Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
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.
Have you considered the military? Starting pay is probably comparable to what you're making now, they'll train you in a new skill, it's respectful work, and they'll pay for college 100%. Also, many branches will let you switch jobs during your career to avoid boredom.
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.
The problem with call center work is that you are so disposable, and that you really don't learn skills that can help you move out of the call center and into professional positions.
Something like call center work should be right up your street, it’s the kind of job you leave at work when you clock off, it’s not something that should be taking up time from the rest of your life. Unless you are working a ton of hours to earn extra cash I guess.
If you think you have it in you to be a vet, maybe you should look at medical careers. You don’t have to be a doctor, there are many jobs that pay well and leave you with a lot of free time. You can always work part time in your current job while at school to make ends meet.
What you really need is to figure out what it is that you really want out of life (and I don’t mean what job you want to do). The job is just a means of getting there.
I'm 28 and I still don't quite know. I have an idea, but being self-employed with Aspergers and ADHD is no picnic.
I totally get you with the fun thing. If it's draining and feels like you're just a cog in the well, even making six figures seems like a wretched existence (let alone making about minimum wage to be miserable.)
On the flip side, if you find purpose in it, you could be paid about minimum wage and want to get up in the morning (though having more money certainly wouldn't be bad.)
I think it takes a very long time to get to that point.. though it is worth it. I am 36. I have always for the most part liked my jobs but I pretty much was only there for the $$. I didn't find purpose or value or reward in it.
I think about 3 years ago (10 years into my line of work) was really when I started seeing purpose, value & reward to what I was doing.
Unlike what some people are saying here, you CAN make a living at doing what you like, or better yet, that you have a passion for. Is there anything, a hobby, a dream, that you are passionate about? You need to figure that out. Think about what you think would be something you'd like or love to do for the rest of your life, without considering the money. Once you figure that out, then you need to research what it will take to put you into that career, and then make the decision and the commitment to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
I have always been passionate about airplanes and flying. I finally figured out at the age of 21 that it was going to take a lot of work and a ton of money to make that dream come true. The first thing I did was move to a location where I had the best opportunity for flying lessons and for low end jobs that I could easily get in order to make enough money to support my quest. I ended up working as many as 3 or 4 jobs at a time (about 80 hours/week) for a period of almost 4 years in order to pay for school, for flying lessons and flight hours, and a place to sleep when I could. I rode a second hand bicycle that whole time. I finally landed my first small flying job 34 years ago at the age of 25, and I've been a professional pilot ever since. I LOVE what I do. There are days when I am flying along and say to myself - I can't believe I get paid to do this! Was it very hard and painful trying to become a pilot? You bet. It was hell sometimes. But it was sooooo worth it!
Find your passion, and then do what it takes to make it your career. At least try. Even if you come close and don't quite get there, what you end up doing along the way may still be very satisfying.
You listed several possibilities, so just pick one of them and put your everything into it and quick looking for greener grass. Success and happiness are related to commitment and if you keep dilly-dallying worrying about the relative merits of various choices you're just going to have life pass you by due to indecision. Also accept the fact that life is not linear. You may indeed end up changing direction at some point about some decisions you make. That is generally a positive because people learn and change as time passes. That is better than being stagnant. Take some time to figure out what your goals are and what steps you will take to progress with them in the short and long term.
What made my work so enjoyable? For one thing, I was helping people. My career involved determining the owners of oil/gas wells and making sure they got paid ASAP and on time every month. I met the nicest people who really appreciated my honesty and work ethic on their behalf. I was able to counsel them when their loved ones died and I was also able to be a kind shoulder on which to cry when a spouse ran off with someone else
Precisely! Your job could be almost anything.
If you have the drive to do it the best you can, and are caring and honest with the people you interact with, then you will enjoy your job.
Satisfaction and enjoyment are not something any job gives to you. Some are of course a better fit for you than others, but if you believe that any job will *give* you enjoyment, then you will always be frustrated. The enjoyment is something that comes from inside. You are responsible for your internal state.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Companies Gotta Save Money
