I Don't Know What I Want To Do With My Life!

[Mallory]

Haha sorry, it's just when I start looking at degrees that will take seven years to finish, I wonder what the point is.

Sometimes there isn't a point. My wife started college at 47, graduated five years later with a B.S. in Sociology and a B.S. in Psychology. She just started grad school last week at age 52. Sure, she might not get much use out of her degree since retirement is fast approaching but sometimes it's all about the journey and not the destination.

 

[sidious618]

Haha sorry, it's just when I start looking at degrees that will take seven years to finish, I wonder what the point is.

Sometimes there isn't a point. My wife started college at 47, graduated five years later with a B.S. in Sociology and a B.S. in Psychology. She just started grad school last week at age 52. Sure, she might not get much use out of her degree since retirement is fast approaching but sometimes it's all about the journey and not the destination.

This is true. I take some classes just because they interest me.

 

[Unicron]

Have you considered becoming a BBS mod, Kestra?

 

[Tim]

Kestra, I think a bit of consternation as you consider your career choices is appropriate--and warranted. I just wrapped my PhD and have resumed med school (just finishing a psychiatry rotation, incidentally), and I think if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have chosen so long an academic path. So, consider your choices carefully and only pick what jives with your interests and your life plans (i.e. if you really want to be in school for 7+ years).

As for me, when I wrap the MD in a little over 1.5 years, I think I'm going to take a couple years' worth of vacation!

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Has anyone else made a career switch, gone back for a different degree, or had trouble deciding what to pursue?

Yes, a career switch. I was 6 or 9 hours shy of an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration when due to a lot of reasons, I went into the financial services field.

The thing is, I still get to do what I enjoy and use my strengths. In fact, within the company I've had 5 different roles over the last 11 years but each of them have been in alignment with my values. I'm now in a position where I have control over my income and get to decide which people I want to work with.

What are your values and what are you passionate about?

Knowing what's important to you will help you find your passion. You'll have a higher likelihood of success and happiness (however you measure it) if your values guide your actions.

Have you considered becoming a BBS mod, Kestra?

Didn't you see, she said she wanted a life.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Well, if it makes you feel better Kestra, you'll probably end up in a field that has nothing whatsoever to do with your degree. Besides why are you worried so much? Based on your pictures your like what, 19? Plenty of time. And no matter what, you can always say "well at least I am better off than 40 year old unemployed and drifting Dark Journey":

Seriously, you might benefit from some career/life counseling reading. A good book I know is Now What by Laura Fortgang. It is one of those books that takes you through you life and your mind to see what you don't like and what you do. If you have a dream, I would pursue it with all my heart. If you aren't so sure, don't go to college just to be going, what you'll mostly get out of it is debt. you seem like a very bright compassionate woman, I think a career helping people could be very rewarding to you and the people you help.

 

[Kestra]

I guess it would come down to three factors:

1. Which costs the less to botain and pay off over the run?

2. Which leaves you with hte most employment options?

3. Which field do you think you can wake up and go to work in for the remaining decades of your life, without going crazy, buying a assualt weapon, and "go Postal".

Right, those are the lines I'm trying to think along, but I feel like I'm surrounding myself with data. Charts about admissions rates, tuition amounts, degree programs, specialties, sub-specialties, course offerings, internship placement, average entry-level salaries, average income after x years, predictions on growth in each field, etc. And that's when I go "AAAAAH!"

Re: going postal, I think I could do any sort of counseling position. I know I could not do: industrial/occupational psychology, forensic psychology, or end up in academia. I mean, I could, but I'd likely be unsatisfied to a significant degree.

As a note to Kestra -- I have a friend, in his early 50's, who is on his third career. This is becoming more and more common, so don't buy into the hype that you have to "pick something and then stick with it".,

I'd like to, though. I'm sick of being so fickle. I'm totally at ease with the fact that life changes, because I know myself and I know that I can plan all I want but I'll never stick to the plan. It would be nice to invest in something and stick with it, though.

