Lights out accounting. It will all be done via blockchain. If we’re still alive.
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After my leaving certificate I delayed going to college and went to work in a bank. I worked in two branches. The first experience was horrible but the second was much more positive. I was doing the same job at both branches (bank teller) but the work environment in the first was toxic. I had to work beside a short-fused guy who was a bit of a bully and as a young enough man I had no idea how to handle it. I knew working in a bank was not for me and I really was not sure any corporate environment would be.
After lots of thinking I decided to go to college and train to become a primary school teacher. I was initially reluctant to do this as there were so few males in the profession and I did not know any other males around my age who were choosing to do teaching. In the end he college experience was pretty horrible. The college I went to was deeply conservative and any of the lads there stuck out like a sore thumb. As an introvert and a closeted queer chap it did not suit me well! I really enjoyed the school placements however.
Thankfully after graduating the fact that I was a male probably worked in my favour and I managed to get a job at an outstanding new school with great leadership. The ethos of the school and the way in which children were encouraged to think really resonated with me. I spent 10 years there.
In the ninth year at the school one day a parent in the school who was a development worker told me about her experience in Cambodia and I was immediately intrigued. I really liked the school I taught in but I was yearning for a bit more from life (and possibly to leave Ireland). That summer I decided to travel to Cambodia and volunteered in an orphanage. I was incredibly naive about development and what I on my own could do. The orphanage was run by a pair of zealot Americans who did very questionable things. Despite my naivety I could even see through some of the charities practices. I ended up voicing some of my reservations and was promptly told to leave. The experience taught me a huge amount. I knew the orphanage was not for me but I also knew Cambodia was the place for me. I loved the pace of life, the weather and most of all the people.
After doing one more year teaching in Ireland (I could not resign straight away) I decided to volunteer in Cambodia for a year with a credible charity. It was so rewarding and I learned many valuable things about myself and what I wanted from life
As most of you know(!) I now work for a charity that trains teachers. The job is a bit all consuming and there are a huge number of frustrations with extremely low standards, corruption, intransigence and dealing with some of the bigger charities. That said I absolutely love it! The job is extremely rewarding and I have the pleasure of genuinely seeing some of the furthest behind people (in educational terms) grow. There is a very healthy buzz from the job which fuels us.
What does all this mean @flattythehurdler. Maybe no harm for your son to get some short experience in things he does not find easy. He will learn from those experiences. While this might sound highfalutin for me being in a job that gave me purpose was very important. Like most humans I have done some really good things in my life and some really bad things. Working in a job that strives to do things to improve the world in a very tiny way is now important to me. For others they will want a job that provides real security and a good work life balance. Neither is better than the other. My job and my viewpoint has definite flaws. In my view however it is best to find out what your son genuinely wants from life. You might not be able to have that conversation at his age but you might in a few years when he has a bit more life experience and possibly a few bad experiences along the way too! Muddled story/life lesson over!
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Haha I dunno boy and that’s being truthful
I would have liked to be a steady Eddie
Normal responsible man
Who did the right things
Instead of fucking about
All my siblings bar one were steady
Fair play to you.
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Personally I think teachers especially Irish home grown ones are the greatest assets we have
I’d absolutely fantastic teachers bar 2/3 loonies
But like the Catholic Church one has to give credit where it’s due
Without both we’d be counting with our fingers and toes
Vv majority of both are decent and without them we’d still be hedge teaching and the vassel / serf system would be alive n kicking
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As most of you know(!) I now work for a charity that trains teachers
I didn’t know but fair dues
Orphanage work is vv fulfilling
Even for a non academic like myself
Loved Romania 
for it and could se first hand how our manual work and donating etc changed the lives of many in the aids/ TB clinics we worked in
In the end for me the feckin it was too corrupt
Everyone was on the make
From customs to directors of the various orphanage/ clinics
Only paddy was clean of it
I’d over 12 years of it but wouldn’t do it again
Similarly I can see a lot of Ukrainian bobs going astray
Ppl here have big heart’s in Ireland 
But we’re wide open for scams especially charity ones
Not being cynic bit honest
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I agree with you. I am yet to see a “good orphanage”. The vast majority inherently do harm. Charities that are evidence based are few and far between but there are some quality chairities that genuinely transform lives directly and even better improve existing systems.
