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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News talks 'b.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: And welcome back to the Weekend Collective. This is the Parents Squad on Tim Beverage, and we're going to talk about well, actually it's on the sort of on the back of a couple of things. There was news out of the education system this week that ten thousand kids have left school without any qualifications, which is, you know, the extreme end of the whole thing, and apparently the shocking thing is it's the same percentage it's been for the past couple of years and so, but there's a broader question around how you guide your children, because I mean, part of the thing about not getting qualifications is being invested in their own education. But the question that's been this really comes out of the question I've had emerge in our house and it's sort of popped up last year. But now my oldest daughter is fifteen, and so she's heading into a final couple of years at school and my younger one as well. And it depends on what school you're at as to what options you get when. But the the question that I wanted to look at is how do you guide your children when it comes to thinking about their career, because the question that's been put to my girls is, well, has it been put to them? The question they're put to themselves and the discussions amongst their peers is when it comes to choosing your subjects for next year, well, it helps to know what you're going to do, and you know what sort of job you might want to go for, what sort of training, what sort of qualifications, what you're going to be interested in them, and look, just speaking for myself, I didn't have a clue. I didn't have a bloody clue. I think I studied French because I thought it'd be quite when I was in the fifth form. I should have carried on given them doing it now, But I probably stated it because I thought it was quite cool to speak another language. I studied history because I thought, oh, well, history is interesting. But I didn't give a second thought to it. Whereas there'll be friends of my daughters who know exactly what they're studying because they want to be. In fact, I can't remember who it was who said quite confidently she wanted to be a pediatrician. I think was and it wasn't just a doctor. She wanted to be a pediatrician, and so she knows what she's going to be doing all the science subjects. But here's the thing. I mean, what if your children, What if your child is interested in something that, well, you know, a career that might see them being broke for the rest of their life. You know, what if they're doing something where you think, well, you're not going to earn much money out of that. I mean, is that something you should worry about? Is that part of the picture or are those careers for kids who's well, let's be honest, there are some kids who only need to wait for mom and dad to carget and then their financial problems are sorted. But that's not really the way you want to live your life, is it. The other expression I remember hearing was do what you love and the rest comes. Maybe that's the answer. How are you guiding your children when it comes to them working out what their future is going to look like? Because I don't mind saying I've got a few thoughts about my own kids, which I won't share with you because that's sort of their business and where they might end up going. But hell, the choices are endless. I don't know where to go, So yeah, I wait, one hundred and eighty ten eighty. How did you find your children find the answer to that question? How would you? How did you find it for yourself? Anyway, Fortunately, as my producer has written in my script, here we've got the cream of the crop. Here, we've got the cream of the crop to help with the answer all this. She's a psychologist at Mind Works, and she's a mum as well. It's funny, I wonder what the biggest qualification for this topic is. It might just be being the mum, isn't it. Sarah chat One, Hello, Hello, I.
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Speaker 3: Just love Locke, your producer.
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Speaker 2: Oh, he's just buttering you up.
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Speaker 3: I am for that. It was just like, it's a wonderful look at him, their sweetheart, love you Locke.
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Speaker 2: Anyway, I think it's actually I'm not ready for the question. And one of my daughter's through she says, I need to start thinking about what I want to do, and I was like, I'm not equipped to. I'm not sure how I can help you with this.
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Speaker 3: Interesting conversations, isn't it? Because you know, these days, kids are getting more focused. I think, as I've seen it through my clinic over the years, kids are more focused on Hey, you know, what are we going to do? Are we going to be able to find that thing that we really love but that also allows us a lifestyle that we want and are there going to be jobs out there for us? You see, there are different considerations today than I guess there used to be in the past. But as a parent, these are really good, robust conversations that you can have with your child. And again I refer you back to what we always discussed him, you know, formalizing and nurturing those relationships from an early age with your children so that you can have great pathways of communication at these times, because I think.
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Speaker 2: One of the challenges for parents as well is that their children might be different to them. So you might think, well, I did this and this was great for me, and then your child says yes the career, and you've gone, God, I had no idea there was even a career in that. That sounds weird, and so you're already struggling to even just understand. Do you remember what? Did you always want to be a psychologist?
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Speaker 3: I don't think I even knew what a psychologist was I but I do know, I mean, and it was highly stigmatized when I went through. I remember back when I graduated and it wasn't so so long ago, and I had You know, you
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have to do a minimum of your master's first class honors degree and all the rest of it to become a psychologist and get registered and all the rest of it.
