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Need advice on life/career.

  • 12-04-2017 01:39AM
    #1
    sincara30
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1 ✭


    I'm a lad, 20 years old. I finished school 3 years ago. Currently, I'm working in a shop but I'm not happy there. I don't hate it but I certainly don't like it. I've been in this job for a year now. For the other 2 years since I left school I've had a couple of other jobs that I hated and left.

    I didn't go to college because I haven't a clue what I'd like to do long term. I did well in the practical subjects in school so Ive applied for loads of electrical and aircraft maintenance apprenticeships with different companies but to no avail. I've been called to a good few interviews for apprenticeships but didn't pass any of them. Even though I'm not sure if I wanted these jobs in the first place, I feel not passing these interviews has knocked my confidence in trying to get a 'good' job.

    It kind of feels like I've wasted the last 3 years of my life working in these jobs while my friends are out there studying for their degrees.

    Basically the reason I'm posting this is because I don't know really what to do or where I'm headed at the moment.
    Any advice would be great. Thanks for reading


Comments

  • #2
    JackTaylorFan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,452 ✭✭✭JackTaylorFan


    sincara30 wrote: »

    I didn't go to college because I haven't a clue what I'd like to do long term. I did well in the practical subjects in school so Ive applied for loads of electrical and aircraft maintenance apprenticeships with different companies but to no avail. I've been called to a good few interviews for apprenticeships but didn't pass any of them. Even though I'm not sure if I wanted these jobs in the first place, I feel not passing these interviews has knocked my confidence in trying to get a 'good' job.

    Hi OP, did you get any feedback as to why you didn't get these apprenticeships? Is there a possibility the interviewer picked-up on the fact you weren't even sure you wanted the position to begin with? If that's the case I wouldn't let it knock your confidence so much. If it was something you were really passionate about going into the interview and you still got rejected I could see how it would affect you - but that seems like it's not case here.

    Also what consitutes a "good job" to you?

    You're certainly not alone in not knowing what you want to do though. And not rushing into college is better than dropping out after a year.


  • #3
    Ursus Horribilis
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,168 ✭✭✭Ursus Horribilis


    I don't think you've wasted the years after school at all. Trying to figure out what career path to take is a big ask for your average teenager. Judging by the number of people I know/know of who've ended up in completely different careers, not everyone gets it right. So from that perspective, taking your time and not going to college for the sake of it is no bad thing.

    By going working, you've picked up a lot of "soft skills" that many people in college won't have. You've learned how to work with others, deal with people, handle pressure and to reliably hold down a job. You'll have learned other things too which will stand you in good stead in the end. What it has also given you is motivation. You now know what life is like at the unskilled end of the jobs market and you want something more. You wouldn't be the first person who was spurred on to do better after working in jobs that didn't suit them. You're also a more mature person at 20 than you were at 17 or 18 or 19. Without realising it, you will know more about yourself as a person than you did then.

    Maybe you didn't come across well in the interviews or came across as a bit "meh" in them? Certainly in the way you've described it here, you sound like you just applied for them because they were there, not because you had a genuine interest in them. Have you got any sort of a plan in place for what you'd like to do next. As in, is going to college still an option? Or is it the apprenticeship route you're favouring? Are you academic or are you more of a "doer"? After your experience of working, do you think you're better suited to being out and about or are you OK with working in the same place all day?

    What's often worth doing is going along to someone who does interview training and helps with your CV. I did a mock interview on video about a year after I left college and it was the best thing I could've done at the time. Looking back at that is about as excruciating as it gets but it's well worth doing. Equally, having someone else look at your CV can be revelatory. We tend to undersell ourselves in Ireland. Get someone who knows what they're doing to work with your CV and you'll be surprised how good you'll appear at the end of it.

    You could also go to a career guidance advisor or talk to your old one in school. They might have ideas or advice for you. At the end of the day, nobody can make your mind up for you. But if you can get enough information and advice, it could help steer you towards a decision.


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