I need a career/life

[Sinophile]

Greetings Nexus,

 

I am almost 25 years old, unemployed, and living with my grandmother. I had worked for the census for about a month before being laid off. Prior to that, I worked for a hotel in Los Angeles as a Houseman(like a janitor, except I only cleaned the exterior areas of the building). I got somewhat of a late start in life, dropping out of 7th grade(My parents were too lazy to drive me to school, so they simply told everyone I was being homeschooled, and simply forced me to read Camille Paglia all day), and getting my GED at age 20. I was not gainfully employed until I was 22. I had attended Community College for about 4 years getting a two year degree. I got decent grades at first, worked enough hours to be self supporting, and had a decent social life. However, sometimes in 2008 I lost my motivation, flunked or dropped the only two classes I signed up for.

 

Thus, my question is what should I pursue as a career? I have contemplated one of two things, 1.) joining the Coast Guard. 2.) Getting an A+ certification.

The first is a bit scary for me, as I have never done anything more physically demanding than push around a mop, or move furniture(as an odd job for my brother, who owns a moving company, about once a month). The second one I am not sure, because there are tons of A+ certification programs at various prices, how do I know which ones are legit, and which ones are scams? If I did successfully complete an A+ certification, would I be able to land a job?

[MonsterHunterMaster]

First you should check the things you like. If you like sitting in front of a computer, you could be a programmer or something like that. You could try to connect the things you like with the things you would do in Your job!

[antonkr]

Joining the army or coast guard marines or whatever may be a good choice. A lot of benefits, some college programs also.

[bben46]

I Agree with joining the service. My youngest son was similar, no motivation. The year he graduated from high school, he held 10 jobs in 5 months, most for less than a week. He came home one afternoon and announced: "I got fired again today. Oh, by the way, I enlisted in the Marine Corps on the way home. I leave for Paris Island Monday." - Marine Corps is a family tradition. I was a Marine as was my father.

 

He left the Corps after 3 years due to an injury. (non combat) He now has held a good job for over 3 years, has a wife and 2 year old son.

 

The military life isn't for everyone. Some people can't handle the discipline. But that discipline is what helps with motivation after getting out.

[MonsterHunterMaster]

But if you want to join the guards, you must ask yourself some questions like:

 

Can I handle the physical training? and questions like that. You really have to want it and we can only give you some advices. You have to decide what you want to do and you should think about it clearly, maybe you will do this job most time of Your life.

[AncientSpaceAeon]

What do you loved to do for the rest of your life ? Skills are important, but passion is important, too.

[Balagor]

I followed my passion, music, and played in a band until I was 35. I had some on and off jobs. I catched up with all of it, and finished my education in the age of 42, I´m still a happy man, and I have pursued my dreams.

[jaysus]

lol balagor ftw!!!

 

@armed service

mmh dunno, sure you get lost of benefits from it but you also become a tool of death in the hands of corrupt politicans, the coast guard however barely kills innocents and actually does some nice things like save people in need (Which the rest does too from time to time but only at the side)

being a gun for politicans is somin i couldnt do, defend your homeland blabla is fair but doing the crap some idelogy demands is nonsense, id prolly kill out of common sense but not because idea A demands it that you destroy idea B...

 

 

im in a similiar situation, dropped out of uni cause i was simply bored to death, dont have a real job but somehow magically survive so far through freelance work of all kinds in the design department, however i always designed stuff since i was born and have a bunch of people who work in the industry who sometimes drop a job or two for me to do and vice versa

 

anyway, i think the most important thing is to find out what you like ;)

 

if you know what you like you will find a way to make money with it, you might not get rich but make enough to live a good life

 

be careful tho, if you pick up a fulltime job which is not what you like it wont leave you with much time to follow your "dreams", so better make sure you like what youre about to do

 

some questions you might wanna ask yourself:

 

what kind of work do i prefer? desk job? physical work? etc...

do i like to work with other people or not?

am i creative or rather like to follow orders?

do you want fixed work time or distribute it yourself?

do you want to work for someone or work on your own?

do you wanna travel or stay at one place?

do you wanna work from an office, sites or from home?

 

well there are prolly more but these just came to my mind ;)

[Vagrant0]

The coastguard seems like a better choice from the provided options, but pretty sure it requires quite a bit of skill with swimming, rope tying, and other nautical stuff, so might not be too practical for those living in Iowa, Nebraska, or other landlocked areas of the country. Most of what the coastguard does is either deal with illegal activity along the coast (drug running) or assisting in search and rescue missions. Meaning that you should probably do some research and ask yourself if it's a good fit for you. Although the service trains and helps you fit in with it, as long as you let it, it is not always a good answer for those with different psychologies or skill sets.

 

Truth be told, I'm not in much of a different situation myself. I've been out of work for almost 3 years, was almost done with a 2 year architecture degree when the economy went into the crapper, have been working on an English degree as a backup and so that I can continue getting grant money/sidestepping loans. Can't find work, and can't find a future for myself. But, the more I look around, the more I realize that I'm exactly where I need to be at this point in time. It might suck, I might not have money to do anything with (leading to a "cheap bastard" mindset for the past 4 years) but progress is still being made. I don't know about your interests, but the best thing for you might be to just find a cashier or food service job to keep you financed and go back to school to finish your degree. For many jobs, it really doesn't matter what degree you have, just that you have one. You shouldn't let your age and any perceptions of labels that might go along with it hold you back from doing what you want to do. If you don't know what you want to do, try getting in touch with some of the councilors at the college to see what sorts of things you might be suited for.

 

Just remember, if your job is something you like doing, you're never really working, but instead are being paid to enjoy your hobby.

Edited April 24, 2010 by Vagrant0

[Corlan]

If you were living in this piece of crap called a Country, people would tell you to "Get a Wife, Get a Life"

 

I know nothing of Life, less about life in the US, but the only thing I can tell you is that whatever you do, don't get married. Think what you think but I think that Marrige is the worst that happend to Humanity after Ahmadinejad.

 

 

I hope you will succeed in whatever you start.

 

Corlan