Stuck in my job, need help

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Heya,

 

I have a problem that I would appreciate your views and advice on. I am 19 and currently work in a office environment as a clerical assistant. When I left school I applied to do a NVQ 2 in business administration (which I completed) and was fully employed by the company I am with now. I have been a civil servant for just over 2 years now, but I'm starting to wish for a career change but I have loads of things stopping me.

 

I feel at the moment as if I am restrained from leaving my job. I honestly am not the best worker in my building, often losing motivation and my concentration due to I feel I have no interest in office work any more. The problem is I wan't to leave but scared I will be given a bad reference, making it difficult finding another job. The other issue I have is I wish to get out of the office work career, but completely lost in what to go in to. I would love to enter a career in computers and IT but without any qualifications its proving difficult.

 

I live in the UK so education advise may not be possible for some of you to give. My dream career would to learn fluent Japanese, earn a qualification in it and become a full time intepreter abroad in Tokyo; how could I accomplish this? Or am I dreaming too much, specially being my age and current circumstances.

 

Please help, I really am confused and scared what my future will turn to. I wish not to be still in this position in 5, 10, 15 or 20+ years time.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

Yours

 

 

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[Beyondthesea]

I live in the UK so education advise may not be possible for some of you to give. My dream career would to learn fluent Japanese, earn a qualification in it and become a full time intepreter abroad in Tokyo; how could I accomplish this?

 

If you are unhappy, there is nothing wrong with switching jobs. Do it while you can, while you're young and not attached to anything.

 

If I were you, I would contact the university closest to you and ask to speak to a guidance counselor/career counselor. Your dream isn't out of range, I know many people who are overseas teachers, especially in Japan/China. In fact, I know a Japanese girl who is a full time interpretor.

 

If that is what you want to do, make it happen for yourself. Nothing is holding you back but your frame of mind.

[RayKay]

If you have a dream, research into what is needed for it by contacting others whom do so, or agencies that send people abroad, and start putting things in order to accomplish it. I imagine taking some Japanese language courses is a good start!

 

Or, sign up for some evening IT courses and then you can still be collecting paycheck if you need one due to living situation, and be working on a new career.

 

At 19, there is NO reason to "stay stuck" when your ambitions lie elsewhere. Heck, at 50 there is no reason to stay stuck

 

I am going back to school next month myself after several years working in some not-bad-but-not-what-I-want jobs myself...it will be a huge adjustment, but well worth it in the end!

 

Bluntly, if you don't like it...change it

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Thank you for your quick replys, I really appreciate it.

 

I have previously quickly looked for a language college, problem is Japanese is not so much taught here as much as German or French. Although I have not inquired at the local college/university for a guidance counsaler, maybe this is worth a try.

 

Aside from that, I have looked into a night school IT course; problem being it was not advanced enough. I was trying to get a qualification in programming when all I was supplied was a course on how to use the internet, lol.

[now_better]

a) self-teach! there are a lot of good books out there on learning a new language, you just have to be motivated and be relentless. also, if there is a Little Tokyo or some other part of the city where there are a lot of Japanese people, this would be a good opportunity to immerse yourself. better yet, find yourself a japanese significant other! free tutoring.

 

b) similar to learning spoken languages, there are good books on learning programming languages. again, it's difficult to stay motivated but following the lessons in these books will give you good fundamentals of the languages (i suppose C++, Java and C# would be what you would want to focus on). one you have a good grasp, go take some certification tests (like Sun's Java certificate) that you can put on your resume. then start looking for contract work that you can do at home. good luck!

[Beec]

I have been learning a language mostly by just listening. A few companies make programs that speak in English and another language to teach you the other language. And as the courses progress, more and more is spoken in the language you are learning. In five months time, I can now understand most light social conversation in the other language. I loaded the program onto my ipod and listen on the way to work mostly. Nothing else will train your ear as well as listening, until you just go to where they speak the language and stay there. Take a look at: link removed; link removed; and link removed

 

Also, there are computer programs that will teach you a language. See: link removed (the first part is free); link removed; and link removed

 

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I am sure you can find more, in each area. If you want to do it, then begin. If you really want to do it, you may need to go to a college or university, but starting now would give you a good jump on it.

If you are worried about being stuck, begin to plan your exit.

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Wow, thank you so much Beec for going to so much trouble - you really didin't have to. I really do appreciate everyones help on this board who have helped me see a new light into my future.

 

I will start off learning Japanese from home while saving up money for college. This way I can catch the next starting year (next September) and be in a brilliant position for learning.

 

May I ask, if I was to become my dream career of a translator, what other qualifications may I need? Another thing I would like the translation career to lead into would be to teach Japanese English. As I understand however, to teach you need a degree; what would be the best course of action to make my career possible? I'm thinking an A-Level equvilent in Japanese and a degree in a form of English.

[Beyondthesea]

As I understand however, to teach you need a degree; what would be the best course of action to make my career possible? I'm thinking an A-Level equvilent in Japanese and a degree in a form of English.

 

I live in Canada, and can honestly say that there are posters and flyers and meet ups everywhere about being a teacher overseas...and you need some sort of post secondary, that's it. You can have any degree, certification, etc and they will accept you as a qualified English teacher there.

 

Definitely do look into this further. Talk to some qualified professionals. Search for some stuff online and see what comes up.