19 and never had a job, I know how pathetic I am in this sense, anyone else like me?

That really irritates me. I suspect I'll get negged for this and what not but who are you to judge how hard other people's lives are? At the risk of sounding patronising, I genuinely admire that you have had three jobs; there was a girl at my school who had four at one point, and I thought that was brilliant because she worked so hard, but that doesn't mean you have any right to judge other people solely on the fact that they don't have a job, because you don't know enough about their situation to do so.

I'm 18, almost 19, and I've never had a paid job (unless you count babysitting...) My parents are very generous, which is amazing of them, and I certainly don't expect them to be so; it just happens that they are. However, I've done non-paid work and volunteering since I was 11 (working at a local stables till I was 16, then working in a local theatre/with a local director and this summer volunteered at an art gallery). The fact that my parents are generous with their money does not mean I don't work hard (or that I've had an easy life)!

Then thats understandable, I'd still class volunteering and non-paid work as work as you're gaining valuable experience in the process. I wasn't saying you don't work hard. I'm talking about people, whom I know of quite a few from my old school, and I guarantee A LOT of people on this forum, who don't do anything but go to school and just sponge off there parents until they go to university and live comfortably, always have money to go out and do things. They also piss me off when they say they don't have a job because there aren't any, well thats just untrue, getting a job isn't difficult as long as you put the effort in to finding one. I work about 16-20 hours a week, and get EMA every week, yet I still don't have any money to spend on things for myself at the end of the month. All that alongside 4 days a week at my severely under performing college with highly mediocre teachers, meaning I have to find time to do extra work just to understand the topics. But hey, sods law.

I agree with most of your post, but this bolded bit annoys me. How can you say that getting a job isn't difficult when there are reportedly millions of people unemployed in the UK? And I'm sure it's not because they're not all lazy. And yes, we all know that there are always jobs going, but there just simply aren't enough for everyone to go round. With often something like 20 people going for one job, it's no joke when they say that trying to get a job is fierce competition these days. I'd actually feel like I'd won the lottery when I finally get a job. I for one had been searching quite hard for a part time job from September 2010 to April 2011. Only managed to get two interviews in that period but was rejected from both of those along with 100 or so applications I'd made to other places where I'd got no further. I then stopped the job seeking for a few months because the crazy effort of trying to get a job and failing was really tiring and deflating me and I just decided to concentrate on finishing college first. Then since August 2011 and counting I have non-stop been searching and applying again for so many jobs, full and part time, temporary and permanent, apprenticeship and normal jobs, on so many job sites and paper applications, etc. This time I've more luckily been going to quite a few interviews, but here I am in November 2011 still unemployed and not with a secure job yet.

I definitely believe I am putting in a lot of effort. Really, how much effort must it take? OK, and I am quite grateful and lucky that I have parents who can comfortably provide for me for now, but being the age that I am (20), I would much rather be earning my own money already. You don't know how childish I feel that I still have tp get pocket money, and my JSA is taking an age to process, and so that's the only alternative I have for now. And I don't mean to sound like I'm taking a dig at you, it just annoys me when people with jobs judge people without jobs as lazy and not trying, when that really isn't always the case, especially in this economic climate, having a job is often just a luck thing.

Don't you need to have made national insurance contributions for that? Have you made them?

You are not "pathetic" just because you don't have a job. Seriously, there are so many pointless dicks out there who will call you pathetic, that you don't need to do it to yourself.

A lot of people have jobs and just doss about all day and get paid for it. For example, I was walking my dog earlier, and I saw two guys in reflective coats just walking aimlessly up and down the road near a temporary traffic light chatting. They are getting paid for doing what I do on my dog walk, and I enjoy my dog walk. Try going into a supermarket, and watching the employees for a bit. A lot of the time, you'll find them standing together in an aisle chatting and laughing. They're having more fun in the supermarket than I am, and getting paid for it.

Also, there is a shortage of jobs right now, and some people might need a job to support their family. I'm guessing you don't really need a job, so if you got one you'd likely just be taking it from someone who really needs it.

And a job isn't necessarily interesting. For most people, it is something like answering phones or doing something similarly meaningless.

A lot of the time, it is bitter old people who say "get a job", and they don't really know enough to justify the claim that getting a job is better: basically, they want you to suffer away your youth in a boring job like they did, and don't want you doing anything cool or fun.

To be honest, you'd be far more useful if you got good at an academic subject and answered people's questions on here.

I'm not sure, I don't really completely get how it all works tbh . But I have had meetings and talks with the Job Centre and Benefits people, so surely they would have mentioned this to me if it was an issue?

I agree with most of your post, but this bolded bit annoys me. How can you say that getting a job isn't difficult when there are reportedly millions of people unemployed in the UK? And I'm sure it's not because they're not all lazy. And yes, we all know that there are always jobs going, but there just simply aren't enough for everyone to go round. With often something like 20 people going for one job, it's no joke when they say that trying to get a job is fierce competition these days. I'd actually feel like I'd won the lottery when I finally get a job. I for one had been searching quite hard for a part time job from September 2010 to April 2011. Only managed to get two interviews in that period but was rejected from both of those along with 100 or so applications I'd made to other places where I'd got no further. I then stopped the job seeking for a few months because the crazy effort of trying to get a job and failing was really tiring and deflating me and I just decided to concentrate on finishing college first. Then since August 2011 and counting I have non-stop been searching and applying again for so many jobs, full and part time, temporary and permanent, apprenticeship and normal jobs, on so many job sites and paper applications, etc. This time I've more luckily been going to quite a few interviews, but here I am in November 2011 still unemployed and not with a secure job yet.

I definitely believe I am putting in a lot of effort. Really, how much effort must it take? OK, and I am quite grateful and lucky that I have parents who can comfortably provide for me for now, but being the age that I am (20), I would much rather be earning my own money already. You don't know how childish I feel that I still have tp get pocket money, and my JSA is taking an age to process, and so that's the only alternative I have for now. And I don't mean to sound like I'm taking a dig at you, it just annoys me when people with jobs judge people without jobs as lazy and not trying, when that really isn't always the case, especially in this economic climate, having a job is often just a luck thing.

You are not "pathetic" just because you don't have a job. Seriously, there are so many pointless dicks out there who will call you pathetic, that you don't need to do it to yourself.

A lot of people have jobs and just doss about all day and get paid for it. For example, I was walking my dog earlier, and I saw two guys in reflective coats just walking aimlessly up and down the road near a temporary traffic light chatting. They are getting paid for doing what I do on my dog walk, and I enjoy my dog walk. Try going into a supermarket, and watching the employees for a bit. A lot of the time, you'll find them standing together in an aisle chatting and laughing. They're having more fun in the supermarket than I am, and getting paid for it.

Also, there is a shortage of jobs right now, and some people might need a job to support their family. I'm guessing you don't really need a job, so if you got one you'd likely just be taking it from someone who really needs it.

And a job isn't necessarily interesting. For most people, it is something like answering phones or doing something similarly meaningless.

A lot of the time, it is bitter old people who say "get a job", and they don't really know enough to justify the claim that getting a job is better: basically, they want you to suffer away your youth in a boring job like they did, and don't want you doing anything cool or fun.

To be honest, you'd be far more useful if you got good at an academic subject and answered people's questions on here.

If you try and actually get off the sofa you can find a job... Im in full time education at uni work 22hrs a week and volunteer as an emergency responder.
Its not rocket science guys.
Get some experience, volumteer, do something interesting and youll find one.