The dilemmas of youth nowadays are presented not only in a new and challenging way, but they constitute a complex and serious problem of crisis of youth work in Brazil. This study was conducted with young high school students in a coastal city in the interior of Santa Catarina. The strategies that young people use in the relation "work, education and family", in a new ethic of work in contemporary society, was the central issue. A quantitative and qualitative survey was conducted through the use of questionnaires and interviews (focus group) in order to identify the situation of education and work of these young people. The results indicate the need for public policies for youth showing the emergency to rethink proposals for education and working conditions that meet the youth as a result of the uncertainty that now surrounds the labour market.
youth; work; education; family
