OT: Paging the Arborists

[Mary Fisher]

I like your daughter even more!

Mary

[Tim S]

Mary Fisher coughed up some electrons that declared:

Indeed, I agree wholeheartedly Mary. Priorities change. My original priority was to "get into computers".

This worked well, because despite having a less than ideal qualification (though the degree was a technical requirement to work in the various university posts) I wasn't married and no kids. So I could afford to do "overtime" fiddling around and likewise at home. This gave me enough scope to become self-taught and stay ahead of the job, leading to the next job etc etc.

These days, the kids were losing out, the wife decided she wanted to resume working and it was a relief to get out of London with the 3 hour round trip commute and work relatively locally. So not much to complain about really.

But, if you asked me what my dream was, however impractical or ungrateful sounding, it would be to work a little less (for less money obviously) and on a very flexible schedule. That more or less leads to some sort of self employment and probably well clear of IT (IT is all about panics and deadlines and things breaking at inconvenient times).

As to the outgoings... I've been looking at that. Hardly worth trying to save gas/electricity as any real scope for savings pales into insignificance compared to the council tax round here. Most other bills are modest, though some things might be possible to drop. The real killer at the moment is groceries - and that's probably the area where we could have

30% off of our bills with some careful planning. 4.2% inflation my a***, more like 15% :-O

Cheers

Tim

[Dave Liquorice]

Presbyopia is the medical term.

I would expect a implanted lens to be fixed and have the focus set for a suitable hyperfocal(*) distance. Close focus would require "reading glasses".

(*) A true focus point were everything from infinity to a point nearer than the true focus is in apparent focus due to the circle of confusion and/or the depth of field both of which are is related to the f number.

[T i m]

It's fun in a MM van ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[Mary Fisher]

As Spouse says, 'It's nice anywhere.'

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

...>

I don't know where round here is, ours is high - but any saving is always worthwhile.

You could, I'm sure, and probably eat better.

This conversation might be better conducted off-group.

Mary

[Cicero]

================================== The point I was making is that potential employers have different attitudes towards young people with a history of frequent job changing. Some will see such work history as 'experience' whilst many others will see it as lacking 'stickability'.

I agree that being in the wrong job can be very depressing but I think most people are prepared to settle for a living wage in a less than perfect job rather than a life of easy idleness on job seeker's allowance. As I said, a steady job, bringing in a decent living wage, can be a good base for branching out into more enjoyable work. This seems to be much more the case today when several career changes in a working life are the norm for many people.

Cic.

[Owain]

The jobcentre identified my preferred possible careers as including hermit or hired assassin.

Owain

[T i m]

Agreed, however I guess you will also agree that wouldn't be your preference, given the chance?

Out of interest (and I know you aren't suggesting this is the case in our case) our daughter doesn't want to 'sign on' and isn't even interested in money, what she want's is a chance to learn a trade she might enjoy.

Agreed again, but might it also restrict your oppertunaties to find said enjoyable jobs? Our daughter is 'available' for when this Arborist chap is doing something else and could use her help / show her something new. Something she couldn't do if already in a fillin job of some sort?

She was looking for temporary jobs after Xmas and they nearly all said they were still holding their Xmas staff and to try later. She tried later and although the Xmas staff had now gone, so had the trade and they were likely to be laying other staff off. So, rather than try to find employment where things are a bit hard she might as well be learning a trade in the hope she will be ready when things pick up again?

Mind you, the way fuel and food prices are going she may well end up being our gardener .. and when she's not actually growing our food she'll be protecting it from the starving hordes ... :-(

All the best ..

T i m

[Cicero]

Very true, but it's something that many people must settle for either because of lack of opportunity or for simple economics.

From a purely practical point of view she really should consider 'signing on' for the long term benefits; thinking of pension rights for a 17 year old may seem a bit fanciful but sometime in the distant future she might be grateful for a few extra pounds in her pension. With luck she might be able to take early retirement when she's about 85.

True again. A person I knew some years ago was in a similar position although not a 17 year old. He wanted to be available for immediate employment when he saw a suitable job. From time to time he was required to make some kind of statement about his recent job-seeking efforts to satisfy the benefits people. He would write a long, convoluted and barely intelligible account of his efforts and present this when required. He was never questioned too deeply because nobody understood what he was saying, but he continued to collect his 'dole' until he did find the job he wanted. Because he didn't have to work a period of notice he was the early bird.

Can we be sure that things will pick up? We might all be heading for a sustained period of meagre survival if we don't find new sources of food and fuel.

Armed with her trusty axe and chainsaw..

Cic.

[Andy Champ]

He wore half lens glasses for the last few years of his career.

Bearing in mind the hours pilots work (horrible, but not many of them) I'll bet he spent a lot less time in front of his instruments that I do in front of a screen.

