Career...
- Thread starter abstract
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Infiniteness
Guest
Hi Abstract,
I worked in a fast food restaurant, Subway and the way they treated me was very poor. The manger always demanded more and more work, but never a pay increase. The way I see it here mostly in America for minimum wage jobs, is that we get treated as slaves and nothing more. So I can see why you dislike most "normal jobs",one thing is for sure I will never work in a fast food joint either.
For me I see no point in going to school or pursing a degree here in America, because of the economic crash. Theres really no point because its going to become trash. So I also have a problem, with pursing a job like you. Hopefully we find the job that we want.
I worked in a fast food restaurant, Subway and the way they treated me was very poor. The manger always demanded more and more work, but never a pay increase. The way I see it here mostly in America for minimum wage jobs, is that we get treated as slaves and nothing more. So I can see why you dislike most "normal jobs",one thing is for sure I will never work in a fast food joint either.
For me I see no point in going to school or pursing a degree here in America, because of the economic crash. Theres really no point because its going to become trash. So I also have a problem, with pursing a job like you. Hopefully we find the job that we want.
Third_Density_Resident
Jedi Council Member
Hi everyone, it's been quite some months since I've posted, but I am only now just starting to get time to post, so here goes. I thought I would just share in the frustration of not knowing what career to choose, but finally finding one that I really like.
For 12 years I never had a full-time job after finishing high school. I got my multiple degrees in two quite diverse disciplines (physics/mathematics, and media/screen production). During that time I worked at a postal company sorting letters and parcels and much of the work was extremely tedious, boring and bordering on torture at times too! But it did give me a whole new respect for what postal workers do and I will never look at the postal service in the same way again (and I mean that in a positive way).
The questioning I got from various people and parents' friends about why I still didn't have a proper job at my age, and sarcastic, rhetorical questions like, "if he is so smart, why does he sort mail?", was at times hard to bear. I would compare myself with people whose careers seem to fall at their feet and who never seemed to undergo the torture of indecision about career choices, let alone being able to find a job in the first place.
During my years studying, I did take time off every now and then (a year or 6 months), usually when I completed one qualification and didn't know where to go from there. I also used that time to "find myself", but to little avail. After trying and failing to find jobs that utilised my education, I did only what I knew how to do, and that was further study.
While I was always interested in what I was studying and performed well, I never knew what career it would lead me to. I considered getting into media, documentary production etc., but decided that the ruthless nature of such a career wasn't for me, and so now it is just a strong passion of mine and will remain so for the rest of my life. (Having said that, I have been paid for a few small video projects.)
I then thought I should put to use the hard work of studying physics and mathematics. The most obvious careers that come from these disciplines are teaching, research, statistics, and even working at a bank, and I wasn't really keen on any of these options. However I always had a passion for the observation and study of climate and weather, and knew I could get a job as a meteorologist with my qualifications if I went about it the right way. The entry process was very rigorous, stressful and nerve-racking, but it has all paid off, since I am now a meteorologist, and from my own personal (and obviously biased) viewpoint, I couldn't think of a more interesting career to have. I still wonder why it never occurred to me as a career before, even when people used to say how obsessed I was with the weather.
The steep learning curve I am currently undergoing, and the relocation I have had to make, is the main reason why I haven't been participating on these boards over the last several months, but I hope to have more free time soon. But what I have achieved over the last 4 months is quite honestly more than I have achieved in my whole life up to the end of last year, in terms of personal development, independence, networking, etc. It was something that I HAD to do, and I'm talking here very much in terms of the Work. I just knew I could never properly begin the Work until I became fully independent (and there's another long story associated with this that I won't go into now).
So Abstract, to summarise -- don't give up! I know exactly how it feels not to know what career to choose, but really you should aim to put all your efforts into doing what you're GOOD at. The best jobs are the ones that you love so the job doesn't feel like a job, but a hobby. I know this is not always possible in our STS world, but you should at least strive for that job you enjoy.
Good luck!
For 12 years I never had a full-time job after finishing high school. I got my multiple degrees in two quite diverse disciplines (physics/mathematics, and media/screen production). During that time I worked at a postal company sorting letters and parcels and much of the work was extremely tedious, boring and bordering on torture at times too! But it did give me a whole new respect for what postal workers do and I will never look at the postal service in the same way again (and I mean that in a positive way).
The questioning I got from various people and parents' friends about why I still didn't have a proper job at my age, and sarcastic, rhetorical questions like, "if he is so smart, why does he sort mail?", was at times hard to bear. I would compare myself with people whose careers seem to fall at their feet and who never seemed to undergo the torture of indecision about career choices, let alone being able to find a job in the first place.
