What do your 18/19/20 yr olds do for work?

[gangan87]

What do your 18/19/20 yr olds who aren't at uni or on a degree apprenticeship do for work?

I have 2 teens one is keen for uni and the other has no plans after A levels and seems in no rush to get a job. She doesn't really go out or spend no money so in her eyes she has no real reason to get a job - her friends all seem the same.

We are telling her that she needs to do something but she wants a couple of years off to chill!!!!!!!!

I hope that she may get bored but she is quite lazy and is quite happy lying in bed all day on her phone to her mates and I worry as none of them apart from the two that are going to uni seem to have any inclination to work either.

If she’s talking about years off to chill I’d be stopping everything, phone, toiletries etc. If she can afford to chill let her pay for everything.

mine never had a choice, both chose university and one is now a post grad working full time but they knew once a levels were done it was work or uni no excuses

Hard situation to be in for you. It’s obviously not doing her any favours but not sure you can say anything?

Do you know what her plans are after College?

There are lots of threads on here about adult DC not being able to find work, the job market is really tough right now, but the one thing that does seem to help is work experience. Even if she just does a day in a charity shop each week she will gain valuable work experience.

Thanks !
She did volunteer for a bit in a local food bank shop but found it too stressful apparently.
She applied for a few jobs last summer and had a couple of interviews but wasn't successful so gave up looking and applying.
She has no idea about what to do after college or what kind of work to try to get into.
Doesn't want to go travelling.
You're right- it is very difficult for me to say anything.

@Nathan123456789have you tried starting your own thread in the Step Parents section? It sounds as though you need some advice from some other step parents. It sounds like it’s a minefield sometimes.

That's a good idea- thanks! It is a minefield....Big time!

19 year old son doing a L3 engineering apprenticeship.

My 20 year old ds went to a performing arts sixth form college and is a very talented guitarist. He has his own band and also works in promotion. Music is his absolute passion and he's releasing his first single this month. He's very committed and so hard working and determined to make it in the industry. We fully support him in following this path. His 'day job' is working as an Admin Assistant in a solicitors.

DS worked for McD and played the organ at Sundays/Church days in his year off formal education. He worked 40 hours/week.

We paid a 4 months trip to a youth school in Scandinavian to support him in being bilingual.

We have never given DC a choice. Work or education.

Hope you get some useful advice, ot at least sympathy on that section

Not working was never an option for my own kids, and yes it still took them a while to mature and find their niche, but they were trying and that’s all I cared about. Yes they quit jobs and hated jobs, but they tried. My eldest son is a medical equipment engineer. My daughter is a bar manager. My youngest is at college.

My step children are another story entirely, one of them doesn’t want to ever work as they don’t like people. We put a boundary in place, get a job if you want to live here, they chose to leave home instead. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Chose to sponge off their partners benefit money instead. What a life.

That makes us the bad guys apparently. Taking part in ‘life’ is not an optional extra.

My parents drilled it into me from age 14 that if I continued in education after my GCSE's they would support me financially. If I didn't want to continue in education I had to find employment and contribute financially to our home. I would have loved a couple of years to chill - but it was never an option!

My ds 18 has worked in a pub kitchen since he was 15.
Due to the lack of plumbing apprenticeships in the area after completing his level 2 in the subject,he now works at the restaurant 36 hours a week.
He has had no days off due to illness and seems to have a really good work ethic so that's all I can ask for.

Supermarket. He's a manager there now.