Jobs you would or wouldn't reccommend to your children

[Maine234]

My son is still young but is starting to think about what job he would like to have when he is older and it got me thinking about the types of jobs I would reccommend to him.

I dont have any experience with emergency services or teaching but as an outsider looking in, it seems to me that both areas are overworked, underpaid, understaffed, underappreciated and very stressful with a poor work life balance. So I would be telling my son to think very very carefully before going down these routes.
I would also advise against anything strongly reliant on tourism as that seems to be the first place people cut back when money is tight and every recession sees thousands of job losses in tourism.

If I had to reccommend some industries I would go for phamaceitucals, waste management or food producion. They are the first industries that spring to mind when I think about stability because people will always need medicine, food and a way to get rid of their rubbish.

Interested to hear what other jobs or Industries people would or wouldn't reccommend.

Publican!
All I've ever done for 30 years, fell into it after Uni, loved it, lived it & breathed it for nearly all of that time, but now, I think it's finally broken me.
Money is definitely not everything, and it's been hard earned esp the last 3 years, hospitality is struggling so very much.
I've missed out on things due to this industry I'll never get back, so something with a better work-life balance would be my advice - even though I'm still hands on at the coal face still now.

Nursing. Better paid and better pension than science and we always need nurses

I’d recommend being an agricultural/rural surveyor to anybody. Out in the countryside meeting people, I used to walk miles around the Lakes with my dog. There is also a shortage! Most of my jobs have also come with free accommodation, bills and council tax paid as part of the package. It transfers incredibly well to other industries such as law and accounting.

I agree with the two posters above who said dentistry . My uncle is a dentist and had a nice cushy life . Im encouraging my daughter to do it , I think she'd like it especially the cosmetic end of things , my dentist does my Botox 😉 im a teacher in Ireland and I love my job , I'm always sorry to hear it's so different for most teachers on Mumsnet.

And farming, omg that is a job never to marry into. I expect if you are born into it - you know already.

Teaching. I have taught in a variety of schools in both sectors and it is just too much stress. I'm currently into my fourth night of work-induced insomnia. It used to be that being in the classroom made up for everything else, but that is no longer the case for me now. I reckon I have one more academic year left in me. I'll be downsizing to clear my mortgage and taking a job to pay the essential bills.

Electricians, joiners, and plumbers seem to be happy and always in demand.

yes to law, no to teaching

I'm shop floor NHS and sad to see so many people saying avoid. I am a top band 6 and earn around 45k working part time with odd bits of overtime thrown in on lucrative shifts. Band 6 is same as midwives, paramedics, more senior nurses, mental health nurses, occupational therapists etc. I get 6.5 weeks holiday a year, great variety of working days (I would really struggle mon-fri 9-5 type job), I have an incredible amount of job satisfaction, I get involved in teaching and no two days are the same. Not every role in the NHS is like this but nursing and midwifery open a lot of doors to roles you wouldn't know exist. It's not all working on short staffed wards. I honestly enjoy going to work and don't really know anyone else who says that.

It doesn't matter what anyone else says or recommends, he needs to follow what he likes / loves to do even if not ideal.

Having had a great a very rewarding career in the armed forces, I would recommend it to most children. Some may not fit in though, but most of the time, it’s because their parents don’t let go of them and they don’t succeed.

Second career is teaching. I love it. When I say I love it, I really do love it. It pays well (£41k after 6 years, more if you have additional responsibilities). The biggest issue? Parents. They can be an absolute nightmare if they believe they their little Jonny is perfect and can do no wrong. Reality check - if they’re having continuous negative reports from school, chances are that they’re being a little s££t.

The NHS is a brilliant place to work as well - teamwork is normally really good, with everyone trying their utmost to provide an effective service. Problem is, and no politician will actually say this, there are too many people living to a ripe old age, who don’t pay into the system. The system was design for average life expectancy of 10-15 years of being a pensioner.

Please let Your children know they can achieve most things they want to with hard work, but not always. Sometimes they do need to take a step back and reevaluate their choices.

Note that I’ve only talked about careers I’ve done - don’t judge something until you’ve tried it!