Dude,

At this certain point, I don't know if should I be heading back to school to take english and other kind of majors that I'm looking at. Kestra -- you should explore something rather than to sticking to one boring subject!

I intend to explore many subjects for the rest of my life! I have a wide range of interests and that will probably always be the case. However, I would like to gain more specialized knowledge in a particular field and then put that knowledge to good use.

Sometimes there isn't a point. My wife started college at 47, graduated five years later with a B.S. in Sociology and a B.S. in Psychology. She just started grad school last week at age 52. Sure, she might not get much use out of her degree since retirement is fast approaching but sometimes it's all about the journey and not the destination.

I do understand that, and that's why I don't look back on my past as anything wasted. I've learned from all of my experiences and I don't want to be one of those people so set on some far-off goal that they realize their life has still been going on the whole time.

I've been okay being a bit free-spirited but I'm surrounded by doctors, and lawyers, and more doctors and while I don't want their lives, I do want that sort of dedication to a particular field.

Have you considered becoming a BBS mod, Kestra?

I'm fairly certain that all of Misc could at least agree that that would be a terrible idea!

Kestra, I think a bit of consternation as you consider your career choices is appropriate--and warranted. I just wrapped my PhD and have resumed med school (just finishing a psychiatry rotation, incidentally), and I think if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have chosen so long an academic path. So, consider your choices carefully and only pick what jives with your interests and your life plans (i.e. if you really want to be in school for 7+ years).

As for me, when I wrap the MD in a little over 1.5 years, I think I'm going to take a couple years' worth of vacation!

Wow, crazy! What about residency and beyond? What's the PhD in? I was on a path to medical school long ago and jumped off it when I realized I just wasn't certain about it anymore. There are some things in life that take more investment than others, and medicine is certainly one of them.

Yes, a career switch. I was 6 or 9 hours shy of an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration when due to a lot of reasons, I went into the financial services field.

The thing is, I still get to do what I enjoy and use my strengths. In fact, within the company I've had 5 different roles over the last 11 years but each of them have been in alignment with my values. I'm now in a position where I have control over my income and get to decide which people I want to work with.

Mind if I ask what you were planning to do with your M.Ed.? I'd be interested in using it to obtain a counseling position in the school system. I'm glad you have found something that you enjoy doing, though.

What are your values and what are you passionate about?

Helping people and being useful and supportive, I think. Emphasis on the helping people part. Oh, also heavy emphasis on getting to know and trying to understand people. I find people endlessly fascinating. And I think it's so amazing what depths people have! I love watching people figure something out about themselves, or looking at something in their life differently. And sometimes when I talk to people, I get the impression that they've never quite opened up that much before. And I wonder what wonderful things about people go hidden.

Knowing what's important to you will help you find your passion. You'll have a higher likelihood of success and happiness (however you measure it) if your values guide your actions.

I agree wholeheartedly. I don't think I could go against my values, even if I wanted to try. There are some things that appear to simply be ingrained within me.

Well, if it makes you feel better Kestra, you'll probably end up in a field that has nothing whatsoever to do with your degree. Besides why are you worried so much? Based on your pictures your like what, 19? Plenty of time. And no matter what, you can always say "well at least I am better off than 40 year old unemployed and drifting Dark Journey":

I'm 26! And I have people (and my own body) yelling at me about kids and life goals and happiness. It's that sort of thing that brings on this sort of panic.

Seriously, you might benefit from some career/life counseling reading. A good book I know is Now What by Laura Fortgang. It is one of those books that takes you through you life and your mind to see what you don't like and what you do. If you have a dream, I would pursue it with all my heart. If you aren't so sure, don't go to college just to be going, what you'll mostly get out of it is debt. you seem like a very bright compassionate woman, I think a career helping people could be very rewarding to you and the people you help.

Thanks; you're always so sweet to me. I do want to get some career counseling done, I think. I tried the office at my college but there was an Indian dude who seemed more interested in checking me out than helping me, so I figured I'd try again later. I am sure about college so I'm not worried about wasting money right now. I'm worried about graduate school, because I want to make the most of my education.

