Bravo 1...get a life!

[Bravo 1]

Ok, so I've reached a point in my life where i need to make some decisions...namely, what I'm going to do with myself! I've no clue what profession I'm going to study for nor what field I should go into...

...so, I'm trying to learn how others found/are finding their path (if they don't mind sharing).

[Regan]

(SetMentorSkill 100)

I think it depends on what you enjoy doing. To my mind it's pointless earning big bucks just to spend them trying to forget what you do for 8 hours a day.

I had no idea what to do when I left school, so I got the first job I found and fitted auto alarms and stereos for a year. Then, deciding it wasn't quite my thing, I became a civil engineering technician. (For those of you in the UK, look up 'boring' in the yellow pages ) Too much office work for me so I came to france and built houses ;D

If you're not sure, try something you think you might like, and the worst that can happen is you find something you definitely don't want to do for a living.

I didn't include college, university here because I didn't really spend much time at school, and the thought of going back was horripilating. (I managed to get a word from MW into a post )

I dearly hope somebody else can give you more mature advice, Bravo

[Calislahn]

Well for me i had a vague idea i wanted to do something with make up but i didn't want to do beauty therapy because waxing people's bits doesn't appeal to me, doing my own is bad enough (probably too much imformation there ;D)

Anyway my mum got some imformation from the college about courses in that line and i liked the look of the Hairdressing one, it also taught you make up and manicure. As it turned out i didn't really like the make up, teacher was a b*tch so that didn't help ;D, but i took to the hairdressing like a duck to water

Now money has never been a motivation for me, if it was i would have picked a higher paid job. I'm more interested in being happy in my work. Before going it on my own i worked for two other people who were not particularly nice and i was miserable at both. But i've now been self employed for 13 years and wouldn't change it

[faudau]

Wow! Bravo I just saw that you are from Augusta....I myself am actually from Stone Mountain my father's side.....I am living in Italy because my wife is from here. Small World....

anyway about career choices what Regan said is really the right thing. I worked alot of jobs where everyday was a counting of the hours. Because they weren't what I really wanted to do. When I became a designer though I knew it was my career because I could work all day and barely notice it. It has its ups and downs like any job but my enjoyment is so great with it that I can work 50 to 60 hours and barely notice.

So you really must like what you do or you WILL be unhappy....no pressure

[Mebyon]

Ahem! (Clears throat ready to be all paternal and then forgets what he was about to say!)

That's all really good advice up there Bravo.

I have now stopped work (officially, but Poppy doesn't seem to know it yet!). I wanted to be the world's greatest potter when I started thinking about jobs. The extraordinary thing is that I just took jobs that seemed to be fun to do, thought it might be 'fun' to get a degree, had a whale of a time making magic effects in the theatre and did light shows when pshychodelic lighting was all the rage. At the end of all that I wound up as a computer consultant with a secretary, wall to wall carpet and one of those wooden executive toys. OK I was good at finding out what people's business problems were and managing the introduction of IT into their businesses. (I can still throw a mean pot!)

Do what you enjoy doing. If it isn't fun to do, stop and do something else. Grab any chance to learn new stuff (always). Do not, under any circumstances, allow someone to try and push you down a fixed path (because "that's where the money is").

If you take this advice one of two things will happen.

1. You'll wind up happy as Larry doing something which you really enjoy and getting paid for it.

or

2. You'll wind up stony broke and destitute.

I suspect that this is not advice that your parents would give you but it's what I told my two kids when they left university. One's doing acedemic research on eyeballs, (yeeuch), and the other is teaching kids environmental stuff, how to make trebuchets, how to abseil and how to not drown in a canoe at a sort of out-door educational camp. Neither of them earn a huge amount of money but they're doing what they want to do, (This was as of 1st February 2005 at 11:30AM, they may have decided to do something different by now!)

[Calislahn]

I suspect that this is not advice that your parents would give you

I'm not always certain parents are the best to advise you on stuff like this anyway, they have their own hopes and dreams for their kids which may be totally different to the kids dreams for themselves. If your lucky they're like Mebyon and tell you to do what makes you happy if your not lucky they end up pushing you into something you don't want to do or they spend all their time reminding you what a dissapointment you are to them ;D

I take it you need some sort of direction to choose what subjects you will carry on with? that's what we do over here although at 14, how can a 14 year old know what they want to do with the rest of their life

Anyway i at that time had no real idea about what i wanted to do, so along with the compulsory subjects i chose the ones i enjoyed most and had the most ability in, that way i knew i'd stand more chance of a better result. I also took one subject out of pure practicality and that was typing. My mum suggested, and i thought her reason was sound, that no matter what happens in the future i would have something to fall back on and could always get an office job. Got a distinction for that one

Well it didn't help in my career but it sure helps me on the forums ;D

[Bravo 1]

Actually, its linked to wether my mom allows me to move back with my dad; being 16 and a sophomore in High School, the next two years are ultimately going to reflect on what kind of college I get into. The fact that my stepfather works at Medical College of research doing Biochemistry research gives me some opportunities to do extra-curricular activities that could really help me get into a good science college. But I'm not too sure that I want to go into the sciences...

