What would you do if ..

[Worried]

you don't know what you want to do? I'm 20, have basic GCSE'S and a BTEC Business National Diploma (DDD) - Equivalent to triple A. Dropped out of Uni and don't really intend to return. It seems most people my age have a plan (or are at Uni). But there's really no area of employment I want to work in. I've gotta do something or go somewhere in the meantime. There's just something miserable about working full time at this age, especially when the job is just a time filler instead of a progression route. I find myself waking up at 8AM, pondering life and the meaning of my existence. I saw a postman on a cold, wet day delivering mail on a market stall a few weeks back and thought .. that could be me in 5 years.

What do people my age do with their life if they're not at Uni?

On a separate note does anyone want a room in Birmingham .. as I'm paying over £200 a month for it ... dropped out of Uni and got myself signed into that long before .. not good

[Sea]

All I can say is that I am 35 years old and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I ponder it a lot too. You have an awful lot of time ahead of you and plenty of time left to make decisions about all this. Try not to pressure yourself too much - its counter-productive I think.

[Worried]

Originally Posted by Dory

All I can say is that I am 35 years old and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I ponder it a lot too. You have an awful lot of time ahead of you and plenty of time left to make decisions about all this. Try not to pressure yourself too much - its counter-productive I think.

I think I put pressure on myself because you see what other people in their mid to late twenties who live in a flat in London and/or have a fancy job and a nice car, have an active social life etc .. I don't want to just be pondering in 5 years and working in a dead end job.

[Toxic]

25 in march!

gcses, a-levels, degree

dont know what the hell to do..i need some direction

currently only working because of this government scheme which will only last till june then im sacked and back on JSA..i wont be learning a single thing here and its certainly not helping me decide what route to take

live in my room in my parents house, cant drive...have barely left the town let alone the country..have £43 in my bank

dont know what id like to do that would occupy my weeks up without me wanting to kill myself in a month...i dont even care for money aslong as i can get by and start saving up to move out so im not in exactly the same position when im 30...theres no way im letting that happen

have no real social life..i go to cinema with a mate maybe once a month..thats it

what would i do? god knows

(that would make such an awesome profile on a dating sites..im sure the girls would be queueing up!)

[Detox]

I'm close to your position.
Minus I haven't gone to Uni, just College. I did have some idea of what career path I wanted to take but now I'm not sure if I'll even be able to do that. So I'm just doing nothing at the moment. So if you ever figure out what to do let me know, I could sure use the same advice!

[Sea]

Originally Posted by Worried

I think I put pressure on myself because you see what other people in their mid to late twenties who live in a flat in London and/or have a fancy job and a nice car, have an active social life etc .. I don't want to just be pondering in 5 years and working in a dead end job.

The thing is, there is nothing to be gained by comparing yourself with such people. And I bet people with fancy jobs and their own flat in their mid 20s are pretty rare. As I understand things, the average person is in their early 30s before they become a house-owner these days. If you had all those things do you think you would be loads happier and consider your life fulfilled? because of all those things are achievable. But whether they give you the fulfilment you are seeking is another issue.

[annie1]

Originally Posted by Dory

The thing is, there is nothing to be gained by comparing yourself with such people. And I bet people with fancy jobs and their own flat in their mid 20s are pretty rare. As I understand things, the average person is in their early 30s before they become a house-owner these days. If you had all those things do you think you would be loads happier and consider your life fulfilled? because of all those things are achievable. But whether they give you the fulfilment you are seeking is another issue.

I agree, also, you are assuming these 'other' people are happy......they may not be. Is there anything you are passionate about in life?

[pinkwafer]

21, GCSEs, A-Levels, degree.


That was all very well and good but I'm buggered cause I don't have a clue what to do now

[karl-32]

no idea what i wanna do and i am not bothered . a career doesn't define me

[AutumnLeaves]

Originally Posted by Worried

you don't know what you want to do? I'm 20, have basic GCSE'S and a BTEC Business National Diploma (DDD) - Equivalent to triple A. Dropped out of Uni and don't really intend to return. It seems most people my age have a plan (or are at Uni). But there's really no area of employment I want to work in. I've gotta do something or go somewhere in the meantime. There's just something miserable about working full time at this age, especially when the job is just a time filler instead of a progression route. I find myself waking up at 8AM, pondering life and the meaning of my existence. I saw a postman on a cold, wet day delivering mail on a market stall a few weeks back and thought .. that could be me in 5 years.

