premmington
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Is this a mental health "time bomb" brewing - the act of raising every young persons expectation...?
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Is this a mental health "time bomb" brewing - the act of raising every young persons expectation...?
I'd fully agree with this point. Just because you happen to have a degree in Knitting and got yourself yourself a job in HR, it doesn't mean we all need one.
I'd also add that in my opinion the degree qualification has been so eroded that its now almost worthless (as have GCSE, and A levels)
In 1920, 4357 first degrees were achieved in the UK, by 2011 that number was 350,800 and I'm pretty sure that in that time we haven't got that much cleverer, which must surely mean that the qualification has got easier to achieve?
GCSE etc are the same, when I left school in 1988, I think that there were only a handful of A grades in our year. Now people are leaving school with 9x A stars (or whatever they've been rebranded too). Make of that what you want, but I know what it suggests to me.
I think this is true too. I deal with large numbers of Apprentices as a day job, and the numbers off sick, or on restricted duties due to mental health issues is surprisingly large.
I know that our awareness of these problems and the way that they are dealt with is significantly better now than it was when I was their age (30 years ago). But that doesn't explain why I see so many.
Personally, I would suspect that the raising of expectation, along with always being told that what you've done is brilliant regardless of if it is or not, amongst other factors, plays a role in this situation.
premmington
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Your quote @DanZac
"I think this is true too. I deal with large numbers of Apprentices as a day job, and the numbers off sick, or on restricted duties due to mental health issues is surprisingly large."
Too much weed don't help either....
Too much weed don't help either....
Not where I work it shouldn't be. Zero tolerance drug policy, with random testing, and instant dismissal if your caught (and that's any non prescription drug, Inc weed and steroids etc).
premmington
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My GP - showed me some statistics once - she reckons from the data: You more likely to be alcohol dependant owning and running a garage than being a pub landlord. Shocking is it not...
Honestly that is why motortrade insurance is so high - and PAYE motor mechanics have high insurance premiums. Because some algorithm is suggesting we at high risk of causing an accident thru drink driving.
Most paint sprayers are high on thinners or coke - it is the artistic streak in them - I think....
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Son a friend. Only person I know to get caught on a work based drug policy - was in the Navy and got discharged. He swears - he did not take anything - he reckons they mixed samples up. He a keen runner - into martial arts from Kendo to Tai Chi (standing like a tree). He is a "tea total veggy" as well. I also think he may even be telling the truth. If he was taking "speed" - amphetamines and it was in his urine. Personally I reckon lads he was working with - dosed him up for a laugh and it all went wrong for the dull boy. Sad but true story...
E T
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Staying away from this forum also helps a lot.
All those machines and tools you guys convinced me i need are a money pit.
premmington
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conor1n
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Hello all.. quick update on this.
So.. it turns out i've beenpretty very miserable depressed the last number of months, since writing this OP.
For better or for worse, I have decided to move back to Ireland temporarily (again) to sort myself out. I've been doing therapy and it has identified the root cause of my woes (I think!) - so it's time to work on them properly and not have the stress of being miserable here in London with nothing to do outside my day job.
When back in Ireland my overhead will be lower and i'll try and find some work in IT and "play workshop" in the evenings.
Honestly, while I know IT work can be stressful.. I love it in theory it's just I go through phases of being absolutely unable to command myself out of bed (sometimes for weeks on end).. So I don't really think it's worth giving up, as it's ultimately a good career.
During my workshop "play" time .. I am going to start repairing the damage/wear to the leather/trim in my various cars .. i'll document it a plenty and might try and get into car leather repair as a bit of a side hustle.. I think it's something I could be good at and niche enough for there to be a bit of demand.
Between my cars and friends/family/fools, I should be able to work away at it and see how I get on.
The other Idea I had was to get into restoring old bits off cars for people, like subframes, running gear and trim pieces etc .. I would have a process such as abrasive blasting then followed buy a variety of coatings with different prices for the customer, such as epoxy/paint and cerakote etc. Pretty niche and probably not much demand for that really, I would say.
Anyway, main thing is to focus on my health and have a reasonable level of comfort/hapiness and everything else should follow.
So.. it turns out i've been
For better or for worse, I have decided to move back to Ireland temporarily (again) to sort myself out. I've been doing therapy and it has identified the root cause of my woes (I think!) - so it's time to work on them properly and not have the stress of being miserable here in London with nothing to do outside my day job.
When back in Ireland my overhead will be lower and i'll try and find some work in IT and "play workshop" in the evenings.
Honestly, while I know IT work can be stressful.. I love it in theory it's just I go through phases of being absolutely unable to command myself out of bed (sometimes for weeks on end).. So I don't really think it's worth giving up, as it's ultimately a good career.
During my workshop "play" time .. I am going to start repairing the damage/wear to the leather/trim in my various cars .. i'll document it a plenty and might try and get into car leather repair as a bit of a side hustle.. I think it's something I could be good at and niche enough for there to be a bit of demand.
Between my cars and friends/family/fools, I should be able to work away at it and see how I get on.
The other Idea I had was to get into restoring old bits off cars for people, like subframes, running gear and trim pieces etc .. I would have a process such as abrasive blasting then followed buy a variety of coatings with different prices for the customer, such as epoxy/paint and cerakote etc. Pretty niche and probably not much demand for that really, I would say.
Anyway, main thing is to focus on my health and have a reasonable level of comfort/hapiness and everything else should follow.
northwest
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I think you are making a very wise lifestyle choice, I am quite certain that a good many on here have been in very similar situations and have chosen to press on, to the cost of their health, I know I have. You can never ever get that time back and if it is time wasted you will regret it, there is absolutely no point in just "surviving" and being miserable, this is wasted time and later you will regret it. I am very very lucky and I have few if any regrets. I know when I am wasting my time and I tend to not do that. I learned the hard way.
The stress this is putting on you both mentally and physically cannot be over stated, I absolutely loved IT and much like @fizzy I became a very good network engineer. I got out before they got me though, I was usually blamed for every incident in "the system" and it became hard to carry on some days, exit stage left was my strategy and going back to a form of mechanical engineering which I am trying to keep on the enjoy side of work was my answer and so far, so good.
The stress this is putting on you both mentally and physically cannot be over stated, I absolutely loved IT and much like @fizzy I became a very good network engineer. I got out before they got me though, I was usually blamed for every incident in "the system" and it became hard to carry on some days, exit stage left was my strategy and going back to a form of mechanical engineering which I am trying to keep on the enjoy side of work was my answer and so far, so good.
