How on earth do I persuade my DS aged 21 that this is a terrible idea ?

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He’s just graduated from Uni with a first class degree. Applied for 30 odd jobs, mainly NMW as there’s nothing going in the field his degree is in. Has had a couple of interviews with no success.
‘A friend’ from uni has told him about an opening working as a cycle delivery person. Essentially delivering parcels around our local city on an electric bike. Pay is apparently £13ph. It will take him 1hr 20 to get to the job to start with. He doesn’t know the city at all. He’s not ridden a bike for 10 years and certainly not on busy city roads. He can’t drive yet (has just started lessons). He’s not the most confident, in fact I suspect there may be some undiagnosed autism going on but he’s resistant to take it further. I think it’s mad.
Appreciate I may be overreacting, what do others think ? There’s no pressure on him to start paying rent, we appreciate how hard it is to find employment but this just seems so foolish.

OK - trike with a box on the back I would be less worried about.

If it was real cycle couriering then that's an awful job, and dangerous.

Is it definitely an hourly rate? Not a per-job rate?

It's a terrible idea. Manchester is a nightmare for people who know it well.

If you suspect he has autism chances are he'd quit quickly anyway as it can be so overwhelming.

The deliveroo riders are all over the place, wrong way down one streets riding fast through pedestrian areas. I hate going into Manchester

I think he’s doing the right thing. He can’t get a job in his chosen field, do he’s earning some money until he does find the right job. Better than just sitting there.

Good luck to him. 👍

You do realise if he got a job tomorrow in his field he would have no idea what he was doing?
He is 21, he will pick it up quickly (and show future employers he can pick things up quickly)

Let him do it and figure out for himself if it's a good idea or not.

Better him doing something than sitting on his backside gaming or whatever.

A job is better than no job, if he’s keen I’d be encouraging and if he hates it he can quit.
The only bit I’d be concerned about is cycling on the road if he doesn’t know how to drive unless there are cycle lanes. I’m doing lessons at the moment and you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re making a mistake. I’d get him to watch some cycling tips and driving videos so he’s a bit more clued up about rights of way, signalling etc.

I think it sounds a great idea, providing him with freedom/fresh air and experiences. Great news that he has a fcd but has no experience so the more employment experience he has, the better for him in the long run.
In the longer term, I am sure he will get a job related to his degree

I wouldn't want any family member of mine to be cycling round busy city streets all day long. Too damn dangerous.

Because he lacks confidence and probably thinks he’s not got a cat in hells chance of getting onto a graduate scheme. He also went to a uni that doesn’t have the
best reputation.

If he does do it make sure he reads the t&c/contract thoroughly. My dh decided to do something similar for a bit of extra money, let's just say it ended with him taking them to small claims!

I understand your reservations. I might well feel the same.

At that age though they are mostly still very green behind the ears and inexperienced. It might be that he has to experience the pros and cons first hand for himself before he fully accepts what you say.

Make sure that he knows you are there for him however it goes and will continue to support him as he searches for more suitable employment.

I would tell him what you’ve said on here and then let him get on with it.

Some people need to experience things for themselves to see that they are a bad idea.

Could you help him look for other work that may be of more interest to him.

@Choochoo21 I agree. I just wish it was easier to get a ‘proper’ job albeit stacking shelves, working on a til or whatever, selling pasties in Greggs.

Do you live somewhere fault remote as there must be other jobs otherwise. Has he considered admin roles in the NHS or civil service. Would you share what degree he did?

Quite remote

Sounds easy doesn't it! However, graduates frequently don't just get to walk into a grad job. That's a utopia that doesn't happen for lots of them.

My DD has just graduated from Cambridge and, like OP's DS, is still looking. She too has made a fair number of applications but to no avail so far. She has been working some shifts in Costa (at her old job that she had while still at secondary school) in order to pay down her student overdraft. She will also soon be starting work at local pub near to our house.

Grad jobs are not ten a penny. Some graduates are lucky and move almost straight into something but many, many are not and end up doing whatever they can get to bring in some money.

Also, at only 21 now, OP's DS has probably only just finished his degree and therefore has only recently had the time to begin job searching in earnest.

Let him do it. He will work it out for himself. Hopefully something better comes up! But in the meantime, this is how you do it tbh!

Is it an actual job withbset hijrs and wages, or a hang around and wait until he gets offered a parcel to deliver for peanuts.

The economy is on its ass at the moment, he won't be the only one struggling. I don't really understand all the people saying any job is better than no job, surely that only applies when you have bills to pay. He's only just graduated, the academic year hasn't even technically finished yet, taking a few months to properly explore his options isn't going to do any harm and sometimes it pays to be patient with job hunting as the best job opportunities tend to be like buses, nothing for ages then several come along at once. There'll be more retail/supermarket jobs around in the autumn, if he doesn't find anything better in the meantime, so the best advice you could give him, imo, is to not panic.

There was a dispatched/horizon or something show a while back about how gig workers and how underpaid it really is. The show showed how they only get paid when actually en route rather than while riding around between calls. And also the time pressures. Maybe try to dig it out, then he can at least know to check if these things apply here regards the pay.

I'm with you, OP. I think it's a terrible idea for someone who hasn't ridden a bike for 10 years (plus it sounds like he's never ridden in busy city traffic) to get a job as a city centre bike courier. It's all very well other posters on here saying, "Leave him to it". It's easy to be unconcerned about risks being taken by a complete stranger. Ultimately he's an adult, so you can't stop him taking the job. But I think it's fine to explain firmly why you think it's a bad idea. I think I'd be going all out to help him in his job search in the hope he finds something less dangerous.

I remember my time in university and early 20s as a time of trying lots of jobs out.

Some of them were absolute duffs, some were super-risky, and some were boring as heck. Others were surprisingly fulfilling – and I learned so much from each and every one of them.

I learned what I enjoyed (some of which surprised me), what I didn't enjoy, how to manage tough situations, how to set boundaries, how to make the best of crap periods of time, where my limits were, how to negotiate, how to communicate better, how to hold myself up as an adult... and how to make better decisions about what I signed up for and what I didn't.

My parents could have told me all the 'facts' of these things, and I wouldn't have learned any of it properly that way.

You can't learn to swim by someone explaining it to you - you have to get in the pool.

This period of life is all about experimentation and falling on your face – and I'm so grateful my parents gave me the room to balls up and find my way through. I have no doubt I'm a much better person for it now.

This period of life is all about experimentation and discovery - the good as well as the bad. And that's just as tough for a parent as it is for the young adult, but it's all valuable.

Tell him what it would be smart to consider before he decides, tell him you've got his back 100%, be there if and when it gets rainy and confusing and frustrating, and let him know how proud you are of him for working it all out.

Sounds like you've got a good kid, and you're a good parent for being concerned. Be proud of both of you, and let him find his feet.

So many kids won't work these days so I'd be thankful his actually trying to do something. Let him try it.

And there I am writing multiple versions of this before posting, cutting and pasting, and repeating myself, despite saying I learned how to communicate well... hangs head in shame 😂

Computer science.
Admin jobs in the NHS require experience, preferably in the NHS.
Entry jobs in IT want experience.Civil service jobs, he’s going to apply for the fast track graduate scheme next later in year I think.
Retail jobs might not want experience but upward 50-100 applicants for each job. He applied for a job with TKMaxx. Did a quick test and they cut it down to 28 for interview. His ‘interview’ was 10 mins tops.
I might tell him to enjoy summer and start applying for Xmas jobs.