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Anyone else feel totally lost with careers or just life?

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Damn fellas! Live! Enjoy, have a blast! Get out. Don''t be depressed becuase of what you see in FB, at the end of the day its usually a load of BS. Everyone tries to be happier in front of others, though there's always a melodramatic idiot. Come on guys, you live this life ONCE, no more. No more fucking chances after this. There's no heaven or any pretty place, so you have what your body will hold out for. You are here for something, perhaps not something big, but think of the impact you can have on others. Minimum perhaps? Who cares, just go all out and enjoy your life. Do random shit, get drunk, get a girl, perhaps pick a shitty job while you look for something else, things, if you work on them, will eventually work out.



Just enjoy stuff. Enjoy the experience. Screw catching up to others or what society believes is good for you, do what you like. You will sacrifice things along the way, but just make sure its for a bigger gain. Either yours or for someone else.
//rant over
 
I dont really feel "lost". I have a good job at a nice company. Great GF. Financially stable etc etc.

But through it all I just cant take life seriously. Everything feels very pointless for the most part. People tell me to save money to which I reply "for what?". People tell me to have kids to which I think "Why? Theyre nothing more than a burden both financially and mentally". Get married... dont see the point. Have a career... for what? Im too fickle and get bored of anything I do after about two years.

I feel like Im on the outside looking in. Watching my friends get married and have kids not really seeing the point of it all. If I could spend my life as a drifter I would. I would love to be able to do "nothing" because anything more than that feels like an exercise to me (Though I wouldnt mind a life where my job changed every week).

Its like we are all robots, programmed to go through life in a certain way but the only thing is someone forgot to install my software.


Are you me? Like...this looks like something I would've wrote, verbatim.
 
I should contribute to this thread. To give you an idea of how chaotic my life was... I'd had to go to the point of how I was born lmao. College professor and 3 other boys likes student who slept around, dunno who baby's dad is, doesn't give a fuck, meets some hippy out in the boonies, have me, have another with some other schmuck a year and half later, then struggle for the next 4 years before finally dropping us off at her moms. Then 5 years later, she thought she can pick up the slack and be a mom again with a fresh boyfriend but only to have the boyfriend ruin plans 3 weeks in and we end up being in places like weird church friends', salvation army, and then in some poor housing for a year before she finally gave up the ghost thanks to her massive array of fuck ups. (Hepatitis, liver failure, scars from car wrecks, pills etc.)

Grandma was only 74 at the time when we moved back, so she could try her best at her age to raise us. I was doing well in school, better than my own peers but by that point its very hard to even care because honestly, how the hell do you even plan your own life when things just are the way it is? I had some aspirations as a kid but I'd learn very quickly there's flaws to each one that I didn't want to partake in. In the end I just don't like people very much and usually have a very pessimistic view of them. I'm a happy person by nature, but I never EVER expect shit from anyone I ever meet. If I got something, I'd be very surprised and start questioning their motives. There's ALWAYS something not so genuine about anyone EVER. :\

Thankfully, in the same turn, my own nature of not expecting anything from anyone and work dedicated to helping others in part of working marks me as an unselfish person somehow and I made a huge impression on a lot of people I worked with. LOL they all love me in retail because I like the work and helping my "elderly" coworkers. I still fucking hate people though. I have no career at 33 and could care less. I'm happy as long as I don't have to deal with people. But I do miss helping my elderly coworkers though. They always DO need help even they're too proud to admit it. I grew up with Grandma knowing this.
 
Some programs encourage not knowing the local language. You'd be fine.

Yeah. Southeast Asian countries tend to discourage it from what I can tell because you'll be more likely to try and help the students speaking in their own language rather than working through it in English.

Although if you're interested in picking up a language once you're actually in country, there's no better way to do so than the total immersion you'll have access to outside of your workplace.


Hmm, maybe if all else fails. Not too psyched about long distance relationships :P.
 
I have no career at 33 and could care less. I'm happy as long as I don't have to deal with people. But I do miss helping my elderly coworkers though. They always DO need help even they're too proud to admit it. I grew up with Grandma knowing this.

