Adult children, what jobs do they do?

[TonTonMacoute]

I’m talking about mid to late 20s.
Are they graduates?

DS can’t seem to find a job I think he’s being too picky and want to make ‘helpful’ suggestions!

One of ours has a career, grad scheme engineering, the other is working in a supermarket

I have 3 sons all graduates in late 20s/early 30s. They are all in jobs directly related to their degree. However, on graduating they all took any job they could get.
One worked in an office doing data entry for an insurance company. He hated it and moaned constantly, but tough. He then got a job in an insurance company as a claims handler ( medical insurance). He is now a lawyer in medical law.
When you've just graduated you need to build up your cv anyway you can.

I bet!
Mine are early/ mid twenties. One twatting about ‘not quite graduated’ 🙄 but earning v well on the DA scheme mentioned upthread.
Older siblings earning more, also in civil service/ charity. Russell group humanities degrees.
OP champion and listen to them but once they’re this age, pull back.

Of the DC I know I’m their 20s, lots in software development (in house and for software companies) and business/IT consulting. Also solicitors/barristers, accountants, engineers etc. A few in public service: armed forces, police, civil service, teaching. Some in sport, arts, music, theatre etc. Really no different to when I was in my 20s 30 years ago except there are more jobs in software/IT.

That's brilliant! Not surprised you're proud of him.

OP there's tonnes of jobs it depends what he's interested in and what he's qualified for. I work with lots of graduates in their 20s but it's healthcare so not surprising I guess!

Perhaps ask a different question?
what skills/ qualifications does he have?
what work/ volunteering has he done?
has he engaged with the uni careers service? They usually support grads for 3-5 years post graduation
what is he doing to find a career?

From 20 til 29 I have been: an English teacher in the UK, a TEFL teacher in Asia, a temp receptionist, a nursery worker, a freelance proofreader and copywriter, an academic notetaker and a digital copywriter.

He needs to speak to a careers adviser. These are professionals who know the labour market and are better placed to give this advice.
If he's a graduate his university will probably offer him free career careers advice.

When I was that age I was in retail management.

I then had a breakdown and now run my own dog walking business.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after Uni but not having a job, or waiting for the perfect one, wasn’t an option. I spent a year working at a local company before getting onto a graduate scheme programme at a bigger company. I think having that years work experience helped me get the next job.

Now being involved in graduate recruitment, we’re seeing more and more applicants in their mid to late twenties who have done something else post-Uni before applying.

My siblings, my closest friends and I are all around about that age/a bit older. Four graduates, interior designer, town planner, vet nurse and teacher. Six didn’t go to university, we’ve got an electrician, an accountant, a leathersmith, a dog hydrotherapist, a SAHM/farmer and a teaching assistant.
He needs to get his shit together, being unemployed is far less ideal than being employed in a field unrelated to your degree.

My younger brother dropped out of uni after one year. He got a low level IT job, trained as a programmer and has just been offered a £60k job. He's 27.

I reckon what you do is support them to identify their principles & then make the best decisions they can. Your job is to encourage them to decide what to do according to the highest principles they completely believe in about how to live (which hopefully doesn't mean being a lazy gadabout). My clever but big lazy-streak & determinedly under-achiever at school DC could completely agree with principles like being helpful, being considerate, pulling his own weight, responsible, conscientious, not wasting his time, doing a "proper job", being respectful of "people just doing their job". He didn't even do A-levels but ended up excelling in the British Army.

Surely you need to start with what your mid to late 20s DS is qualified in and has an aptitude for?

The people that age I know are:

in graduate trainee programmes in scientific consultancy
apprentice for technical career maintaining scanners in NHS
electrician
Plumber
Sky engineer
A couple of SAHMs
Farmer in family business
Mechanic
Fast food trainee manager having worked her way up from shop floor work
Cleaner
Retail workers
Something in IT that I don't understand

So a wide range of occupations that require a wide range of qualifications and skills. No point 'pin sticking'. Can he get some career advice and think about what he is qualified for and see himself doing? Can he return to education or start an apprenticeship?

In fairness the question you've asked isn't going to help.

What are your son's qualifications? What are his interests? What is he brilliant at? What is he quite good at?

Oh and someone else i know that age did a degree then went down the Teach First route and is now a maths teacher

Graduate, works in a B2B sales role not related to his degree.

That's great, and 'machine driving' eg FLTs, and similar, telehandlers, diggers, cranes etc is a really good path to decent money for non graduates.

That's what DP does and he earns £40-50k pa freelancing and he doesn't even work full time (probably works about 40 weeks a year) and does some really interesting things, or you can just do it on building sites.

He did a couple of 1/2 day courses to start off with each machine and he has to do a refresher day every 3 to 5 years.

What skills and qualifications does he have. There will be people saying their 28 year olds are architects and doctors, but that’s not really of use to you if he hasn’t got those qualifications, and the advise for someone with an MSC in physics might be a bit different to someone with 1 a-level in art

Masters in maths

Secondary school lead practitioner teacher.

Age 26.

I'm one of 4.
dsis (mid 30s) graduate very high up in her field of marketing.
Me (just in 30s) graduate senior nursing level
DB1 (26) not a graduate - Car salesman
DB2 (21) Not a graduate but owns a landscape gardening business.

My son worked in Local Government and my daughter worked for a bank initially. Now my son works in Finance (which is where he wanted to be) and my daughter works in Local Government in pensions (good working conditions and easier than banking). Some of their friends worked in cinemas and retail and hospitality whilst waiting for the perfect job. Many of them haven't got the perfect job many years later.

Does he have any kind of job at all? If not then the answer is that he needs any job to start with so he can support himself. Then he can be pickier in deciding what other jobs he may choose to apply for.

The people I know in their 20s who have jobs are
University admissions officer
999 call handler
Soldier
Physiotherapy assistant
Owns a martial arts school

I actually think this is quite a helpful answer. There are very few jobs that people in their 20s can't do (ones where you need a level of experience they won't have been able to attain are probably the only exception and even then there is potentially a junior version or stepping stone option).

If you just want to sugget a range of jobs to your DC, then go and look at the range of jobs on a jobs website. That's as up to date as you can get. It would be more helpful if you gave us some idea of your DC's background, experience, qualifications, interests etc. There will be a whole host of jobs that they simply will have no interest or inclination in, and knowing that several MNetter's adult children do that job is not really of any help to you.

My adult child is not the right age for your question, so I will not tell you what he does.

Surely the OP wants to know where they found their jobs eg recruitment agency?