>Your last advice seems even less effective than the standard to me, in that it's totally ineffective against someone who says "yeah but I want to work on Halo"

>Your last advice seems even less effective than the standard to me, in that it's totally ineffective against someone who says "yeah but I want to work on Halo" whereas there's at least a snowball's chance in hell that if you say "MS will pay and treat you like shit if you work on Halo" they might reconsider... It feels like this is always the crux of the problem. Young people full of life just don't understand how soul-crushing certain jobs can be. I was one of those people. In a past position, I was told that the hours would be long, and the competitive nature drives people to insanity. On the bright side, you'll make some great friends (the ones that you don't hate) and the benefits are outrageously good. All of that was true to the letter. I didn't understand the subtext of work coming before literally everything else (including health), the pay is trash, and life will always be massively in favor of your superiors. What my teenage self didn't understand was how much of an impact the subtext would have on my life in the future. And if I did (though I'm sure I didn't), it didn't matter. It was what I wanted. It was my calling. On the other hand, you run the risk of sounding like an someone who, "just doesn't understand the passion" that someone can have for the job - even if you're recounting stories from your past. Too much negativity just keeps the young crowd from believing you.