Job Help/Career Advice

[Rope-Pusher]

Recycling? Work with your hands? Want weekend off?

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[Boston Fit]

To the original poster: My general impression is that your career path seems a bit ad hoc. When you say, "I like it as a hobby so thought it would be good" - this could very well be the core of your dilemma. If I expected my hobbies to transport me to a fulfilling career, I would still be trading baseball cards today.

My best advice? Instead of waiting around to learn where your hobbies might eventually lead, consider approaching things in reverse sequence. Decide where it is you want to land, then do some research and talk to others in the industry so you can sketch out a clear-headed path towards reaching your goal. Don't care for that path? Then set a new goal and lather, rinse, repeat.

Also, brace yourself for the strong likelihood that a certain degree of putting-up-with-BS-ness will be par for the course. Good luck!

[cwat89]

SonicHKS is actually right. Lol. I really don't have a lot of motivation when it comes to jobs. Just like I never had motivation in school after 5th grade after my parents divorce. It really is tough to make it in this world nowadays when you are expected to lie and deceive to keep your job and be a loudmouth outgoing silver tongue. The IT field does seem like it may be a good fit for me.

Another mistake that I have made which you guys brought to my attention is that I have always looked for a job with opportunities to move up in. Without realizing that I am just not someone cutout to climb the corporate ladder. I think that's why I always end up hating what I do because i accept a job that i know i initially won't like but I look into it with hopes of moving up but not thinking that I really have no motivation or care to do so.

Thanks for all the advice! It has really helped. And it is comforting to know that I'm not the only one who is this way.

[MisterTwo]

Question to the OP: Would you consider yourself more detail oriented or more "big-picture" oriented?

[AHTOXA]

If you find a job that you like, you will find that you do good work. Once you do good work, at a job that you like, chances are that growth opportunities will present themselves.

Starting with a job you hate, just to move up is not productive. You already have a negative disposition.

[cwat89]

Question to the OP: Would you consider yourself more detail oriented or more "big-picture" oriented?

Very much detail oriented

If you find a job that you like, you will find that you do good work. Once you do good work, at a job that you like, chances are that growth opportunities will present themselves.

Starting with a job you hate, just to move up is not productive. You already have a negative disposition.

Very true! And I have never thought of it that way until now. I try not to be a job hopper but in this day and age you almost have to to find what you like.

[MisterTwo]

Very much detail oriented

That plus what you've said before does tend to lean itself towards the computer programming / IT side of the world.

Another field to consider might be logistics... dispatcher, scheduler, shipping/receiving, etc???

[AHTOXA]

I've been in logistics for about 5 years now. Started entry level, worked up from there.

I work for a 3PL company and like any field, it's got its ups and downs. Entry-level positions for planners/coordinators don't pay all that much but it's a good field. It's competitive, but if you work for a solid company, then things are better. It's a field that truly isn't likely to go anywhere. You can't really outsource logistics and it's a field that's always in demand. Goods have to move and they have to be managed.

[Shadow]

Do yourself a big favor--go back to school for Engineering. Maybe an ME would be the best fit for you since you have a disposition to work on mechanical things like cars. You'll end up in a career that you'll be able to work solo (for the most part) if that's what you want. You don't have to be a people person at all. You'll easily find plenty of 9-5 jobs with weekends free. And you'll often still get to work with your hands a lot of the time.

Trust me on this...I have four engineers that report to me and they all really enjoy their jobs. They get to be creative and mechanical at the same time. And they don't work long hours or weekends. And they make really good money.

[MisterTwo]

Do yourself a big favor--go back to school for Engineering.

One caveat to that: Engineering School means calculus. Lots and lots of calculus, that you'll likely never use again. Ask me how I know....

[AHTOXA]

I hate calculus.

[watkins]

Its the devil's mathematics.

[cwat89]

^^Lol! I really hate school so i don't know if I could ever go back. I did good to get my certificate.

[Squint]

Do yourself a big favor--go back to school for Engineering.

One caveat to that: Engineering School means calculus. Lots and lots of calculus, that you'll likely never use again. Ask me how I know....

Guess who is going back to get an engineering degree starting this summer???

<--- this guy.

Not excited about going back, but it's far and away the best option right now.