Interesting letter from the Irish Times letters page

smash

Pedant wrote: »

Exactly, I'm sick of the inferiority complex some people have.

Who has that?

Pedant wrote: »

If you worked hard in school and in college and get the qualifications I think you should at least expect a little more than someone who decided not to give a toss about education and leave school early.

I'm going to guess that the school drop outs aren't taking the solicitor positions she's after.

Pedant wrote: »

I mean working hard all those years and then throwing it away from something far less is a terrible waste.

What exactly is far less? I don't hear people telling her to go and work in McDonalds.

Pedant wrote: »

Is it too much to have to ambition to get on in life and pursue your dreams if you're willing to work for it?

Why not ask her that, considering she studied law and now has no ambition to do it?

Teyla Emmagan

Give her a break. She's obviously worked hard throughout college and is ambitious. I don't really understand her job expectations or why she might think you can get any job without some sort of experience , but at least she is getting up off her h*le.

This is the bright and ambitious sort who will emigrate and contribute to someone's else's economy, and we'll be left with all the lazy good for nothings who are content to slag her kind off on AH*.


*No offence to all you lazy good for nothings intended.

Brain Stroking

Red_Wake wrote: »

I'd have a lot more sympathy if she wasn't intent on being a barrister/solicitor - closed professions if ever there were any.

Not true

starlit

Law isn't as straightforward or as easy an area to study there is a lot attached to it. A lot of hard work and endurance. Yes you get your degree in it but you still need to get your Law/Bar/FE1's Exams, to pass them before being considered qualified!

Its tough going trying to find work in it at the moment so fair dues to her for trying.

It happens to a lot of people they study something and have an ambition for it, when it comes to the end of the road its not worth it any more due to difficulty in searching for a job. So what else can they do, change career and start again and get a job in something that they can get into. Sometimes people don't know what they want and try a few things before they do.

It was her dream to be a barrister but unfortunately she has suffered burn out I suppose trying to find work and having achieved so much in her education that it has become meaningless and not of value so basically she wants to go into a career than is not meaningless and that is of value.

smash

I'm sorry but can people stop saying she's ambitious. Where are you getting this from?

She has totally given up and is blaming everyone else now. She's not the only one in her position, but she's got an advantage of having that qualification which would help her to change career path pretty easily. But no, she's talking about the law qualifications which she admits she doesn't even want to do any more.

Brain Stroking

doovdela wrote: »

Law isn't as straightforward or as easy an area to study there is a lot attached to it. A lot of hard work and endurance. Yes you get your degree in it but you still need to get your Law/Bar/FE1's Exams, to pass them before being considered qualified!

Its tough going trying to find work in it at the moment so fair dues to her for trying.

It happens to a lot of people they study something and have an ambition for it, when it comes to the end of the road its not worth it any more due to difficulty in searching for a job. So what else can they do, change career and start again and get a job in something that they can get into.

It was her dream to be a barrister but unfortunately she has suffered burn out I suppose trying to find work and having achieved so much in her education that it has become meaningless and not of value so basically she wants to go into a career than is not meaningless and that is of value.

To be honest, if she is experiencing burnout at the end of college then she is in no way suited to being a Barrister or Solicitor. It's only after college that the real stuff starts

Callan57

Could it be that after years of schooling and third-level education she seemingly can't write a coherent letter is part of her problem?

I've read her letter a couple of times and I still don't know is she saying that after studying for a law degree she now does not want to work in that area but feels she should be able to walk into a job in another area for which she has no experience or qualification or is she simply saying that she can't get employment in the area in which she has a qualification?
I thought the law was all about precision and clarity ..... if her job application letters are as incoherent as her letter to the IT it possibly explains a lot.

Dr.Strange

mackg wrote: »

Let's not go making rash statements before we find out if she's hot! :pac:

A stalker friend of mine put her name into a thing called Face Books and reported back that this girl is indeed hot.

smash

Dr.Strange wrote: »

A stalker friend of mine put her name into a thing called Face Books and reported back that this girl is indeed hot.

