I have no direction what-so-ever. Losing at this aspect of my life.

[TattyK]

I have absolutely no clue as to what career I should have.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a Veterinarian, because I loved animals. As I got older I realized my math was poor, as was my chemistry. The idea of being a Vet seemed pretty much impossible, so I abandoned that idea.

Then I decided I am good at art, I should be an artist, maybe work for Disney or Pixar or even maybe write Comics. After I completed all my highschool art and advanced art, my art teacher had me meet with a friend of his that works for Disney. This guy basically told me that being an artist is terrible work and that if someone had sat down and told him what it was really like he would of never done it. He also told me that comics are a dying artform and that there is no point in doing it I won't be able to make a life on that sort of money.

So....I abandoned that. By this time, I was placed on a lot of heavy medications I shouldn't of been on. So basically from 16-21 I was pretty much an invalid. Against doctors recommendations I took myself off of all the medications and detoxed and regained my health. It took probably another year or so of therapy to deal with the social stunting that had occurred as a result of being so medicated and anti-social.

So coming out of that, I decided to take up on art again and try my hand at Tattooing. I practised on myself and other volunteers and was getting pretty good at it, but I came to find out that tattooing is highly competitive and VERY cliquey. Basically unless I was willing to deck myself out in tattoos and become somewhat of a punker hipster I wouldn't do very well.

So I gave up. I just gave up. I put down the pencil, and got a job accross the street from where my boyfriend at the time was working. I have pretty much been doing these customer service jobs since then, and I am turning 30 in a few months. I feel so hopeless.......I desperately want out of Customer Service I don't want to deal with people en-mass and have to put up with their rude behaviour with a smile. I have no idea what I want to do though...I have no idea what would be happy or fulfilling. I'd be perfectly happy being a home maker but thats not realistic...

I am considering taking an Office course to try and get a job doing I dunno secretary stuff or something. I don't even know what these jobs are called they sound so painfully boring. But, they are away from the general population and give benefits and I can take medical leave and work there when I have kids.

I've also thought about some sort of trade, which also requires schooling, but which one? I don't want anything unhealthy or that will take me away for weeks at a time. I am also terrible at math, like, BAD. I have tried getting extra help with it, I am pretty much no-comprende on the subject. Some of these trades I would be interested in require math at a level I just can't achieve.

I feel like there are so many options but also none at all.

 

[wlh22]

Hi TattyK. Sorry you are feeling this way. I can say a few things to help you but I will be short and direct (which I am also learning as I live my life).

 

1) Not always things go as planned and you can't plan everything in life (otherwise you will be setting yourself for failure). On the other hand, sometimes sweet surprises are good in life

2) You are only 30. don't beat yourself up. Some people find their "thing"/"career" in 20's while some do so in 40's. Enjoy the ride along the way but keep working towards finding your goals. Listen to this video . Quote from the video "The race is long; in the end it's with yourself." "The most interesting people I know, didn't know what at 20 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 Set year olds still don't"

3) Set small goals and work towards your dream(s). Read about secretary jobs. Meet one and ask questions to learn about the job or find a book about it. You can also find mentoring at local community events/schools to help you define your skills/goals and find some courses to go towards your goals

4) if you take a risk of trying something new, don't have expectations about how it will turn out. It may be a failure but at least YOU know YOU tried it. You will be better off than what you were before.

 

Life isn't easy but above all, enjoy your life/journey and hope you find your way.

[bulletproof]

There are tons of jobs that are art-related. You could be a graphic designer, a curator, an art teacher, etc. I think the guy who talked to you about his job at Disney really did you a disservice. He should have told you the good and the bad, which comes with any career.

 

And if you still really love animals, you don't have to be a vet. You can be a dog-walker, or groomer, or trainer. You can work at a shelter.

 

I think you just have to really think about what you enjoy, and figure out the steps to get a job that relates to that somehow. You're only thirty. Plenty of time to do what you want.

