What to be when I grow up.
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
Canada
July 12, 2010 10:27pm CST
I am 24 years old and I still do not know what to do with my life. In high school we were encouraged to either become Engineers or join teh military, no other options were discussed. We were told to go to the (only) university and that if we went to college we would end up on welfare with no lives. (In canada a university gives you degrees, you can become doctors, nurses, teachers etc. The college gives you a trade, like plumber, electrician etc. So it is a little bit different from the States.) I went to university and went into a double major in English and French with the intent of going into education for teaching. After three years I discovered that none of these things were for me. I did not have the grades to become a teacher and I hated, no loathed, every french class that I went to. I dropped out and took two years off of school. Last year I enrolled into the college for a textile art program. It is two years long and I am halfway through. I love the program, but artists generally make less than 20 000$ a year. I could teach which would supliment my income, but that defeats the purpose of dropping out of university.
I want a house, a car, a family. I can not do this on less than 20k a year.
I do not know what I want to do after I graduate. I have always liked the idea of opening my own used bookstore, but that would also be a low income. I could become an x-ray technician, which is a three year course but I will be almost 30 by the time I could start a real job. I do not want to live with my parents until I am 30.
If I wanted to open my own business I would have to work in a used bookstore for a few years and take a few business courses.
What are your opinions? Wait till I am 30 to start my life and try to get the x-ray job (providing I could even pass the science courses...) or go for the used bookstore idea.
10 responses
@jerikjames (1041)
• Philippines
13 Jul 10
I think you shouldn't rush yourself. 30 is also still young. Don't lose hope and take time to consider what you really want. There are a lot of people who reach 40 and still don't know what they want to do in life. Your plans are all great. Again, are those what you really want? An x-ray technician or a bookstore owner? What are you really interested in? I think you should worry about the income yet. If you marry, you wouldn't be the only one working in your family. You could still afford those things. Goodluck!
1 person likes this
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I want to sit home all day and knit. I want to have a husband and a baby and I want a house and a car. I have always liked the idea of opening my own bookstore but x-ray technician was something that I entertained the idea of because of the income. My mother is always telling me about jobs that have a good income. If I opened my own bookstore than I could knit behind the counter and sell my things in a small corner of the store. I could have a reading circle for teens and adults and even a story time fo children. I could set up displays the way that I like them set up. I love to make displays of things, I am always redressing the manequins at work. I could be my own boss which is something that I really want to be and I would always be around books. I lvoe to read, I wish I had more time to be reading.
@jennyze (7028)
• Indonesia
13 Jul 10
Jerikjames is right. I am now working as a Secretary for a garment industry in Indonesia, but I always wanted to have a kind of library of my own for when I am older and can no longer work for well. I can read and write and telling stories....
You should go with what you enjoy most of doing.
@jerikjames (1041)
• Philippines
13 Jul 10
Wow! Then that's a very good idea! I think you should go for it! Setting up a bookstore I mean. You could do what you love and you can earn too! Also, I think it would give you a fine income since books today are expensive. =)
Note:
I also want to be my own boss. Haha. I don't like the idea of someone ordering me around or something.
@kaka10 (178)
• South Africa
13 Jul 10
24 It ain't that bad I think that is still youthful, I am 27 and I am still partying and trying to figure out life. I figure why complicate life with all that stuff if you have some plan of what you want work towards it. I got my own stuff, but you get to that age where you settle down I guess when the time ain't right it just ain't right. I suggest you study and work safe up some money see the world, you don't have to live with the rentals forever. I say get some people you trust get a place together and share the rent you save money you can study aswell. Experience life while you can, go travel when you 30 your needs change and you at a different place in life. I am a guy so it is easy, no offense to women but young women dont know what they want and you only know what you want at 30. My motto the best education is living life not school, it only gets you so far.
1 person likes this
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
Oh sweetie, I know what I want out of life. It's generally men who need to wait until they are 30 to mature enough to start thinking about their lives. I know exactly what I want out of life I just am unsure which career path to take to get there. The career that I would like would make me less money than the career that I chose because of the income. I am not saying that money is everything but I want to be able to afford a nice car, I want to afford a house, I want to feed my kids and buy them something nice that I see because I CAN. I can't move out if I can't afford it, I can't pay off my debts without a better paying job. I can't travel the world unless I pay off my debts.
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I was going to jokingly write that I couldn't travel the world unless I got a sugar daddy. I actually had it typed out and back spaced it in case people thought I was serious.
I don't want to end up declaring personal bankrupcy in case my bookstore fails, you know? Is it better to take the risk of losing everything or is it better to just... be safe.