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Speaker 2: You're a bit flash.
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Speaker 3: It's a flash one, you know. But I did know that I wanted to help people, Tom and I did know that I wanted to know with people.
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Speaker 2: Okay, so what do you remember back? And you can answer this on whether it be as a mum with sort of helping helping your children, yeah, but or yourself, what did you do? You remember the days of choosing subjects? I absolutely do.
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Speaker 3: I also remember having a bit of input into each and every one of my kids' decisions decision making process because I left those pathways of communication open. I have exceptionally good relationships with my kids, even though you know, you still have your ups and your downs and your ins and your outs that notwithstanding, it's not about that. It's about how you communicate your way through it. And if you do that efficiently, and if you can nurture a really positive relationship, then you can have some input. But yeah, absolutely, I also remember that, like you, because we've discussed this before, I had a brilliant mum who gave me options, made good suggestions, but also did a lot of listening and allowed me to be me. And you know what, parents are in a very unique position because you know your children potentially better than anyone else, so you actually can see things in your child and you can make suggestions that perhaps they don't even realize could be an option for them career wise. So parents often have a very unique perspective.
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Speaker 2: Because at the moment, the thing that makes me a little nervous is that, for instance, if you want to do anything in the scientific fields, you might need to continue with science. But then that's the whole thing, that's the whole kitten k and kibuble. You have to throw you a lot, and with all the science subjects.
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Speaker 3: What's wrong with that? Well, if you want to be science, you might.
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Speaker 2: Find out that that was the wrong choice. And I don't know it's I.
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Speaker 3: Think in your first year of any university degree, if you wanted to go through science, you can make that first year of any degree very broad so that if it's not your thing at the end of the year and you think Ah, maybe I've taken a left turn when I should have taken a.
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Speaker 2: Round thinking of at school. Oh, at school choices it.
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Speaker 3: I don't know whether you. I mean, you might need a broad bio, but you don't need to throw everything at the sciences. You could do you could do a broad you could take a broader approach. However, these days, as you probably know with your girls, I did with my kids. You know, there are vocational careers, nights and professionals who are available for children to talk to and who can guide them, probably even a little bit better than
parents with regard to subject choice. There are those options available, and if they're not openly and freely available to kids, you know, there are helplines and things that you can access. Even the Citizens and Vice Bureau, you know, can help you get in touch with people who can point you in various directions. Notwithstanding, it's quite nice to think about mum and dad and their friends and what their friends.
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Speaker 2: Do, and they have what a range your children are.
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Speaker 3: Thirty down to eighteen. So yeah, I had a long.
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Speaker 2: Period to child bride.
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Speaker 3: I was actually I was pretty young, but I still had that input with regard to career, and I remember with my eldest child who went into medicine. I didn't see that coming.
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Speaker 2: Well when did they know? You see, when you're fifteen, if you want to go into medicine, you really need to be making the choice for your fun.
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Speaker 3: No, I'm sure he did not know at that stage. No, No, I don't.
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Speaker 2: Think any of us knew. You need to know that.
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Speaker 3: We're a real curveball. Well, I suspect you can know, But you know what, I think, sometimes if you know very early on, does that not put a little bit of pressure on maybe if you.
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Speaker 2: Do, you know though, I mean, if you're fifteen. Actually it was I do remember it wasn't a pediatrician. This particular friend of my daughters wanted to wants to be and she knew that at a very early age. She wanted to be a pediatric anesthesiologist.
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Speaker 3: Oh wow, that's really specific, right, Like, hey, oh that's analytics, very very small people.
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Speaker 2: That's neat.
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Speaker 4: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: I don't know how it came about, but anyway, but I know what other kids have no idea.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think everybody is so different and the journey is so different, and that's where parents are amazing. They can be an amazing tool and strategist for their children, because, as I said before, I know the kids, and you know you might have a child who's I think I presented wanting to be an archaeologist, and I did do anthropology archeological anthropology at university and I absolutely loved it. But then at some point I knew I probably couldn't have a viable career in it, so I pivoted.