You might be able to find a career in some kind of high level assistance program for older people. I think our elders are ignored or disrespected in today's culture, when it used to be a bit different. In other cultures, older people got respect, in this culture, they don't work or make money, so they're worthless. It's a goddamn tragedy, and there need to be some forward thinking people to create a new way for older people to regain respect, keep their own self respect, and interact with the communities that need them. Not everyone can look at older people and appreciate them for who they are and the experiences they have and treat them like actual people. That's a skill, and I don't mean something like being an elderly care nurse, but maybe helping start programs where elderly people can go to libraries and run story time for young kids, or assist at daycare facilities for children. There is a special dynamic that occurs between young children and elderly, everyone is your grandparent and there's a lot of love there. Plus experience, and guidance, and stories. People need to lay the foundations, get the ideas out there and into the right minds, and people like you who know and respect the elderly are perfect for that.

Anyway, the way things are now, it seems like it'll only get worse, so...yah.
 
I didn't pass a single one of my classes last semester and I have no idea what to do... It was my first semester of junior year in materials science, so changing majors would basically entail starting over, and I question whether or not going back to MatSci would be worthwhile because my transcript would still look like shit even if I spent an extra year and got the degree.

Drop out, sell wordly possessions, move to another state? Volunteer self as test subject for something stupid and dangerous? Fuck, I don't know.
 
My advice is start your own business in whatever you are good at or interested in. It's really easy these days as well with the internet. Low startup costs, and tons of ways to make money, from selling your own product, other peoples products (e-retail, amazon, etc.), getting ad money, getting hit and click money, ad words, hashs and tags, etc.
 
My advice is start your own business in whatever you are good at or interested in. It's really easy these days as well with the internet. Low startup costs, and tons of ways to make money, from selling your own product, other peoples products (e-retail, amazon, etc.), getting ad money, getting hit and click money, ad words, hashs and tags, etc.

Entrepreneurship is a good idea for more people than actually take it up, but it's definitely not universal advice- it's far too risky. For some folks (i.e., family breadwinners) there's not much room for risk. For others there's plenty of room, but you do still need to know what you're doing, it's not necessarily easy money. I mean, even if I had this idea I'm cultivating years ago, I'm only now in a position to actually execute it, and it's gonna be a logistical hell to cover all the bases. Not everybody can be Evilore. :P
 
I would really like to have a job where it feels like I can be of help to people, but maybe retail is also nice to work in, i've done that for several years as well. The real thing I would love is to work with Netflix Europe as I don't give a fuck what because maybe I can work myself up to the top but they don't have a European branch yet, should I just send in my resume to the American branch and write a letter telling them what my skills are or something? Shit I dunno.. I wouldn't even know what I could do outside of customer service, but I have worked in a videostore for two years, I have some skills in marketing ( one of the failed studies ) and effeciency with computers and pick up stuff very fast.

I've been thinking about this too, but I don't know which direction to go...

I've been trying to avoid it, but maybe it's best to take a few night courses at a community college.
 
You might be able to find a career in some kind of high level assistance program for older people. I think our elders are ignored or disrespected in today's culture, when it used to be a bit different. In other cultures, older people got respect, in this culture, they don't work or make money, so they're worthless. It's a goddamn tragedy, and there need to be some forward thinking people to create a new way for older people to regain respect, keep their own self respect, and interact with the communities that need them. Not everyone can look at older people and appreciate them for who they are and the experiences they have and treat them like actual people. That's a skill, and I don't mean something like being an elderly care nurse, but maybe helping start programs where elderly people can go to libraries and run story time for young kids, or assist at daycare facilities for children. There is a special dynamic that occurs between young children and elderly, everyone is your grandparent and there's a lot of love there. Plus experience, and guidance, and stories. People need to lay the foundations, get the ideas out there and into the right minds, and people like you who know and respect the elderly are perfect for that.

Anyway, the way things are now, it seems like it'll only get worse, so...yah.

