# How do I get my daughter to adopt the work ethic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906 "2010-09-07T10:20:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906/101 "2010-09-17T15:04:56Z")
Maybe so, but when you have an unexperienced, lazy kid, you do what you can for them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906/102 "2010-09-17T16:41:25Z")
I take it that there is no employment centre at which support workers could instruct her in drating a CV, so as to reduce child-parent conflict? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906/103 "2010-09-18T12:56:27Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > > > I am waiting for her to give me a copy of her CV so that I can help make it as good as possible, given the limited qualifications and experience that she has to put on it. > > Jeez, even people with friggin’ _PhDs_ don’t really stand a chance to find something (even menial) in this economy, so a unexperienced lazy girl out of highschool ? > > Her _CV_ ? It could be written on a post stamp. Actually, I don’t know about other countries, but here in the US, it’s actually _easier_ for a non-experienced, fresh-out-of-highschool kid to find a minimum wage job than it is for a PhD. That’s because companies are less willing to hire people who are vastly over-qualified for the work, as the company is aware that the over-qualified will leave at the very first chance. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906/104 "2010-09-18T13:38:01Z")
The more difficult it is to find and hold a job, the more important it is to develop skill at finding and holding a job, or developing skill at playing the social safety net, using parents’ generosity, and couch surfing. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906/105 "2010-09-18T15:45:43Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > > [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > > > I am waiting for her to give me a copy of her CV so that I can help make it as good as possible, given the limited qualifications and experience that she has to put on it. > > Jeez, even people with friggin’ _PhDs_ don’t really stand a chance to find something (even menial) in this economy, so a unexperienced lazy girl out of highschool ? > > Her _CV_ ? It could be written on a post stamp. **Khaki Cambell** , I am going to make a couple of assumptions here that may clarify something for you. A) that you’re in the US, and B) that you think “CV” means “academic résumé”. In the UK, “CV” is synonymous with the general US use of the word “résumé”. In other words, you can have no qualifications whatsoever and still have a CV, because it’s a record of your working life, as well as your academic one. I would have been like young Ms Eternity myself - I’m really lazy, and shit with money - had my parents not busted my arse about not giving me handouts all through my upbringing. From about 6 years old onwards I was told: your want pocket money? Sure, but you either have to mow the lawn, wash the car, or do the dishes. When I was 12 I was told if I wanted spending money I should do a paper round. When I was 16 I worked in a petrol station after school. When I was 17 and desperate to own a car, I was told I had to earn enough to buy it myself, so I negotiated increased hours at the petrol station and bought a heap of junk (the arguments we had about that were amazing: “It’s so UNFAIR! All my friends have cars. I didn’t _ask_ to live in the middle of nowhere!” ::slam door:: When I got the car, my dad kind of undermined his message by telling me to get that piece of crap off the driveway). When I had a gap year I worked and paid rent living at home. When I went to drama school (yes, another unfulfilled actor) they funded my terms, but I worked in the holidays to pay my way. When I graduated I lived in their house for a year (in their absence) but paid rent. That’s not to say they haven’t helped out when I’ve been in dire circumstances, but it’s always been a loan (albeit with exceptionally generous terms). But thanks to them I’ve been completely financially self-sufficient since my graduation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-get-my-daughter-to-adopt-the-work-ethic/552906.md?page=5)