00:10:24
Speaker 2: Funny thing interesting. I mean, there was a guy I went to school with who's he came from a family background where no one had been to university, and he just said he might get a job doing something. And I think it's one of the more helpful things that I've done for someone. And it wasn't didn't take anything apart from I just said, why don't you go to university for a year and see what it's like, and see what it's like and actually just do stuff that you are interested in love it. And he did and he's been a teacher for decades. And I think, and I wonder if that's the advice I need to remember with my kids.
It's like, I don't know, but the do what you love thing is okay to a point, but you might love doing something that's well. For instance, somebody's text to me here anything trade is what you should be doing right now because they will survive the ai burm. But what that refers to is there may be jobs you might be passionate about which aren't. It's going to be a tough road to follow. I mean, do you see your children away from jobs that are not going to exist or might pay rubbish wages.
00:11:34
Speaker 3: Rather than take a deficit oriented approach I would take, I would go the other way and steer them towards everything and let them have some autonomy in the decision making. And I do think that you have to love what you do, or at least really like it, because you spend a lot of time doing that.
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Speaker 2: Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't, if I didn't say that to my kids, because you know, I mean, I did a lot of agreement. Then I threw it all away and went into the theater. I mean, and you rogue, Well, for it was I thought it was the most I thought my mum and dad. I thought my mum would be reading me the Riot Act.
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Speaker 3: Why did you think that was such a wonderful mother?
00:12:12
Speaker 2: No, but she didn't. She said, if you're going to do this, do it well, she said, Go and get lessons, do it properly, and get as much experience. So you've got to give yourself the best chance for it. I was surprised because I thought she'd go, you know, because the theater career I had came from nowhere, and it was bizarre. I mean, how it happened.
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Speaker 3: She knew you, and she probably saw the theatrical side of you and your love of entertaining and all the rest of it. So, you know, appearents we can be quite wise at times, can't we.
00:12:46
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was still a part of a lottery the way it worked out. But anyway, hey, look we want your cause on this. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty. How are you would you help your children make their choices or how would you help them make their decisions for what they want to do with their life? Because it's also just before we go to the break. Actually, now we'll go to ben and just to tack the other thing that you might have heard is that the idea of doing one career for your whole life is becoming more scarce. That they say that people may end up having I think the number was seven careers. So how do you help your child navigate life's choices with what they're going to do with their life because I don't know twenty past five. Actually, let's go to a call to get things started.
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Speaker 5: Ben Hello, I'll be boked to my son. Now, I'm a cornity surveyor at the moment, but I'm also a call I builder. And since the AI come on and we've been using claud and different AI tools and that I can now do the job of three quantity surveys in three days that used to take you, three of us the whole week to do. And I think that's the thing is like I'm on the two rus two days
a week. Now I'm back on the tools on the office only three days. Is that because you want to well, this simply just doesn't enough work Because I can. I can smash out what used to take me a week in three hours, like in less than a day because of the new AI tools. It's just absolutely amazing. But it's going to definitely kill different jobs and I've seen it and that's what I'm trying to get. I've got a sun that's almost thirteen and I'm trying to get to them before you do anything else. Do a trade. You can always go to university afterwards, but you've got your trade to fall back on, and that's where your money is going to be. And AI is not going to replace your trade anytime soon. And that that's what I'm trying to tell him because that's what I'm going for at the moment.
00:14:49
Speaker 2: What's he want to do?
00:14:52
Speaker 5: He's not sure, Like he gets into all the numbers of me sometimes when I bring work on, but after we've been going over the AI, I'm just like, mate, I just don't think the job that I do is going to be around ten years time. You know, it's going to be more of an administrative role rather than actual corney surveying rules.
00:15:11
Speaker 2: So he knows. I mean, the job you've got as a parent is to tell him about what's what you know? The facts I guess, isn't it, or what you think the world's going to look like? That doesn't that's nothing wrong with that.
00:15:26
Speaker 5: I don't think, yeah, yeah, well, and that's exactly right because I know even on the downturns and that sometimes you know, we're not being laid off from corney surveying. I can always get building work doing something, you know, some sort of renovation job, and that that's what I'm trying to teach him. It's go for the trades. First, get qualified at something, and then if you want to go to UNI or whatever, go for it. Nothing stopping you. But you always need something to fall back on.
