Feeling depressed.

[CaptainPlanet]

I am still feeling very depressed about my employment prospects.

 

I am 24 years old and I don't know what I should be doing.

 

I have 2/3 of a Geology degree remaining 1.5 years of part time study, or about 8 subjects.

 

I was thinking of changing into engineering but that would be another 4 years of full time study which will be difficult. I think the time to study whatever I want and try to be whatever I want has passed, and that I should be trying to just get a decent job.

 

I think for me starting a 4 year degree at this stage of my life, with no relevant work experience would be very immature.

 

With that in mind almost anything requires you to have some sort of certification to apply at the very bottom.

 

I am even a little bit interested in accounting. I am scatter brained and cannot focus on the one goal. The question is what to do ?

 

I am interested in almost everything. I do not understand the world very well so I cannot make informed decisions. Are science jobs highly prestigious positions that only a few people out of thousands of applicants find success or what ?

 

My main fear is that while I am being so indecisive I am wasting away, time will pass me by and I will be stuck where I am forever.

 

I used to have so much passion - I used to love school and do very well. I'd wake up early to finish my practical science reports... I want to be like that again, I was far happier. If only that could be my job instead of stacking shelves.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

where do you live? a geology degree can be used to get a job working for natural resource companies, oil companies, drilling, mining, etc. So i would spend time at your school's center researching what companies (and where) geology as a degree is an asset.

 

you might have to move to another part of the country, but it could be very interesting work.

 

i think sometimes people go back to school again because they are having trouble getting a footing in the world, not necessarily because they want THAT particular career. it can be a bit of a timewaster if the area is not carefully chosen.

 

so you need to answer 3 questions:

 

what do you like to do?

what careers are doing well where there are jobs to be had?

are you able to get into the school and do the work to get that job?

 

so you first really need to find something that you know you will really like, where there are jobs that you can realistically obtain.

 

if you want to do geology, don't give up on it yet. do the research about what it would take to find a job and where. if you can't see work there, then try something related...

 

how about being a teacher, with geology and natural science as the subject?

 

or work for a museum?

 

or a soil specialist or landscape architect?

 

construction/excavation engineer working for city or homebuilding industry.

 

look for anything that might be associated with geology/rocks if that is your passion.

 

but if you're not passionate about it, then i would consider changing, but only to something that really takes your fancy AND has good job prospects. don't just go into something becuase it pays well or you may be hating your life in a few years.

[shikashika]

Do you like geology?

 

Why not just finish up your degree?

 

And, you are 24, thats hardly too old to change your mind... especially if you want to do another degree later.

 

A friend of mine got his Chemical Engineering degree, went and taught in Japan for two years, and then went back to uni for 4 years to do an osteopathy degree.. not related at all!

 

Another one of my friends had an engineering degree... hated it... at 32... and is now going back to do a Fine art degree.

 

I wouldn't let age be a hinderance!

[MissIndigo]

Are science jobs highly prestigious positions that only a few people out of thousands of applicants find success or what ?

 

It would seem so--it's progressively gotten harder to break into the scientific job market be it in academia or industry or other in the past few years (especially here in the US, competition is tough). But I also think a lot of that success has to do with luck. Perhaps cliche, but there's a reason we re-search the problem.

 

I'll be going on the job market in the next two years so I understand that frustration.

 

A key to success I've found coming up through graduate school is to be flexible and diverse, especially now since there's a lot of interest in the business of science over here, and probably globally as well. You mentioned you had an interest in accounting--any possibility you could fold that into your remaining studies if you feel strongly enough about pursuing it? Maybe take a business course or two on the side as well if you have time? That small difference in your college transcript may help set you apart from other applicants, given it fits a vision for your work. With a year and a half to go in your studies you still have some time to explore yet.

[shikashika]

i work with students in the Faculty of Science at a university... Science degrees are really not that more prestigious than any other degree... Arts, Education, Business etc... if you go on to complete a Ph.d then maybe.. but i say to students, especially if its an undergrad degree... and someone like you who's done a good majority of it... just finish it.