 

[TheBrew]

It doesn't matter what you do. It matters who you are. Who you are defines what you do.

 

[Kestra]

Don't tell me I need to start an additional thread bemoaning the fact that I don't know who I am!

 

[Tim]

Kestra, I think a bit of consternation as you consider your career choices is appropriate--and warranted. I just wrapped my PhD and have resumed med school (just finishing a psychiatry rotation, incidentally), and I think if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have chosen so long an academic path. So, consider your choices carefully and only pick what jives with your interests and your life plans (i.e. if you really want to be in school for 7+ years).

As for me, when I wrap the MD in a little over 1.5 years, I think I'm going to take a couple years' worth of vacation!

Wow, crazy! What about residency and beyond? What's the PhD in? I was on a path to medical school long ago and jumped off it when I realized I just wasn't certain about it anymore. There are some things in life that take more investment than others, and medicine is certainly one of them.

Crazy indeed. The PhD is in biomedical engineering and I see myself as more of a researcher than a clinician in the future (though that could always change). The issue I've been fighting against lately is the increasing feeling that I've been putting my life on hold for the sake of completing these degrees, and that's contributed to a pretty major burned-out feeling.

Though, since I can't seem to make a romantic relationship work, perhaps the salt mines are the best option!

 

[Skywalker]

Kestra, I know exactly how you feel. I'm 26 (well, I will be starting next Monday) and I still have no clue what I want to do with my life, either.

 

[Mr Awe]

Aaaah, I feel like there's a million choices and I have no idea what degree specifically to pursue, or if I would even gain admission. And I'm too old for this! Do I want a M.A., Ed.S, M.Ed., Psy.D., Ph.D., etc and so forth. Too many decisions!

Has anyone else made a career switch, gone back for a different degree, or had trouble deciding what to pursue?

As someone who was at university for quite sometime, has an advanced degree, and has changed careers, I have some good advice.

So you want a career switch. Seriously reconsider whether you need an advanced degree to switch or not.

To get an advanced degree you really need a passion for the area. It's true that you can muddle through an undergrad degree with no problem even if you're not that interested in it. It's totally different for an advanced degree. You need the passion, the very high interest to keep you going. If you don't have that, you'll be hating life and/or dropping out. The fact that you are so uncertain about the degree suggests to me that you don't have that passion or drive for a given subject area. So, at least think about that.

Now, I have made a big career change. But, I didn't do it through getting a new advanced degree. I've taken my skills and have applied them in a different way. Voila, instant career change.

So, consider what you really want. Do you really just want to change careers, then maybe do that without a new degree. If you really have a passion for a given subject area, then consider the degree. But, start out by figuring out exactly what you want big picture rather than just what degree you want. (Maybe you've done this, I only know what is in your post.)

Mr Awe

 

[Mr Awe]

Haha sorry, it's just when I start looking at degrees that will take seven years to finish, I wonder what the point is.

Well, the point isn't (or shouldn't be) the degree itself, in my opinion. It should be whether you want to learn the subject matter. If it interests you, do it. If not, don't. Don't do a degree just to gain letters, because once you get into that mindset, you'll do the same with all your later career choices too, until it really IS too late to do what you actually want to do.

Oh I don't care about letters, I care about enjoying what I do but also being able to find employment and make a decent living. I'm worried that if I do a masters, I'll be limiting myself too much. But the idea of doing ages of research doesn't really appeal to me and I don't care about titles or prestige or any of that nonsense.

I'm really interested in school counseling (as opposed to school psychology, I think) but I don't know if I'd want to work in schools the rest of my life.

To be honest, from what you said here, it really sounds to me that you *should not* be getting an advance degree. At least not right now. Think about it but you have to be really certain that you love a field to get an advanced degree. I read your above post AFTER writing my original post, but this just really reconfirms my sense that you don't have a passion for a field that requires an advanced degree.

