"You're 24 and you don't have a job?"

[Nick]

Do you have any opinions on people who graduated high school (or college even) and don't have a job? What are those opinions?

At what age do you think it's no longer acceptable to be staying home all the time during the time someone isn't at school?

 

[Alice]

I'm 20 and don't have a job, because I'm a lazy bum. I don't really have any excuse other than my parents haven't made me yet. I'm going to college this year though, so I can't at this point anyway.

I'd say 20 is pushing the limit, but I don't think it's really a huge deal if you don't have a job at this point.

 

[droomph]

I have a cousin who's looking to get married and still lives with his parents and doesn't have a job (as far as I know). So I think whatever age your parents start complaining, be it 12 or 40, is when it's way too late. But to be nice to your parents I think you should move out at 18 or 21 and find a job lol

 

[mondays suck]

Well, right now I am 20, finished with school and not doing anything :p
Only because I have to wait one more week to get some papers I need to enter university though.
All the time since my last exam my mother has been bugging me to take some underpaid nonsense job and be exploited for these two or three months of nothing, I was not too interested. However, unless you're just having bad luck, I don't think being idle for more than a few months is a good idea.

 

[Captain Fabio]

I have always had some form of part time job since I was 15, because I wanted to earn my own money.
I have a full time job now, after graduating from University, so I am happy currently.

As regards to people who don't have jobs, I don't care really; if they aren't motivated to get a job then that is down to them. My problem comes in when they sponge off people, live off the dole (tax payers money) and do nothing. People who are 'too lazy' to get a job seriously need to take a look at themselves, as if they continue with that attitude, your quality of life is going to be shocking.​

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[Shining Raichu]

I don't think it's right to judge people for anything unless you know the complete extent of the circumstances surrounding their situation. So unless you are 18+, fully able-bodied and just refusing to get a job or move out of home due to nothing but sheer laziness, I have no negative opinion of you.

As for moving out of home specifically, I think it's fine to stay for as long as your parents are happy to have you. The average age for kids leaving home is slowly creeping up, so if you want to live there and your parents are happy to have you then everybody else can just shut the hell up and mind their own business lol

 

[Oryx]

I believe that if you are in school, there's no problem with you not having a job. A job is an extra thing in that point of your life. But once you stop going to school, even if you can't immediately get a job in your chosen career path, you should have something. It's really not impossible to get a minimum wage job somewhere, save up some money so you can move out.

I feel the same way about moving out; once you've graduated and are no longer going to school, you should move out. I'm not really sure why I feel that way but that's the cutoff for me, lol.

 

[Shiny Celebi]

I wasnt able to get my first job until I was 20. This isnt because I was lazy, but because I couldnt get any place to hire me until then. Everybody's case is different remember it may not be because they are too lazy, especially with the economic situation how it is, its hard to get a job.

 

[Blade_of_darkness]

Everybody's case is different remember it may not be because they are too lazy, especially with the economic situation how it is, its hard to get a job.

Adding on to this are those who are rather picky about what they would want a position in. They want a specific position in a specific line of work.

In times like these, they're better off cutting their losses, swallowing their pride, & trying to find whatever job that is willing to take them. Sure, you're going to be underemployed, but it still beats letting yourself waste away with no money to spend on even the basics.

Of course, what should also be taken into consideration are the person's limitations due to injuries caused from accidents & the like. Depending on how bad those are, it can have a huge impact on what kinds of jobs that a person can take without having to put more strain on their already permanently damaged bodies.

Still, they shouldn't be made into an excuse of why a person shouldn't work altogether unless they're completely disabled, so the rest of my point still stands.

 

[Legobricks]

No opinions. To both questions: the circumstances of others in each respect simply aren't relevant to my own and I can't expect them to equate to my experiences.

 

[Sheep]

I'm 21 and the only job I've had was an internship at a tax firm in my senior year of high school. It's embarrassing sometimes since I often hear people my age talk about how their job is going, but I've been trying to focus on school, which probably isn't a good idea either since almost no one will hire you when you graduate without any relevant experience.

But no, in most cases I wouldn't judge people for it, but those who are NEET (not attending school and have no job) and choose to do nothing about it do tend to make me look down on them a bit, I won't lie.

 

[mew42003]

It depends on what they're doing with their time, as well as what their plans are for the future. If you're 24 with no job and sitting at home smoking weed all day, you've got a problem. Everyone should have some sort of ambition to strive for :)

 

[Cherrim]

I definitely judge people who aren't in school and make no effort to get a job (not openly but I totally think about it). Just over the summer or something isn't so bad, I guess, but if you've been doing nothing for like 8 months straight I just have to sit and wonder what you even do with all that free time. o_O But I also know that a lot of people are unemployed despite making every effort to find somewhere to hire them so I try to assume that that's the situation someone is in when they aren't doing anything obviously productive with their time (from what I know). But as soon as I know they aren't even trying, I tend to look at them quite differently.

There are obviously some exceptions to this but I feel any able-bodied person who is of age should be trying in some way to pay for themselves and make their own living. Economy's pretty rough right now so a lot of people can't necessarily be financially independent no matter how much they want to be and I respect that, but I respect people who make the effort even more. Even if I am not really one of them, although I am in full-time school year round to avoid getting a job since I don't think my health could handle one lol. ._.

 

[Sir Codin]

Work experience is important and makes you more marketable for better jobs. Even if it's mundane work, it's still experience.

