How I Got Here: Mike Burgess, project manager, Phoenix Detached Youth Project and author of Don't Shoot Me, I'm a Detached Worker.

27 September 2010 1 min read Youth Work

Mike Burgess makes sure that his fundraising responsibilities don't get in the way of his favourite part of the job -- spending time with young people.

Have you always been a youth worker?

I was a carpenter, but started helping out some Sea Scouts because I liked canoeing and sailing. Eventually I got a job in outdoor education.

And that led to a youth work job?

First, I went travelling and while sitting in a bar in Melbourne some friends told me I ought to get qualified. I applied to loads of places but no-one wanted to know. With a background in the building trade, I didn't have all the "isms" and my writing wasn't good enough. My local college encouraged me to go and get an English O-level, and later I did the two-year youth work diploma in Derby.

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