I don't mean that in a bad way at all. There are some fields that require an advanced degree and others that don't. If you had the passion for one that does require the degree, the answer is clear, go get it! If you don't have that passion for a field that requires the degree, the answer is equally clear, don't get it!

Mr Awe

 

[Finn]

For a long time, after I got my degree in Biology, I'd think about alternate careers, especially when I was in the *vomit*laboratory animal husbandry field*vomit*. I really wanted to get an advanced degree in ecology or biology conversation. But I couldn't never seem to get there due to many factors, many of them beyond my control. But there was two career choices that I would flirt with the idea of; child psychology and teaching high school biology.

Then one fateful day late in August last year, I was forced to resign from my old job after being so miserable all summer about the job. The sun was shining. Birds sang in the tree tops. Bunnies, deer and skunks played in the woods with rejoice. Butterflies fluttered in the air.

September arrived. Within a month, I was applying for the Education program, takiing the Praxis exam and preparing for going back to school. On one of my visits with the professors about enrolling into the Education Program, my future fiancee, whom I had only barely spoke and rarely saw in the preceding 2 1/2 years saw me with my dog and something clicked. She had just stopped dating a creepy guy and reeling from the death of her beloved uncle just before then.

It has been a year since and I'm happily engaged and busy with school. It is a lot of work, both in school and with my beautiful fiancee. Sometimes, you have to make things happen. Sometimes they just happen to you.

 

[thumbtack]

I've recently enrolled at Miskatonic U to earn my Masters in Ghostbusting. It's not for everyone, but you have to follow your heart.

 

[WillsBabe]

If it's any help I'm 43 and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Sometimes I hear about careers, subjects etc and wish that I'd done that with my life. But I didn't. Don't wander through your life aimlessly, that's all I can say.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I think it would be safe to say at this point that you should do whatever interests you or what you're good at. Note that what you want and your talents/abilities could be two different things. What is your passion in life?

When I was a child, I fantasized about being a scientist or a doctor, but as I grew up, I realized that having these lofty goals wasn't realistic. I learned that I wasn't really interested in medicine or that science wasn't really my forte. Besides, by the time I graduated from high school, circumstances had been much different from the time my parents were able to send all four of my older sisters to college (my oldest sister being a dentist who got to practice in another country). Also, I was more career-focused when I was younger but later got a chance to resume my studies. So I can't say I'm disappointed at all.

 

[Warp Coil]

I don't really know what I want to do with my life, either. I've been working in TV post-production for the past five and a half years (straight out of college). I recently went back to school to get a Master's in Technology Management, hoping that it would give me enough skills to find another job if I needed to (since I'm finding myself a bit stuck in my current job, with limited opportunities for growth). I'm not passionate about IT or management, but with all of the Government-related work in the D.C. area, I feel like it might make it easier for me to find something else.

Then again, part of me wants to pick up and move across the country and do something radical and different. So who the frak knows where I'll end up.

 

[propita]

When I was growing up, everyone (teachers & counsellors) assumed I'd be an engineer like my Dad, because I was good at math and science. Girls weren't "supposed" to be good at that back then. But I just didn't like that and ended up with an Associate in Arts degree in Laser Technology and worked in aerospace.

At age 33, Hubby decided aerospace wasn't what he wanted--he had always wanted Pharmacy. His BS was Biochemistry. He got his doctorate in pharmacy at age 40.

I went back to school at age 40 and decided that I liked words--so my major was English. Then I got the brilliant but insane idea to go to law school. So here I am at 46 yo and waiting to hear whether or not I passed the CA Bar. Hubby has said he doesn't care if I don't practice--that law school was for me to test me, how far could I go.

How far do you want to go?

 

[Gaseous Anomaly]

I joined the Navy at the age of 18, I'm now 44 and I'm still working on Navy aircraft. Although I'm no longer in the Navy what I do is quite rewarding to me, I don't think I'd change a single thing I've done. Well maybe I'd skip over my first marriage and the divorce that followed, but that’s it.