I'm glad you think so. I sure did HATE how elders are being mistreated these days. My god. Every time I see a poor old lady trying to get something, I'd rush to help lmao. But yeah, there's a huge population that don't have grandkids or the like, and I'd be happy to be adopted by a couple or something, but the only thing I don't like is that how nasty their families can be when it comes to regards like money or type of care or hell, just plain old mean because they regret they're not the one taking care of their elders instead. :\
 
It's funny. I have a good, stable job that pays me $68k/year. It's a software engineering job, which is what I went to school to do. But every so often, I wonder if this is really what I want to do for the rest of my life. Rather, I wonder if I can do it for the rest of my life. I did well in school, and I've done well at work, but I still don't have much confidence in my abilities. There's just so much in the world of programming that I don't know about.

A coworker recently got a job elsewhere, and I got to thinking about whether or not I'd be able to successfully interview for a job. I've had this job for two years, and I've had to work with Oracle, ASP Classic, ASP.NET, CSS, Javascript, and probably a few other resume buzzwords, but I'm not anything resembling an expert in any of those. At an interview, I'd probably freeze on any question they ask me about those. So I'll probably be where I'm at forever. I've recently started work on a Masters degree, which should help me maintain skill sets I'm not currently using, as well as learn new ones.
 
Had the conversation with my fiance' last night and of course she doesn't want to move so soon. We have only been at this house for a year and I agree that it will be a pain in the ass to move again so soon.

So again I'm just stuck. I need to keep this job just to maintain the household but I am miserable here.

A friend just gave me some good advice that I usually live by.."buy things you can be proud of so you know what you are working for". My passion is cars and it has been years since I had a car I was proud of. So maybe the job wouldn't be so bad if I at least had a car I was proud of. So no matter how hard the day was I could at least walk outside and tell myself "see.. that is what you do this shit for"
 
i want anything in the world than to be stuck back in butt crack in the U.S. doing shit all. Once i stepped into Europe, learned a new language (and plan on so many more) and just have been doing the sickest shit... i can't imagine doing anything else.
 
I'm glad you think so. I sure did HATE how elders are being mistreated these days. My god. Every time I see a poor old lady trying to get something, I'd rush to help lmao. But yeah, there's a huge population that don't have grandkids or the like, and I'd be happy to be adopted by a couple or something, but the only thing I don't like is that how nasty their families can be when it comes to regards like money or type of care or hell, just plain old mean because they regret they're not the one taking care of their elders instead. :\

I wonder if there could be some kind of weekly visitor program, or a live-in exchange program. So many elderly want to be independent in their own homes, but just need someone to stop by every so often for company, and to do small things around the home. People used to sublet rooms to people, but these days there's so much focus on stranger danger that it's almost unheard of. Plus yeah families seem to want to put their older relatives away in a storage facility somewhere, just because of convenience, since they have so much going on in their lives. Some churches, I've heard of have programs with visiting handymen, but that's just a good start that could be expanded on. Just someone willing to stop by for 2 hours, have some tea, change a lightbulb or two, talk, check up on someone, and leave. It would improve the lives of so many lonely older folks. There could even be a stipend for the visitors. If I had millions of dollars, I'd start that charity.
 
A friend just gave me some good advice that I usually live by.."buy things you can be proud of so you know what you are working for". My passion is cars and it has been years since I had a car I was proud of. So maybe the job wouldn't be so bad if I at least had a car I was proud of. So no matter how hard the day was I could at least walk outside and tell myself "see.. that is what you do this shit for"



I love cars and motorcycles with a fierce passion as well. It's safe to say I'm pretty close to being obsessed about them actually.

It's such a stupid thing to strive for... but man, the roar of a flat 6 or a big v8. Really does get me going. So maybe it's not that shallow.
 
I feel like I'm lost. The problem I have is I have very little aspirations for moving forward in my life, particularly when it comes to a career/vocation. Call me crazy, but I'd rather do shit due to the value it offers and less on currency. The problem I have is that so many jobs out there are not focused on such things, and I know almost nobody who's in a situation I aspire for. I'd rather be dead than stuck in a job or career just to make money, as that's a void we as a society conjure up for ourselves.

I've talked to one of my professors about it, and he's come to the assertion that a good career for me is pouring myself out to others in some way. The difficulty for me is that I'm a pretty terrible introvert, and the feeling as if what I could offer is still a mystery.

