Son's dilemma

bristol_pilot

Regrettably, IT graduates are ten a penny. And benefits advisors are all for the chop. A job on a magazine COULD just end with him being editor one day on six figures.

UnderPressure

I know what you are saying but its an awful big could dont you think? Also currently he works in the housing benefit section out of most public jobs would you not expect under the circumstances this to be quite secure??

Yes there are probably 1 or 2 IT graduates around I still am sure he could do an awful lot better than both of these jobs.

Ahhhhhhh he is a young man I am sure he will do as he wishes quite rightly as well

Either way I hope it all works out for him

ali-t

If he is working on a magazine then presumably he could also pick up some freelance work that would boost his salary a bit or doing something p/t in IT to go with the lower salary.

qetu1357

if you can get a job you enjoy, go for it.

Much more important than money.

lauzt1987

I graduated last year and was in a similar position. I left a boring but well paid job to work in my dream job on a much much lower salary. I did manage to negotiate and they increased my salary by £2k however so it is possible.

On the other hand, you have to be realistic and accept that your Son will be unlikely to get the job if he doesn't have a great deal of experience. My other half is a writer and it is a very competitive industy. There are thousands of journalism/media graduates who will know a lot more about the industry. If he doesn't get this job maybe he could get some work experience?

ka7e

UnderPressure wrote: »

What you all seem to be forgetting is this young man has a degree, he is an educated graduate that has put a lot of hard slog into getting his degree in the first place now his "dream" job is a low paid 15k a year job probably with not much hope of advancement.

Kind of makes all the work he put into getting his degree a bit pointless, with a bit of planning he could get into a specialised IT area WITH chances of career progress where in the end after a few years of experience he could and SHOULD easily be earning 35-50 k a year!

The only thing that matters in these dark days is a well paid job, I would much rather be miserable in comfort than poor in what essentially could well turn out to be a bit of a dead end dream, yes life is too short so why not maximise the things you can do when you are NOT working this needs money, no matter what anybody says money does not buy happiness but it dam well buys security.

If he has no plan on doing anything with the degree he has earnt then shame on him and shame on you as his parent for encouraging to be so silly in these dark dark times.

Thats my opinion dreams change life very rarely does.......................

As another poster has pointed out, IT grads are 10 a penny! When he first applied for jobs after Uni, no-one wanted to know as he had no experience. He had worked in retail as a student and the local council were keen to promote the "customer services" side of the job and he fitted their requirements. The work is actually quite interesting and he gets to meet lots of people, which he enjoys! It's just that the workload has become untenable and his colleagues are demoralised, so he's looking elsewhere.

This editorial job is just a good fit for him, involving a subject matter he is passionate about. He has a proven track record within the area and is already known to the company involved.

At 24, I would rather encourage him to fulfill his potential at something he enjoys rather than demand he stays in a job that has, at times, made him ill with stress.

nearlyrich

i am surprised that so many people think it's better to have a well paid job that you hate than to follow a dream. I would hate to think I had wasted my life working in the DWP where I started or at the local council where I moved onto. Taking a chance with a "dubious" company lead to a great well paid career and the chance to travel and meet lots of people, more interesting than being abused by long termers getting more money per week than I got per month. Sadly I know people who have worked there for 30 plus years, moan about how awful it is but don't have the gumption to get out and do something exciting.

ceridwen

I think it really really does boil down to "Know thyself". Somewhere - deep down - we each know just how concerned (or otherwise) we are with financial security. Also we all know somewhere deep down how talented/or otherwise we actually are.

This is the clue as to what is the best course of action for us personally in a set-up like that. Somewhere deep down we know if we have pretty "standard" level talent or worse on the one hand or we really are capable of something a bit special (but it wont earn us any money) or we really are capable of something a bit special (and we could use it to earn some decent/high level money for ourselves).

THE question is to know what "category" we personally fall into...once we know (IF we can work it out objectively) - then we will have a much better idea how to proceed. It really IS something that depends a lot on the person themselves - many many people over-rate their level of ability on the one hand/some under-rate it on the other hand. I honestly think this is the single biggest issue there is when it comes to the Big Question "How am I going to get enough income to live on?" - ie to work out accurately which of those 3 categories we personally fall into....

Edinburghlass_2

ka7e wrote: »

As another poster has pointed out, IT grads are 10 a penny! When he first applied for jobs after Uni, no-one wanted to know as he had no experience. He had worked in retail as a student and the local council were keen to promote the "customer services" side of the job and he fitted their requirements. The work is actually quite interesting and he gets to meet lots of people, which he enjoys! It's just that the workload has become untenable and his colleagues are demoralised, so he's looking elsewhere.

This editorial job is just a good fit for him, involving a subject matter he is passionate about. He has a proven track record within the area and is already known to the company involved.

At 24, I would rather encourage him to fulfill his potential at something he enjoys rather than demand he stays in a job that has, at times, made him ill with stress.

Even without any stress in his job I'd be encouraging him to do it. With his current salary he has been able to save so a drop in salary shouldn't be a problem to him, sounds a sensible young man and well able to budget to his means.

System

ceridwen wrote: »

I think its unacceptable to expect anyone to have to live in either a shared house or a bedsit if they dont wish to/have the wrong personality to do so. Everyone needs/has the right to at least a one bedroom flat if that is what their needs/personality dictate.

unless you're on benefits...

back to the OP i say go for the dream job, this kind of opportunity may only come once