Lots of variations on that one. The problem is, kids are buying into it. There's a special Swedish phrase for it, "skoltrött", which translates to something like "school-tired" and is mostly an excuse for not pursuing your studies right after after that oh-so-trying high school.
Do you remember "Back to the Future" and Mr Strickland, the teacher that called Marty a slacker? That's me now.
A gap year after high school is one of the best things kids can do. I would strongly encourage my kids to do that, as long as they don't just spend a year playing video games. Go backpacking, go work on a farm, work in a bar, something like that. Something they want to do while they are young and may never get around to doing later.
What I find amusing on my travels is the faux backpackers. Kids in hiking boots and carrying big backpacks who are actually staying in nice hotels because their parents are paying for it. But even that is a good thing, those kids are getting out and seeing the world and expanding their minds. Still I think it would be better and more fun for kids trying to do it on a shoestring budget, travelling around Asia and eating street food and staying in hostels.
The problem isn't just that kids are buying into it. This wanker was making his pitch at adults and judging by the number of times it was getting shared.... a lot of stupid adults are buying into it as well. A change of career is something to be planned and considered at great length. Risks need to be weighed. Skills and experience need to be assessed. Even then it is a massive risk, especially if you are in the sort of career where you can't simply walk back in a couple of years later, up to your eyeballs in debt and with a second mortgage on your house, and pick up where you left off.
