Career? What Career?

SpicyDuck

SpicyDuck

SpicyDuck

Soldato
Joined
10 Dec 2003
Posts
6,348
I still have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life in terms of a career, and it's really scary!

I have hobbies, and things I find interesting but they're hardly realistic in terms of a career move. Some people say I should just go for it anyway, but I'm not sure if I can take that risk anymore. If I mess up, I'll be 30 before I know it and that's just not good.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in this situation, and I'm becoming extremely frustrated at everything. It's affecting my physical and mental health and they're really pushed to the limit, if I'm honest.

I'm 24, I live at home (Still! :mad:) and I have no degree. I've asked before, and I may ask again ... has anyone been in this situation and, if so, how did you get out of it? Other than the fact that I need a really big kick up the ***, I don't really understand why I'm in this situation.
 
Same situation mate! Just got my degree, but have no idea what I wanna do next. Im 22, just finished uni, now I just need to find out what I want to do.

On one hand its rubbish cos I keep thinking "What now??!" and feeling a bit lost. On the other hand, I think, Im 22 years old, I have my degree, and no real direction, so now is the right time to choose where to take my life. Chin up :)
 
That makes me feel a lot better then that I am only 17 (nearly 18) and dont know what I want to do.

It will be fine I am sure, work at McDonalds or something :D
 
Academically, I'm great. But I sure didn't do good. If that makes any sense. I've only studied up to Level 3, but I'm sure I could get a place on a Uni course as a mature student. I forgot to mention though, that I'm really not to keen on that route. I know it'd be good for me, but 3 years and all that debt...

My hobbies are Music (Guitar), Web Development, Graphic Design and Language. I've always loved the idea of working in the Web Dev field, but for some reason I'm really put-off by it despite people loving my work. Especially the Design aspects. I just don't think there is a lot of work in programming/design and in the future, it might just dry-up and I'd be left with some useless skills, no job, a sad wife and 2 starving kids.

... :p
 
Web developers are in demand, although it depends on your skillset and the location. How good are you with ASP.NET? Java? Those kind of roles are quite lucrative...
 
sr4470 said:
Web developers are in demand, although it depends on your skillset and the location. How good are you with ASP.NET? Java? Those kind of roles are quite lucrative...
Click to expand...

I've concentrated mostly on PHP, MySQL, xHTML, CSS and JavaScript. Then I've been doing Design for years in Photoshop, with a little bit of work in Flash. So it's all only really front-end work, as I only ever did it as a hobby.

I do enjoy it, but I can imagine getting tired of it really quickly if I do it too much. Same as anything/anyone, I guess.
 
in the same situation mate (again, been here many times b4 :/ ) Im 22, I used to enjoy IT now i cant stand it, and i hate general office work. Thought i wanted to be a paramedic but failed to get onto the course this yr and the more i think about it the more i think im not sure if i want to apply again next year. Im looking more into civil engineering/surveying but wont be suprised if i dont enjoy it and start looking for different things. I really dunno what the hell to do career wise lol

to quote zefan: "have you considered the armed forces?" thats the only guidance I can give sorry :/
 
Well I'm a 21 year old who not only doesn't know what he wants to do but also realised that he doesn't even have any hobbies either. I've spent the last 18 months in a support worker role and realised that it's simply not for me and now that I'm looking for a job I really just can't seem to find anything I like. I also put in a very late application for a uni degree at Newcastle (who originally gave me an conditional offer when I was doing my A-levels, however, life then threw a lot of spanners in the work), but unsurprisingly they said no.
 
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OvertoneBliss said:
I've concentrated mostly on PHP, MySQL, xHTML, CSS and JavaScript. Then I've been doing Design for years in Photoshop, with a little bit of work in Flash. So it's all only really front-end work, as I only ever did it as a hobby.

I do enjoy it, but I can imagine getting tired of it really quickly if I do it too much. Same as anything/anyone, I guess.
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Good thing you don't need a job just to survive eh ;) I suggest you take a step back and consider what you'll actually like doing, whether you're any good at that\can learn it, then decide what type of job to pursue.
 
Uknowist, I guess we're not all alone. Most people hate their jobs eventually and probably just put up with it for the sake of having some money/stability. But I'm quite different in that I really can't do anything I don't enjoy. Maybe if I had a child or a wife, I would, but I don't.. so it's the same old ball, rolling around and around.

I've also thought about being a Paramedic once or twice before but I never looked into it. As for the Armed Forces, it does seem like a good opportunity, but I'm not sure what I could offer them to be honest.

Neoboy, those spanners are a *****, eh? Had a fair few myself over the years. What degree did you apply for at Newcastle?
 
sr4470 said:
Good thing you don't need a job just to survive eh ;) I suggest you take a step back and consider what you'll actually like doing, whether you're any good at that\can learn it, then decide what type of job to pursue.
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But I also have to consider that, whatever I choose, I may have to go to Uni. And I really don't want to get into the whole academic thing again. I'd prefer sheer hard work, and experience.

It's just getting on the ladder which is difficult, especially now, when it seems everyone is losing their job and the Economy is slowly falling apart.
 
N200 Business Management. That's what I originally applied for and had an offer from them and I think I picked Northumbria as insurance policy. I could still probably get some sort of degree during clearing or apply to other Unis. However, I want to stay local and I'm really sick of Sunderland now so don't want to apply there and Durham would've deffo told me to go to a certain place plus their business school is actually based in Stockton which is a canny hike.
 
neoboy said:
N200 Business Management. That's what I originally applied for and had an offer from them and I think I picked Northumbria as insurance policy. I could still probably get some sort of degree during clearing or apply to other Unis. However, I want to stay local and I'm really sick of Sunderland now so don't want to apply there and Durham would've deffo told me to go to a certain place plus their business school is actually based in Stockton which is a canny hike.
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I don't mind traveling and living elsewhere in the UK, providing I have my own place. But no one is going to hire me, teach me and pay me all at the same time.

I'd love to find an Apprenticeship, and I'm going to the Jobcentre on Monday to ask them what they have. They're the only ones to go to who have them for 18+ year olds, apparently.
 
After I left uni I end up doing several boring jobs which I hated.
I started applying for everything and anything that looked interesting, remember you can always turn jobs down. Got into a job which I wasn't totally happy in, but knew I had a future in it. Two years latter applied for another job in the same company and got it.
 
Well the plan now is to put a less rushed and on time application for Sept 2009 and in the meantime get something that earns me some money. I almost have my SIA badge too so there's a good money source too.
 
Jeez, this thread is depressing me now! :p

My plan is to get any old crappy job in the next couple of weeks, sort out my debt, save some cash and, well, I'll see what happens from there.
 
You're getting to the age now where you're going to have to think long and hard about what you envisage yourself doing and just go for it, otherwise before you know it you'll be 30 and still living at home whilst working temporary dead end jobs. If your choice doesn't work out for the best then you're still young enough to be able to change direction without too much detriment, and hopefully by then you'll have more experience under your belt and maybe a better idea of what you really want to do.

Are you the guy that was teaching English in China? If so, have you thought about getting into teaching or a related field?

You just need to get out there and do something rather than worrying about whether or not it's right. If it isn't, you can always change.

Good luck.
 
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