 

Oh, and I entirely disagree with having to be covered in tattoos to be a tattoo artist. Years ago I dated a very clean-cut tattoo artist, and he did quite well because he was different, and he was a great artist.

[junebug123]

Oh, and I entirely disagree with having to be covered in tattoos to be a tattoo artist. Years ago I dated a very clean-cut tattoo artist, and he did quite well because he was different, and he was a great artist.

 

I sort of agree with this whole heartedly, i think your main problem is that you quit before you get good at anything, part of life is the journey not the destination. Work doesn't have to been fun, look at psycologists they have to listen to crazy people complain all the time, you think they enjoy it? The reality is that we all have things we do for money, and things we do outside of work, making the two similar is sometimes a possibily but it is almost never a reality.

 

There are people who actually become really good at what they enjoy doing on the side as a hobby, whether it be cooking, or art or teaching, but their hobby no longer becomes fun when it becomes a job, that's why they call it work. Say you like cooking, imagine if i made you cook 70 meals over the course of 8 hours, with only half an hour brake, would you still like it?

 

I guess the point i am trying to make is that you can still work to make a living and find other things you like which motivate you to keep making money and keep working. If you want a career i would suggest college or a vocational school, of course that isn't necessary for every job. There are people who teach themselves to design websites or to paint and decide to make a living that way too.

 

I didn't know what i want to do until i turned 27, and i am still not sure if i want to do that for the rest of my life, we just do things to make ends meet at the end of the day. What seperates you from any other person is your drive, and your perseverance. Once you take that away, you become very basic.

[agent1607307371]

Tbh, being an artist is hard. By telling you how hard it is, I think the guy was being realistic. And seeing if it was something you would do even after knowing it was hard. And making comics is always hard work - making your own, which you really have to do for love, or writing for a company, which is freelancing and is hard and extra competetive.

 

Tatooing? Yes, having lots of tats is a requirement. Because of what it is. I wouldn't get a tattoo from someone who didn't have them.

 

Basically it looks as though every time you've realised how hard something is, you've walked away. Which should tell you about how much you wanted to do those things in the first place.

 

At the end of the day though, no matter how exciting they look from the outside, most jobs are boring. Some more quickly than others, but eventually they all get dull. I have had a long string of dull jobs. And I am happy enough with that because I have a life outside of work that is exactly how I want it. Those dull jobs allow me to have that.

 

 

My sister was poor in school. She had a number of jobs and then went to college in her mid-twenties. She's a radiographer now. A job that uses a lot of science. If you'd told her that she'd do that after leaving school, she never would have believed you. She decided what she wanted to do, and worked at it. Harder than she's worked at anything. And now she's there.

[TattyK]

I am also a great cook, I actually looked into schooling for it. But once again, after two years of school you know what you have to show for it? A job that pays less an hour then what I do now. Plus school debt.

I am trying to be realistic about it, by looking at what I am going to get paid as well. I love to cook, but to work my butt off all day long for a wage that is not going to let me live the life I want, is really pointless, no matter how much I love it.

The only real way to make some money in that job is if your an elite chef, or you have your own restaurant, which takes money to begin with.

I guess aside from not really knowing what I can achieve, I also look at the short term and long term gain of something. And the Economy. Certain jobs just don't really have the longevity or demand that I would feel comfortable with.

I quit things because I see the pointlessness of continuing forward. Its hard to see the opportunity when all the faults of it are just staring you in the face....

[agent1607307371]

Entry level jobs are not known for bringing in the big bucks. You get the education, you get a start, you work up. If you really want it, you make the sacrifices necessary.

 

It seems to me that you're really looking at jobs that have a certain amount of prestige attached to them. Part of what gives them prestige thoug, is that to get anywhere you do have to put your guts into them and give up a lot of things.

 

 

Have you thought of making cakes or a small business like that?