00:15:55
Speaker 3: I'm a skeptic in a cynic when it comes to AI. We're all expecting that AI is just going to take off and rule the world. I'm hoping at some point it just falls off the face of the earth. However, I do think you need to equip your children with, you know, an idea of what's happening and what's evolving out there so that they can make really informed decisions. And I think Ben's absolutely owning that, which is great because he's saying to his son, Hey, well listen, with this particular job, quantity surveying, Hey, AI is stepping in. You know, you could look at something that is as beneficial to you, but just in another form or a format.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: So Ben, what is your boy going to do? Do you think?
00:16:38
Speaker 5: I'm not sure I'm trying to get in the trades. He's looking at being a sparky and I'll say, you know, it's probably probably the best trade to get into. So he's about to turn thirteen, and yeah, early, But has.
00:16:53
Speaker 3: He expressed an interest in anything else? Or what is he expressing an interest in or is he just looking to you for guidance.
00:17:02
Speaker 5: Well, I'll take him to work with me occasionally a teacher only days and stuff, and he loves what I do, but I'm trying to tell him that it's simply not going to be around. You know, I've seen the change in the last five years and even my workload's coming back and I can do things so much.
00:17:19
Speaker 2: His response when you tell him, like you mentioned, being a sparky, what's his response to that?
00:17:27
Speaker 5: He's definitely open to it. And I think that's all you can do is push your push your kids and try and see them in a path. But every day it's still up to them whether they take it or not.
00:17:37
Speaker 3: One of the key strategies for encouraging children into anything is encouraging practical exposure to So that's wonderful that you take him to work and that you're talking around these issues. It's fantastic good stuff.
00:17:48
Speaker 2: Ben Hey, thanks for comment. We're going to take quick moment. We'll be back with more calls in just a moment. But how do you help your children navigate career and in their earlier days before they're heading for a career the subject choices? You know, how seriously do you take the subject choices that you're are presented to your child because you know what they might need certain subjects for certain careers. So I want to get your thoughts on it. Eight hundred eighty ten eighty. It's twenty five past five News Talk said B. This is the Parents Squad, my guest to Sarah Chat. When we're talking about how do you help your children navigate subject choices and ultimately career choices? I guess if one ties into the other.
00:18:26
Speaker 4: Oh.
00:18:26
Speaker 2: Eight hundred eighty ten eighty Chris, Hello, Hi.
00:18:30
Speaker 6: How are you?
00:18:30
Speaker 2: Goodness?
00:18:33
Speaker 3: Hi?
00:18:33
Speaker 7: How are you good?
00:18:34
Speaker 2: Can you hear us here?
00:18:37
Speaker 4: Yeah?
00:18:37
Speaker 8: I can hear you.
00:18:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, We're good. Thanks? Where you go.
00:18:40
Speaker 8: I'm just comparing what it was like when I went to school and I was basically told that I wouldn't amount to anything and that I should quit school. I came out with a teaching degree and that double degree and the potential to do.
00:18:56
Speaker 3: Honors my mum.
00:19:00
Speaker 8: My role with my mum was that I should always keep it back up in a secondary degree, which I did in Asian Studies in Chinese and it's been really fruitful as well, not only in my teaching, but also with traveling and supporting kids that have come from overseas as well. So I think my mum's for being able to get me to that. And we've just had a careers evening at my son's school at he's fourteen, and he's on the spectrum, so he's very technical and very hands on and it was just really interesting to seeing the different pathways. Some are age based and some are a bit more academic based, and just basically saying to him a bit like your previous
caller, we've got a friend who's an electrician and my son probably could do a lot of that stuff, but for safety reasons, we're having to get him to the electrician to sign it off for safety. But he's up in the roof of the electrician and he's getting these experience. He's gone with his dad to see how lists work with somebody who has a business, and you know, we've got him into different things, looking at how lifts work, and so he's getting all this practical experience and just trying to keep his mind busy. And my lounge looks like a tool shed because he's just constantly going fantastic.
00:20:33
Speaker 3: But just could I ask who told you you would amount to nothing? Because clearly you've proved them wrong. Was that a school teacher? Because it wasn't your mum, was it was?
00:20:42
Speaker 8: That was actually the careers advisor at a quite well known.
00:20:45
Speaker 3: Schall and auklid Okay, we won't go. Wasn't it using that kind of framework to discuss future with a teenager?
00:20:57
Speaker 8: Yeah? But that was that was a pretty heart and I mean, I've got to be burst through and I proved it wrong and it actually just made me think, actually I can amount to more because I can choose my own subjects and that they interest me.