 

 

A degree, no matter what it is, is useful... and you can always go on to finish other degrees... And, a lot of employers don't care what degree you have... as long as you have one.

[CaptainPlanet]

i work with students in the Faculty of Science at a university... Science degrees are really not that more prestigious than any other degree... Arts, Education, Business etc... if you go on to complete a Ph.d then maybe.. but i say to students, especially if its an undergrad degree... and someone like you who's done a good majority of it... just finish it.

 

 

A degree, no matter what it is, is useful... and you can always go on to finish other degrees... And, a lot of employers don't care what degree you have... as long as you have one.

 

How would I go about getting a job in administration at a University. I know they pay very decently.

[CaptainPlanet]

I love studying Geo, I love the trips out to the country we get to take.

 

However being a Geologist is a very, very tough life. I wasn't mature enough to take any of that in what it really meant when I started out, its actually a pretty big life sacrifice in many regards. You can't really go home and forget about work, because while you're working you're always at work in many ways.

 

Then there is the doubt I have in my own ability. You need to be very clever to do a lot of the work, and very careful you just cannot make mistakes.

 

Not to mention that there is an oversupply of Geology students. There are many jobs paying a lot of money at the moment but lots of students taking Geoscience and there could be a drop in commodities due to US recession. They say it won't happen, but they say a lot of things.

 

Geology is really not a very stable life building career.

 

Up until this week I had made up my mind to drop Geo and start engineering. I am very indecisive which is why I think it is not wise for me to be at college. I just don't have focus on one goal. I think this is very immature behaviour.

[samross]

CaptainPlanet,

 

I am an engineer. Been one for over 20 years. I'm ready for something different and I am 52 years old. There are doctors who get through many years of their career and then change horses. You reach a point where you want to find something you love. Geology sounds like an interesting field. Engineering is too but it is such a huge field it can be overwhelming to decide which area to go into. A lot of engineers and doctors are realizing they didn't get into their respective fields to do paperwork. And that has become the norm for engineering. I don't hate it, it's just so different now from what the reasons were I got into it in the first place.

 

Don't feel like you are making a decision for all eternity. That indecision is what will hold you back. At your young age, I would think a lot about what I really love doing. Then find something in that area that you can make a living at. You might not be able to, but now is as good a time as any for you to focus on that. Some fields that you go into might make it easier for you to retrain in life for another career. Some won't. For example, a sales career will more than likely have you on the road and in the air 90% of your time, leaving no time for further education for something different. Think about that.

 

What do you really love at this point in your life? Again - don't think eternity.

[shikashika]

How would I go about getting a job in administration at a University. I know they pay very decently.

 

Well, I've worked at a uni for a few years, in various areas.

 

Back when I was a student, I worked in a department part-time and I volunteered as well. Then I worked overseas for a bit, which when I came back got me a job in one department, then I just progressed to other areas.

 

Have you looked at university websites and looked at their careers section?

 

Also, one thing I like about universities, well, here anyway, is that if you want to do further study, they always pay for your courses.

 

So, basically you can get a degree for free... may take you a bit longer, but its nice to not have to pay for them

 

I guess if you are non-faculty you could consider it administration... although my job isn't really admin work...but usually if you get into a university in more of an admin role, it is easy to move up and into better jobs and better departments.

 

I don't know about working at universities there if they pay for your degrees if you are working there.

 

One thing to keep in mind, is that if you are not finished your degree, it may be harder to get a job. Since (obviously) universities value higher education, a lot of people working in even lower-level administration jobs have one or two or even three pieces of post-secondary qualifications. Then again, some have hardley anything.

 

 

Who knows, though.. i'm just saying what happens here, it may be totally different somewhere else.

 

btw, how much longer will it take you to complete this degree?