What do people my age do with their life if they're not at Uni?

On a separate note does anyone want a room in Birmingham .. as I'm paying over £200 a month for it ... dropped out of Uni and got myself signed into that long before .. not good

I used to think like this and it got me in a lot of trouble. Nothing wrong with being a postie. It's a decent honest job and its a way of paying your way. You can spend too much time wondering about the meaning of life and it gets you nowhere. While it's good to try and reach your full potential, it's also good to simply be occupied and paying your way. In the past, there wasn't such thing as a career anyway.

[Toxic]

what if you cant think of anything that makes you happy?

ive got a ba honours in games design (i lol everytime i see it) working in the games industry...awesssomeee!...right.....no, i did for my final major project what id do in my desired role in the industry..and i wanted to go on a killing spreee after i finished it.

theres nothing i think i could do for 40hrs a week that id happily do, i dont care for careers or big money as i say id just like enough to get by so i can actually save up and move out and stuff..im not asking for 50 grand a year!

but i cant think of Anything id happily do no matter the pay everythings got downers...this IT support im doing now, twiddling about with computers is all fine and dandy...i thought id enjoy it but no now ive got people who dont understand computers bitching at me because something isnt fixed in 5 minutes..which isnt physically possible! throw in the chavs throwing abuse at the staff and the evil evil evil! little phone and even this is starting to become a nightmare..yet it sounded so cool when i went for the interview

[Toxic]

Originally Posted by abc2

For me I think it's best that I keep my work and hobbies seperate. I used to enjoy graphic design until I started studying it, and I now I hate it. Studying it seemed to suck all the fun out of it. I felt like I was under too much pressure, and if I did it as a career I would be under even more pressure. Plus it isn't exactly an sa friendly career. It might just be me though.

this! like i say, im a right geek..always playing games so i thought games design degree/job would be perfect but yep after studying it i realised id never want to play them in my spare time ever again

i was considering graphic design as an alternative..even though im not degree level ..we did have to make graphics/mock up's concept art for our game prototypes so i have used them a bit. But yes i see what you mean, when i was looking into graphics design jobs they all wanted excellent communicators to speak with the clients and stuff, so that was pretty much out the window i cant do that

[Worried]

Originally Posted by Dory

The thing is, there is nothing to be gained by comparing yourself with such people. And I bet people with fancy jobs and their own flat in their mid 20s are pretty rare. As I understand things, the average person is in their early 30s before they become a house-owner these days. If you had all those things do you think you would be loads happier and consider your life fulfilled? because of all those things are achievable. But whether they give you the fulfilment you are seeking is another issue.

But it's better to have your own place/decent job/ etc whatever, in 5 years, than having no real job or career in place and living at home with mum? I think so anyways.

Would I be happier? Yes. Because I don't have to live with my family .. I can live on my own/with mates and much prefer that. By having a bit of money I can enjoy life a bit more and appeal to a wider range of women. But no I doubt my life would be fulfilled .. but it'd be a darn sight better than it is now and give me a platform.

[Worried]

Originally Posted by AutumnLeaves

I used to think like this and it got me in a lot of trouble. Nothing wrong with being a postie. It's a decent honest job and its a way of paying your way. You can spend too much time wondering about the meaning of life and it gets you nowhere. While it's good to try and reach your full potential, it's also good to simply be occupied and paying your way. In the past, there wasn't such thing as a career anyway.

It annoys me when people think I'm a bit of a dreamer or a snob for looking down on being a postie, for example.

Quite simply where do you meet people or build a social life out of being a postman?? Nowhere I can think of. Seems like a very lonely existence hence why jobs like that are unattractive.

[Worried]

Originally Posted by annie1

I agree, also, you are assuming these 'other' people are happy......they may not be. Is there anything you are passionate about in life?

Football is my only huge passion .. outside of that I can't say there's anything that jumps at me with huge interest.

[AxelFendersson]

Originally Posted by Dory

As I understand things, the average person is in their early 30s before they become a house-owner these days.

I think I read the average age of first-time house-buyers is 38, but I could be mistaken.