Andy

[geoff]

In message , T i m writes

I've been thinking about this

Don't you have the ordinance museum just around the corner, and a water park ?

Don't they have maintenance workers, whose day to day routines would be quite varied and rewarding ?

[Rod]

Tell her to apply to Kew, then she can start making television programs as well as climbing trees. :-)

[T i m]

LOL!

Sounds about as accurate as school careers advice (and something daughter has written about in her newspaper column).

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

And that could be nearer the truth than we care to consider eh? :-(

So (as I've never signed on either), is this Job seekers allowance something she has to take along with any job opportunities they may dig up? Can she be on it and doing her own 'job seeking' (which is what I believe your story above was suggesting can happen)?

Well exactly .... I was discussing elsewhere how I feel the 'biggest commercial building in the world' could be put to better use (and energy) than being an auction house for (mainly) cut flowers!

More like her Mossberg 20 bore 3 shot pump actually .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Thanks ;-)

Yup and yup?

Quite probably and good thought Geoff. ;-)

I think her plan is as follows. Get some practical experience with my mates mate (he who offered her an apprenticeship) and possibly relevant qualifications from the Horticultural College (probably free / cheap till she's 19).

If / when she has some of the minimum qualifications to be able to tackle some of the more basic tasks and with the confidence she should gain via mates mate (and you have seen how quiet / shy she is, even through her motorbike helmet ) she could then offer herself to the local bodies as you suggest.

That could all happen quite quickly as well ... a few months maybe?

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Now that wood be nice!

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Liquorice]

Read and take note.

I didn't join the company pension scheme until I had to at 21, I joined =

the company when I was 18 so I'm three years down on contributions, not =

enough to be made up with AVC's either. Those three years could well end= up costing me a few thousand/year on my pension when I can take it.

In this day and age it is never to early to start saving for a pension. =

Remember each =A31 invested at 16 will have a good 50 odd years to grow.= At

5% compound interest over 50 years that =A31 has grown to =A311.47. 10% =

=A3117.39, 10% long term is attainable on the markets with out taking gr= eat risks.

Some one else who has noticed that they are pushing the state retirement= age further and further back. Found out by accident the other week that = I don't get my state pension until I'm 66, barstewards. Anyone born later =

than 1958 check your state retirement date it might still be 65 but coul= d be 66 67 or 68... This is separate from moving the womans state pension= age from 60 to 65.

[Tim S]

T i m coughed up some electrons that declared:

Having both claimed the "dole" and worked for the JobCentre (Employment Agency/Dept of Employment as was in 1991-95), unless anything has radically changed (likely in the details but the general scheme is probably similar), it used to generally work like this:

• Go to nearest JobCentrePlus in person, or peruse this first: * Ask to claim any benefits that she may be entitled to (they tell you what you can get)

• Do paperwork

• Get benefit(s) (used to be Income Support, now it looks like Jobseeker's Allowance, same thing really)

• Sign on every fortnight.

• Occasionally be asked to produce evidence of work seeking activities.

• If she hangs around too long (eg 3-6 months) doing that, she may be pushed onto some course or the other (short, looking-for-a-job 1 or 2 day affairs) or actively encouraged to see the nice man/woman behind the desk about applying for some random but hopefully reasonable job from the boards.

She can "sign off" at any time. Also, her NI stamps should be kept upto date, which is useful. The worst they will do is force you to sign off if they offer you various job interviews/seminars and you decline.

If you looked employable and obviously trying then the staff are usually helpful and generally not pushy. If you look totally unemployable they don't bother much either, bar the mandatory courses (course=temporary-sign-off=positive "stat" for the staff). If you act like a jerk towards the staff, try to be clever or just look workshy but potentially employable, then you will get a major kick up the bum.

It's obvious that she fits the first case, so, IMO she should go and claim what's hers and possibly take advantage of any seminars going on CV writing, interviewing skills or whatever. Those micro-courses actually weren't bad on the whole. Not executive level of course, but far from useless. And free, so why not..

It is also free for employers to advertise jobs in the JCP and you do actually get some pretty reasonable job ads these days (searchable online) - she might get a lead on something she wants to try if she's lucky.

HTH

Tim

[T i m]

And with that £117.39 in 50 years time she can buy herself what ... a burger or 1 gallon of bio-fuel?

Maybe I'm just skeptical and / or never been 'a saver', probably because I don't think I'm going to 'make old bones' (as they used to say) and would rather live for today than a future that might not exist.

I have seen (and been involved) in too much heartache re pension plans, some that have been spent (stolen?) by those we trusted to be looking after them for us. :-(

I also have several pension packages that I (apparently) can't merge or do anything sensible with, because I was only in them more (or less?) than X years etc (BT, Kodak etc).

If you have no savings you can't have them stolen off you or turned into so much waste paper?

All the best ..

T i m