@kaka10 (178)
• South Africa
13 Jul 10
Hahaha touche it is true wont argue with you on that lol. It is easy decide wheter you want to be rich and miserable doing something that makes you unhappy or do something that makes less money and you are happy or you can always just marry a rich guy lol. I am thinkin bout a sugar mommy as an option lol
@sassygirlanne007 (4517)
• United States
13 Jul 10
I am 20 and have no Idea what I want to do yet but I am a firm believer of doing things you enjoy because a career could be something you do for the rest of your life and you might as well enjoy what your doing. That's my opinion at least.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I am no expert, and I am way older than you. And I'd like to tell you that up to now, I still don't know what to be when I grow up. I've been confused even after I graduated high school.
So, I just went with the flow. I finished the course that I was enrolled in. Even though I started to hate it, and my grades was not good enough. After a few years, I graduated, found work, and had a family.
Anyday now I will realize that I've already lived my life, and that what I am now is what I intended to be when I grow up.
This is not an advice, just a view that might be helpful.
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I wish that having a family was in my bear future. I was with a boy for a couple of years and I was content to graduate from school and then start a family. However, we broke up so now everyting that I thought was in my future has been nulified. I feel as though I have to start completley over when I thought that things were starting to fall into place. It is very hard for me to try to work through this.
@Bellapop (1279)
•
15 Jul 10
Why not do both? Don't worry about how old you will be by the time you finish your syudies, it may seem late, but you are still very young and many people go through career changes in their mid-30s, as long as you go for a job you know you will love and feel satisfied, it's worth the long haul and training, because afterwards, you will be doing it for the next 30 years. You could still be doing the bookstore thing while you're doing the training, set up the business now and then get someone trustworthy to man the shop for you, and you could use it as a back-up plan too if things don't work out with the training. Hope this helps. :)
1 person likes this
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
16 Jul 10
I never really thought about doing both. I don't know if I would be able to handle two full time jobs. Even with school, there would be no way that I could run the store from 10-5 and be in school at the same time. I could possibly sell my art and run the bookstore, or sel my stuff and be a technician, but I don't think I could be the x-ray technician and run my own business at the same time. I would be wearing myself thin.
Thank you for you opinion though! It really got me thinking.
@magichands (64)
• United States
13 Jul 10
if im was you i would work on it now it suck these days i been in your shoes and it is
very hard it like it was growing up with your parents you know so if you dont have a job dont try to get a degree right now you are 24 years old i would be tyring to find ing some freelance work
you know all i see is that you problely didnt like your teacher becuase i hated all my teachers biside one of my teacher you know its your life do something that you love to do and make a carrer
out of it you know what i 'am saying becuase it s hard as hell to find a job right now you know buddy but you take care
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I have a job, I work in the mall but the hours and the pay are bad. I can not afford to move out of my parents house.
My teachers were bad but it was mroe in inconsistancy of the courses, I took one course 3 times and each time it was completley different. That and the fact that my marks were no where near good enough to get into the education faculty so if I wanted to apply I would have to retake every single course that I had taken to try to improve my marks.
@Laurelle11 (409)
• Australia
13 Jul 10
I am a lot older than you and have decided through life experiences and responsibilities that if I could have a do over that I never want to grow up. But seeing how nobody really has a choice about that why not have a go at what you want to do while you are still young enough to do something else if your dream job doesn't work out. Life is too short to be stuck in a job you don't like so why not look into different jobs that involve art. There are a lot of different options for art orientated careers like fashion design or interior design. Good luck with your choices, I hope you work it out.
@vulgarlittleprincess (919)
• Canada
13 Jul 10
I am not interested in fashion. I am majoring in knitting and quilting/embroidery in my final year in school. It seems that aside from being self employed or designing things that people want you to design working in the production inducstry is my only option. I do not want to spend my life working where what I do is not good enough. I do that now. I want to either have a nice boss where it is not a corporation or where the focus is on how much money is brought in each day. Or I want to be my own boss. I want to have people who like to come to work each day because they like being around me and working for me.
@quakeso (28)
• Bulgaria
13 Jul 10
At this moment there is no "What to be when you grow up". Depends on the relations you have with people which own businesses and mainly luck. No matter how hard you learn and fight there is guarantee that you will achieve the job position which you want. So wait and see what life will throw at you when the time comes.
@legolascloud (2)
• United States
13 Jul 10
I want to be a computer programmer i been on computers my whole life and love everything about it i hope to accomplish it some day =).