During my years studying, I did take time off every now and then (a year or 6 months), usually when I completed one qualification and didn't know where to go from there. I also used that time to "find myself", but to little avail. After trying and failing to find jobs that utilised my education, I did only what I knew how to do, and that was further study.
While I was always interested in what I was studying and performed well, I never knew what career it would lead me to. I considered getting into media, documentary production etc., but decided that the ruthless nature of such a career wasn't for me, and so now it is just a strong passion of mine and will remain so for the rest of my life. (Having said that, I have been paid for a few small video projects.)
I then thought I should put to use the hard work of studying physics and mathematics. The most obvious careers that come from these disciplines are teaching, research, statistics, and even working at a bank, and I wasn't really keen on any of these options. However I always had a passion for the observation and study of climate and weather, and knew I could get a job as a meteorologist with my qualifications if I went about it the right way. The entry process was very rigorous, stressful and nerve-racking, but it has all paid off, since I am now a meteorologist, and from my own personal (and obviously biased) viewpoint, I couldn't think of a more interesting career to have. I still wonder why it never occurred to me as a career before, even when people used to say how obsessed I was with the weather.
The steep learning curve I am currently undergoing, and the relocation I have had to make, is the main reason why I haven't been participating on these boards over the last several months, but I hope to have more free time soon. But what I have achieved over the last 4 months is quite honestly more than I have achieved in my whole life up to the end of last year, in terms of personal development, independence, networking, etc. It was something that I HAD to do, and I'm talking here very much in terms of the Work. I just knew I could never properly begin the Work until I became fully independent (and there's another long story associated with this that I won't go into now).
So Abstract, to summarise -- don't give up! I know exactly how it feels not to know what career to choose, but really you should aim to put all your efforts into doing what you're GOOD at. The best jobs are the ones that you love so the job doesn't feel like a job, but a hobby. I know this is not always possible in our STS world, but you should at least strive for that job you enjoy.
Good luck!
Hi Abstract
I'm not sure but it seems to me like you just got out of one of those nights when you wrote this. I've been in the customer service industry my whole life. Don't let the embarrassment, harassment, or trash-talking tear you up. If you're really introverted then you probably, deep down, take it seriously. It's not serious. Because they're not serious. I don't have any authority to tell you anything so take this with a grain of salt :) Remember that the only thing that is serious for us prisoners is escaping from prison. But in order to do that we need to be able to pay our bills, work normal jobs, and all in all give the prison guards no reason to check in on us. Sooner or later we'll be able to accomplish real things, but I think everyone else was really right when they said that we need to use this as practice. I think we need to be able to do these little things right before anything else can be put on our plate. Most of all I want you to know that it's OK to feel that way about the job, but it's also important not to let your emotions pull you off the trail. Best of luck to you, Abstract, you've got what it takes. Hope this helps :)
Abstract said:
I'm not sure but it seems to me like you just got out of one of those nights when you wrote this. I've been in the customer service industry my whole life. Don't let the embarrassment, harassment, or trash-talking tear you up. If you're really introverted then you probably, deep down, take it seriously. It's not serious. Because they're not serious. I don't have any authority to tell you anything so take this with a grain of salt :) Remember that the only thing that is serious for us prisoners is escaping from prison. But in order to do that we need to be able to pay our bills, work normal jobs, and all in all give the prison guards no reason to check in on us. Sooner or later we'll be able to accomplish real things, but I think everyone else was really right when they said that we need to use this as practice. I think we need to be able to do these little things right before anything else can be put on our plate. Most of all I want you to know that it's OK to feel that way about the job, but it's also important not to let your emotions pull you off the trail. Best of luck to you, Abstract, you've got what it takes. Hope this helps :)
There's some interesting things that I've learned myself from this thread. I too am a janitor currently, but it's good pay and benefits.
I went to college thinking I was going to be a videogame animator. So I took a lot of art classes. Even at this time I kind of felt I wasn't going to do that for a career, though I did still play videogames a lot. I enjoyed going to college even though I wondered why I was going there, maybe I just wasn't sure about my choice of major.
I think the things that you are having a hard time with are the things that are opportunities for the Work, as has been said before. It can be a time to learn about yourself and work on yourself. It can be a choice to consciously suffer when you know that "it" doesn't like to do something.
Anyways, thanks for the thread, there have been some insightful posts that are quite helpful.
I went to college thinking I was going to be a videogame animator. So I took a lot of art classes. Even at this time I kind of felt I wasn't going to do that for a career, though I did still play videogames a lot. I enjoyed going to college even though I wondered why I was going there, maybe I just wasn't sure about my choice of major.
I think the things that you are having a hard time with are the things that are opportunities for the Work, as has been said before. It can be a time to learn about yourself and work on yourself. It can be a choice to consciously suffer when you know that "it" doesn't like to do something.
Anyways, thanks for the thread, there have been some insightful posts that are quite helpful.
