My parents have funded for me to travel, and I have studied, and worked. I have tried all of these scenarios, and i know i've had plenty of people complain
about my luck (even my own sisters), but they're just jealous that I got to travel through Europe every year after I finished high school for 5 years (so
far), and got my life together enough to get a great job.
0 Kudo
24 and never worked
| Started By | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 idontknowwhat |
|||
|
Posts: 6803 (04/24/2008 8:52 AM) |
|
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1800 (04/24/2008 8:53 AM) |
WTF? I'm not jealous. I'd HATE to be 24 with no work experience whatsoever. It just doesn't look good, and personally I've learned SO much from
jobs, things I never could have learned in school. I think it made me a much better rounded person. And as I said, I wasn't waitressing through college
either, but I did work in the summers - as much for the experience than the money.
She does annoy me though because she really doesn't realise how easy she has it compared to most people. I don't think it's good for someone's character to get such an easy ride, and never have to earn money. She said herself she'll get a huge shock when she starts working full time. Maybe it's different over there, but here, work experience is almost MORE important than a degree for most jobs. |
||
|
Nico Corvus |
|||
|
Posts: 39213 (04/24/2008 8:53 AM) |
I've been working since I was 15. Ew. That means 18 years of working!
|
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1801 (04/24/2008 8:58 AM) |
I think if you don't HAVE to toil away at some crap job to pay your way through school, more power to you. At least she's getting out there and traveling, experiencing life. That's actually very cool. I'm a bit envious, myself! I didn't have a job during the college year either. Plenty of people experience life while working - meeting tons of people from every walk of life while working in a foreign country teaches you much more than loafing around in a language school or camp with a ton of other English speaking people, IMO. No, it might not be as FUN, but the experience is well worth it. |
||
|
JenFromJersey |
|||
|
Posts: 12534 (04/24/2008 9:06 AM) |
My freshman year of college, when I was applying for work study jobs, more than 30 people applied for the 5 spots I was vying for. I got the job because of
previous office experience, and landed one of the cushiest jobs on campus!
|
||
|
BlackStilettos |
|||
|
Posts: 14845 (04/24/2008 9:13 AM) |
Why would the OP be jealous of someone with no work experience? The job is market is crazy right now; people are going months without getting job interviews or
callbacks. You need any edge you can get nowadays. She's obviously concerned that her friend is going to be smacked really hard by reality.
I've gotten every single job I've ever wanted in the past 2 years because I've tried to build my resume since I was 15, and I'm only 21 now. Every single employer has told me that they've hired me specifically because I have the experience that other people my age just don't. |
||
|
POProcks08 |
|||
|
Posts: 1690 (04/24/2008 9:14 AM) |
It's not like she's sitting on her ass wasting her life away. Volunteering means something.
|
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1803 (04/24/2008 9:24 AM) |
Yes, but real work experience is important too. I've volunteered, I've worked for free in return for room and board overseas and those things mean
diddly squat on a resume. These days, everyone and their mother has a degree - it's like the MINIMUM requirement now. She really thinks she can apply for a
job and get it because she has a degree. I've graduated and I've experienced the attitude of recruiters and employers. There is absolutely no way
I'd have gotten any of my jobs without some work experience. They all said that I didn't have enough. Well, she has NOTHING.
|
||
 Hp GaL04 |
|||
|
Posts: 30632 (04/24/2008 9:29 AM) Most Dramatic '07 |
I started workin when I was 18. I used to think that was late.
|
||
|
forever121young |
|||
|
Posts: 8237 (04/24/2008 9:31 AM) |
What does she want to do afterwards? If she has no idea, she's in a shitload of trouble. With the economy right now, finding a job with experience is hard
enough.
I had my first job experiences in college (18) and it opened my eyes up alot. She's going to be lacking. But atleast she's traveling and gaining some type of experience that way. |
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1805 (04/24/2008 9:38 AM) |
She's talking about being a social worker, but she hasn't gone to school for that. I think she's planning on working in an office or something for
a year or two, but they won't even look at you without experience. I think her parents are doing her no favours by spoiling her like this. She's going
to have to support herself sometime, and the longer you leave it to get work experience, the harder it is.
|
||
|
Rysi |
|||
|
Posts: 1733 (04/24/2008 9:42 AM) |
NCCyberchica wrote:
Edited By: Rysi
04/24/2008 10:14 AM.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
imnotsayingitright |
|||
|
Posts: 21521 (04/24/2008 9:44 AM) |
To me, a job does not define a life. She sounds like she's got some pretty amazing experiences under her belt.
