Have you a job/career you love?

lisajane

If so, what are you doing? and did you always know it was for you or did it take you a few years to get into it?

Am i the only 26 year old that doesn't have a clue what to do? I don't want to be stuck doing what im at now. I will gladly give my job away to someone that needs a job.

Xiney

as long as you're not in sales, I'll take that job off you, haha.

I've been doing admin work for a few years now, and started doing accounts when I moved to Ireland since there are very few straight admin jobs around here. It's not exactly something that I specifically went for, but I ended up in it and I'm good at it which makes it rewarding. Then again, I'm one of those people for whom everything they touch turns to gold (as in, I'm good at just about anything I want to do) so I would probably be happy in any job that I wanted to do.

I'd like to be a secondary school biology teacher, because I'm really good at explaining things and I love biology (and I have a BSc in it) but who knows if I'll end up doing that. Not in Ireland, that's for sure.

Mink

No you're not the only 26yr old. I've a fairly good job but would much rather paint full time. However, I have bills to pay & I am very grateful to even have a paying job at this time so I'm hanging onto it for dear life & working toward being able to go part time maybe next year.

fguihen

think you'l find a lot of folk ( especially in IT) who wish they chose a different career path.

TBH, I like my job. i dont hate comming to work, it pays the bills etc. I dont love it, but i dont hate it.

Ive often thought id love to try something different, completely different career, but what would i do?

Im Mid-Late 20's so going back to college for 4 more years full time is out of the question.

you usually could work at whatever you want but it generally comes down to a few questions:

1. are you willing to go back and live on the breadline while you become re-qualified?

2. does your dream job pay enough to live?

to most people, houses, families, and other commitments prevent the quitting of a job and re-education in a new field , or the taking on of a low paying job, just because you like it. wants and needs, two very different things.

LadyMayBelle

I'm 26 and a bit, and it has taken me ages to figure out what I want to do, and I'm only just tipping the iceberg now...meant having to move home and sacrifice A LOT to return to college but looking back three years ago even less i can honestly say i would never have thought myself here..

TheRealist

lisajane wrote: »

If so, what are you doing? and did you always know it was for you or did it take you a few years to get into it?

Am i the only 26 year old that doesn't have a clue what to do? I don't want to be stuck doing what im at now. I will gladly give my job away to someone that needs a job.

+1

I'm in a job I hate and would love to quit. It's frowned upon in a recession though:p. I think the majority of people out there are in the wrong job. But people get worn down and just accept it over time. Not me though, I'm different so I am! . I have an ambition to be self employed in a particular profession, considered kinda unconventional. Have to persist, but at the moment it's pretty far away. Refuse to be stuck in the 9-5 for the rest of my life. Don't know how people do it.... But people have to I hear you say!! Kids, mortgage etc.....Balls to that I say, people are so unoriginal! Why do the majority follow the standard formula -> marriage, mortgage, kids, 9-5 job, 2 weeks in the sun, retirement, death.... Low life expectations I spose....

Sorry for the rant, I feel better now...

irishguy

Well I work in IT and I was a Java Developer up until recently which I really enjoyed (until I had to move due to business reasons ). All I can say is find something that motivates you (Helping people, solving problems, money) then find the profession that will help you most achieve those goals (Nurse, Engineer, Stockbroker).
On the other hand my girlfriend is an accountant and she hates it (like most accountants I know, but it pays very well if thats what motivates you). People that I know who love there jobs are:
Another friend of mine in IT
Journalist
Graphic designer
Teacher

I only know the 4 people who actually love there jobs

bills

well im the same age & Im doing a job I never really wanted . I kind of got into it by accident & now I enjoy it. I started off on a very different path & ended up where I am now. For a long time, I was very unhappy because my dream career didnt happen for me. But someteimes life, money etc stops things working out. I dont know what to say but things usually have a way of falling into place. I was a long time waiting for a supposed dream job. But I eventually got lucky & got a so-called break in a different field but so far so good. Good luck. I know its disheartening.

barbiegirl

I work in sales, but because of the product it's more like business management consultancy. Every company different, advising them on how to make their business systems give them more. Truthfully it's stressful but I love it. I'm interested, I like the people I work with mostly, the product is good as is the pay.
My dream is to write and I swear I will this year, but as a Gemini the sales keeps the outgoing part of me happy :-)
My advice, the same I give to my kid brothers, pick as area you enjoy and then you'll be successful. :-)
Best of luck

carrieb

Im 28 and just realised this year what I really want to do.
Have been doing various admin type jobs for YEARS and always got bored or too stressed out and moved to another job that I thought would be different but was pretty much the same thing with different colleagues and different products!!