She likes deadmau5... hope she didn't put that on her CV!

JustAddWater

Show Time wrote: »

She is no loss to Cork.

It seems they all agree!

http://www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4349655

El Tarangu

Her Facebook profile lists "Being absolutely shít at making decisions" as one of her interests (not messing).

I Heart Internet

Temaz wrote: »

Am I alone in sensing a sense of entitlement?!?!?!

No. You're not alone but the overriding tone of the letter is one of naivety. I think she may regret sending the letter at some stage tbh.

I agree too with most of the comments about the letter being difficult to follow....however, IT can edit letters and I suspect Avril may have had a bit more to say.

I wish her well wherever she's off to.....

Red_Wake

Brain Stroking wrote: »

To be honest, if she is experiencing burnout at the end of college then she is in no way suited to being a Barrister or Solicitor. It's only after college that the real stuff starts

This.

Anyone who thinks they're finished learning when they graduate from college is an idiot.

Too many grads are like this IMO.

I Heart Internet

Red_Wake wrote: »

This.

Anyone who thinks they're finished learning when they graduate from college is an idiot.

Too many grads are like this IMO.

Most quickly learn of their mistake pretty quickly to be fair.

westendgirlie

The feeling I get from her letter is one of unhappiness. When she says "I am now left in the unfortunate position of not wanting to be either a solicitor or barrister.", am I the only one who feels that this isn't what she wants to do but what she will haveto do for work?

She says sorry to her friends and family for letting them down. I think the poor girl is on a downer. Hopefully, she'll get sorted.

newport2

Red_Wake wrote: »

This.

Anyone who thinks they're finished learning when they graduate from college is an idiot.

Too many grads are like this IMO.

+1

Did engineering. Think I've only probably used 1% of what I did in college in the workplace. Totally different world and she's yet to enter the real one, judging by her letter. WTF?

Avril: I have a degree, therefore I'm entitled to a job in any field unrelated to my degree without any experience and if you don't give me one I'm writing to a national newspaper to complain and leaving the country.

You couldn't make this up.

I expect there will be a few responses to it.

mikom

Temaz wrote: »

AVRIL MCDOWELL,

Montenotte,

Cork.

Montenotte.... Lol

*Says out loud in a Mario Rosenstock voice*

Unavailable for Comment

Avril McDowell wrote: »

So, to my family and friends, who supported me through years of schooling and third-level education, it is with a heavy heart that I contemplate leaving. It feels like I have let you down.

Well Avril, that will depend on whether or not you'll show as much commitment to emigrating as you did to working in the legal profession. Personally I reckon we'll be seeing another letter in the IT in a fortnight or so complaining about how difficult it is to get a passport and how USIT won't supply her with plane tickets for free.

Sala

Poor girl is probably only about 22, feeling really down about her situation and, in a moment that she will probably regret, wrote a letter to express this.
People always use the term "sense of entitlement" in a negative way - I think many of the current generation of young people are losing a sense of entitlement that they should have - people should not have to spend long periods of time working for free in the hope someone will eventually take them on paid.

The letter may be melodramatic but I think it probably sums up how many people in Ireland feel today -very down about the prospect of emigrating but see no other choice.

smash

Sala wrote: »

I think many of the current generation of young people are losing a sense of entitlement that they should have

No, they really shouldn't to be honest.

westendgirlie

+1 Sala

I have no idea what "sense of entitlement" actually means

smash

westendgirlie wrote: »

+1 Sala

I have no idea what "sense of entitlement" actually means

Put it this way:

For some reason people think that because they have completed college, they are then automatically entitled to a high paying, high power job. This is not true.

AnonoBoy

She should go back to college. Best place for someone like her to ride out this pesky recession.

Morlar

Sala wrote: »

......... I think many of the current generation of young people are losing a sense of entitlement that they should have -.................