Really, I want to live a life where I'm not plagued by debt, bills, and monetary worries, but more on focusing my time to offer value to someone, anyone, and absorb that. I'd like to know when I go to bed that if I die in my sleep, what I did that day had value in some meaningful way. I worry if I'll ever find something that offers that for me.

I figure not even being 22 for three months here puts me in a unique position, because according to my professor, many people don't worry about what I'm worrying about until they hit middle age, but maybe that emphasizes the oddities about me.

You're more likely to end up doing something you hate AND making fuck all doing it than choosing between something fulfilling and something lucrative. Just FYI.
 
I love cars and motorcycles with a fierce passion as well. It's safe to say I'm pretty close to being obsessed about them actually.

It's such a stupid thing to strive for... but man, the roar of a flat 6 or a big v8. Really does get me going. So maybe it's not that shallow.

I have zero mechanic experience, but I'd love to buy a motorcycle and customize it myself:)

Another thing I'd love to do is build a house (well design it at least), since I'm an artist and I'd love to have a house built the way I want it. I can do it all in 3D and see how it looks ahead of time, etc.

But all of this seems so out of reach. I have a job I love that pays well compared to most people I know personally, but only a stupid high school diploma. I have to find ways to make more money on the size while having fun, but what I do art-wise doesn't really lend itself to that.
 
ive got 4-5 0's, 4-5 5x's, and a 70 average on my college transcript. have next to no change of getting a co-op for the upcoming april-december term, and am regretting the hell out of my past choices. time to find some people who want to hire a surveying student for 12$/hour and beg.... :/
 
Goddamn I am in the same position. I am about to graduate in 5 months with my business degree and have no clue what I want to do, I honestly don't even feel like I learned any useful skills in university, everything seemed like common sense or something that I could learn by reading a $20 book or two.

Problem is the only things I see myself enjoying are extremely grand... I'm 23 and I still daydream about exploring the world, exploring the universe, traveling and learning, going on Indiana Jones-like adventures. My ultimate dream, if I could summon anything, would be to be the president and lead engineer for a huge space ship building company leading the space exploration industry. Sounds childish and like fantasy, but that dream consumes 90% of my thoughts. I wouldn't mind drudging away doing a menial but high paying job just so I could finance the operations necessary for a business like like. It's the only thing I see doing with this shitty degree.

Right now I am just focusing on finishing school, which seems more like a waiting game than a challenge, and moving off and getting a "good" job. I'd like one where I could travel the world, experience new cultures, see unique architecture and just visit with new people.
 
Tired. Just tired. I feel like the idealistic bullshit I've been fed by my elders for so long is manifesting itself in the present period of my life. For so long i believed in the naive assumption that all can fashion their passions into labor that would be somehow deemed as justified by the will of capital or industry. This idea that you should do what you like and be able to survive from it led me to a path of self condemnation for years. I wasn't happy because i wasn't doing what i wanted to do in order to satisfy my perceived duties, and it was entirely my fault. I'm not sure i believe this anymore. It is not difficult to imagine a scenario where one's passion(or passions), this object which requires no external motivation or attached duty to perform, does not lie within the realm of academia or profitable enterprise. Such an obvious hurdle to overcome for so many of you, the acceptance of the current inexistence of a form absolute freedom and the subsequent attempt to make the most out of one's endowment and station. I have difficulty accepting that. I realize that I am but the sum of my limitations; i speak of no truths but my reality. I am at odds with my conception of the social dynamics governing my environment, and i mean this in the most objective rational way possible(i do not fancy myself as a tragic hero of sorts). Whether due to the imperfection and incompleteness of my thought or a legitimate thirst for "betterment"; it is the current manifestation of my person. What torments the soul of this philosophical neophyte is the perception of the omniscience of competition in most every level of discourse, it appears etched into the essence of language, interpersonal relations etc... Naturalistic arguments explain the state of being of this phenomena but it does not convince me of its perpetuity. Perhaps a bottom up approach is required to unlearn what is so intrinsic, at the smallest levels of discourse. In any case this existential ordeal has pushed me towards wanting to emigrate to France or Germany, not ideal but perhaps a place closer to what I seek. The irony of it all is that my current degree is useless and the best solution i can come up with so far is getting a degree that would cost me around 150-200k, therefore pinning me down to the states for at least 10-20 years.