00:21:09
Speaker 7: School at the.
00:21:10
Speaker 8: Time didn't have all of that availability. So yeah, just interesting and just you know, just encouraging other kids. I mean, I mean and lovely set the kids the other day from another Aucland school and one of the girls she just said, I don't know what to do with myself, and I said, stay in school even just if you do it, If you can stay in school, get that box picked and then you know you'll have other options. I mean, she's taking Japanese and I said, you know, you could travel with that.
00:21:39
Speaker 4: You could.
00:21:40
Speaker 8: There's so many options these days, and I agree AI is becoming such a part in an intrable, integrative part of what you provide for your kids in the future. And I'm thinking my son's refurbished and pete PlayStation three and he's learned to do that through AI.
00:22:02
Speaker 3: It's amazing that It's great that the person had you to talk to because you have obviously experienced some of that pushback and negativity and you've turned it right around. So that was a really cool thing to be able to pass, you know, pay forwards to that student.
00:22:18
Speaker 8: Schools not always the place, but there are lots of options these days, and I think it's you can nurture your children in the right way. I mean, I've got a very hands on and I've got a very sporty other child, and they're very different and where they might end up is very different. But you know, I think full credit to the school. They ran a really good careers evening and because they knew what my needs my kids were, they just sent me to the right ones that are going to give him a bit of insight into what he needs to do, and he just has Unfortunately he's not sixteen till next year, but that'll open up a new holt of new doors as well, with him being able to be on a work site and him being old enough and be able to follow someone around and she gets those credits.
00:23:06
Speaker 2: Yeah and O good stuff. Hey, thanks for that, Chris. Actually, it's funny. I'm just looking at a few of the texts coming in and while I the more I think of it, for me, the way I'm going about it with my daughter is just look what are you interested in? And just I really think that that's the ultimate. Well, the point is fast the stuff that you enjoy that you're interested in. As somebody said, you know, just follow your passion. You will never work a day in your life. There's something about that.
00:23:31
Speaker 3: So on that one of the if you look across the research, the research is saying to us that identification of core passions is really important. You do have to like and be interested in something that you want to take further. So the research is telling us that already, they're saying, identify those core passions, get some exposure, keep your mind frame really broad, have a growth mindset instead of a fixed one. So perhaps the you know, the pediatric and you knowlogists and a sociologist that's quite fixed. Maybe something a little bit broader.
00:24:08
Speaker 2: Actually, the funny thing is, though, if that's what they think, but often, you know, the expression of life is what happens is what happens while you're making plans is that I think, so long as if you follow a path, that's that you're passionate about that along the way, if something doesn't work out, you're still on a path.
00:24:28
Speaker 3: Yes, I think, exactly make a side step or a pivot in a direction that will also be just as meaningful for you.
00:24:34
Speaker 2: It's like, actually, I know, I think he said this on air, but one of my guests who's on tomorrow, Greg Pain, he's a biomechanist now and he went to I think he set it out to be a physiotherapist, and he would admit that he was a slacker. He didn't get into it, but I don't think he really enjoyed it. But along the way he ended up finding this is what I'm into. And now he's top of his game as a biomechanist. But he started something, and you know, you move sideways you it.
00:25:05
Speaker 3: So I think the lesson in that is that once you you know, jump on board the bus, the bus or the plane, you start the journey. You may not end up at the exact destination, but you'll have some fun and some learnings along the way, and it may be that it leads you in the direction that really gives you, you know, that feeling of autonomy, self satisfaction, passion drive that really motivates you. So it's I mean, I kind of feel excited about all these kids getting jobs and looking at careers. It's an exciting time.
00:25:37
Speaker 2: I actually, you know, I think that this generation of young people, while you're always hear of generation complaining about this or that, but I actually think that
they're generally pretty switched on and they've got some good you know, and I've got faith in the younger generation. I think they're going to be amazing.
00:25:55
Speaker 3: I think it's I think it's an exciting time when children start, you know, coming to their parents with questions about career, because it almost gives the parent a little bit of that a glow into the future. And it's really cool. But I love you know, parents like Ben and Chris who we heard before, who you know, are already sowing the seeds and allowing their children to have exposure to various jobs and you know, creating opportunities, because that's really important to give these kids opportunities and support them and encourage them. I mean as parents. And again research supports the notion that we cannot force square pigs into round holes and the other way around it. We just can't do it. So we have to let these kids figure things out with our guidance and support and help along the way.