I want to manage/run a restaurant. It's my passion.

I have just taken 6 months "out" and am now moving home to Dub to go back to college at night and work in a restaurant. It will be very hard but in 3 years Ill have a degree (something I never got around to the first time round)

I already speak 1 other language and after I've finished college will have another so should be able to work here or abroad. (providing recession is over!)

So no, not the only 26 year old, when I was 26 I was in a job I hated and didnt know how to get where I wanted to be.

Don't think I know anyone who loves their job!! :eek:

Stheno

irishguy wrote: »

Well I work in IT and I was a Java Developer up until recently which I really enjoyed (until I had to move due to business reasons ). All I can say is find something that motivates you (Helping people, solving problems, money) then find the profession that will help you most achieve those goals (Nurse, Engineer, Stockbroker).

+1 I accidentally got into IT when I was 23 (twelve years ago) and now have a job that I love 90% of the time, it's interesting, varied, challenging, gives me opportunities to learn constantly, I get to solve problems, and interact with lots of different people.

If you can do as irishguy said above and figure out what motivates you that will be a good start

E.g. don't think you'd like doing tech support if dealing with frustrated/angry/technically illiterate people drive you nuts

doolox

Two years ago I hated my job and then an opportunity arose where I could leave it, get two years wages and change my career.
I am now about to finish a FAS industrial Automation course which I have enjoyed very well and am doing well at.
It is important to find out what you like to do and then do as much of that as you can in your working day.
Avoid negativity, and people who go on about the ****ty boss, ****ty working conditions, office politics, assholes in the workplace (known in management-speak as "difficult people") and people who put you down.
It is important to remember that in a highly competitive environment nobody will develop you or give you new skills, nobody will praise you for a job well done and nobody will give you an opportunity to advance up the ladder.
You own your own development and should do your own plan to follow your own objectives. Try and develop generic, focussed and marketable skills which can be transferred to another more rewarding employer if needs be.
Avoid specialised, one-company-only skills as there is no competition and hence little reward for them, you will have to do some to keep your job but keep it in mind.
Identify and keep in touch with people in other companies doing similar work at a similar level to your own. This can act as a barometer for the state of play in the general jobs market-place and let you know if you are being had or not in terms of wages and conditions etc. It is exactly the way employers know how much to charge and how to place themselves in their marketplace.
Find a working activity you like doing and try to identify why you like it, outdoors/indoors; on your own/with people; report writing/speaking; physical versus sedentary; regular hours versus shift etc..
Get all you good and bad points of as many aspects of work down on paper and take a good hard look at it.
Trade-offs will have to be made as in everything in life but at least you will have a picture of what you want to do.
Find and talk to people in the chosen area and get them to tell you the snags and good points of their jobs, get the low-down on company culture, discipline, workplace safety etc and what to do if things go wrong.
Also find out what is needed to get the job.
Any job you get should not be seen as an end in itself but as an ongoing work in progress until the next refinement to your path to a perfect fit to your life.
My mistake was in seeing my previous job as the end goal instead of an episode or passing phase in my life.
Always be looking for change or improvement and avoid negativity and negative people.

Mink

doolox wrote: »

Avoid negativity, and people who go on about the ****ty boss, ****ty working conditions, office politics, assholes in the workplace (known in management-speak as "difficult people") and people who put you down.

Too right. These types really get my goat and are usually clock watchers imo. At the end of the day, each person is responsible in some way in how the company is doing and for their own job, so its better to stop moaning and actually DO something about it rather than bitching re management. I'm not a manager by the way!
If you're miserable in your job, don't inflict it on the people around you.