To ask what careers guidance/advice your parents gave you?

[Thatsthewaylovegoes]

What was good advice they gave you?

Some good, some bad. Good included: always show up early; don't leave a job until you have a new one; don't burn bridges; you get your first job based on education (so work hard in school) but everything beyond that is job performance and networking; be a deal maker, not a deal breaker; don't work to rule; you won't run the company on day 1.

Bad included: don't get fat or you'll get fired; nobody hires fat people; don't get pregnant or you'll get fired; don't talk about your kids in the workplace or no one will take you seriously; why aren't you running the company yet (contradicting the good advice above); any salary less than 6 figures is a disappointment.

Everyone hates their job, you just have to get on with it.
Absolute bollox. So glad I ignored this advice and kept searching until I found a job I love.

I dont remember them giving me any advice

None worth having, forced me into a degree and job in healthcare so I’d meet a GP & marry him 🤦🏻‍♀️

So glad I’m NC now.

“Don’t be a teacher.”

Er… whoops?

None at all really, i wasn’t given any guidance, no help with homework or choosing my options for GCSE’s. I worked from the age of 14 and had to pay for my own books and equipment for school/college.

Oh one more piece of good advice: you don't need to have a passion for your job, so don't wait around to find out what you want to so. And if you don't know what you want to do, get a professional qualification early on that you think you wouldn't mind doing. You can always change later and once you have some training in something you will have transferable skills. It's hard to go back to school later when you have kids and a mortgage.

And a piece of good advice from a rather cynical female mentor: there is no good time to have a baby so just have one when it suits. And babies are small for such a short time, it isn't worth losing your career by not returning after mat leave.

None at all. It would have been nice to have a bit of guidance and direction. But then I’m lucky not to have had any expectations placed on me.

No advice as such, but the job path I wanted to go on, my mum basically didn't think I would be able to do (she was right and wasn't crushing my dreams or anything) and politely just told me to apply for X at uni as she thought I'd be good at it.

After uni, I've been in that field now 10 years and love it, wouldn't change a thing. So sometimes parents do know best?

I was told to choose all my a levels in sciences to get into healthcare to be a doctor or whatever which is failed in and they still made me go through a palava to where I am today in healthcare but all I wanted to do was history and drama. I do like my job now but I often wondered what if etc but no point now.

@Fluffycloudland77 did you meet a GP and marry one?

God no, I’m not cut out for that life at all.

They gave me rubbish advice and I'm still kind of pissed off about it. I had a few ideas of what I'd like to do as a teen - Forensic Psychologist, Theatrical Makeup Artist or something medical such as ODP in the Navy. They rubbished every idea I had and I ended up studying something pointless at uni, dropping out and just hopping low paid jobs for years. I'm in accounts now which I enjoy but I'm still deeply regretful that I never followed my own heart.

My parents both worked in education & were very involved in my (& my siblings) education - school, university - and later, careers.

They really instilled in us a love of learning & challenging ourselves, and doing what we enjoyed. We were allowed choose whatever we wanted to do for university. (Even though, I realise some of our choices were really costly for them & we could have done a similar course much closer to home).

I always used them as sounding boards for my career choices & they were great.

Only recently I realised their own hard work ethos when it came to their own jobs wasn't necessarily the best approach - they both prioritised work over family & personal well-being at times & I struggle with doing the same.

Overall, I feel very lucky at how connected they were to my life, in terms of study & work.

None from my parents but plenty from (much) older siblings, other relations, family friends and even teachers. This wasn't deliberate it was because they realised they had people in my life who were in tune with the working world as it was then at the end of 20th Century.

The biggest advice I was giving my everyone is don't become a teacher. 😂
(I'm not.)

The next was ask everyone you meet about their job including how they got into it and if you can their pay. It just means now I'm not interested in finding a career I can pass the knowledge on.

I'm still deeply regretful that I never followed my own heart.

I'm sorry to hear this. I know it's a cliche but it's never too late. I work in a university and meet mature students from a variety of personal situations who have decided to pursue a dream.

You could incrementally move towards something you love, by making small choices eg a part-time course in the area?

I don’t remember any. I sorted myself out and ended up with a professional qualification.
Funnily enough it was my DF leaving my DM that made me realise I had to earn a decent wage to be able to support any children I had, that was my driving force.

That I must be a doctor, dentist, or work in the financial sector, the three acceptable asian career choices. I’m an actuary.

No advice or guidance. I just did my own thing.
Db was number 1, but he’s in a worse job than me. Both work in offices but different fields. He absolutely hates his job, I’m not keen on mine, only because I don’t like my new boss.

“Don’t go into teaching.”

In fact they refused to support me if I did a BEd, so I did a degree in something else and then a PGCE. They agreed to this plan so I had other options.

After twenty-odd years in the classroom, I think they were onto something.

My parents advice was

”Do not become a doctor or a dentist. Anything else is fine.”

I am also an actuary.

They wanted me to go to Uni. Rest was relaxed.

none

Don’t go into teaching.

They were both teachers.

Zero.
they could not have been less interested.

As long as I didn’t expect anything from them from about 14 years of age, I didn’t exist for them.