00:26:40
Speaker 2: Here's a text here, hi, zb, I think you have to be one hundred percent in day one as parents. I did. I accompanied our daughter in Auckland UNI orientation day and said to her, whatever you choose and if you think on the second year it's not for you, you can change your course. That's fine with us. Otherwise our daughter completed the course. That's fine with us. Otherwise our daughter completed the course. Now working in ICU in Rawal Melbourne Hospital. Out of here. It's funny, I'm mildly terrified of my kids moving overseas or something. You just have to park it long.
00:27:12
Speaker 3: Oh you do, And that's just You're just a lovely dad who loves us kids but you know they do fly from that nest.
00:27:19
Speaker 2: Tim, Yes, indeed, right, We'll be back in just a moment. I wait, one hundred and eighty ten eighty, how did you? How do you? How have you? Or will you? Would you? Or for yourself? Every every every tense sort your kids out with helping them make their choices about subjects and career choices. Back in the moment news talks here'd be it's twenty two and a half minutes to six news Talk because they'd be with Tim Beverage and Sarah chat, when's my yesterday talking about happening to your kids with their life life choices. I guess Korea subjects subjects at the moment because everyone, all these kids are getting told what are you doing next year? You need to think about your career. I wait, one hundred eighty ten and eighty Peter.
00:27:56
Speaker 7: Hello, yeah, OHI gods happy, So very very interesting topic. I just got it a bit about my kids. My oldest he was kind of going off for rows. We pushed him into university, didn't know what to do, what he wanted to do, but we told him to take computer science first semester. He hated it, but he found where he wanted to go. Then he changed his degree, ended up doing a double degree, and he's into a field that he's really excelling at.
00:28:35
Speaker 8: He cracked it.
00:28:35
Speaker 3: Oh that's neat, isn't it.
That just shows that that comment about you know, just hopping aboard the journey of it and seeing where where it takes you, that's fantastic.
00:28:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, my second son, he he was into architecture and development and so where you thought it, he's onto it. He knows what he wants to do. Two weeks at the Universe, he as miserable as how it came home, said I don't want to go. I don't want to do this. I mean we've me and Mum just kept on pushing him. And I saw a TikTok thing that said that the degrees that we did when we were at school or UNI.
00:29:24
Speaker 9: Applied to us, but when nowadays the degrees that the kids do, they may not use their skills at all. So we just turned around and said okay. So we could see he was miserable, and he's the brightest in the family, and and he said, okay, so you're not You're not sitting at home. You're going to get a full time job and we'll take it from there. He got himself pulled o job twenty one.
00:29:52
Speaker 4: He purchased his own house, So that's how motivated he was to succeed.
00:29:59
Speaker 3: That's fantastic.
00:30:00
Speaker 4: You can't you can't categorize no kids, You've got to You've got to let them do what they want.
00:30:08
Speaker 3: One size does not for all. Yeah, one size does not for all. And that's really really cool that your children have been such a such a joy to their parents.
00:30:19
Speaker 2: Hey, thanks for you call Peter. Let's go to John get how are you?
00:30:24
Speaker 9: Yeah?
00:30:25
Speaker 6: Good? Thanks. I think that young people should get a job related to a hobby or an interest. When when I was young, I had two, well two hobbies. One was music and one was electronics. As far as electronics, I've got a radio trade certificate and the music I got grade five and piano and and did very well after after that, you.
00:31:00
Speaker 3: Could be a great DJ. By the sounds of it. You could pump out some really good house music.
00:31:05
Speaker 2: What did you end up doing?
00:31:10
Speaker 6: Radio tre certificate electronics?
00:31:12
Speaker 2: All right?
00:31:12
Speaker 6: Yeah, and I've got grade five in music and then went on from there. I can play well two or three instruments and up and knocked and I was in the band and I backed most of the New Zealand country music singers.
00:31:35
Speaker 2: So you had a career in music.
00:31:38
Speaker 6: I had two careers basically.
00:31:39
Speaker 2: What was the other career?
00:31:41
Speaker 6: Was it electronics?
00:31:42
Speaker 2: All right? Okay, so you just followed your interests and you ended up doing both gigging and.
00:31:47
Speaker 6: Both and so as the music goes, I have. I was on the same show as John Rowles.
