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I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life and it's driving me nuts.
How do I make a decision of what I want to do in life? I want to live life happy. Not constantly miserable.
You have bigger issues than finding the right career path. If you are constantly miserable it's probably not just the job that is making you that way (although it can certainly be a contributor). Chasing the next job is never going to fix that.
The harsh reality is that there are very few jobs these days that are "fun" primarily because employers and corporations are working hard to squeeze every last ounce of energy and devotion from you, for the tiniest wage possible. Didn't use to be that way, there were a lot of jobs where there was mutual respect between worker and employee, and a more generous sharing of the profit among employees in the form of wages and benefits. Now that's a very rare thing. Hard to to say why, but that is the reality.
If you expect to have "fun" all the time while you're earning a living and building competency, I'm afraid "you" and "the world" will not see eye to eye. Get over it. They call it "work" for a reason. Once you get good enough at it, it becomes a 'profession'.
This x infinity.
OP, this is why you youngsters get such a bad rap, because you can't seem to wrap your brains around the above concept. Work is the necessary evil everyone goes through to earn the $$$ in order to pay for the fun those of us who have the $$$ get to have in our spare time.
OP, this is why you youngsters get such a bad rap, because you can't seem to wrap your brains around the above concept. Work is the necessary evil everyone goes through to earn the $$$ in order to pay for the fun those of us who have the $$$ get to have in our spare time.
Agreed.
You obtain a career/job to make a living so you're not homeless on the streets.
Work is work. Do what’s fun in your spare time. Volunteering for those less fortunate will make you appreciate your first world problems. No job is perfect.
I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life and it's driving me nuts.
I currently work as a tech support advisor and they pay well. $13.50 an hour. Well I was placed on a 60 day performance probation for not meeting my customer satisfaction score. So I have to meet my goal for 2 out of 3 months to pass
Well. Let's just say I don't want to get out of bed every morning dreading the day and get an anxiety attack and praying I don't get a negative customer review. And constantly worrying about playing the numbers game at my job. I want to wake up in the morning and look forward to the rest of my day. I want to get up and enjoy life and have fun. A life without enjoyment isn't a life worth living. At that point I considered quitting my job.
I am 27, and will be 28 in 6 weeks or so. I have no idea what I really want to do, and if what I really want to do is a good decision. I want to take this seriously because every decision I made up to this point felt like the worst mistake I ever made. I didn't finish college, and if I did, I probably wouldn't be so miserable in a call center.
I want to be a lot of things. I want to go back to college but I lost financial aid and didn't pass many classes. I wanted to be a game developer, professional gamer, freelance artist/writer, pet groomer, veterinarian. There's so many things I want to do that I'm afraid of picking one and getting bored with it and moving on. I want to pick something that's fun to do, and would make enough money to pay bills.
How do I make a decision of what I want to do in life? I want to live life happy. Not constantly miserable.
The key factor you have to realize here is that you have very little time. In 12 short years, your body, mind, and energy will be at the start of the final long negative slide. By the time that starts, you had better be established doing something that you like and getting paid for it.
So narrow down your list to the top 2 favorite activities and introspect to the max to figure which one to pursue. Make sure the one you choose has a realistic chance at generating an income. Then give up the false dream of youth that "all things are possible". They most definitely are NOT. A key factor in becoming an adult is realizing that you have to pick something and throw yourself into it and be the best at it that you can. It's quite sobering to realize that your possibilities are actually quite constrained. Especially as you push 30.
Some random thoughts on your list:
At your age you can forget professional gamer. You soon will not be able to compete with the 20 year olds who are really good at this. And guys who do this professionally are not only good at the game, they are photogenic and look good on camera and have some wit and ability to entertain. If that was going to be you, you'd already know it. The only money in professional gaming is in entertainment, and only for the very few with real on screen talent.
Game developer is a definite possibility. The ability to design, implement, and market good games is definitely a skillset that can lead to a decent and fun career.