As someone who started working at 16 (I started working in retail at a True Value), I think job experience is crucial and you should seek employment as soon as you are able to work. As far as I'm concerned, even if you graduate college with a 4.0 majoring in engineering, physics, or pre-med, it'll be debased significantly if you have no work experience when applying for an important job. Even an internship will go a long way. I currently work as a paid student aide for the Army Corps of Engineers. Most of my work is boring, but I'm getting used to the federal environment. I've also had some experience working in a laboratory at a previous summer job.

Personally, I set the bar at 21 (keep in mind, this is me being generous). If you're 21, you have no job, and/or you aren't in some kind of school, you aren't doing anything useful for your parents/roomates, and you're perfectly able to work, you're a parasite; get off your deadbeat ass and go do something.

I think working during college should be mandatory at a certain point. If you're in your third year and you aren't paying at least a partial amount of your fees out of your own pocket, start working. Stop relying so much on your parents and loans; paying for at least some of your own education is a good lesson in self-reliance. If you can't get a paying job, at least find an internship and get some amount of experience.

Also, I think stating that "I can't because of the economy" is a lazy cop-out excuse unless you actually put a considerable amount of effort into trying to find an occupation.

 

[Sydian]

There's a difference in not having a job and not trying to find a job. I think at 21 you should at least be trying to find a job. Most people have graduated college at least by that point or are in graduate school. If you have graduated high school with no intention of going to college however, you can't live off parents forever or something. You should probably be seeking a job immediately after high school, even though it likely won't be much. But yeah, at 21 I think it's high time to find a job and not sit around doing nothing. And honestly, especially in America, you don't need to have your standards too high, especially before graduating. You need to take what you can get, honestly. I don't understand how some people that have graduated college can sit around and do nothing with that education. You might not find a job in the field you studied, but you need to be doing SOMETHING at least. That's just imo of course. There are probably other circumstances that are understandable that I'm not thinking of. Sorry if I offended anyone.

 

[Sammi]

I honestly can't be bothered to care about what strangers do. As long as all parties agree that this person not have a job and can live without working one, why should I care? If they want no work experience or steady income... good for them? That's their mistake to make. .-.

But I might not judge not just because I'm apathetic about a lot of crap, but because I've done the "don't look for a job and be a mooch at home" before. It was a mistake, to say the least, even if I did have slightly legit reasons not to search that hard (I lived in a very small town and don't know how to drive). But tbh I never tried, and my parents never pushed me hard enough to care. While I could be on far better financial footing if I had been working during that time, on the other hand, I enjoyed having an essentially half year summer vacation. Since then my longest break has been a week. So part of me still envies people who can get away with it.

I couldn't go back to that, though. After a few months life gets worthless. I don't know how people could do that for years.

 

[Dinosaurs Eat at White Castle]

I periodically forget I finished high school since I commute to college from home. :p I've never had a job, which kind of makes me feel pathetic, since I'm still living at home. But I mean it really depends on the person and situation. Many times people are focused on studying or other things, while others have to work from a young age to support families. Other times it's just really hard to find a job. I don't look down on people who don't have jobs, since I'm one of them.

 

[Palkia]

I can understand if someone can't get a job. If you're 22 and you have still yet to get a job, but you are seeking one, I'm fine with that. If you are a lazy slob who doesn't put any effort into seeking a job, then I'll have a problem with that.

 

[Kura]

I definitely judge people who aren't in school and make no effort to get a job (not openly but I totally think about it). Just over the summer or something isn't so bad, I guess, but if you've been doing nothing for like 8 months straight I just have to sit and wonder what you even do with all that free time. o_O But I also know that a lot of people are unemployed despite making every effort to find somewhere to hire them so I try to assume that that's the situation someone is in when they aren't doing anything obviously productive with their time (from what I know). But as soon as I know they aren't even trying, I tend to look at them quite differently.

There are obviously some exceptions to this but I feel any able-bodied person who is of age should be trying in some way to pay for themselves and make their own living. Economy's pretty rough right now so a lot of people can't necessarily be financially independent no matter how much they want to be and I respect that, but I respect people who make the effort even more. Even if I am not really one of them, although I am in full-time school year round to avoid getting a job since I don't think my health could handle one lol. ._.

Couldn't have said it any better. I agree entirely with this. I couldn't put it better myself.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

There are obviously some exceptions to this but I feel any able-bodied person who is of age should be trying in some way to pay for themselves and make their own living.[/s]

What is "of age" though? We didn't have any summer jobs while in high school, for instance. We could have. We were able-bodied. (Although I did kind of want to try being swimming instructor for a bit there, but that didn't pan out XD)

I waited out the first two years of university because internships through the school weren't available for my program until third year.

---

Anyway, as you can probably gather from the above, I don't entirely agree. Because there are other ways of making money besides working. From when I was born, any monetary gifts I received my parents decided not only to save it - but to invest it. As I grew and eventually was old enough to deal with my money on my own, I liked the idea and kept at it. Birthdays, Christmas, whatever the occasion - whatever I got, no matter how small went into an investment fund.

Of course, working has gained me more far quicker. But the investments at least gave me a relatively sizable chunk of change by the end of high school, without having to work. If I had wanted to move out on my own back then, I could have. It would not have been easy, but it would have been at least a little bit easier than starting a life from scratch with nothing to my name. I wouldn't have to worry about living paycheque-to-paycheque for a small while at least, and I'd have the added benefit of being to save what I earned through working at the same time.

In hindsight though, if I could do things again. I would have worked. For starters, I'd have made more money. But also, I'd have at least experienced more things and met more people. That's worth while.

In any event, even though I wasn't working until my third year of university, I was still doing something of some sort and at least had something to fall back on. So, if you're not even doing that much then I'd be all "what gives?" on you. lol