[bulletproof]

The only real way to make some money in that job is if your an elite chef, or you have your own restaurant, which takes money to begin with.

 

I don't think this is entirely true, either. Although I suppose we would have to define "some money."

 

It just sounds like what another poster said- you start things and then quit when they start to get hard, or don't even try them because you think it will be hard or you won't get paid enough. You say the faults of things are staring you in the face, but the fact is, it's easy to find fault with just about anything if you look closely enough.

 

I think overall you just sound really negative, and that's what will bring you down in the long run.

[mhowe]

You can't get from A to Z without going through all the letters.

Culinary school...restaurant jobs..life experience...spring board on to other things...catering, etc.

You want something fun that pays well and takes no effort.

Good luck with that. Doesn't exist.

[Lorem Ipsum]

I think that what you really need to do is find something you're passionate about and then damn the torpedoes. That Disney guy? Twelve years ago, he was right, the economy sucked, comics weren't exactly doing well... but they are now. It is *hard* to get a job in animation now because the market has been saturated but that's beside the point. Not everyone who opens a restaurant is an elite chef. Someone I know has a successful business making cakes and she just likes to cook, she never went to school for it. You need to figure out what you're really passionate about and work on it, ignore whether it brings you money or fame, find your passion and let the money follow. The internet now makes it possible to do much more than you could do in the past, self publish books, find a market for art pieces (Etsy) -- if you can make it, you can find a way to sell it.

 

If you really want something, you need to work for it. You can repeat high school as an adult and get your grades up. You can get tutoring. You may want to check out What Color Is Your Parachute from the library and do the exercises in it to help you figure out what you want to do. Some colleges offer career counseling, there may be a cost, I don't know.

[Catherine_3]

So I gave up. I just gave up. ...I have no idea what would be happy or fulfilling. I'd be perfectly happy being a home maker but thats not realistic...

 

This is your obstacle.

 

Not so good at math? So what, you get a tutor. You work twice as hard as everyone else. So what? It's just a course. It doesn't last forever. A soul sucking career, on the other hand, can last forever.

Don't have tattoes? Honestly, that's such a non-issue.

 

Your obstacle is the fact that you have no burning desire to do anything. When you have no desire, you'll always find excuses.

 

One thing you can do is sit down at the end of every day and write down the thing that made you the most excited, the most satisfied... Do it for a month and at the end of the month, look at your 30 things. Better yet, create an ENA journal where every day you write down that one thing. At the end of the month, we'll help you figure out what you would love doing.

[blueidealist24]

Don't listen to one guy who says that drawing is terrible. I think you should start drawing again, even if it's just for pleasure or doing freelance work on the side for small amounts of money. You may be able to find some work on link removed or link removed. If you hate customer service, I'm not sure how you'd feel about the office jobs you're referring to (which, technically, I think would be administrative assistant jobs). I've done both and actually thought customer service was better, because it was more interesting, but in offices you have to deal with annoying people and little details, the same as in customer service. You really sound like you're more suited to a creative career but I agree with you about the tattoo artist thing. I consider that kind of a sketchy job anyway.. but that's just my opinion.

[ChilliRed2013]

Your obstacle is the fact that you have no burning desire to do anything. When you have no desire, you'll always find excuses.

 

One thing you can do is sit down at the end of every day and write down the thing that made you the most excited, the most satisfied... Do it for a month and at the end of the month, look at your 30 things. Better yet, create an ENA journal where every day you write down that one thing. At the end of the month, we'll help you figure out what you would love doing.

 

That burnin' desire... tough thing to identify when one has been leading a life of routine whilst not challenging the mind with something new.

I like this idea of journaling what excites and brings the most satisfaction. Nice easy li'l 30 day challenge. Only thing is costs you is some thinking, processing time, and 5 or 10 minutes to jot it all down.

 

TattyK, I understand your loss of direction. You have however aquired some nice skills over the years.

 

Question 1.