Engineering or dentistry is where I will be encouraging mine.
Definitely not teaching, nursing

😂

Dentistry is a very niche job though- I mean you would have to like all that kind of thing, I can't think of anything worse, although I'm very happy with my own lovely dentist who appears quite wealthy.

I don't think you can just want to be most things even if you try- I couldn't want to be a dentist and I couldn't be an engineer for love nor money (not good at maths), you have to play to your own strengths and interests.

As a young person I was always taught to follow my passion and base a career on that. And I suppose that advice was intended to support the ideal scenario whereby one finds (or creates) a job that is not only satisfying but pays well.

But in hindsight I wish someone had taught me more when I was young about the economy and how to go about securing a high salary, building a private pension, maintaining job security and competing in the market. That would have balanced out all the passion

I've worked 13 years as a manager in McDonald's. Love the variety of staff I work with from all different walks of life plus the pay is very good. The public make it very very hard & look down on you.

😂

Interested that so many say teaching. DD wants to be a primary teacher- what would you say are the downsides?

https://calnewport.com/the-most-important-piece-of-career-advice-you-probably-never-heard/

Cal Newport has a book on how to map out your career path, he reckons that you shouldn't choose a passion, but a lifestyle- what kind of life do you want to live? Quite an interesting take on it.

@Maine234 You can help your child to find their talents and skills and try to match them with a job that reaches 30/40k within a few years following entry and then promotion to 50k plus.

Also work on soft skills such as team work, perseverance , resilience and creativity. Unfortunately, these subjects, may not be taught or well funded in your DC school. (Music, Art, Sports, Drama, Lego, Raspberry Pi, Scratch, construction kits, help build flat pack furniture etc).

The job market is constantly changing, so what is available now, especially with AI on the horizon may change by the time your DC enters the workforce.
However STEM careers plus construction remain growing industries.

I would avoid public facing/caring roles as these are underpaid, overworked and the emotional/physical strain of the role is getting steadily worse.

My DC attended the Big Bang fair, which was great for careers advice. You used to be able to attend as a family without school but it is great to start research about careers.

https://www.thebigbang.org.uk/the-big-bang-fair/careers-resources/

Workload is enormous and requires you to work far more hours than you are actually paid for. There are significantly increasing levels of need in schools but many don't have the funds or resources to support these effectively which can have a domino effect and can have a huge impact on your ability to teach effectively, leading to lots of stress and feelings of guilt. Where I am there is currently a trend for young teachers to be promoted very quickly as they rarely rock the boat, this has led to lots of managers in schools who with minimal classroom experience and so do not possess the understanding of the impact of certain initiatives they are attempting to implement and who lack the balls and knowledge to challenge or question initiatives put forward by senior management or local authorities.

However in the right school with good management and resources it can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling career. It's a risk though as you rarely truly know how good the management is until you start working there.

Nothing working for the public sector. It’s become exploitation. They lure the staff in saying its a noble calling but for all the best work they hire in external consultants from the private sector at 10x the pay.

I have friends who went into banking. They worked for 12-15 years in a long hours job they hated, then bought huge mansions with swimming pools and retired for life in their mid-thirties and now hang at home with their kids playing with hobbies. It looks nice. Particularly as life expectancy may now come down to who can pay for private health care.

If you have family money, the arts (particularly acting) could be fun. If you don’t have family money and your child gets top grades, I suggest lawyer / management consultant / accountant / banker. If they get bad grades then maybe a trade like plumber/electrician. If their grades are medium then how about an apprenticeship somewhere in big tech company eg Amazon, Google etc.

@Vet73 where in the country are you? Not all vet jobs are like this and vacancies everywhere. Are you on vetmums?

I have friends who are vets and they say it can isn’t a good job for animal lovers. The training includes compulsory work at meat farms, and abbatoirs (where apparently many of the staff are creepy psychos) plus it is very hard euthanising family pets, particularly where the pet could be saved but the owner can’t afford to pay.

I wish the caring professions were better paid. Not only are they meaningful for the public but they can be so rewarding (when the system works well) for the workers.