I think some people take it to extremes but I agree with your basic point. I just wish this wasn't a case of Ireland going from one absolute extreme to the absolute other. There is an in between level of expectation which is more reasonable.

newport2

westendgirlie wrote: »

+1 Sala

I have no idea what "sense of entitlement" actually means

This girl has been through law in college, so she's not stupid. She knows that currently there are several hundred thousand people unemployed in this country, many with families to support and many with lots of work experience. She appears to be able to put all that aside and feel it is outrageous that someone such as herself is not finding it easy to get a job in which she has no experience and which is unrelated to what she trained in. She appears to think that because she has been to college she is entitled to one, despite the numbers of experienced people unemployed that are portrayed in news coverage every day. That is a sense of entitlement. The "woe is me" air about the letter does not help her cause either.

Someone posted above that she will probably regret sending the letter in. I agree, I expect there'll be some unsympatethic responses to it, possibly from some people who are in far worse situations that she is.

smash

newport2 wrote: »

Someone posted above that she will probably regret sending the letter in. I agree, I expect there'll be some unsympatethic responses to it, possibly from some people who are in far worse situations that she is.

It wont do her career any favours either. If she can't see the reality of life then she won't make is as a lawyer to be honest.

mackg

@Pedant and WEG

I've read the letter a number of times now and I cannot see how ye are getting that she doesn't want to work in law because she couldn't find work. Pedant you even admitted it was speculation. I know you said your friend had that experience but I see no reason to believe that is the case here.

jack presley

This is the kind of thread where someone is incorrectly called a begrudger for giving out about someone.

Just wondering has it happened yet?

smash

jack presley wrote: »

This is the kind of thread where someone is incorrectly called a begrudger for giving out about someone.

Just wondering has it happened yet?

No, but apparently we have inferiority complexes!?!?

IrishAm

She is 21-22 and has a masters in law. So she has got brains. She should go back to college and do a course in a field she finds more enjoyable.

We are suffering enough of a brain drain, as it is.

4zn76tysfajdxp

I don't see the problem with a 22 year old childless singleton emigrating anyway. Not like they're uprooting families.

BASHIR

Oh boo hoo all that schooling and she still hasn't grown up. Lifes not fair and as soon as she realises this the better off she'll be.

opinion guy

newport2 wrote: »

This girl has been through law in college, so she's not stupid.

Why do people think degrees and qualifications on the one hand and stupidity on the other are mutually exclusive ???

newport2

Alayah Skinny Moron wrote: »

I don't see the problem with a 22 year old childless singleton emigrating anyway. Not like they're uprooting families.

I think the main problem with her emigrating is that she will find that she won't be handed a great job on a silver platter in a field where she has no hands on experience abroad either. She seems to think this has only not happened because she's in Ireland

Sykk

Red_Wake wrote: »

Montenotte's a posh area in Cork.

Those two words don't go in the same sentence

I Heart Internet

She'd really have been better off not writing that letter.........or maybe running it by her parents before hand.

But look, heh, it's how she feels. You live and learn, huh?

westendgirlie

mackg wrote: »

@Pedant and WEG

I've read the letter a number of times now and I cannot see how ye are getting that she doesn't want to work in law because she couldn't find work. Pedant you even admitted it was speculation. I know you said your friend had that experience but I see no reason to believe that is the case here.

My take on her letter -

"rejections letters from past" -were for jobs in the legal field
"alternative jobs....no experience!" - all other fields
"not wanting to be a solicitor or barrister" - venting

I tried to read the above as one whole sentence and it didn't make sense.
I do think she has tried to gain employment in the legal field and keeps getting knocked back with rejection letters. Tried alternative jobs and no success again, this time due to lack of experience.

Now she believes her only option is to emigrate. As I said before, she appears unhappy and her writing style is very erratic and I do hope she is ok.

AnonoBoy

opinion guy wrote: »

Why do people think degrees and qualifications on the one hand and stupidity on the other are mutually exclusive ???

I know people who did law and are working as solicitors but they're thick as sh*te when it comes to how the world works.

On top of that they're racist, homophobic and are shockingly uncultured in just about every aspect of their life.

