Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Flip

Original poster

want my private school son to get a great job....

22 replies

tcah · 22/07/2011 13:05

My 18 year old provate school son is struggling to get a job. He wants to work in business but not to go to university. I have heard of some great intensive courses that combine business training with work experience...any one any recommendations....am happy to pay as he is sitting at home wasting his time at the moment....

OP posts:

Pagwatch · 22/07/2011 13:13

I am going to struggle to say this without sounding rude. But I am not clear why the fact that he was privately educated makes any difference. And if he is really 18 years old and sitting on his arse while his mummy sorts his course out, I think you have bigger fish to fry than what course he should be doing.

Why can he not research this himself? I would be pretty angry if my 18 year old was behaving like that.

Original poster

tcah · 22/07/2011 13:18

Guess what I'm looking for is a kind of business finishing school/job finding course... He got good very exam results but needs some more real world career help and experience...no offense taken

OP posts:

Dontbugmemalone · 22/07/2011 13:19

Would an apprenticeship be an option?
Here is more information:

apprenticeships

hester · 22/07/2011 13:21

I'm also perplexed as to why the private school education is relevant, tbh.

But anyway: you say your son wants to learn but doesn't want to go to university - does that also preclude other kinds of college learning? It sounds like he might enjoy an apprenticeship, which involve real work combined with study modules (day release to a local college or whatever). I have a young relative who is doing one in electrical engineering; I don't know if they do business training ones, but you could google 'apprenticeships' and see what you get.

Alternatively, he could research the big banks/companies etc and see if any of them offer entry schemes at your son's level. I vaguely know one guy who is now a senior partner in one of the big banks, who didn't go to university (and is now earning squillions of quids). He started at the bottom and kept going up with impressive drive and ambition.

Which I suppose raises the question: does your son have impressive drive and ambition? Because if he's going to build a business career without university, he will need it. If he doesn't, he may need to get more realistic.

A third option would be an unpaid internship - again, he needs to research themarket and make approachesto the right companies. They will not be impressed if you do this on his behalf!

And I suppose a fourth option is to research local businesses and see if he can get a job with one of them, then negotiate some paid study leave to do a course at the local college or through the Open University.

LemonDifficult · 22/07/2011 13:24

YANBU. Not unreasonable for anyone to want their son to get a great job.

I can imagine I'd be extra annoyed if the school hadn't equipped him for one after all that cash too.

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 22/07/2011 14:52

Take a look here
www.apprenticeships.org.uk/

There are different level apprenticeships available.. so some for A level /Higher Ed level students as well as post 16 ones.

However if he is interested in business (how, what, why..he needs to be clear about what he wants) he also needs to get off his bum and do the legwork himself as most businesses will want to take on someone with initiative!

Nor is there anything wrong with taking the most basic type of job for a while to prove you can actually work.... ANY job is better than trying to run before you can walk if you see what I mean!

I have 3 work age kids.. one at Uni doing medicine.. but working a Mcjob in the holidays to help support herself, and one at 6th form.. also doing two small p/t jobs. The middle one is 18..just finished school and not interested in Uni. He started a basic p/t job at Dominos ..lowest of the low.. and has just been made a relief manager responsible for the place 3 days a week... no it's not The Apprentice.. but he HAS shown he has a work ethic, he found the job himself and is now being entrusted with more responsibility.... and I think in the current climate it's wise to be aware that sometimes you have to start small...

DamselInDisarray · 22/07/2011 14:54

At 18 it's really up to him to want to get a great job and figure out how to get one.

The private school education makes no difference at all.

cory · 22/07/2011 22:11

I can see why you take an interest in this and might want to discuss it with him. But if he is to stand a chance of getting anything at all he will need to demonstrate independence and initiative, not just sit back and let mummy do the thinking. A good start is for him to sit down and think about what area he wants to explore.

ArmchairFeminist · 22/07/2011 22:17

Perhaps the OP mentioned the private education as a warning that spending thousands on an education might mean your adult child still can't wipe his own arse?

sue52 · 23/07/2011 14:02

Maybe some pitman's training course or similar? Is he sure about finishing his education now? He will have competition from graduates for the same jobs.

Malcontentinthemiddle · 23/07/2011 14:07

Crikey, you'd think the school might have given him a few pointers, wouldn't you?

mycatsaysach · 23/07/2011 14:24

my ds applied for an apprenticeship with these people www.zenos.com - it/tech stuff.they pay a wage while you are studying for 20 weeks iirc.
in the end he decided he wanted to stay at college and complete his a levels.
it may be worth a try.

Goblinchild · 23/07/2011 15:00

I agree that I would have expected the school's careers advice service should have been covering alternatives to university as well.
Is it something he's actively chosen as a path, or can't he be arsed because he knows you will continue to keep him?
What are his A levels and grade expectations?

twentyten · 25/07/2011 17:28

What about voluntary work?I agree with other posters that in order to get a great job HE needs to get stuck in and demonstrate a willingness to get his hands dirty and show initiative.Many charities would welcome a bright volunteer prepared to get stuck in.

Ormirian · 25/07/2011 17:32

What a coincidence! I want my state- educated son to get a great job too... small world eh?

DS is looking into apprenticeships in engineering but TBH he will be doing work experience next year at school. Why wasn't the school helping him sort this out before now? What sort of area is he interested in?

Macaroona · 25/07/2011 17:35

Tell him to get a job in a bank. Ker-ching!

Your OP does read a bit like you're trying to buy him a job.

MaryJane40 · 26/07/2011 22:25

A job in a bank pays no more than a job in a supermarket Macaroona! The only way to get the bonuses is to get a leg up..... by having a degree and huge ambition.
OP you are doing your DS no favours by finding him a job, he needs to find one for himself.

trixymalixy · 26/07/2011 22:28

What's the problem with going to uni?

I think he'll struggle to get a great job without a degree tbh.

Macaroona · 26/07/2011 22:34

MaryJane - I have 2 relatives who joined banks aged 16 without degrees, and now decades later earn 6 figure bonuses. If you're talented, it's a great place to be, even starting on the tills. Same as supermarkets I suppose though, or any big organisation. Talent and ambition go far.

Although tbh it sounds like OP's DS needs to get off his arse and start looking himself for what he wants to do.

ednurse · 26/07/2011 22:37

YANBU.....however I have friends from private educations and degrees from Oxford and Kings without 'proper' jobs. Yet they both work full time in nightclubs and a chain book store. Their parents must despair

Kewcumber · 26/07/2011 22:40

"He wants to work in business" - well Tesco's is a business so tell him to haul his arse around the supermarket for shelf stacking jobs to give him a taste of what his life will be life permanently if he doesn't discover some get up and go.

I (not privately educated but "as rough as hell" educated) managed to get a degree and a post graduate professional qualification and a senior position in a multinational company without my mother lifting a finger. I know we all want to help our children but really you are doing him no favours at all doing anything for him except having discussions and adding advice where pertinant.

No business will be interested in an 18 year old without the gumption to do something. Anything.

lovemyboysandbeagles · 01/08/2011 19:48

I read the title of this thread and thought exactly the same as some of the other posters. My son is NOT privately educated and never will be, but I want him to get a good job - doesn't every good parent no matter how your child receives their education?

If my son was 18 and wouldn't get off his backside to do some research for himself I would be seriously annoyed and I haven't spent a penny on his education (apart from nursery and all the tax I pay of course!).

My son is 13 in September, 6 months ago he put his name down to start a paper round as soon as he is 13 - because he wants to and IMO shows more enthusiasm and iniative than some 18 year olds!!!

Flip