Does my son really want to work?

[TradeDraft]

Thanks for the advice and opinions. I'm just taking it very slow because I'm trying t rebuild my relationship with him. Hes put in for a job at Office Works where his mate works so hopefully something comes from that.

Well that is Fantastic that he is trying to get a Job. Office Works would be a good Place to work.

Also Remember kids today have computers and the internet and that can be different attiude know then it was when you where a Kid

 

[Bussie]

Got a part-time job at 15, I finished school at 17, had a full time job at 18 and have worked ever since. I moved out of home when i was 19. I never knew what i wanted to do when I left school. Ive worked as a detailer, labourer and as a warehouse assistant. I got my truck license at 19 and started driving route buses at 21. I'm still doing that today. 50 hours a week and all shitty shift work. But I clear over $900 a week. At 24 I got married and was a father at 25. My folks never pushed to get a job but they also told me nothing comes for free. I started paying board at 15, which is thought was harsh, but i learnt the lesson in life. I've always been thankful my parents never handed me anything on a silver platter and appreciate my parents now that I'm a parent myself. It's an old cliche but it sticks. I hope one day Copeland, your son realises why you're trying to get him out there. My parents used to show me the bills. All of them.
I also never used computers growing up, i was going to be a drummer in a band lol.
Your son knows what he wants to do, help him find it. Go to TAFEs and speak to careers advsiors and such. Go to Uni open days. My wife is currently doing an online course whilst looking after our daughter.
Take an interest in him and ask him what, how, why and when he would like to achieve his goal. Maybe help him nut out a plan. Or bump up his board just slightly. $10, $20, just enough to make him think about working another couple of hours a week. If your electricity bill is anything like mine then you'll probably need to do something!! I'm tempted to send my dog and cat out to the mines!
Try and stay calm. Find some common ground, usually helps.

 

[CrimsonButterfly]

Having trouble with my 19yo son. Wants get a trainee-ship in IT, but there's not a lot around. Wont do factory work and doesn't spend many hours a week looking for work. But he does spend up to 12hrs a day on his pc. He did get a job at JB HIFI but they put him off saying because they just put a manager on there was not enough work for him, but I think it may be his work ethic. He works with me occasionally at a service station and does the bare minimum, I'm afraid it will permanently damage our relationship because I'm always on his back. I have given him 3 months to get a job or he will loose his pc but he hasn't changed his ways. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You can't take away his PC or he won't have any way of finding jobs. Most jobs these days are done through online applications so maybe lowering his download limits would be the way to go.

Anyway, he sounds like my brother, who is 20 and hasn't worked. My brother stays home on his computer, uses centrelink and plays games all day. He has made it clear he won't work anywhere other than a retail store where he is selling TV's and things like that but he won't do any sort of retail course to get him noticed, so he is in a tight bind.

 

[Copeland]

Thanks Bussie, he dropped me off at a mates small house and I told him the next day that he pays $280 a week to the bank to purchase that house, he did seem surprised. But I think he thinks a house is not in his near future so maybe he's not entirely worried about it. I had to pay for tires on his car because he had no money, I know its wrong but his car has to be safe. I'll tell him if he cant pay for rego and insurance we will sell it. I like the what, how, why and when idea, been thinking of something similar.

CB, we have a pc in the library and I dont reckon he looks for them any way. Your brother does sound similar, are your folks going off their nut?

 

[Lord of the Pies]

When my brother finished vce he was on the dole for about six months doing sweet fa. The old man, who has a "Tom Hafey" like work ethic, was over it. Dad went and bought paint, rollers, brushes and sandpaper. He told my brother that if he wanted to live at home he had to contribute. 3 painted rooms later my brother had a printing apprenticeship.

 

[Copeland]

He went for an interview at DVDit and has scored some trial work with them, so fingers crossed. Hope he loves it then he will apply himself.

 

[DThomas]

He went for an interview at DVDit and has scored some trial work with them, so fingers crossed. Hope he loves it then he will apply himself.

That's good news! I hope it all works out for him.

 

[Pie eyed]

He says all he's wanted to do is work with computers and not really interested in anything else. I explained to him you really don't know what these other jobs are like until you try them and he may not even like working in IT, his mates tell do tell him its boring. And this was the scenario with his JB hifi job, a IT traineeship came up but he didn't even go for it because he was happy at JB. I think it was more that he was only doing 20-25 hours a week which gave him enough money and still plenty of time for gaming. We tell him places we think of where he could try putting hie resume but he does not rush into it or even go to some of them. He seems to think its the job of the employment agency and he'd be just wasting his time. So at the moment he has 2 hours a week with me at a service station, where he has the manager as his referee. Not sure if this a good idea as he's late too often and has just received a warning for a stuff up on the till where he gave a customer $100 too much. While he was at JB we lent him $8000 to get himself some transport, so now he has a car he has to maintain as well and a loan to service, but unfortunately Centrelink have started to give him money and he seems quite comfortable with this life style.
One thing is, I'm very happy he's not out getting into drugs and getting pissed as nit frequently like I was at his age.
BTW thanks for your input buzzbuzz.
I do remember his IT teacher saying he'll probably end up making more money than you and me out together.

