What advice would you give to a young person today?

[UmbrellaEllaEllaElla]

I feel a lot of young people are usually given advice that is more applicable to how the world used to be rather than the current reality many live in.

What advice would you give a young person today who isn't inheriting any or much family money? How can they build a good life in today's world?

Don't bother with uni for sure unless it's for a specific career like Doctor, surgeon,Lawyer etc don't waste time better to get an apprenticeship instead.

Most importantly don't waste your time and energy worrying about what others think wear what you want don't be body shamed I spent far too much of my youth worrying about not being able to wear certain clothes because I was not deemed skinny enough.

Live life enjoy the young years go out with your friends say yes to last minute plans they are always the best ones.

Wear sunscreen. Also wear anything you want because you have youth and are far more beautiful than you realise.
I second getting a trade or specific skill.
Make the most of being young by going out, travelling and spending time with the people you love (including family) whenever you can.
Always, always save money.
Don't smoke or abuse your body too much - you WILL regret it!

Look after your body.

Learn to like yourself, care for yourself with compassion and respect and have confidence without arrogance.

Get to know yourself. If you are different from others, how is that an advantage? Don't waste time trying to be like everyone else, instead work out what your unique strengths are and how to monetise them.

In your twenties, do what you really want to do, before you have children and a mortgage and anything that ties you to a safer or more boring but lucrative job.

Travel! The world is bigger than the petty-minded xenophobia of the UK.

Use all your senses. The world is too screen and image driven. Focus on touch and smell and sound and taste too.

Yes go and enjoy the world and comeback and appreciate our wondeful little island which has been and will always be a liberal beacon of free speech in the entire world.

1. If you want children, choose the co parent wisely. If in doubt, chuck then back in the pond
2. go to uni if you can! I use what I learnt in my degree every single day and the friends I made there are life long
3. any time you see or hear injustice, call it out (if safe to do so)
4. if you need it, get therapy
5. start a pension as early as you can

Think carefully before you have children and who you choose to have them with. Whether you like it or not, you are linked for years and fucking years to come.

I have 3 daughters. I love them very much, but parenthood is really not for me. I will therefore not be pedalling the myth that procreation is key to a woman's existence.

Travel, travel, travel. And travel some more - there’s a whole world out there. 🌎

Degrees are not worthless, you cannot get into my career without one, as I'm sure is the same for many people/career paths. My advice would be to pick your degree very wisely, can you work your way up? Be an apprentice? All jobs are valuable and contribute to society.

So many things!

Don't fritter money on tat
Choose your friends wisely
Choose your life partner even more wisely
Take care of your teeth as early as you can. They are expensive to repair and even more expensive to replace. Halt the deterioration as much as you can. Tooth paste, toothbrushes, mouthwash and flossing is so much cheaper and easier than sitting for hours in the dentists chair in the years to come. It's never too late to start.

Agree on the degrees are not useless. Some are not as good quality as others it's true, but a good decent degree course gives you so much more than (just) the subject information you learn. Related skills are learned, eg critical thinking, analysing large amounts of new information quickly and accurately, learning how to research thoroughly and forming ideas and theories independently. I found my degree invaluable for these reasons.

In my role (and life for that matter, in terms of personal financial or legal matters), there are many times when I draw on those related skills. Important information I get is processed by thinking who wrote it/why they wrote it/where they got their information from/how accurate it is/what bias it has. It's hardwired into me and is extremely useful.

Go to uni but go somewhere that's going to challenge your world view and go far away, meet new people.

This. Our DS started to pay into a pension when he was still in 6th form and had a good part time job.
Now 42, he says it was one of the best bits of advice we gave him!

My advice would be if they’re going to uni, then to get a trade first. Do a hairdressing course, plumbing, mechanics or the like, something which they can earn money from even if it’s not their main aim in life.

Travel if you can.

Tell more people to fudge off.

Dress how you want.

Always have a back up plan.

Don’t get a credit card and get into massive debt, easy to get into, hard to get out of.

Also, if the person you want to share your life with won’t share their finances, then they’re not the person to spend your life with.

Always have house insurance, especially for fires.

Another piece of advice, which I give DC often and which they say they find very helpful and reassuring is: there is never just one route to what you want to do. If you flunk GCSEs/A levels/uni first time, it's really not an issue. Sort out the issue that led to the problem, and then get back on track or change track if you'd rather. DS felt guilty that e needed loads of extensions on his degree course and will graduate late due to health issues. When we said, that's a non issue - in a year you'll have graduated and for the rest of your life no one will care that it was six months later than planned, he relaxed a lot.

I think young people get locked into this sausage factory mindset that you must do A then B. And it's just not true. Life isn't a set of hoops you must jump through. It's a road with lots of interesting paths leading off all over the place.

Learn another language fluently

Learn to drive

Learn a trade on top of any academic qualification - coding, engineering and construction are in demand as well as barbering/hairdressing

Good personal hygiene and grooming matter more than actual appearance

There will always be someone who doesn't like you or who you don't get on with - stop trying to make them like you

Canada.

Go to university and take the time to grow up and develop yourself. It's a time when you can find out who you are

This is what I said to my young adult DC.

Do go to uni, you’ll have so many working years so what’s the rush to add on three or four more compared to having the experience of university.

Save once that got full time jobs.

Overpay into their work pensions.

Accept as many social invitations as they can as friends may stop asking if they say no too many times.

Go on holidays with friends.

Work on acceptance - accepting what you can't change, whether that's in the short term or for good, and accept that you can't change someone else. Life is much more peaceful.

Earning money is not an end game but be realistic that your interests in life will not always make you fiscally independent

Only go to uni if you really feel that a career which requires it is for you. Otherwise, it's a huge waste of money.
If you want the life experience, save up and go travel. Nothing has given me more education than travel.
Figure out what makes you happy and try to find of making a living out of it.
Always try to save something.

I said exactly that to my Dd.

Oh and travel without realising it it will give you infinite life experiences and add to your sophistication.

Also travelling alone will give you resilience that you may need later in life

That no one is more important than you. Your voice has as much right to be heard as the next persons.
Do not do something you don't want to just because someone says 'if you love me...' or because you feel pressured.
Trust your instincts.
You can change your mind about anything at any time.
You never have to accept abuse of any kind, be it from your boss, boy or girlfriend or person in the street. Leave.
Be kind and generous.
As long as I am alive I will always always be there for you.