The Worst Career Advice Parents Can Offer Options

[RitalinJunkie]

And on a side note, I'd never want to work at one of the "better" school districts. Those kids have everything handed to them on a silver platter. Give me the kid that has a tough time outside of school so I can help him or her make a difference in their future.

TRUE THAT!!!


It is sad that the state is trying to get rid of those programs....however, particularly in Texas, I dont think it will happen. There is WAY too much parental involvment with these groups and that isnt going to change. Look at a school that gets rid of its football program or its band (which is what will happen first). There is a mass exodus out of it. Also a lot of really really good universities will not take students who dont have some sort of extracurricular activity.

A couple weeks ago there was that story about the kid who wanted to go to stanford and had perfect grades, but couldnt get in because he was not "well-rounded" enough.

Also the stats are against it. Theres a lot of data that shows how schools that spend money on fine arts and atheletics have much lower dropout rates than schools that are penny-pinchers.

Oh well...maybe one day our legislature will actually give a damn about the future of the country and get rid of all this "Every child left behind" bullshit. ( i know that this is not the topic at hand...I just really hate NCLB)

[Hartmann]

I agree with her on job hopping, asking about time off, and moving in with your parents (no matter how painful).

As potential employees we do have an upper hand and we have to take advantage of it.

Job hopping is great until you want to move upward in a job. The time off is extremely important if you want a life outside of work and being upfront about it is very important, I would also say ask about overtime, etc.

The living at home is something I agree with simply because I've done it recently and even though it sucks sometimes, I have saved up a ton of money.

[impala454]

And on a side note, I'd never want to work at one of the "better" school districts. Those kids have everything handed to them on a silver platter. Give me the kid that has a tough time outside of school so I can help him or her make a difference in their future.

unless you're planning to give a kid money for lunch, their financial status shouldn't have anything to do with how much difference you can make in their life. it doesn't matter if the kid is trudging to school straw sandals, or bumpin to school in his esky w/dubs. you can't purchase knowledge. you can't pay for a desire to learn. that's where you come in. not bagging on your personal preference, just the reasoning.

[impala454]

and yeah.. the living at home thing is nice. especially if you're planning to build a house, or want to be really picky in finding the one you want.

[Hartmann]

unless you're planning to give a kid money for lunch, their financial status shouldn't have anything to do with how much difference you can make in their life. it doesn't matter if the kid is trudging to school straw sandals, or bumpin to school in his esky w/dubs. you can't purchase knowledge. you can't pay for a desire to learn. that's where you come in. not bagging on your personal preference, just the reasoning.

Just a note on this. My girlfriend taught at Reagan High School in Austin (one of the worst schools in Texas) and from her description, the kids were all poor and half of the time did not even have the supplies necessary to do their school work. Also, the school district does not supply books for the children to take home, as they usually get stolen.

She loved her job and seeing the small impact she was able to make on their lives. She's going to start teaching at Stratford High School next year and though it's a better school, there will always be challenging kids who are less fortunate and have a hard time coping with it. Though money may not be a big deal to the child, it may be huge to the parents and they can easily push that off onto their kids.

[Mommy]

the only thing I agreed with her on was the living at home. Im thinking that I should have done that to save money

[pebkac]

and on her amazing advice:

1) Not true. Getting a grad degree is very situational. Some fields are better off with them, some aren't. It's stupid for this chick to say "graduate school generally makes young people less employable, not more employable." At the worst a grad degree means you owe two more years worth of school loans. BFD.

2) This is just stupid. Job hopping is expensive for the employee. You never get into the meat & potatoes of a job, and it typically involves moving. You also have problems with health insurance not overlapping, you never start building a respectable retirement fund, or tenure with a company.

3) I agree some, disagree some. I agree with stuff like "I have a vacation planned for a month from now, is that ok?". But it's pretty dumb to come into a company (if it's a typical 8-5 M-F job) and ask for Tuesdays off. If a company is that flexible, they'll tell you up front.

4) So this bitch says you should take time off for "gaps" in your resume, to show that you've done reflecting on your life? Geez.

5) This is complete BS. Even the business majors I know that started at the bottom of the totem pole made around 30k starting. If you can't pay the f'n bills with 30k, you need to lower your standard of living. This bitch totally misses the real reason kids can't pay the bills with their new life after college graduation: The kid tries to live the life his rich parents did. Like has been said on here many times, the Thirty Thousand Dollar Millionaire.

I think you're looking at her advice the wrong way. It's not so much saying "Don't get a grad degree, job hop all you want, ask for vacation up front, have gaps in your resume, and live at home" as it is saying that conventional wisdom isn't always true and there's not necessarily anything wrong with doing some of these things if the situation demands them.

This post has been edited by pebkac: May 18 2007, 04:05 PM