Comment by BrandoElFollito

I am not sure either if this is the right advice, this is just my view over a convoluted 30+ years career. I have two children who are in the middle of their studies now and I had the same concerns suggesting a path.

I will try to expand a bit.

There are manual jobs that are very interesting and work well until 40-50 years old.

An example is physiotherapy, where you can concentrate on more dynamic activities when you are young, and move to softer ones later. With the demographics in Western Europe, you are good.

Another one is electrician: it is constantly evolving, with major shifts such as home automation and it is reasonably physical (the added value is that you do not keep a static position for the whole day).

Importantly, none of the above is at risk with AI or shifts in the market. You always need people to help you physically and you always need electricity. On top of that these jobs are regulated so you can't be short-cut.

One of my kids is going this way and it is great.

The other one is in Finance, in the best and most competitive school in the world. I see his future as bleak, something I would not have even thought 30 years ago.

He will live in slavery for 5-10 years, doing insane hours and without a social life at the moment when it counts the most. He will make heaps of money, without real opportunities to spend it. And he realizes that.

As I said, 30 years ago it was unthinkable, at least in my country. A diploma from that elite school was the real way to everything. Your year mates where the future ministers, president, head of national or international institutions. And the weird few who would go for NGOs.

All this means that any advice a 50yo will give is heavily impregnated with their past and that past (which was their future when they were young) is fundamentally different from the future of current youngsters. We do not live in an era of fundamental changes as we did in the 90s.