What would you tell your kids to do for a living?

[Johnny199r]

I'd recommend a career to them that:

1. Won't breakdown their body
2. Doesn't involve shift work
3. Doesn't require travel (unless they want that starting out)
4. Pays well
5. Involves work they don't hate

That sums up my career as a lawyer.

[V]

Originally Posted by Shazam

These careers don't exist.

Disagree. I'd say I have a very successful career in exactly that.

To the original question, I just make sure my kids don't sit in the basement playing video games all day and night. The amount of early 20-somethings I see doing that is insane. There's no way that ends well.

The career advice I've given my kids so far is to be very aware of which doors you are closing, and keep as many open for as long as you can. My daughter was considering being either a teacher or an EA. I told her that getting a degree allowed her to do either, and getting a diploma only allowed one of them. She chose the degree, and three years into her degree she's now started her own tutoring business and doesn't think she's going to end up teaching at all, the business is going so well.

I also think the idea of doing something you love isn't really that helpful, I love sitting on my couch watching TV, I'm not going to do that for a living. I tell my kids to do something you're good at. Mastery leads to engagement, and engagement is pretty key to success.

[puckedoff]

Honestly I think with so many of the younger generation being against working in oil and gas, the industry is going to be starved for people so I would expect high earnings for future generations in O&G.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I'm not saying a job where you're completely impervious to a drastically different government ideology being implemented. But there's certainly careers where you're better insulated against it.

Exactly, like IT, versus, say, O&G, where you're basically praying a Conservative government wins. People don't need that stress every election cycle.

Unless you do IT stuff at an O&G company, ha ha.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by V

Disagree. I'd say I have a very successful career in exactly that.

Well don't leave us hanging.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Well don't leave us hanging.

Death row executioner in Texas

[8 Ball]

Originally Posted by Torture

idk, I think in the trades you have to be careful about trading wear and tear on your body, particularly as you get older. You can earn a living but at what cost if you can't enjoy it after work?

The majority of people in the skilled trades advance out of manual labour rolls and move into supervisory or managerial rolls long before that would happen. And if you start while you're young, the hard work isn't much of a burden.

[Sliver]

Teacher. 2/3 of a day 3/4 of the year, amazing benefits and super short career with a full pension.

My daughter is in education and I'm so excited for her to be on easy street once she graduates!

[Geraldsh]

Anyone coming out of high school not sure. What they want to do should enlist in the military. It’s good for the country as well as allowing some time to see what you are good at.

[PaperBagger'14]

As for my kid, I’d encourage him to first consider what kind of life he wants. Work is always a means to an end, regardless if you love your job or not and for that reason I’ve never had a dream job, just a dream paycheque. I’d want to make sure that my kids job will provide enough to achieve his financial goals, will keep him happy enough that he can do it for a long time and healthy enough that he can live a comfortable life post retirement.

I would say any 3rd party medical career (optometrist, podiatrist, dentist) or veterinarian where you own your practice would be my advice.

Or if he’s dumb like his Dad get into utility work and cruise control to retirement.

[Sylvanfan]

My 15 year old going to high-school is an honors student. He told me he was thinking of doing the trades program. I said go for it. At least in trades you can make good money while you figure out what you want to do. If you have any organizational skills you can put a business together and eventually make it into something.

[Scroopy Noopers]

I’d tell them to dabble in as many jobs that they find interesting while they are young and it doesn’t really matter yet. I bounced around so many things, saw so much cool and interesting stuff. Helped me be a more rounded individual in my career as a whole.

Try stuff. Even just working st a place where you want perks. Like the zoo to see animals behind the scenes… that kind of stuff before bills matter.

[Jason14h]

Robots will replace most trades in the next decade . They already can paint, drywall , do basic framing , etc

Engineering robots maybe ? Programming robots ? Robot supervisor ?

Vet , doctor and teacher are good answers as you will (may) still need real people vs robots to make people and animals feel calm

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Teacher. 2/3 of a day 3/4 of the year, amazing benefits and super short career with a full pension.

My daughter is in education and I'm so excited for her to be on easy street once she graduates!

I love ya but I hate how your lazy, option class teacher friends have given you this impression of the industry. I just hope she's getting into it for the love of the work, and not for thinking it'll be easy street. Because if so and she's teaching core subjects, she'll be in for a big surprise.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by GomerPile

I always find this interesting, I know a few Firefighters and their unions always push for work life balance in schedule etc.... then they all have side gigs, which would defeat that balance IMO. I also know several firefighters who have had major mental health issues and a few succumbed to it, for that reason I dont recommend it.

I worked with a few guys at fire that had part time jobs at the airport just for flight benefits.

Not a bad way to do things

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I worked with a few guys at fire that had part time jobs at the airport just for flight benefits.

Not a bad way to do things

Yeah, I worked for WestJet for a few years and there was quite a few guys at the airport who were fire fighters.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Robots will replace most trades in the next decade . They already can paint, drywall , do basic framing , etc

Engineering robots maybe ? Programming robots ? Robot supervisor ?

Vet , doctor and teacher are good answers as you will (may) still need real people vs robots to make people and animals feel calm

Next decade?

We are pretty far from having robots that could, for example, walk into a construction site and just start painting, or even walk along uneven ground outside a home. Even if we could somehow get to that point, no one is going to trust a robot to do framing or electrical work without direct supervision. It's far more likely that we see people in exo-suits before we have robots actually doing that work.

Robots are nowhere near doing the most basic labour tasks, let alone the trades that require a great deal of experience and thought.

If anything, prefab is a great worry for people in the trades. Even then, you still need people to maintain and repair that work.

[kootenayguy9]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Teacher. 2/3 of a day 3/4 of the year, amazing benefits and super short career with a full pension.

My daughter is in education and I'm so excited for her to be on easy street once she graduates!

Elementary? Middle School? High School? My nephew will be starting his education degree next year as well as he wants to be a humanities teacher like his Uncle . I know as a teacher I feel very fortunate to have the career I do. I really hope she has a successful practicum experience as that is the real test.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Really? I tiled my bathroom(and I've done a lot of DIY jobs) and that was one of them where I just said no way. Doing floors is awful on your body, the grout and mortar are savage to your skin, not to mention cuts from sharp tiles. Everything is heavy, you work in awkward positions...tiller is one trade I'd totally avoid.



Electrician, new build plumbing, sure. Great stuff. But tiler? Nope.

Absolutely, if you ever meet a tiler still doing it into their 50s and 60s they’re the most miserable dudes you’ll ever meet. Just a horrible grind on the body.

AI, robotics and the coming Great Depression has to be a major consideration when it comes to choosing a career path.

[chedder]

No chance on robots replacing most trades any time soon. I'd bet good money a kid just entering a trade will have a career right through to normal retirement age.