Recent Masters Degree Graduate Who REFUSES To Work

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   gmwilliamsposted 12 years ago

   A cousin of mine has a 30 year old son who will not work.   He has a Masters in Medieval History from a renowned university.   He obtained that degree at 25 years of age.   He has looked for jobs in his field but to no avail.   However, there are jobs that were offered to him such as a salesclerk in Barnes&Noble and Macy's Department Store.   My cousin suggested that he take a civil service test which he adamantly refuse.   He maintained that he WILL NEVER take a job which is below his educational qualifications.   
   
   He is of the opinion that he is going to start as near the top as possible.   He indicated that the only job he will take are executive and/or managerial positions.   He is not going to take a lowly position because he feels that once a person starts at the botttom, he will remain there.   As a result, he has not worked at all since he obtained his Masters' Degree.   In fact, he HAS NEVER worked in 30 years of his life.    My cousin is affluent but she wants him to support himself and this has been a subject of contention in the household.    He will NOT work unless it is in a high powered job that HE likes, pure and simple.    Do YOU  know anyone like this?
   

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      Rad Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Your cousin should demand room and board from her 30 year old son. No pay no stay. I've seen this story in my extended family and understand how difficult it can be but sometimes grown adults need to be treated like grown adults for the good of the adult.

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         gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I am with you, Rad Man, a multillion percent!

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   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   What kind if job is he expecting to get?  If it is an academic one he needs to get a scholarship and do his PhD.

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   WriteAngledposted 12 years ago

   I don't know. It's hard to say.
   
   I must admit, though, that someone who goes for a Master degree is probably manifesting some inadequacy by not going for a PhD.
   
   Since I have a PhD, there are many jobs I would not dream of touching. On the other hand, I have managed to stay employed and progress seamlessly from employment into freelance work for the last 24 years. Thus I have never been faced with the problem outlined by the OP.

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      psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed.
      
      I suspect that if both of us needed to, to put food in our mouths, we would take other employment.
      
      An advanced degree is only worth the doors you can prize open with it.  It is not some kind of entitlement. In my case I moved country three times to stay employed in my specialty.  You have to make an effort.

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         gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         One does have to make an effort and be mobile regarding job opportunities.  I also believe that one must obtain a Ph.D. in order to be actively employed in the humanities, especially if he/she wants either an academic and/or a high powered career.   Having a Master's Degree in the humanities no longer suffice regarding having any type of academic and/or high powered career.

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         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I guess the fact I realised while doing my PhD that I did not want to continue in animal-based medical research helped flexibility to a large extent.
         
         I moved from
         1. biomedical research in a university, to
         2. a hospital laboratory,
         3. a university library,
         4. qualifying further in library and information studies
         5. doing desk research as a scientist and information specialist employed by a scientific charity
         6. studying to become a book indexer
         7. leaping into medical translation, where I have stayed contentedly as a freelance since 2004.
         
         In all of this time, apart from 4 years when my children were small, I was never unemployed even for a day.

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            gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Also, one must be highly flexible particularly in this precarious employment market.  People who are rigid will find it difficult to obtain and/or retain employment.

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      Rad Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The problem is not that he is unable to find a job in his chosen career, it's that he has never had a job and at 30 years old is still living with mommy. Nothing is stopping him from getting any job while he looks for something better.

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         gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Rad Man, my mother said the exact same thing decades ago.   I used to take umbrage at her, arguing that if a degreed person starts at the bottom or take any job, he/she WILL NEVER be HIGHLY successful.  However, she did not listen to me at all!

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            Rad Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            You're also not going to be successful if you never land any job. After 5 years...

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               gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Reminded me of what a career counselor stated nearly 4 decades ago-if one is 25 years of age and has not work, it WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for him/her to get a job.  Employers will wonder WHY he/she has not work by that age.

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   frantisek78posted 12 years ago

   I respect the guy for sticking to his guns. If the family is well off, and he is not starving to death not having a job, then why shouldn't he wait for something he actually wants to do? The bigger problem is that so many people are spending so much money on a college education and cannot find anything in their field.
   
   What I'm saying is that if he isn't in dire straits, there is no reason he should take a job he doesn't want to do. I think most people wouldn't take the jobs they actually have if they didn't need to to make ends meet. Since he doesn't need to make ends meet yet, there is no reason why he shouldn't hold out for something in his field.

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      gmwilliamsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      A great new thought.  Many children of well off and wealthy people can afford not to work until THEY do find something that THEY want to do.   However, many parents are of the school that once a child graduate from college, he/she SHOULD work, even if it is in jobs that are undesirable.   
      
      There are an ethos in this society, that children MUST work if they graduate from college and they the parents are not obligated to support their children once they become adults.  Many rich and affluent people even tell their children to work, even if it is in McJobs, to gain some sort of work ethic.  I know one daughter of a prominent businessman whose daughter worked as a CASHIER once SHE graduated college.  She HATED the job but he INSISTED that she worked.   
      
      Good premise you brought up, Frantisek, good to add to the discussion.    So many parents have this  idea of work, instead of considering that if a parent is affluent enough, having the child wait until a suitable job comes along.
      
      P.S. The family is very affluent with both parents in high positions.  They are NOT in dire straits.  They are QUITE comfortable socioeconomically.  Both parents are from upper middle income backgrounds.  They paid for the son's education though graduate school.
      
      However, the parents are of the school that after a child finishes his/her education, HE/SHE must WORK, pure and simple.  He was offered jobs but the jobs were not commensurate with his education so he turned those jobs down.  It is his contention that he will only accept jobs that are commensurate with his education.  In addition to that, he wants to be paid a high five figure salary. If such jobs are not offered, he WILL NOT work, period.
      
      To add, many employees do look negatively on those who have not had jobs if they are 25 years of age and older.   They are of the school that when one works after graduation, it demonstrates a work ethic.  Those who hold out for a job that it suited to them although there are other jobs available, demonstrate a lazy work ethic and such people are seldom hired.People who are unemployed for a long period after graduation, unless they are in school, are deemed as poor employment prospects.

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