swimmermom3 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 My oldest son is 19 and graduated from public high school last spring. At that point he decided he had no desire to spend any more time in a classroom. Dh and I were at a loss as to where to direct him next except for full time work, but he had little experience outside of a summer bucking freight at the port. He spent a month washing dishes at a national restaurant chain, but quit without another job lined up because it was "hard and gross." We had a tough talk about expectations, pride, and the reality of age, lack of education and experience. He then got a part-time job at a national clothing store chain working in shipping. If any of your kids work for retailers like this, you know that those schedules are completely unreliable for producing enough income for a young person to live out on their own. The employee can work 20 hours one week and only three hours the next week. Anyway, three weeks ago ds was sworn in as a Transportation Security Administration officer and he loves it! My dh had talked ds into attending a job fair for TSA and filling out the application. The background check and employment process took about 6 months. I am not sure I could have thought up a job more perfect for my amiable, quick-moving boy, although it is disconcerting to ask him how his day was and he just grins and says "SSI Mom, SSI." We believe the main reason he was hired was his active involvement with Civil Air Patrol and his receipt of the Billy Mitchell Award. We have always been strong supporters of the program (even though as a family, we are more the "make love, not war" type), but now are even more firmly convinced of its value in teaching young people leadership skills. Another skill ds learned was recruiting and he has already volunteered to man a TSA booth at the next job fair. He was accepted as TSA is looking to hire younger people. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see one of your adult children come home from an 8 to 9 hour shift and be absolutely overflowing with enthusiasm. Of course he was more excited about having live explosives strapped to his leg for the K-9 unit to discover than his mother was. :tongue_smilie: And he is now "pat-down certified." The best part? When he is done with his 3-month training period, he will be on a permanent 20 hour part-time status which allows him to attend classes at our CC and work towards an undergraduate degree. He has a plan! Hooray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Congrats to you and to your son. This is such an encouraging and happy story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 What a great story about a young man finding his way. Sounds like he has a great support system in his family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnTeaching Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 That is awesome!! He sounds as if he is on track and with a plan. No wonder he is so excited. I am thrilled for him! Does he have an idea as to what type of degree he might like to work for? Even if he doesn't yet, he can still work slowly at getting his core out of the way while he decides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 The best part? When he is done with his 3-month training period, he will be on a permanent 20 hour part-time status which allows him to attend classes at our CC and work towards an undergraduate degree. He has a plan! Hooray! That's awesome, Lisa! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Fantastic!!!!! Yay for your son, and yay that he has a plan! :) My older son did CAP and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. ETA: Too funny about the live explosives. I'll have to show that bit to my son! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I just told my son about it. He's already turned in his documents to promote for the Mitchell Award. He thinks the TSA is a great idea. We live by lots of airports! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyndiLJ Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Our son was just awarded the BIlly Mitchell award a couple months ago, at 14 years old, and intends to go all the way to Spaatz if possible. He LOVES CAP, and though he will be physically ineligible for the military, has always readily said that his participation in CAP will look good to any employer someday, and might open doors he can't yet imagine. I will happily relay this story to him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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