Bite the bullet and pay for an acreditted IT course for the boy.
In IT it really hinges on having initial accreditation.

Once you're in you're in.

 

[Copeland]

Bite the bullet and pay for an acreditted IT course for the boy.
In IT it really hinges on having initial accreditation.

Once you're in you're in.

Do you mean a Certificate or Diploma on-line, maybe a Bachelor of IT. He missed getting into Uni because his marks where not high enough, maybe Tafe next year?

 

[TradeDraft]

Do you mean a Certificate or Diploma on-line, maybe a Bachelor of IT. He missed getting into Uni because his marks where not high enough, maybe Tafe next year?

Reckon Tafe would be a Fantastic Idea

 

[76woodenspooners]

Hope things are going well Copeland.

A few thoughts ...

Something that took me a long, long time to learn is that a computer is merely a tool to get a job done. People saying that they're "into computers" is like people saying that they're "into shovels". A shovel is merely a tool that's applied to gardening or house-building or whatever. The gold in the application itself, the gardening or the house building. And by "gold" I mean, pay, demand for services, and usually job satisfaction.

So your son being interested in computers is only part of the puzzle. Computers applied to what? Applied to banking? Applied to retail? ...

... or an obvious answer: Applied to games? The gaming industry is by far and away the most advanced - advanced hardware (for its price) advanced software modelling, advanced development tools, etc, etc. The gaming industry is responsible for so much technology advancement over the last 30 years. There are a couple of reasons for that - firstly it's a big industry that generates a lot of revenue, but (IMHO more importantly) is because the industry is very competitive and is run by a bunch of folks who love what they do and are very passionate about it. There's very little technological innovation that comes out of the banking industry, despite having the money to afford the best.

Anyway, gaming industry is extremely competitive and extremely technical these days - it's very very difficult to break into it. But my point is that simply being "into computers" is not enough - they need to be applied to something. And whilst "computers applied to gaming" might be a nice answer, it's a very very high risk one.

The menial jobs that kids often do when they enter the workforce may not seem very sexy and a long long way from their dream job. And kids don't have the patience for that. But that experience provides very important life skills. His work experience working in a servo now is putting him face to face with the public which is enormously valuable experience that a lot of people don't have. In the future when your son is applying for a job against somebody who spend their formative years doing factory work, both candidates will have very different attributes to offer a prospective employer. But I think you recognise that which is why you got him the job in the first place.

The world of IT jobs has gone through a massive revolution of online outsourcing. There are a bunch of outsourcing websites (odesk.com and freelancer.com, mechanicalturk.com 99designs.com, are examples) where IT services are bought and sold. People can put themselves up on there and say "will design website for $30/hr" and somebody will come along and ask you to develop their website. There are a mountain of IT fields and websites that provide a marketplace for these services ranging from programming to graphic design to simply filling out surveys.

It's very competitive because it involves the whole planet, but there are an equally enormous number of customers out there wanting services.

Kickstarter.com is also an inspirational website to look at. I doubt your son is anywhere near ready to get involved in that, but there is some inspirational ideas on there.

Whilst there are huge amounts of people around the world earning money doing this from the comfort of their bedrooms, all the same, it is still good life experience to get outside and into the real world.

 

[Temploar]

I have a question Copeland.
Is your son into Computers, or is he into Computer Gaming?

Cause i know a lot of kids these days say they are into / good at computers but fail when it comes to anything other than how to start up a video game.

What experience does he have on a computer? does he know any programming languages?

 

[Copeland]

Yeah he's into gaming, he's 2ic at http://www.overzealousgamers.com/lo...4671-761692e29334819bb07e5a889110fc295e13f746

He does know a bit about programming languages but said it was very hard. Not 100% sure of how much he helps out on his gaming site as far as technical stuff goes, he does maintenance what ever that entails. He did build a pc once but I think lots of kids can do that.

BTW he got the job at DVDit, but they have just found out he is color blind so that's complicated things but they said they want to keep him on. They want him to go to an eye specialist and see if he can wear some sort of glasses or help him in some other way.

 

[TradeDraft]

Yeah he's into gaming, he's 2ic at http://www.overzealousgamers.com/

He does know a bit about programming languages but said it was very hard. Not 100% sure of how much he helps out on his gaming site as far as technical stuff goes, he does maintenance what ever that entails. He did build a pc once but I think lots of kids can do that.