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Great post.
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Extremely difficult unless you have the mind for it. I did a few modules on electrical in college. But you know yourself the demand for it.
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Thanks bud
Great post @RaymondCrotty. The work you do is remarkable. You’re incredibly modest about it, but I hope you do realise you are making a significant difference in many people’s lives. There are very few people who would have the bravery to up sticks and do what you’ve done.
Fine post too @Corksfinedtboy. A lot of honesty. We’ve all made mistakes - some bigger than others - but your commitment to and love for your youngest son here is incredibly evident in any post you write about him.
As a few of ye here know, I do a bit of work at third level, and have done this for close to a decade now in various different places. You meet 18/19 year olds who really haven’t a clue what they want to do, and that’s perfectly normal. Sometimes they’ll see a course through, sometimes they’ll pivot to something else, and other times they’ll drop out altogether. Some will get a degree and go off and do something completely different (a colleague got a call from Templemore before looking for a reference for a lad applying for the guards - this fella had studied creative design or something like that).
While I’m an advocate for third level education (and believe it should be truly free and financially support to all who want to access it), it’s not the only route. And it’s not necessarily the first route either. Some of the best students I’ve encountered have been in their 30s and 40s, because they’re finally doing the course they really want to do.
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I didn’t know you were a Larson fan?
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it
A long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
Than my own meandering experience, I will dispense this advice now
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth
Until they’ve faded, but trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back
At photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now
How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked
You are not as fat as you imagine
Don’t worry about the future
Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing Bubble gum
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind
The kind that blindsides you at 4 p.m. On some idle Tuesday
Do one thing every day that scares you
Saying, don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts
Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy
Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind
The race is long and in the end, it’s only with yourself
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults, if you succeed in doing this, tell me how
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives
Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t
Get plenty of calcium
Be kind to your knees
You’ll miss them when they’re gone
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t
Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t
Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the ‘Funky Chicken’
On your 75th wedding anniversary
Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much
Or berate yourself either
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can
Don’t be afraid of it or what other people think of it
It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room
Read the directions even if you don’t follow them
Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly
Brother and sister together we’ll make it through
Some day a spirit will take you and guide you there
I know you’ve been hurting but I’ve been waiting to be there for you
And I’ll be there just helping you out whenever I can
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good
Be nice to your siblings, they’re your best link to your past
And the people most likely to stick with you in the future
Understand that friends come and go
But a precious few, who should hold on
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle
For as the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young
Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard
Live in northern California once but leave before it makes you soft
Travel
Accept certain inalienable truths
Prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too, will get old
And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young
Prices were reasonable, politicians were noble
And children respected their elders
Respect your elders
Don’t expect anyone else to support you
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse
But you never know when either one might run out
Never mess too much with your hair
Or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85
Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
From the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
And recycling it for more than it’s worth
But trust me on the sunscreen
Brother and sister together we’ll make it through
Some day a spirit will take you and guide you there
I know you’ve been hurting but I’ve been waiting to be there for you
And I’ll be there just helping you out whenever I can
Everybody see it oh yeah yeah
Everybody see it oh yeah
He want you to feel good!
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I think 3rd level should be after a three year break from school myself. Sure I hadn’t a fucking breeze what I wanted to do going into college, and had no interest in what I did do for a finish
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Youth is wasted on the young
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Three years service in the FCA while you ponder what you want to do.
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weird, i always thought me opening your eyes to true poverty in glasgow was the reason you chose your current vocation
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Well said boy and thanks
Been there too great craic the summers in Lahinch