I'd like to share a quote: "Those who can breathe the air of my writings know that it is an air of the heights, a strong air. One must be made for it. Otherwise there is no small danger that one may catch cold in it. The ice is near, the solitude tremendous—but how calmly all things lie in the light! How freely one breathes! How much one feels beneath oneself! Philosophy, as I have so far understood and lived it, means living voluntarily among ice and high mountains—seeking out everything strange and questionable in existence […] Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself. " Nietzsche



Deconstruction and existential pursuit are perhaps airs of heights that were not suited for me. It would appear that the 21st century is no place for a dinosaur from the 19th century.

(Paragraphs, i don't use them, what can i say i'm an entitled little prick with first world problems!)
 
Teach English huh? Does that work if you don't speak Japanese or Korean?

As some have already said, you don't need any Korean or Japanese. Many schools prefer you don't, since you might be tempted to use it when you teach your students.

There is nothing wrong with picking some up before you come, since it will help out with things not related to working, like shopping, going out etc.

There are some bigger schools out there that you could approach, you could try it and see how you get on. Most are 6 months or 1 year contracts but that is certainly enough time to decide if this is the direction for you. You never know, you might really like a change of pace and lifestyle.
 
Tired. Just tired. I feel like the idealistic bullshit I've been fed by my elders for so long is manifesting itself in the present period of my life. For so long i believed in the naive assumption that all can fashion their passions into labor that would be somehow deemed as justified by the will of capital or industry. This idea that you should do what you like and be able to survive from it led me to a path of self condemnation for years. I wasn't happy because i wasn't doing what i wanted to do in order to satisfy my perceived duties, and it was entirely my fault. I'm not sure i believe this anymore. It is not difficult to imagine a scenario where one's passion(or passions), this object which requires no external motivation or attached duty to perform, does not lie within the realm of academia or profitable enterprise. Such an obvious hurdle to overcome for so many of you, the acceptance of the current inexistence of a form absolute freedom and the subsequent attempt to make the most out of one's endowment and station. I have difficulty accepting that. I realize that I am but the sum of my limitations; i speak of no truths but my reality. I am at odds with my conception of the social dynamics governing my environment, and i mean this in the most objective rational way possible(i do not fancy myself as a tragic hero of sorts). Whether due to the imperfection and incompleteness of my thought or a legitimate thirst for "betterment"; it is the current manifestation of my person. What torments the soul of this philosophical neophyte is the perception of the omniscience of competition in most every level of discourse, it appears etched into essence of language, interpersonal relations etc... Naturalistic arguments explain the state of being of this phenomena but it does not convince me of its perpetuity. Perhaps a bottom up approach is required to unlearn what is so intrinsic, at the smallest levels of discourse. In any case this existential ordeal has pushed me towards wanting to emigrate to France or Germany, not ideal but perhaps a place closer to what I seek. The irony of it all is that my current degree is useless and the best solution i can come up with so far is getting a degree that would cost me around 150-200k, therefore pinning me down to the states for at least 10-20 years.



I'd like to share a quote: "Those who can breathe the air of my writings know that it is an air of the heights, a strong air. One must be made for it. Otherwise there is no small danger that one may catch cold in it. The ice is near, the solitude tremendous—but how calmly all things lie in the light! How freely one breathes! How much one feels beneath oneself! Philosophy, as I have so far understood and lived it, means living voluntarily among ice and high mountains—seeking out everything strange and questionable in existence […] Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself. " Nietzsche



Deconstruction and existential pursuit are perhaps airs of heights that were not suited for me. It would appear that the 21st century is no place for a dinosaur from the 19th century.

(Paragraphs, i don't use them, what can i say i'm an entitled little prick!)

Here. You need this more than me.

red-balloon.jpg


Moving to Germany to be close to Nietzche's grave isn't going to help you out much though.
 