Artist/writer. Forget that crap. Nearly nobody makes money at that, including some VERY talented people. Being a successful writer takes education, experience, connections, talent, and a non-trivial amount of good luck. The odds of washing out are high, and if you waste 10 years riding that train and it never reaches Penn Station, you are going to be a pushing-40 loser with nothing. Keep that as an avocation to support your other possibilities.
Pet groomer? A possibility. You could open your own business and if you have really good people skills and are good with animals, that could expand into a fun and profitable career.
Veterinarian? Not a chance. You're too old to start that. It's uber competitive, uber expensive, and almost as difficult as becoming a medical doctor.
So at the end of this I'd probably advise you to perfect your programming skills and pursue game development, and do pet grooming as a 2nd job and with the possibility of one day opening your own shop if game development doesn't work out. And, include some freelance writing on the side to keep your communication and language skills sharp, and who knows you might get lucky if you write about the right subject for the right person at the right time and you happen to have some talent.
The bottom line? Losers never choose a path, because they fear all paths. Pick one, make a stand, and admit to yourself that you will one day be old and look back at this choice, hopefully with self-admiration for making something happen when nothing was threatening to happen. Picture yourself as a game developer with a pet grooming business on the side who also enjoys writing as a hobby and maybe a side gig. That sounds like a decent life, especially when supplemented with a good family life to go with it.
Last edited by Marc Paolella; 12-11-2017 at 10:31 PM..
I would love my current job if not for the metrics. I can't do call center work anymore. I want to get up in the morning and look forward to my day. Not dread every second of my life. I never get time for fun things anymore and work is taking over my life. I want to do something that I enjoy doing while making some money to pay rent. I'd like to be a vet, but the nearest vet school is 4 hours away from me and a term costs $12,000. I'd love to be a groomer but education in my area costs $10,000 and the annual income doesn't seem high enough to be liveable. I don't mind going to school for programming or computer science but job security is uncertain. I've also considered being a freelance journalist but I have no idea where to start learning.
There is zero job security in full-time journalism, never mind freelance. If you want to try it as a side hustle, go for it (look at poynter.org) - but you really need training and internships to even think of freelancing.
The job security in programming is better than anything else.
You're kind of all over the place, and I don't mean that as an insult, because I FULLY understand and have had some of your exact career wish list items over the years.
Learn to code. Google for tutorials, EVERYTHING is online - build a small, creative online portfolio, focus on what really interests you. You certainly can combine art and writing with web development.
Google "digital nomad" and you might get some ideas.
I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life and it's driving me nuts.
I currently work as a tech support advisor and they pay well. $13.50 an hour. Well I was placed on a 60 day performance probation for not meeting my customer satisfaction score. So I have to meet my goal for 2 out of 3 months to pass
Well. Let's just say I don't want to get out of bed every morning dreading the day and get an anxiety attack and praying I don't get a negative customer review. And constantly worrying about playing the numbers game at my job. I want to wake up in the morning and look forward to the rest of my day. I want to get up and enjoy life and have fun. A life without enjoyment isn't a life worth living. At that point I considered quitting my job.
I am 27, and will be 28 in 6 weeks or so. I have no idea what I really want to do, and if what I really want to do is a good decision. I want to take this seriously because every decision I made up to this point felt like the worst mistake I ever made. I didn't finish college, and if I did, I probably wouldn't be so miserable in a call center.
I want to be a lot of things. I want to go back to college but I lost financial aid and didn't pass many classes. I wanted to be a game developer, professional gamer, freelance artist/writer, pet groomer, veterinarian. There's so many things I want to do that I'm afraid of picking one and getting bored with it and moving on. I want to pick something that's fun to do, and would make enough money to pay bills.
How do I make a decision of what I want to do in life? I want to live life happy. Not constantly miserable.
When a person doesn't know what to do in life, it's best to join an organization that will tell you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Look into all the following options and determine which best suits you:
Assuming you're in the USA, United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard)
Surely there are other organizations for you to look into, but this short list is a start.
Good luck!
Last edited by chacho_keva; 12-13-2017 at 01:28 PM..
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