 

As other posters have said, for an undergrad degree, it doesn't really matter what its in, but as long as you have one.

[CaptainPlanet]

The time frame will be 2 years, I to do 8 more subjects. Some have pre-reqs. so it will take 2 years.

[shikashika]

The time frame will be 2 years, I to do 8 more subjects. Some have pre-reqs. so it will take 2 years.

 

 

Thats not very much time at all!

 

unless you are really unhappy with it, if you quit, do you have something else to go to. If you had another plan, then I say go for it.

 

Would any of your geology courses transfer to your engineering degree?

[CaptainPlanet]

Thats not very much time at all!

 

unless you are really unhappy with it, if you quit, do you have something else to go to. If you had another plan, then I say go for it.

 

Would any of your geology courses transfer to your engineering degree?

 

Nope they're very different.

[shikashika]

Nope they're very different.

 

hmnn.. just curious , because i know some students ehre can transfer their engineering courses and science courses.. not all of course, but some physics / maths ones thare are used as a base in the entry level Science and Engineering.

 

 

have you applied to engineering? do you think you'd be accepted?

[Gratsy]

When I was a kid, it seemed like all I ever learned was that scientists and presidents were the most important people out there. Its weird to think of it as an occupation...how did scientists in the past do it? I mean, is there enough money/innovative spirit these days to make more breakthroughs?

 

Engineering is very popular these days. To me, it seems boring as hell but you make decent income.

[MissIndigo]

When I was a kid, it seemed like all I ever learned was that scientists and presidents were the most important people out there. Its weird to think of it as an occupation...how did scientists in the past do it? I mean, is there enough money/innovative spirit these days to make more breakthroughs?

 

Engineering is very popular these days. To me, it seems boring as hell but you make decent income.

 

Even now I don't think of it so much as an occupation as a way of life. Today, I don't doubt innovative spirit, but money...that's another question. The funding situation here in the US is dismal and I don't know what it's going to take to turn it around. (Well, I sort of do, but the politics aren't appropriate to discuss here.)

[CaptainPlanet]

hmnn.. just curious , because i know some students ehre can transfer their engineering courses and science courses.. not all of course, but some physics / maths ones thare are used as a base in the entry level Science and Engineering.

 

 

have you applied to engineering? do you think you'd be accepted?

 

I have been accepted into a 2 year school. Realistically I will need to spend 4 years of fulltime study. Four years without being able to work fulltime is a big sacrifice so I think the time for studying is over. I am not 19 I should be out trying to make money not chasing a whimsical dream. That being said I still need to try and find a good job like anyone else.

 

I don't think employers will discriminate based on age I think they will want to know why I would be entering the serious workforce so late. If the position comes down to me and a 22 year old of similar calibre I think they would hire the younger person everytime because of a cleaner track record. They'd fit the mold and 'cultural fit'.

 

Other than that I don't know what to do. A degree in Geology isn't going to get me very far and almost everything requires you to have a degree and a couple of year experience for the very bottom. Most fields seem to be very competitive at the entry level with shortages of experience candidates, causing a flood of students and few positions for training. An engineering degree I am fairly confident would get me a job. I am unsure if I could pass even with a lot of study. In a few years demand could be reduced meaning lots of competition at entry level which is not good for an older candidate.

 

Not knowing what I want to do, being older and the fact that it will take 2-4 years to get a degree is causing me a lot of stress. I really don't want to end up stacking shelves or driving trucks for my entire life, my parents did that and it sucks.The difference is that for some reason they never cared.

[CaptainPlanet]

I think my point is that at my age I should have a good direction for what I want to do before I embark on anymore college.

 

I also think that my indecisiveness suggests I aren't truly 'passionate' about anything, thereforeeee a degree could be a waste of time.

 

At the moment I am being driven by fear and the knowledge that to stay in my rut is inadequate and that I would regret it latter on in life.

 

What should I do ? I cannot work in a hardware store forever.

 

How much time do I have before the doors are closed ?