If she has trouble finding a job when she's ready to work, so be it, but that'll be for her to deal with, so I can't really find myself caring too much about what she's doing right now. |
||
|
Jillio19 |
|||
|
Posts: 41368 (04/24/2008 9:45 AM) |
I think it's incredibly sad. She's in for a rude awakening - that is if she ever enters the real world.
|
||
|
AudaciousAudrey |
|||
|
Posts: 11940 (04/24/2008 9:51 AM) |
I am 23, still in college, and I've had plenty of jobs but none of them relate to my field whatsoever. I consider that about the same thing as having never
had a job at all.
|
||
|
KatieSLP |
|||
|
Posts: 123 (04/24/2008 9:52 AM) |
You make it sound like she spends a lot of time volunteering. Volunteering is work. It is just work that you are not getting paid for. I doubt that many
employers care if you got (or needed) a paycheck or not as long as you have been productive, working and learning skills to do a job. If she has a pretty
extensive resume concerning her volunteer work (with skills and experience), a great attitiude, excellent "work" references from her volunteer
"jobs" and a degree I am sure that she can land a job.
Edited By: KatieSLP
04/24/2008 9:55 AM.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
SwtAngel961 |
|||
|
Posts: 17773 (04/24/2008 9:56 AM) |
itsmejustin wrote: I do alot of hiring in my job, and we definitely do look at those jobs. Obviously not because making coffee is relevant to the job but because it's still considered job history. No matter where it was you worked, the length of time you worked there and your reason for leaving do factor in on your application. If someone worked at Starbucks for a month and got fired for not showing up half the time, and it was their most recent job, we're probably not going to hire them because that shows us that they won't be reliable. |
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1806 (04/24/2008 10:02 AM) |
To me, a job does not define a life. She sounds like she's got some pretty amazing experiences under her belt. Not really. I mean, I've been everywhere she has and more, and have gained work experience as well. I've studied abroad, and partied and have had fun, but I thought it was important to get some work experience while overseas as well. She almost certainly WILL have a hard time finding a job and I feel bad for her. She really has no idea. She thinks a degree replaces work experience and it just isn't true. There's so much competition, you need every edge you can get these days. That means a degree, AND work experience, AND volunteering AND internships, not just one of them. She didn't even study abroad and she did a language degree - that looks bad on a resume. You make it sound like she spends a lot of time volunteering. Volunteering is work. It is just work that you are not getting paid for. I doubt that future employers care if you got (or needed) a paycheck or not as long as you have been productive, working and learning skills to do a job. If she has a pretty extensive resume concerning her volunteer work (with skills and experience), a great attitiude, excellent "work" references from her volunteer "jobs" and a degree I am sure that she can land a job. Yeah, I used to think that until I tried to get hired. Volunteering just isn't the same as real work. How can anyone really criticize you when you're working for free and doing something good? It's nothing like a real job. The dynamic is totally different. |
||
|
Tristessie |
|||
|
Posts: 6148 (04/24/2008 10:10 AM) |
She's fine, she will get hired if she's qualified. You don't NEED work experience from random places that have nothing to do with your degree to
get hired. Granted most people do have it since they need the money, but she obviously doesn't and it doesn't mean she won't get hired ever.
She might have a harder time at a job though, since she's never experienced it but then again maybe she won't. This doesn't sound so bad, for a second I thought she never had a job AND just sat at home picking her nose or something
|
||
|
Skiddz82 |
|||
|
Posts: 17980 (04/24/2008 10:15 AM) |
About half of my friends have never worked a day in their lives. And they never will. I'd like to think that if I were in their position, I would work,
anyway, despite the exorbitant wealth... but I probably wouldn't.
|
||
|
jc4me18 |
|||
|
Posts: 11830 (04/24/2008 10:17 AM) |
I can't imagine not working ever by that age. I am 24 as well and I got my first part time job when I was 15. My parents helped me with some things, but
they wanted me to be able to afford stuff for myself too (clothes, car insurance, phone bills, etc). It's teaching the kid responsibility.
|
||
|
EuroMAFan |
|||
|
Posts: 1807 (04/24/2008 10:18 AM) |
Perhaps if she were in med school, yeah, the degree would be fine and she could walk into a job. But she did an Arts degree and will be looking for
office/admin work until she goes back to school for social work. You need experience for that if you want a salary more than the minimum wage.
|
||
|
Semirhage626 |
|||
|
Posts: 4320 (04/24/2008 10:18 AM) |
Umm, employers -- especially in Social Work -- absolutely WILL consider travel and volunteering in other countries as experience. They don't care if
you've been paid, they only care that you were active during your times off from school, and what she has done sounds not only active, but admirable.
|
||
|
Sweet Caramels |
|||
|
Posts: 5002 (04/24/2008 10:19 AM) |
Skiddz82 wrote: are your friends male or female? and how do they spend their days? |
||
|
Skiddz82 |
|||
|
Posts: 17981 (04/24/2008 10:22 AM) |
Sweet Caramels wrote: Female. Shopping, going out to eat, traveling, volunteering, fundraisers... they aren't bored. Come to think of it... my dad didn't start working until he was about 25. He graduated from college, traveled for a few years, took a year off, and THEN
started work. |
||
I did do summer internships for the past 2 years but that's it.
). I couldn't do much else b/c I did not have the administrative experience.
But 12/hr with a BPS isn't exactly thrilling. I have since been given a raise to $15/hr, but even still it's like 
. So clearly my degree hasn't helped me get too far yet! I would say the more
work experiece you have the better.
Quick Reply