Needless to say they're getting on fabulously in the Irish legal profession.

smash

westendgirlie wrote: »

My take on her letter -

"rejections letters from past" -were for jobs in the legal field
"alternative jobs....no experience!" - all other fields
"not wanting to be a solicitor or barrister" - venting

No jobs in the legal field, sure she probably knew this 3/4 years ago.

"no experience" - That's the most important part here. It shows that she's applying for jobs out of her league instead of starting at a lower grade job and moving up. A college qualification doesn't entitle you to jump in at the top in any industry.

Snakeblood

Temaz wrote: »

Am I alone in sensing a sense of entitlement?!?!?!

How did this government let her down exactly? I despise Fine Gael slightly slightly less than Fianna Fail but they weren't in power when the wheels came off.

Blaming the wrong people. She should be blaming herself for picking and then continuing a course she wasn't ultimately interested in.

newport2

opinion guy wrote: »

Why do people think degrees and qualifications on the one hand and stupidity on the other are mutually exclusive ???

Depends in what context you mean stupid. Of course really clever people do stupid things. But anyone with the aptitude to sit and pass exams should be astute enough to observe the world around them and realise they are not at the centre of it.

AnonoBoy

She only got a 2.1

The better students probably got the jobs.

Maybe she should have tried harder.

opinion guy

newport2 wrote: »

Depends in what context you mean stupid. Of course really clever people do stupid things. But anyone with the aptitude to sit and pass exams should be astute enough to observe the world around them and realise they are not at the centre of it.

Depends on what context I mean stupid ?????

Hold up there bud. You were the one who originally used the word. What did you mean ????

For the record, I find it unwise to place arbitrary bounds on other people's stupidity for they constantly surpass my expectations.

dashboard_hula

If she was aiming for sympathy with that little missive, she missed her mark by a mile, because if you covered a broom handle with oil and shoved it up my arse, then put me on a trampoline, in a lift, I could write a better letter than that. (Thank you, Mr. Moran)

Boombastic

dashboard_hula wrote: »

If she was aiming for sympathy with that little missive, she missed her mark by a mile, because if you covered a broom handle with oil and shoved it up my arse, then put me on a trampoline, in a lift, I could write a better letter than that. (Thank you, Mr. Moran)

Is that using a laptop or a pen?




Someone should tell that girl it's called life!

FishBowel

Repeat after me: you do not need a law degree to become a solicitor/barrister. Silly girl.

xylophones

HoggyRS wrote: »

It's hard to feel bad for law students when they are such absolute benders in college.

given that you are clearly not a law student and i am, i can safely say that statement is bull and doesnt really make any sense

Ficheall

There are an awful lot of "she worked hard during college" posts - where are people leaping to that conclusion from?

westendgirlie wrote: »

The feeling I get from her letter is one of unhappiness. When she says "I am now left in the unfortunate position of not wanting to be either a solicitor or barrister.", am I the only one who feels that this isn't what she wants to do but what she will haveto do for work?

Then do you not think that an aspiring solicitor or barrister should have the cop to spot the difference between "want to" and "have to" when proofreading a letter she is sending to a national newspaper?

newport2

opinion guy wrote: »

Depends on what context I mean stupid ?????

Hold up there bud. You were the one who originally used the word. What did you mean ????

For the record, I find it unwise to place arbitrary bounds on other people's stupidity for they constantly surpass my expectations.

Calm down, I didn't mean you personally, I meant anyone who uses the word uses it in a certain context. I used the word using what I take it to mean. You then commented on it, taking what you took it to mean. From your following post i think we were both using the word in seperate contexts. I explained what I meant by it in the post prior to this.

opinion guy

newport2 wrote: »

Calm down, I didn't mean you personally, I meant anyone who uses the word uses it in a certain context. I used the word using what I take it to mean. You then commented on it, taking what you took it to mean. From your following post i think we were both using the word in seperate contexts. I explained what I meant by it in the post prior to this.

I fear there are so many logical errors in your thought process here that not only can I not understand this but the universe even may implode in upon itself!