BTW he got the job at DVDit, but they have just found out he is color blind so that's complicated things but they said they want to keep him on. They want him to go to an eye specialist and see if he can wear some sort of glasses or help him in some other way.

Well you son is very lucky to get 1 Interview and then get the Job. Wish I had that Luck

 

[Copeland]

He said he eats interviews for breakfast lol. Five interviews and four jobs so far and the one he missed on they said they would have put him on but the state government wouldn't allocate any more money to them.

 

[Temploar]

Yeah he's into gaming, he's 2ic at http://www.overzealousgamers.com/

He does know a bit about programming languages but said it was very hard. Not 100% sure of how much he helps out on his gaming site as far as technical stuff goes, he does maintenance what ever that entails. He did build a pc once but I think lots of kids can do that.

BTW he got the job at DVDit, but they have just found out he is color blind so that's complicated things but they said they want to keep him on. They want him to go to an eye specialist and see if he can wear some sort of glasses or help him in some other way.

Fair enough, i know a few people from that site.

Programming languages are hard and i know that from first hand experience, if books aren't his things there are lots of videos on youtube dedicated to teaching him the basic syntax of things like C++. Spending your whole day playing stuff like Dota2, Dayz, Minecraft doesn't get you anywhere in life. Maybe tell him not to drop the games completely if it's something he likes doing, however step back and take a break for a while and read a book on programming for an hour or so a day.

Most kids these days know how to take apart a PC and build one, however ask around for a job at places like that. MLN, Msy, Newtech, Scorptec. If he's' lucky then one of them will give him a go, it's a lot more fun building pc's then writing code.
i've built a few gaming pc's for mates. Complete with radiators, water coolers and the works. And provided you have the parts for it then it's an enjoyable experience.

Sorry to hear about the colour blindness, it intrigues me that it was found out so late in his life.

 

[Quicky]

Interesting article about getting a job developing video games. If thats what your son was interested in Copeland
http://www.abc.net.au/technology/articles/2012/10/18/3613542.htm?WT.svl=featuredSitesScroller

 

[Copeland]

Cant seem to get him interested in a course at all, god he's flipping frustrating. Seems to think the work he does at http://www.overzealousgamers.com/lo...4671-761692e29334819bb07e5a889110fc295e13f746 is all he needs.

We found a traineeship at a local School, and Maxemployment are doing a cover letter and touching up his resume for him but they still haven't sent it out. I rang them but they wouldn't tell me anything because of confidential BS, applications close the day after tomorrow but my son doesn't seem too worried about it all, he just says they'll send it when they are ready.

 

[TradeDraft]

Well I am thinking of Going Back to Tafe and Doing Web Page Design.

Your Son sounds like he does want a Job as he does not Care if he Gets it.

I have found sitting around at home Doing Nothing Except being n the Computer can be Depressing

 

[Copeland]

He's is working pretty well full time atm at DVDit, but says a IT traineeship is what he wants. Leaving things until the last minute by the looks, again.

 

[Quicky]

He's is working pretty well full time atm at DVDit, but says a IT traineeship is what he wants. Leaving things until the last minute by the looks, again.

Sometimes people mature and progress at different times and different rates. Perhaps the work he is doing is a perfect fit for him right now. I would be more concerned if he wasn't working at all. I know I took a while to get my shit together (still am in a way) when I was younger.

 

[Old Spice]

What are his passions? You've got to go with that Cope.

Find what he likes and work back from there. You can nut out a program from there.

 

[CasuallyDressed]

What are his passions? You've got to go with that Cope.

Find what he likes and work back from there. You can nut out a program from there.

That isn't always the answer ...

If his passions are games and computers then job prospects are limited. I tried for ages to get a job in that field and ended up with job agencies from Centrelink always on my case. I ended up at a job with Australia Post and have been there for four years now.

It's not easy to get somebody out of their comfort zone and this kid seems stubborn. It would benefit him though to start looking outside the box.

 

[Old Spice]

That isn't always the answer ...

If his passions are games and computers then job prospects are limited. I tried for ages to get a job in that field and ended up with job agencies from Centrelink always on my case. I ended up at a job with Australia Post and have been there for four years now.

It's not easy to get somebody out of their comfort zone and this kid seems stubborn. It would benefit him though to start looking outside the box.

No, he needs to hone in more on what he wants to do.

Life can be meaningless. He needs to do something which suits his interests. He can get any job he wants at the drop of a hat, we all know this. My old man wanted me to join the air-force, the fire-brigade, the police force - all while I was doing year 12 mind you.

**** him and **** doing what you don't want. It's a waste of time. Life's short, you do what you want - that's the way to go.

 

[Temploar]

**** him and **** doing what you don't want. It's a waste of time. Life's short, you do what you want - that's the way to go.

Exactly, i wanna be a butterfly.
Nobody ever suspects the butterfly.