I didn't pass a single one of my classes last semester and I have no idea what to do... It was my first semester of junior year in materials science, so changing majors would basically entail starting over, and I question whether or not going back to MatSci would be worthwhile because my transcript would still look like shit even if I spent an extra year and got the degree.

Drop out, sell wordly possessions, move to another state? Volunteer self as test subject for something stupid and dangerous? Fuck, I don't know.

Possible employers may not care all that much about grades as long as you can improve and/or went to an excellent university.
 
Goddamn I am in the same position. I am about to graduate in 5 months with my business degree and have no clue what I want to do, I honestly don't even feel like I learned any useful skills in university, everything seemed like common sense or something that I could learn by reading a $20 book or two.

Problem is the only things I see myself enjoying are extremely grand... I'm 23 and I still daydream about exploring the world, exploring the universe, traveling and learning, going on Indiana Jones-like adventures. My ultimate dream, if I could summon anything, would be to be the president and lead engineer for a huge space ship building company leading the space exploration industry. Sounds childish and like fantasy, but that dream consumes 90% of my thoughts. I wouldn't mind drudging away doing a menial but high paying job just so I could finance the operations necessary for a business like like. It's the only thing I see doing with this shitty degree.

Why didn't you go into aerospace engineering or archaeology?

I was a bit lost after graduating from HS and decided to take a couple years off working in a field that is totally unrelated to any of my interests. It gave me a taste of what life would be like if I was working at a well paying but boring job and that experience gave me a big push into pursuing my true goals.

I totally feel you though; I dream big too (definitely not as big as you) but wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Might aswell update this as I avoid working but got an Interview next week which includes going to college part time for Pharmacy work :)
I pretty much only applied because of this thread "sod it what have I got to lose!" so hopefully things are on the up and up!
 
This thread is definitely a "go back to school" motivator.

I was already planning on it, but this thread put me over the top I think.

I actually like my job, and it pays pretty well for the time invested. The issue is that I have pretty much zero job security. I rely on contracts that I have to go out and look for, and though I've been lucky thus far, I don't want to rely on luck my whole life. I COULD get a permanent gig, but it involves occasional mediocre work conditions, and being pretty much forced to do 60+ hour weeks. Those hours are well-compensated with OT and double OT, sure, but still... not something I wanna be stuck in.

So F it... I'm going back to school. Law school. Oh yeah.
 
Might aswell update this as I avoid working but got an Interview next week which includes going to college part time for Pharmacy work :)
I pretty much only applied because of this thread "sod it what have I got to lose!" so hopefully things are on the up and up!
Good luck!

Sounds like a nice gig. How'd you come across it?

I've been considering going back to school for a degree but even at 27 im apprehensive about 4 more years and debt before I can finally settle in and get on with my life.

I'm already at that point where I'm worrying about potential love interests settling down and leaving me in the dust.

Decisions...
 
Just searching the NHS jobs website each day, Funny enough I got the job ive been in for over two years the same way.The good part being I will by two bits up the pay scale for being the NHS for two years already and I can move my pension over.

They require/pay you to get a NVQ2 in pharmacy so I imagine it can go up to NVQ3 then onto a proper pharmacy degree in the future which is good to know.

Would be awesome if I did get it as then I can move out aswell so pretty much get my year off to a ridiculous start but trying to just be cautiously optimistic is hard!
 
When I was 19, I thought I wanted to sit at a desk for the rest of my life and make a decent salary.

Now I'm going back to school to get a teaching degree because I love to help people, and I love working with children.

I think when you get older you start to discover the things that are truly important to you. Blindly hoping that I'll turn out just like everyone else is not for me anymore.
 
I kind of feel this way. I'm 19, went to university just because it's the thing to do. Everyone one was. Realized that it was probably a mistake, so this year I've dropped everything except for 1 course. Now I can focus on music + making money + I can come back to Uni any time I want, even if I take a year off next year. (If I dropped out, I would need to re-apply as a high school student.)

I'm pretty sure I want to be a musician, so right now I'm doing everything to pursue that. I have a lot of friends from high school that went to school for music, and I feel left out. I wish I had of done the same.

Wait... Are you me?
 
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