00:31:55
Speaker 2: So there's something about just following your interest, isn't it?
00:32:01
Speaker 3: Absolutely it makes and it kind of makes sense, doesn't it. You know, because you're going to find motivation and drive if you're doing something that you love to do, So there's
got to be a part of that.
00:32:12
Speaker 2: I think that the distraction that can really throw kids is when their peers are so sure about what they want to do and they still haven't worked it out.
00:32:23
Speaker 3: But I think don't mum and dad then soften that by saying that everybody is so different and you know, it may take one person at fifteen to identify specific things that they want to figure out that they want to work with, but it might not be until somebody's eighteen and they're actually, you know, on the brink of either getting a job or going to UNI or whatever that they think, well, you know, this might be something that I want to look into. Everybody is so different, not all monozygotic twins. We come from different backgrounds, we have different genetics, we have been bought up with different experiential input, so we're all so different.
00:32:59
Speaker 2: Well, the other thing I've sort of said to ours is that you know, if you do something, you change your mind in your twenties, then you change your mind in and go on to do things. I mean, I mean, I'm probably a more extreme example of changing careers a few times.
00:33:16
Speaker 9: But you did it.
00:33:17
Speaker 3: I know somebody who changes a career every ten years. I mean that just freaked me out. I couldn't imagine doing that myself, but they have done it successfully.
00:33:26
Speaker 2: Well yeah, I mean I did law for a couple of years, which I quite enjoyed, but then got into a show, so I just I didn't. Actually, the thing is, I didn't. I don't think I've ever really planned anything out from that point of view.
00:33:37
Speaker 3: I've just gone with hang on, though you made a decision to get into a show, that's still decision making.
00:33:43
Speaker 2: Prosure, I didn't think i'd get in, and then I got in and then all of a.
00:33:45
Speaker 3: Sudden out in the opera, And so that means that you had a little bit of a pivot.
00:33:49
Speaker 2: Did you do part time job? Did you do part because the other thing I'm quite keen on my girls doing. My oldest daughter she does a thing for a charity where she works for a charity. It's like a charity restaurant where you pay whatever you can. It's like, oh, I can for the community, and she does that, and she's getting involved in a few other things. And I do think getting out. I do think getting a part time job. I think getting out into the world where you are mixing with adults. And like I had a job as a banquets waiter at the height at the age of God, I.
00:34:21
Speaker 5: Was kill you.
00:34:22
Speaker 2: I sucked.
00:34:23
Speaker 3: I was in menswear, and then I was in the restaurant swear. Fact I was in retail and between my university holidays retail and also I worked at a restaurant in Auckland and I loved it. I mean it was that interface with people and you know, learning people's stories. But of course for me that reinforced my love of people. So there you go.
00:34:44
Speaker 2: I got to tell you a funny part I'd forgotten i'd done this but when I was six because I played the piano when I was sixteen. I don't know how I'd got this, but I got a job as a restaurant pianist.
00:34:56
Speaker 3: I thought it was going to be something way worse than.
00:34:58
Speaker 2: That at the High Kingsgate where the tourists would come and there was a grand piano, and at the age of sixteen, I would play classical of I played all sorts of.
00:35:07
Speaker 3: Stuff, so you can play the piano, yeah, yeah.
00:35:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I played. I played the piano and I got I don't want to say how many years ago it was, but it was about it was close to forty years ago, and I was giving one hundred bucks a night just for playing the piano for two or three hours.
00:35:21
Speaker 3: Did you love it?
00:35:22
Speaker 2: I did. But I'll tell you something funny just to finish with is I was playing my stuff and then you know you do. And that's German guy said, look, my my friends, I'm a conductor of a classical orchestra in Germany. My friends would like me to play the piano, and he just wiped the floor of me. I just went and had a sixteen year old I went and sat at the bar and had a glass of wine. That's naughty, isn't it. Show Thanks much anyway, Hey look at Sarah. Great to chat with you about.
00:35:53
Speaker 3: Nice to chat with you two.
00:35:54
Speaker 2: Thanks to our callers for contributing and sharing your stories as well. We'll be rapping sport with Elliott Smith, the voice of Rugby, is joining us just before he heads off to South Africa. Back in a moment.
00:36:13
Speaker 1: For more from the Weekend Collective, listen live to News Talk ZB weekends from three pm, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.