Do you actively pursue any hobbies outside of customer service work hours, and do they involve your skill set ? Art, cooking, tattooing etc..

 

Question 2.

How long have you been in your current workplace?

[TattyK]

So I took a few days and looked over my options. I don't think being realistic is negative, but I guess it could be if you choose to look at realism that way. I am just being honest, I have been evaluated over the years and I just am not the type of person that uses that part of my brain, the part thats built for using science and mathematics and organization. I am more the other side, creativity, language skills, artistic prowess. I used to joke that when my Dad dropped me on my head as a child, that he knocked the math right out of me. I have done the tutor thing, I used to go for a half hour of extra help after school every day from grades 6 to 8. And that was BASIC math. Once I got to the higher grades, and math went from numbers to letters and abstract thought, I got completely lost. I have had teachers sit down and explain a problem to me, I think I understand, they walk away to let me solve it, and they come back stare at the page and say "Ohhkay where did we go wrong here I don't understand what you've written down here.." and I'm at a loss because I thought I understood. Over and over. I barely passed the "stupid" math, I was put in the class with the people that stick pencils up their nose and fight each other with staplers and come to class drunk. I was in THAT class, and I got a lower grade then the guy that came to class and stuck a screwdriver up his nose until it bled to get out of writing a test. I'm being honest, not negative.

Anyway, I looked over my options, everything that I would be interested in or would fit my criteria (I need to be able to come home every day, receive at least 35,000 a year, not work in a trade that requires me to deal with chauvinist men daily) has mostly be non-obtainable. I looked at being a Dental assistant, and it was possibly do-able if I could get my chemistry up to 30 (not impossible) however they mandatorily require at least 6 different vaccinations before enrolment that I refuse to get, and there is no way around it. So scratch that....I looked at Business courses, for administration and office work, and they ALL require at least Math 30 pure or applied. For giggles I looked up what that would entail, and I don't think I have even heard of half of the things that are apparently "math" now. So...no.

This went on and on, hitting the same roadblock which is math, until I finally found something that seemed promising. Captioning and Court Reporting. It totally seems doable, I meet the basic requirements (English 30, Good Hearing, excellent typing skills) I currently type at around 98 WPM and apparently to finish the course I have to be able to type 250 WPM on a fancy machine that lets you type multiple keys with one stroke. It seems interesting....Plus it would allow me to come home every night, to make a decent wage (I think it starts at around 55,000 a year) and its something I CAN DO! Finally! Something that doesn't have friggen math attached to it! I filled out an application and sent in the processing fee, I am hoping early application might equal easy enrolment, We'll see. But at least its a shot......

[Catherine_3]

That sounds interesting. When will you find out if you've been accepted?

[TattyK]

I am not too sure exactly, I sent in my application and processing fee online last night. Apparently I will get a student ID number that I can use to check on my status via the school's website. Its a 2 year course, and it doesn't start until September, so I am hoping by filing now that I will have maybe an advantage and hope to know in maybe...a month..or two..? I threw in two course marks they didn't ask about (Comp. Processing Interm. and Japanese) just to help, since I got high marks in those two. I just hope it works out, this sounds like it would be pretty good, good wage, I come home every day, I get to possibly sit in a court room and hear about crazy people or do close captioning for live TV, events, etc. Basically I get to be a little fly on the wall

 

In the meantime, since September is so far away and I hate the idea of staying at this job I am at until then, I am thinking of taking a forklift operating course. They are ALWAYS looking for forklift operators in this city, and the course is only 12 hours and $340.00 to take. I'm a good driver, I like to work with my hands, and it gets me away from customer service. AND it pays nearly twice the amount I am making now.......for the time being, for the next 7-8 months, it could be a good way to make some money. Lord knows I'll need it for if I do get into this course, its like 2,000 a year so I am looking at around 4,000 total for it. I know my hubby will pay it, but I really feel bad about having him do it, I want to contribute.