Advice needed

thorsoak

lika_86 wrote: »

Whilst I'm not saying he's done anything exceptional (although it does sound like he was doing long days), he's still just a boy really, other than the next few years, when else will he have so much time to just be? He has the rest of his life to work ahead of him.

Also to those saying he'll go through his savings in 8 weeks, surely he will have minimal expenditure? I assume he's still living at home and so will be rent free and mostly expenditure free, whilst I personally would expect to pay board and lodgings if I returned home after university, my mum never would have dreamed of accepting money during the university holidays for such things.

Better to ease him back into doing nothing than having him go nuts about going out and sleeping all day in his first two months of university because he didn't get a summer.

I was a girl of 18 when I left school on the Friday. On the Monday, I started work in the west end of London (travelling up from Reading each day). I worked from 9 til 5.30, then had about 1 hour - to 1 1/2 hour travelling each way.

It's nothing special - most people did it/do it!

When my children went to uni, (none of them took gap years) they'd already organised their vacation work - starting almost as they finished their A level exams - and worked as many hours as they could right up to the time they went away - organising their bits and pieces in between. Yes, we took holidays - but they didn't give up work until just before they went off!

lika_86

Yes people do it, I'm not saying they don't or can't but if you were 19 again what would you rather do? I changed jobs and moved cities last year and had a three four week break in between and had I had the money to allow me to I'd have definitely taken longer as I felt that between packing up one flat into storage and buying stuff (new towels, bedding etc) and packing stuff to move across the country that I just didn't get an actual break as most days I was doing something ready for the move.

I just think that people are being a bit harsh on the boy, it's easy to say he should be working longer but who wouldn't (given the chance) want a good few weeks of freedom? I would and I worked every summer when I was in university.

Wilma33

Does he want/need to work the same place during the uni holidays? If so, make sure he makes this clear to them when he resigns.

DylanO

lika_86 wrote: »

Yes people do it, I'm not saying they don't or can't but if you were 19 again what would you rather do? I changed jobs and moved cities last year and had a three four week break in between and had I had the money to allow me to I'd have definitely taken longer as I felt that between packing up one flat into storage and buying stuff (new towels, bedding etc) and packing stuff to move across the country that I just didn't get an actual break as most days I was doing something ready for the move.

I just think that people are being a bit harsh on the boy, it's easy to say he should be working longer but who wouldn't (given the chance) want a good few weeks of freedom? I would and I worked every summer when I was in university.

He's not a boy - he's 19. He's an adult.

mountainofdebt

Hi

Thanks for all your viewpoints.

Whilst I know he's done nothing special, I do think it has done him alot of good - we had some interesting conversations when he first started about working and looking after a home. He's still not perfect but he's alot better.

We've agreed that he can finish at the end of August ....I'm not saying he hates his job but the date now has a huge red ring around it, which in some ways is a relief as I was worrying that he would love his job and love having money in his pocket and decide not to go to Uni !

Brighton_belle

Sounds just right OP. And I am sure hard work during his gap year and all he has learnt about managing his time and money will greatly benefit his time at Uni.

Make-it-3

I think credit where its due, he's got himself a job (no mean feat in these times) worked hard and saved as asked of him. He has probably grown up a lot, learnt lots and has valuable skills that will stay with him for life. Funny that you began to worry he might not want to give it all up for Uni.

I'm glad he has ringfenced the date and can now start planning how he is going to spend his precious few weeks of freedom.