited them. But yeah, that SAP thing.
As far as academia goes -- it ain't all that hard work. I mean, yeah, sure, it's very challenging at times, but it's not like you can't do a 20 hour a week job on top of maintaining full-time status at school. Unless you're going to a really, really tough school such as Oxford or Cambridge (or in the U.S., an Ivy League school, and heck, I went to a "public Ivy" myself), in which case you should be a big smartypants who should be cranking out the answers. I've read MIT blogs of students who detail part-time jobs amongst their research and paper-writing duties, so they do it. (But yeah, that SAP thing. Again)
Raring_to_go: Thanks! I feared my post might have been a little long and ramble-y -- blame one of my high school English teachers on that -- but I like that you like my style.
There isn't much to understand about the "world of work". Work experience is important but it does not follow that academic achievement is worthless. Do you really think that a potential employer would be put off an otherwise entirely suitable candidate, just because they had never worked on the tills in Tescos at the weekend or flipped burgers in MacDonalds? I think the skills learned in such part-time workplaces are greatly overstated.
I've had crappy part-time jobs in the past and I never bother to put them on my CV as they add nothing to it. I have never been very impressed by those kinds of jobs on CVs that have been sent to me while hiring either.
but good on her for getting all them degree's
I'm 25 and only had one paid job, it's not like I tried either, because I went to Uni away from home, no-one at home was interested during the holidays in employing me. So I just had to manage on my savings, in order to keep going during the holidays.