To wonder if there are any careers you discourage your kids from doing?

[malificent7]

Dd told my dad and i that she wanted to work in Harrods when she grows up... she is 8!

My dad told her she shouldnt work in a shop. She also wants to be a model, pop star, vet... the usual.
My parents basically wanted us to be doctors and duscouraged anytjing else.
I rebelled and did teaching am now a TA.

Aibu to ask how much you want to influence your kids career decisions.

Also aibu to think there is nowt wrong with working in Harrods!

I think one career I wouldn't encourage is the military. Nothing against our troops, but I wouldn't want my loved ones getting killed and wouldn't be over eager to help them to do so. IMO it's basically children killing children, and doing so to basically line the governments pockets. I suppose if my partner or child wanted to join up I wouldn't stop them - but I would make my displesure very clear and I wouldn't be doing any researching for them or helping them fill in any forms. Other than that, prostitution, drug dealer etc but I don't class those as careers anyway

Police, armed forces, teacher, nurse, motorcycle racer, politician, train conductor, those people who vet child abuse images, supermarket worker, musician, artist, athlete, WAG, vlogger (vlogger!), banker, and that's just for starters. Basically any job that is dangerous, involves stitching people up, giving or receiving abuse, or is just plain idiotic.

Social worker.
Unbelievable amounts of paperwork, not enough time with the families , and generally expected to work miracles, and if it all goes wrong you get your arse handed to you. Same sort of thing for teaching and nursing - no experience just plenty of friends in those professions.
My advice would be to them, If you want to be worked into the ground, at least have a job that pays well.

Armed forces the concept of my dc killing someone or being killed both make me sick.

I wouldn't want DD to work in mental health. The people I know who work as therapists. One hated it so much that he was doing crystal meth in the evenings.

who work as thherapists hate the job

Armed forces here too. Or working for the Tories.

Hibou I am a very happy mental health worker!

My daughter loves ballet, i really hope she doesn't want to do it professionally.

I spent a lot of time advising (other people's) kids on future education and career opportunities.

The key things I always tell people are that
a) 70% of graduate jobs are open to people with a degree in any subject (so yes, that History of Art degree can get you into all sorts of areas that aren't relevant!)
b) They should pick a course / job they think they'll enjoy. There's nothing worse than picking a career because of the money, and then finding that you hate it and are utterly miserable, but are stuck in something of a gilded cage.

The only things I'd discourage my DC from choosing would be

• anything where they think they might not enjoy it
• anything where they have chosen it for the money alone
• anything severely dangerous (e.g. military) or morally questionable (e.g. bailiff)
• jobs where shift work and unsocial hours are always going to be a part of the job, and there are no real ways out of it without leaving the industry altogether (e.g. airline pilot), given that it's not especially compatible with having a family of their own.

Why is being a bailiff morally questionable? The bailiff's job is to recoup an unpaid debt when not paying it might impact on small business people as well as big business.

My sister and I are massive disappointments to my Father but neither of us went into the Armed Forces breaking generations of tradition.

Tonight my DD announced she'd like to be in the Army (only 6 yo, no idea where she's even heard about it) and as I was thinking about it I can't imagine I would ever encourage her to join.

Got any advice on technology-proof jobs and careers 10 or 20 years down the line, rightsaidfrederick?

I was agreeing with rightsaid down to the point about bailiffs! If someone owed you money and you won a court case against them do you think you should be able to get the money back if they refuse to pay? If you think you should and basically that we should have a court system and legal rights then you need baillifs.

In my case, it's not being nimby about the army. It's having serious reservations about the justice of several of the actual wars fought by the British army in the last 50 years. It's having protested against the Iraq war on the grounds that it would make the world more unstable. It's knowing that once you have joined up, you can't suddenly pull out the day you start feeling uncomfortable with what you are asked to do. It's being unable to feel that most of the military activity carried out by the British army in recent decades has actually made us safer in any way. It's feeling pushed into praising military activity that you disapprove of, because otherwise you are denying the heroism of the men who sacrifice their lives for it.

Would steer them away from nursing, social work and teaching if possible - huge stress and responsibility for not enough money or recognition.

DH is police and says he'd hate for DCs to follow in his footsteps. I think it would be fine as long as they opted for the safer varieties of police work - preferably not uniform! I'd be very against them going into the military or prison service.

police or reality star

what is the issue with teaching?

Military.
Like Oriental we live in a military village. I'd hate for my children to see death and to risk not seeing them again.

Was a social worker in early 00's horrendous job. Full of staff trying their damnedest but getting shat on by managers, councillors and at times service users. Would never recommend anyone do this job. To those that do in current climate I salute you!

Id want my children to do something that involves a degree of some sort like a job in finance or law. I work in retail and as much as i love it its a hard thankless job with a few horrors thrown in for good measure and i wish id had the opportunity to have an education and become something more

I cannot believe that someone has posted that their friend, a therapist hates her job.
Do you realise that some of us reading attend therapy?

As with pp the idea of my children joining the armed forces makes my blood run cold. I'd never discourage any other job though, I've done all sorts of work and learned from every single bit of hard graft, and shit paid, thankless task that I've done. Always left jobs by going onwards and upwards and never burned bridges. I've had enough life experience, that included these various jobs, to have made good decisions as I've gotten older, and ended up doing something I love and am good at. I wouldn't be thrilled about my kids going into something like banking or stock brokerage/services etc. I'm uncomfortable with money-chasing high stress jobs, although of course see the need to be financially stable. I'd definitely support and gently 'steer' towards something I would consider worthy and fulfilling, depending on what would suit their abilities, interests, and character.

I'm a cop and would be happy for my kids to go into the police force if that's what they wanted to do. But I work in the federal police, so I haven't the state experience that a lot of people gripe about (Australia).

I think I've seen your thread myoriginal and I'm sorry . But this is a thread about discouraging different careers. If mumsnetters were only allowed to post things that would not upset anyone all the time then there'd be nothing on the site.