MattW Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I've been working part time in retail and taking classes at a community college for about four years, now, and honestly, I'm sick of it. I had hoped both of these would just be "transitional" things; as in, I'd do them for a couple years, then move on to a bigger university, and perhaps some kind of entry level job, or internship, or something like that. But, I've seemingly "settled in" to what now feels like an endless cycle. The problem is, I really truly do not know what I want to do with my life. At all. I'm not good at anything, I have no particular talents or skills, no real interest in anything. I know that I want to do something, but I don't know what. I've been to a career counselor a few times, but it never gets anywhere, because it always comes back to what I want to do, and again, there's nothing specific that I could see myself doing. I've taken career aptitude tests, but the results always indicate that I'd be suited for a field that I already tried taking classes in, and just didn't care much for. I just can't seem to figure out how to move my life forward. I feel like everyone I know is moving their lives forward, if only little by little, and I'm stuck exactly where I was four years ago. It's not so much that I'm comparing myself to others, but... I just hate being a 23 year old cashier, barely making more than minimum wage, aimlessly floating through community college with no direction. Link to comment
CrazyKing Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 You should try to look for things that you really like doing - if it's searching for what you could be doing? - Bingo, here's an idea for business, helping others how to decide what to do with their lives. There are literally unlimited oportunities around, no matter where you are, how old you are, there must be something you really like doing, don't give up searching. Link to comment
MattW Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Honestly, I can't think of anything I like doing that's not just a leisure activity. Link to comment
Eocsor Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Honestly, I can't think of anything I like doing that's not just a leisure activity. Well, in that case, welcome to a rewarding career working at WalMart. Seriously, if you want to whine and sit on your rear end you'll get exactly what you deserve which is nothing. Life isn't fair and it isn't fun. It takes hard work to make a decent living for yourself. Most people don't love their job, they do it for what the job gives them, money to do the things they do love. Pick something you see an employment oppotunity in and stick with it. Take course geared towards that. If you don't want to get off your backside and work, start practicing the phrase "Do you want fries with your meal" Link to comment
CrazyKing Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Honestly, I can't think of anything I like doing that's not just a leisure activity. Well, it will turn out far worse if you're not doing anything, don't you think? If it's not something you like you probably have something you're really good at - otherwise I'll start thinking you're getting addicted to lowering yourself. First you should start to love your job, no matter what it is, because the attitude towards your job can be felt by anybody around and will always remain with nothing really changing. Been there, done that - I ended up getting fired and had to learn the real hard way how to work for two painful years... Link to comment
eternalsunrise Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 It boils down to self-discipline. Especially in this economy it's not about "what I like to do" blah blah blah. Seriously, you have got to realize that if you want to be successful, don't romanticize the career process. Pick a career track that will make you money/get you a job (make sure to look at which jobs aren't suffering due to economy) and get on that track. Stick with it. Forge forward. You are getting no where just sitting there. Again, I can't stress enough. It's about self discipline, not butterflies & dreams. Once you are on that track, just do what you gotta do and compartmentalize the process and get back to enjoying your life. Life is about more than career, but you best get that part right! Link to comment
MattW Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't classify myself as "lazy", per se. It's not that I'm unwilling to help myself move forward, I just don't feel like I know how. I don't know what direction I want to push myself in. Every thing I try, it just doesn't interest me. I don't have a "passion", a "calling". I'm not so much "lazy" as I am just confused about what I want out of life. At this point, I don't know how to even figure out what I want to do with myself. Link to comment
eternalsunrise Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 There you go again. You'll never get anywhere by romanticizing the career track. It doesn't work for you. (That might work for others but not in your case.) You need discipline. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't classify myself as "lazy", per se. It's not that I'm unwilling to help myself move forward, I just don't feel like I know how. I don't know what direction I want to push myself in. Every thing I try, it just doesn't interest me. I don't have a "passion", a "calling". I'm not so much "lazy" as I am just confused about what I want out of life. At this point, I don't know how to even figure out what I want to do with myself. Link to comment
eternalsunrise Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Life is long. You'll have plenty of time for passions and callings later. Link to comment
MattW Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 There you go again. You'll never get anywhere by romanticizing the career track. It doesn't work for you. (That might work for others but not in your case.) You need discipline. I don't really know what you mean... Link to comment
quantumst8 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 If you can't find any career pursuits that interest you, put some of your time into expanding yourself. Read some classic books, go through Rosetta Stone and learn a new language at home, learn an instrument, etc. Those things can open doors in the future, even if you can't see how in the present. But if this is just a complete lack of motivation at doing anything at all, then no advice here will help you and you should probably talk to a counselor or psychologist. And if you don't have motivation to go to one of them, then I'm afraid you're utterly screwed. Link to comment
samantha20 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 why don't you do what I did and go work on a cruise ship? It will open your mind to see the world and maybe when you're done travelling you will have an idea what career to choose. Link to comment
MattW Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Well, is there any way for me to find a better, non-retail job now, despite not having a degree yet? I've tried those job search engines, like link removed and a few others, but every listing I find seems to list a bachelor's degree as a minimum requirement for application. For what it's worth, I have over 70 credit hours, and my cumulative GPA is 3.55. Something else I've been wondering is, just how "worthless" are associate's degrees? Is there any good job field where you can see success with just an associate's degree? The reason I'm wondering this is, because if worse comes to worse, I might just go back to one of the majors I already tried and didn't care much for. Thing is, I can't find any universities that offer a bachelor's degree in that specific direction; most have a bachelor's degree for the field it's in, in general, but every university I've looked at with that degree claims it requires two semesters of calculus in order to graduate, and I tried pre-calculus a year or two ago, and I bombed hard, in that class. So, I doubt I could make it through two semesters of calculus. Link to comment
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