...after college, I'm not sure what I want to do at all. I've always wanted to live in England since I was 5. However, returning home to Romania might be nice, though the opportunities there are pretty few. I'm thinking of graphic design possibly, however, possibly something to do with computers might not be too bad either...

...also, should I apply for American citizenship? I've got some more years on my greencard....buuuuut...

@ faudau: Small world indeed, though I'm not an American by birth. Actually, Georgia is really nice and I think I'd really enjoy it if it weren't for the conditions under which I was made to come here.

...very good points everyone; thanks for all the replies! I'm just worried that if I *DO* decide to go to some kind of art school and later on I want to do something else, my credentials won't be up to par...

[Mebyon]

I *DO* decide to go to some kind of art school and later on I want to do something else, my credentials won't be up to par...

Not necessarily true Bravo. (To spell 'necessary' just remember you have one collar and two socks, one c two s's!) Where was I? Oh yes. I got my degree when I was 40! OK, there were some young whipper-snappers who had been in computer sciences since they were weaned but many companies look for more than just letters after your name. BTW that's Dr Mebyon in future!

[Calislahn]

Well DR Mebyon thank you for explaining necessary, that one always gets me ;D

Bravo...England............. ........I hear Portugal's very nice too

Seriously though, it's never too late to do anything so don't worry if you change your mind later on. Sometimes until you actually try something you don't know if it's for you or not

[Bravo 1]

I used to read Sherlock Holmes and have always wanted to visit London since...and just the general attitude/worldview is a lot closer to home than the one over here...

Good point about the trying stuff out though...

@ Portugal: I'd like to think of Southern Europe (or Southeastern as the case may be) as a retirement spot ...not saying you're old Meb!

[Calislahn]

:laugh4:


London just doesn't appeal to me but then i'm a country girl, i don't like cities much

I was not trying to put you off bravo i was just thinking that instead of pm's i'd be getting visits or phone calls all the time ;D Not that i mind really

[Mebyon]

I absolutely HATED London! Oh crikey! This is going to be either a rather long off topic post or I'll not post it, but I'd like to explain.

London was badly damaged during the war, as were many cities on the continent. The French and the Germans took the opportunity to rebuild their cities as 'cities'. We just filled the gaps with even worse architecture than what was there originally. London is a eyesore. The small minded planners and grasping developers have managed to create one of the most unpleasant cities on earth. Nobody lives there who can help it, they all live outside and only travel in to work. The 'work' of course is often not what we would normally associate with the word. Financial, Leisure, Service 'industries'. OK I was one of them at one time too!

Compare London with Paris or Lisbon or (God forbid, Brussels!). People live in those cities. There are shops that sell stuff that everybody needs, not kinky boots, rubber nickers and disgusting 'fast' food; (which is often not fast and barely passes for food).

Here's a question. In Lisbon there are statues to their greatest writer Luis Camões. In Paris there are statues to Voltaire. Where is there a statue in London to Shakespeare, and how big is it? Londoners don't care, they don't live there so the place has no heart.

Rant over. Now, to post or not to post. That is the...........

Post and see what replies come up!

[Bravo 1]

Interesting...;D

Indeed Cali, I might just have to bug you (not the omittance of the word bugger! )

...I don't quite know what I'm going to do. For all I know, I'll probably end up working here in the US...

I see your point Meb, sad isn't it? ...perhaps Glasgow then (I believe that the Scots honored William Wallace with a statue or two ). Ah well, certainly two more years to go before I'm off to college...and then four more years to figure out where to get a real job...

...apparently, I'm good with mathematics, but I don't enjoy it as much as I do playing about in photoshop. I certainly don't have a 'passion' for it to be able to work with it all day and have the time fly by...

...modelling is fun once you get the basics down...

...I was also entertaining being a professor of some sort, but I find young children are a tad annoying while teenagers are a tad dramatic... (speaking in a general sense)

[Mebyon]

I find young children are a tad annoying while teenagers are a tad dramatic

The smaller ones smell as well!

I liked teaching, but that was big people, like undergraduates. I'm not sure how long I could survive in an inner city school!

[Mebyon]

Sorry, meant to add.

The Wallace. They've got his sword hanging up in a sort of turret near Stirling I think. Don't remember much about it but it was a bl**dy big sword!