And have no clue what career I want for my life? I have a women and a 6 year old son. We live in an apartment and make just enough money to survive comfortably. I haven't gone to college and I work in a food flavor facility mixing ingredients into batches. I've had ideas that I wanted to act on but all of the passion in them seems to fade within a week or two. How many of you have dealt with and overcome this?
I'm pretty much in the same boat you are only , I'm a couple hears older, my son is younger , but instead of where you work I am in the military, though I may be getting out soon, although I have a job lined up it would be a waste if I didn't use the GI bill and I do want to go to college , I myself maybe headed to that sense of I'm not going anywhere or I don't know what to do with my life but as long as I have my health and people I want to take care of , I think I will be fine and I think you will be fine as well.
I never really found anything that clicked with me. I never will. The only thing I was ever really good at was music and making a decent living playing music is basically like winning the lottery.
I don't think that this is uncommon. What "ideas" have you had? I don't think individual ideas will last. You need to find an activity that appeals to you at a level that satiates your inner child. I'm a programmer and while it's really stressful and frustrating, it's a good mental exercise with new problems to solve, which I find entertaining. As much as I can complain about the shit I have to deal with, I know way too many people in jobs they work for the money. Since you have a 6 year old son, maybe you can look at it this way. (For reference, I don't have kids) What do you like to do with your son? Or what does your son like to do? Or what would you like your son to do? Not as a job, but for activities now or when he gets older. These could be things you can look into.
What about music are you good at? Maybe teaching lessons on the side or even playing at open mic nights or in public forums would be fun.
There are average joes out there that are just rolling in the dough, i want to emulate them one of these days. There's kids out there pulling 100+ grand a year solo mowing lawns. Got juicy contracts and word travels. From what i've seen they just take the chance and things just fall into place, maybe from hard work or maybe from luck. Bottom line is, i know nothing is going to happen pondering how things aren't working out or how things 'might' work out. There has to be some sort of action that is certain. Easy to say, hard to figure out.
I'm in a worse situation, TS. I'm 30, attempted multiple career paths and nothing has really worked out. No wife or kids though, I don't have that weight on my shoulders, and have no plans for it in the near future. Just got my CDL license, hopefully truckdriving will fit me better.
Ive considered Programming, Architect or engineering, science fields such as geology or chemistry, Website design, starting a business, Starting a business that designs websites... The latest being the website design starting out freelancing and then possibly forming a business out of it. Most involve going to college; I feel as if the answer will never be clear. maybe I should just start a path and stick with it regardless of how my intuition feels.
I've never experienced the feeling of knowing where I wanted to go in life. I just wake up every day and go through the motions, more or less. Never had dreams of being anything. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd just make up some bullshit to kill the inquiry. I mean, sure, there's shit I wouldn't mind doing for a living. But when I try to really think about what I would love to do here on Earth, I can't come up with a single thing. Nothing. Zilch. Nothing really appeals to me in that respect. I don't really give a shit about humanity or anything going on here anymore. Not enough to motivate me to carve myself a spot anywhere, anyway. But I'm not looking to overcome it because I don't see it as a flaw, per se.
What motions do you go through? Have you achieved a satisfying career? Is making money the only reason you have a job?
I see work as a means to an end, plain and simple. I don't enjoy what I do and probably never will regardless of what role I am performing but I know it allows me and my family to live a comfortable lifestyle. Maybe you need to focus on that rather than a defined career path.
I don't know how you make yourself more driven. Either you're obsessed with a goal or you aren't. It might help to visualize your life if you fail.
I was a bass player when I was younger, developed into a guitarist. I put a lot of years in woodshedding to learn to play. I could probably give lessons but its not something thats going to make me a lot of money. Thats the thing. Once I started creeping up on 30, I realized I needed to find something that was going to provide for me and my family, regardless of how fun it is. I actually know a few guys who I used to gig with who still are out there playing for $100 on the weekend here and there.
Well I don't want to say that its too late for you now, but you have a son who is six so its going to be hard for you to drop things and go back to school. You might want to start trying to get into a supervisor or management somehow. Not everyone will have a job that they love. I hate my job but its still a job at least
you know, i never knew what i wanted to be when i was young either, and i'm sure most people are in the same boat, or what they wanna be changes. i always said fireman when i was in kindergarten on, but it wasn't until 5th grade that i wanted to become a cartoonist or animator. by 7th grade, i wanted to do video game art and design. then in high school, i saw how much i sucked at art compared to other people who were serious about it and that path was cut off in my brain.
Making money is the only reason I do what I currently do. I'm a foreman for a company, and it's cool, but I don't give a shit about any of it. It's not meaningful or progressive, it's just work. I work, I get paid, I go home. There's nothing to it. No fulfillment. Fucked up thing is, I know that I feel empty in this position, but I have no fuckin clue what kind of position would make me feel fulfilled. So I just stick around doing the same shit. The bills aren't going to stop coming while I'm trying to figure it out, that's for sure.
Exactly how I feel about my job. Its ok. Not especially hard. Pays reasonably well for what I do. But I don't give a shit about it.
do you actually have a family, or are you speaking hypothetically? if the latter, those are assumptions on limitations that don't exist (yet). if the former, then yeah it's something you can't do too much about. as the average sherdogger, i don't have kids, a wife, a girlfriend, or anything like that, so i can't attest to what life should be like, but if i did have a family, i imagine that i'd tolerate any job that had the perfect balance between money made and time i get to spend with them. also, i'd need to have time with friends (and friends...), cuz in a job that i hate, i wouldn't wanna go home mad and take my frustrations out on the family. liking science-y stuff is hard cuz you'll most likely require a degree to get anywhere. i know there's some threads here on programming and web design, but i don't have any specific advice for your situation since i took a different route. do you have any friends who have ideas? sometimes, if you don't have an idea you're personally passionate about, you can get the sense of satisfaction in helping another person in their own endeavors.
I think we all will eventually hit this point. I can't see myself doing anything for 40+ years without hating it or at the very least not caring. Prospects don't look good for me in regards to family.
