What can I do for a career?

McGuiver

I realise that this might sound like a silly thread, but I'm finding what I want to actually do with my life a real dilemma. I'll give a bit of my background first. I've never been, in the strict sense of the word, unemployed. I've had many different jobs, including running a cafe, selling mobile phones, selling insurance, working for Airtours (now Mytravel) and so on.

I've also been a student, have 2 first class degrees and am currently writing up my PhD, which I hope to finish by Christmas. But, assuming I pass my Viva, I have no idea what I want to do in the future. I've always just drifted from one thing to the next. I've never really had a career plan. However, I'm 29 now, so I really need to get myself sorted.

When I think about it, there isn't really anything I want to do. I'm not particularly passionate about any field of work. Obviously, I always have and will work - but I don't know what to do? I don't mean to sound lazy or awkward.

The recession makes things particularly difficult, since there are so few opportunties. Since I have no family commitments, I've been thinking about doing something in another country - quite what, I'm not sure. I just don't want to waste my life because, with no children to bring up or domestic life to commit to, I won't be achieving anything.

I realise that this may sound very self-indulgent, but has anyone else found themselves in a similar situation? Where you don't know what to do with yourself? How did you deal with it, if you have at all?

purplerose

I've felt like that. Before I went back into education I felt like I was floating around from job to job, never feeling passionate about anything. All I had experience in was admin/call centre/retail and felt like that was all that was available to me. I decided if I had to stick with admin then I wanted to create an opportunity to get more supervisory/managerial type positions so went to college to do a business HNC and ended up staying in education until I ended up with an honours degree. Only thing was, I graduated last year in the middle of a recession and there weren't many jobs going and I felt like half the ones available to me were the same ones I could have gotten pre qualifications. I started to feel like my qualifications were worthless and that I'd end up floating from job to job never really finding anything I liked.

I started to think about what I would like from a job - instead of pushing paper around or making rich companies richer, I found I'd like to be in a job that actually helped people. Something that actually involved social interaction with people in a way that helped them plus something that still utilised good admin skills and my resourcefulness. I also played around with job matching software and my top matches were advice work and counselling. The more I read about these, the more interested I became and I looked for opportunities available to me in this area. If it hadn't been for the recession I probably wouldn't have considered doing a post grad but I started looking around and found a course that I felt would be interesting and lead to the career I had in mind. I also started volunteering at Citizens Advice to help give me experience of advice work and to see if it was for me. Later in the course I started doing more voluntary work as a befriender/mentor and in the course itself there were loads of work placements. For the first time in my life I realised I was doing things that actually 'fit' me, I was developing a passion for what I was doing and felt that this was something which I really wanted to stick with and make it my career.

So yes I know how you feel. It involves doing a lot of reflection on what is important to you, where do your interests lie? Just ask yourself lots of questions. With the jobs you've done - what did you like or dislike in particular about them? If those ideas point to a few possible careers - which are realistic? What is the labour market like? How do you get there? You've done a lot of studying already, perhaps voluntary work or more vocational training courses would help? What did you study? Why did you study it? Can you do anything with your qualifications? Ever consider being an academic or researcher? If you went overseas, where would you go? Have you researched what might be available in those countries? Have you looked at graduate schemes? and it can go on and on.

I'll leave it there but good luck with your PhD and I hope you find something that suits you eventually

Saven

never loose hope . . . have faith in yourself . . . my advice to you . . . !!!

gladispanivas

If you are confident that your core personality needs can be met, being stretched and developing greater flexibility can reap long term rewards not only in career development but also in preparing you for later life and developing you as a more rounded person.

Gladis
Time Attendance, Payroll, HR Software

paulwf

Teaching is a possibility...you'll be using your qualifications and the pay, conditions and holidays are reasonable. Your doctorate may be attractive to private schools.

If you want to go abroad there are what is probably best described as "international schools" where they teach in English. To give an example when I lived in Sweden the city was very cosmopolitan and there were professionals from all over the world and they sent their children to an international school where the teaching was in English.

jellymid

Try and find a copy of "What colour is your parachute". It will help you analyse what your likes/dislikes strengths/weaknesses are.

El_Rey

PurpleRose - What job matching software did you use?

Does anyone know of any free career quizzes that can be done online beside the Skills and Interests assessment on Direct.gov/Careers Advice Service?

jezebel

OP - I am in a similar position, 29 years old and my mother still tells people that I'm doing x job until I decide what I want to do with my life. I've got a degree, an AS level (post my degree), an OpenCert in Business Studies and still not sure what I want to do. Like purple rose said, start with a list of what you do want, or in my case I started with a list of jobs I definitely didn't want and then consider the types of skills that you like to use.

Don't feel that you have to tie yourself down to a career though, some people do more than one and portfolio careers are the new thing

lynsayloo

OP I know how you feel, I am 31 and still don't know what I want to do. I have been in my current job for the past 6 1/2 years and I hate it but it is a job, I turn up, do my work and go home, no passion, no interest.

I would suggest find something that you are really passionate about whether it is an interest or a hobby and think about maybe developing that into a career, that is what I am thinking of doing. I work in an office where I don't meet anyone and I am really interested in working with people and helping them so I am thinking of doing a Holistic Therapy course in the hope of working for myself in the near future.

PasturesNew

If you're not bothered, nor driven, then why not look at teaching in one of your top subjects .... you get nice long holidays at least.

WolfSong2000

Well, if you want to look into doing something "worthwhile" abroad, may I suggest looking at VSO (Coluntary Services Overseas)? They offer a number of paid placements for those who have the specific skills that they're looking for, and there's a lot of interesting work!

I have to say, I'm the same as you...drifted into a philosophy degree, graduated with a history degree and up until a few months ago, had not a clue about what I wanted to do! I've ended up being accepted to St. Andrews to do a masters in Peace Studies...not something I would have seen myself doing a few years ago, but both my parents work in international development, and I have seen the very real difference they have made in their fields, and that appeals to me. Guess it's just a case of narrowing down what your strengths and weaknesses are!