What jobs would you not want your kids to do?

[Pointlessfact]

I saw someone say on the other thread jobs they wouldn't want their kids to do there are jobs they wouldn't want their kids to do so thought I would start a thread on it

For me - I wouldnt want my kids to become reality TV stars - especially big brother stars

I told my children they could be anything they wanted to be. No job was beneath or above them.

DS1 has a string of grade As at A level, and A*s & As at GCSE and followed his dream of being in the army. I wouldn’t have dared stood in his way. He’s having a great time of it atm. He’s been all over the world, he’s recently promoted and is earning good money. Of course I won’t like it if a war happens again but we can’t live a life of “ifs and buts”.

DS2 is going to qualify as a nurse in 5 months time. If he wasn’t a severe asthmatic he’d join the army too.

Nurse (my own bitter experience)
Social Worker (especially in Children's services)
Anything in NHS mental health services
Anything in the Prison service
Academia (many friends with bad experiences)

I should add modelling, four women in my family including myself have done this and it's a massive self image head mess for many. My sister has a serious eating disorder because of it. My Mother forced us in to it when very young.

I was approached when DS was a toddler but gave a flat out no.

Retail
Spy

I'd struggle with something maliciously violent or outright criminal: drug dealing, racketeering, burglary, blackmail, illegal disposal of toxic waste, Gangster activity, money laundering, fencing stolen goods (etc)

Next tier up would be begging, prostitution or arms dealing.

I'm surprised by the strength of feeling against City jobs!

Demanding work and long hours but huge financial reward, allowing you to buy a house, have wonderful holidays and when the car MOT bill is 450 you just kind of roll your eyes and pay it out of the current account. Sorry if that sounds obnoxious but its true, for me and my friends who do similar.

I am able to build up a big pensnow, overpay my mortgage and build savings now so that, should i ever meed or want to change to a 9 to 5 role, i can do so.

For every late night and monotonous hour in front of a computer there's exciting / challenging work, meeting experts in their field, innovative clients and i take huge pride in what i do.

The stigma against big City jobs strikes me as a kind of inverse snobbery.

Anyway only jobs i wouldn't want my kids doing are: sex work, drugs/gang crime, loan sharking. Afraid to add teaching and nursing based on what i read on here. Admire the folk who do these vital jobs.

*big pension now

any allied health job

Teacher.
Anything illegal!!

I would not want my son to be a banker, I associate them with being greedy money grabbers, which I know is wrong! But of course I do not influence him at all. I'd love him to be something arty, but he can be what he wants, if that's being a trolley person in Sainsburys then so be it. If he became a teacher or a police man or joined the army I'd be very proud of him. My main goal for him is to follow his heart, and I strongly believe if you are good at something then it will show and you'll make the money you need to live. I'm doing a job I HATE, I only do it because it's school hours, I know I'd be so much happier doing another minimum wage job in a field I'm passionate about.

Armed forces, emergency services, sex worker.

These all break you, body and mind. my oh did 22 years in the army, my father was a police officer and I'm a paramedic. If my dc did want to join any of these apart from sex worker I would still support them but I would worry about them.

I wouldn't be keen on ds being a bouncer either. Just because I imagine it would be fairly dangerous, regularly getting hurt breaking up scraps. Or a boxer. My grandfather had life long serious brain damage due to boxing. At least as a soldier, or police officer, ds would be armed for protection, and would be doing a public service, not just entertaining people (like boxing).

Mime artist
Anything requiring an MBA

Drug dealer.

Soldier. I'd be very proud but so worried. Not just for their safety in combat but the well known long term mental health problems when in civvy street

Lots of professions others have already said. Sex work and armed forces mainly. Would be worried by proud if they wanted to be doctors/nurses/firefighters/etc.

I would feel I had failed very badly as a parent and be ashamed if either DC wanted to be a Tory politician or involved in any other right wing politics.

Vet
4x the national average suicide rate
Equine vetting is the most injured profession in the UK

Everyone thinks you’re really lucky and must earn loads

@sallyandherarmy

A Labour politician, or ANYTHING to do with the Labour party whatsoever. Or a journalist.

Why? I mean I hope DS doesn't grow up to be a Tory but if he does, went into politics and got elected I'd be proud of his achievement even if I disagreed with his politics. DH and couldn't help out with contacts or networking or anything like that so DS would really have had to make it himself and I couldn't not admire that really.

I just hope DS can do a job that he's happy doing. Doing a job that makes you miserable, whether it's the work itself or the way your employer treats you (or both) just grinds you down. I don't want DS to experience that and certainly not long term.

@DexyMidnighti

Long hours take your away from your family, that could be a downside. I wouldn't take a job that paid more but had considerably longer hours because I like to spend time with DS and I miss out on enough anyway. We've spent the weekend out on Pokémon hunts in the freezing cold having a brilliant time, I wouldn't swap that for more time in the office.

Anything they hated or was degrading really.
Wouldn’t bother me if they wanted to teach tbh!
Obv you’d want them to use their skills well & not waste natural talent.

DP is a tradesman, I work in the corporate world. I was asked at work if my DP wouldn't prefer to have 'a proper job'?! I asked the person who they employed when they recently spent thousands having work done in their house...they said 'builders'....I smiled.

armed forces
sex work - (I think its risky emotionally and physically. I understand the argument for decriminalisation making it safer and would like to see it made safer but still think it becomes less dangerous not more or less risk free)

those guys that work at the side of the road
miner
fisherman

Manual labour in construction - I'm hoping watching my DP getting up at 4am to shovel mud in -4c temps in his 40's will be enough to put DS off for life.

God, there are loads. Anything that puts their lives or health and safety in danger. Anything that wouldn't stimulate them intellectually and/or creatively. Anything that causes unnecessary harm to people or places.

Really, the choice of careers I'd like to them to have is very limited - and yes, I know it's not up to me!

Mirime

I completely understand that. I don’t have kids so at this stage in my life I don’t feel I’m missing anything. If I finished work every day at 6 I honestly think i’d cook more (which I love) and watch more telly! That’s about it. But for now at least the financial security my job brings is invaluable. Which is why I don’t quite see why people wouldn’t want it for the kids when they’re starting out.