Am I the only person in my mid 20s who thinks like this?

RingTheAlarm!

Hi all,

Honestly, this problem isn't half as bad as most of the things on here, and to be honest I should (and I am) very grateful for my situation at the moment.
I'm 25 years old, graduated from university 2 years ago with a good degree and I have been working away. The job I'm in doesn't pay a whole lot (enough to get by) but I enjoy it and there is a lot of personal satisfaction (in comparison to my job last year which was a nightmare looking back!). Unfortunately my contract cannot go beyond next year and there's no way of changing it, although I know by then I'll be ready to go from the place that I'm living.

I'm just a bit lost as to what the next stepping stone should be. I have several options, all of them which I would love to do. I know that I'm very lucky to say that I have options rather than being stuck on the dole. Although I like the career I'm in now, it's very hard to move up and with all of the cuts nowadays I'm not going to make much money. I have been looking at several grad programmes which I am considering applying for, some of them offer further education as well which would be great to assist me getting into another area of work.

However, I'd love to go travelling properly. Not just away for a few weeks somewhere but a proper round the world trip. I have some money saved which I was planning to use it to do a postgrad but I know realistically it's probably better to get the travelling out of my system and then do some further study. Then again if I come back, I won't have any money to do the postgrad.

There's so much that I want to do, but then I feel like the time I get there I'll be much older than anyone else going into a new area of work. Sorry I know I'm rambling a bit but I'd love to hear of anyone (possibly a bit older than 25) who felt the same and how did they go about it?

Tusky

Go traveling. Figure out how to do the postgrad when you get back. You can save up again or get a loan - you'll make it work.

borabora

The beauty of travelling is that you're constantly growing and reflecting, without even realising it. I think it really helps when making decisions about what you want to do. Choosing a career path is often a process of elimination, so the time to process it - subconsciously even, really helps. You will see where your talents lie and it'll be the time you need to decide the path for you.

Enjoy! You'll have an absolute ball.

jenga-jen

I'd always wanted to take a period of time out and go travelling. Instead, I went back to college in 2010 at the age of 26 and won't graduate until 2014. And with hefty student loans :eek:

IMO if the itch to go travelling is there, talk to the bank and see how easy/hard it would be to get a loan for a masters/postgrad course after you went travelling. If you know the loan would be possible for the course once you come back, then it'll clear your head to look at the possibility of travelling!

It's not an itch that goes away afaik, I still feel the urge to pack a bag and disappear for a while [especially near exams!]

Best of luck with the decision

sashafierce

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tony81

I've done a bit of travelling. I don't think I could bring myself to actually travel for a whole year, as I feel I'd get burn-out and not fully appreciate each place.. reducing a big trip to something that looks good on paper and just ticks boxes by visiting a load of tourist traps.

Instead, why not work abroad in a multinational in North America? The money can be good and the experience for your cv is invaluable. You'll be saving money and at the end of a year you could do a few blow-out trips. You might even look into other working hol visas e.g australia, which would be a good opportunity to visit asian countries for a few months on the way home

Dave!

It would depend for me on what sector you're working in and how easily you think you'll be able to get a job when you get back from travelling. Travelling might slow down your progress in moving up the ladder, and will set you back a bit in terms of further education. But there's no particular reason why you should feel that you have to be doing that right now; you can do it at your own pace and in your own time. As long as you're not going to be going onto the dole or mooching off your parents when you get back from the travels, I'd say go for it. Try to get a bit of relevant work experience abroad too, so that you can hit the ground running when you get back.

variety

Why not enrol in a post-grad course overseas? You'll have plenty of opportunity to travel in your semester breaks.

judgefudge

Hmm. Lotta people saying to go travelling. Depends what area you are in career wise to me. Can you get a postgrad abroad? Would you like to? Are you in an area like science were there are many funded postgrads here?

I think travel is great but it has to be done properly. Many people go to Canada or oz for a year and just party or work in a bar, without actually experiencing that much really. I guess if that's what you are into go for it.

RingTheAlarm!

Thanks a million for the replies, much appreciated!

If I'm being honest if I was going to do a Masters it'd be abroad anyway. I have been looking into a few and the ones I am interested in are a bit more expensive than some of the ones in Ireland. My big worry there is that if I didn't get straight into a well-paid job that I'd end up being in a lot of debt.

As for travelling, this like another poster said is another itch that I know won't go away. I love being abroad, meeting new people and discovering new cultures. The whole going abroad with a gang of Irish people and getting drunk never interested me at all, I could do that with my friends at home whenever I wanted! If I was going to go travelling it would have to have something included with it, be it volunteering, a project or whatnot.

I would be looking to get into marketing or communications for a career change. I am looking for an unpaid internship at the moment just to get a feel for it and any work experience before I make any big changes.

Like that, all of these things appeal to me. I want to do them all, it's just the order that worries me a bit!

simonsays1

Travel!!

lazygal

You should travel if you have an itch for it. I didn't but my husband most certainly did and spent several years (not altogether) travelling and working all over the world. Now we've a baby and another on the way there's no way he'd be able to do it. We went on a fairly adventurous honeymoon and that's satisfied my travel bug, which wouldn't be very strong anyway. He's so happy he travelled when he was able to do so unemcumbered because he'd always be wondering 'what if' and feeling restless. There's no practical way we can travel how he and I used to with a family, so thankfully he's got all those great times to look back on.

You should go if you really want to, never mind the job thing. I've never been out of work since I was 16, sometimes I was far too into making sure I was gainfully employed rather than doing what I wanted to.

RingTheAlarm!

Thanks again for the replies!

Once again it has been playing on my mind a bit over the last few days. I'm starting to think that if nothing truly stand-out appears by the end of my contract work related then I'm going to head off travelling for a few months at least anyway, and potentially settle somewhere for a bit and try and find a job.

If I do get a job/grad prog, I'll still be saving money and head off after that before it's too late.

For the masters I'll still put money aside for that, I'll just need to make a few more sacrifices to make sure that the funds are good on that front as well, I have no problem giving up overpriced nights in town, etc in order to save a few bob for a big adventure! Next mission is to plan out travelling properly and figure out where I want to go, and how I want to go about it. As you can tell I don't like to waste time :P Thanks again everyone!