Any profession your Dad preached at you as a teenager to never do?

GON

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My Dad was a merchant marine, when he finished that he went on to work in restaurants, nearly 50 years. He worked every day until he died in his late 70s. Dad was a very hard working man. Typically worked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. His work ethic was incredible.

Dad preached to me most every day as a teen to stay away from two professions:

Working in a restaurant and sales.

His thought was the restaurant business was thankless. Work every night, weekend and holiday. Put up with some not so nice customers..... he preached non-stop to never work in a restaurant.

Dad also was powerfully persuasive to never be in sales. His thought was anyone can sell, and no job security, no matter how good one was at sales. Not sure I technically agree with his views on this, but I understand where he was coming from.

Any professions your Dad told you sternly to stay away from?
 
I didn't know my Dad, but funny you mention sales. Some of the best compensated people are in sales. I'm not talking door to door nonsense. I'm talking ones that get good commissions. Those people know how to hustle and get rich doing it.

You sell 10-20 million, you're not making minimum wage. You're dad was probably talking about door to door sales people.

My high school biology teacher talked me out of majoring in auto mechanics. Said you don't wanna work in a cold and dirty garage in winter....
 
In Jr High, i was leaning toward being a mechanic, my dad would have none of that. He told me they were a dime a dozen.

I don't know what made him feel that way.

He is 83 now, he was under his silverado last week, changing the rear shocks. I helped him get the bottom bolts in. I told him if i knew he was starting that, i'd have done it for him.
 
My Father was a white collar worker all his life and always turned his nose down at blue collar workers. I was a blue collar worker all of my life, and although successful, I am sure he hated it as he never would talk to me about my work. Such is life.
 
My Dad worked hard all his life, too. Decided I wanted to do something besides mowing yards for some money.

Could tell Dad wasn't very excited about it. Asked him one day why he didn't seem interested in me getting a job.

"Cause once you start working, you'll be working the rest of your life," he said very calmly.

He was right.
 
My Dad worked hard all his life, too. Decided I wanted to do something besides mowing yards for some money.

Could tell Dad wasn't very excited about it. Asked him one day why he didn't seem interested in me getting a job.

"Cause once you start working, you'll be working the rest of your life," he said very calmly.

He was right.
I have never thought about it that way. But man it is true, I have been laid off twice and got a new job within 2 weeks each time. 27 years of working and I've never had more than 2 weeks of vacation in a year.....absolutely sick of it.
 
I didn't know my Dad, but funny you mention sales. Some of the best compensated people are in sales. I'm not talking door to door nonsense. I'm talking ones that get good commissions. Those people know how to hustle and get rich doing it.

You sell 10-20 million, you're not making minimum wage. You're dad was probably talking about door to door sales people.

My high school biology teacher talked me out of majoring in auto mechanics. Said you don't wanna work in a cold and dirty garage in winter....
One thing I learned in my career is that high end salesmen, and I mean enterprise level sales the high six/low seven figure folks, are a special breed; it is a skill set as valuable and special as a talented engineer or finance whiz. While there is certainly an experience and development factor, the really good ones are born into it...some things just can't be taught.

I certainly don't have 'It'.

I remember talking to a close friend, a very talented engineer, who was grousing about our sales folks compensation. I listened then said 'the difference is the customers want to take a call and hit a golf ball with so and so....they'd want to punch you..':)

My Dad, 6th grade education, had a thing against lawyers...and used to say 'regular people don't get those jobs', when I'd mention flying for a living or similar. Funny, I married a lawyer.
 
My father told me when I said I was going to join the air force, don't go into bombers.
I did, I was a Crew Chief on B-52s during the Viet Nam war.
The reason he said not to go into bombers was because he was a Crew Chief, and Waist Gunner on a B-24 Liberator.
His aircraft was shot down over Germany. Dad was captured and spent 16 months in German POW camps at Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16
 
I didn't know my Dad, but funny you mention sales. Some of the best compensated people are in sales. I'm not talking door to door nonsense. I'm talking ones that get good commissions. Those people know how to hustle and get rich doing it.

You sell 10-20 million, you're not making minimum wage. You're dad was probably talking about door to door sales people.

My high school biology teacher talked me out of majoring in auto mechanics. Said you don't wanna work in a cold and dirty garage in winter....
The best sales people I know in many industries are not just sales, they are always solution providers. Many can be domain experts that help solve customers problems or if they don't they would do extra work for the customers without charges. These days it is still true and this is the reason many of them becomes specialized and sell to more online but focus in a narrower field.
 
My dad is a retired attorney. I had a stay at home mom.

I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. My parents had an equal philosophy in what they expected from us. They didn't want us getting into law enforcement or the military.

They wanted all of us to go to college and they didn't want us getting a worthless degree like Liberal Arts or General Studies.

Only one son of the three went to a real college and he is a pharmacy manager.
My other brother is a grocery chain refrigeration tech.
My older sister is an assistant school principle. She got a partial scholarship for volleyball.
I went to Nashville Auto Diesel college and am a fleet semi mechanic.

We all took ACT's, not SAT's.

My younger sister is the smartest sibling period. Highest ACT score, very well spoken, remembers everything... She is 6'2" and got a basketball scholarship and wanted to become a RN. She was injured playing and got addicted to drugs. She is now a barber and controls her addiction with a monthly Vivitrol shot.
 
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