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gia
09-18-2004, 06:07 PM
Hey Everybody,

Now that I have officially emerged from lurking mode, I figured that I should introduce myself. I'm 24, graduated from college in 2002, currently living in LA. I was fortunate enough to find a job fairly soon after I graduated. I was happy with it for about 2 months. Then I realized that I had made yet another mistake in picking a career path. I work in finance, I have an engineering degree, It's a long story :( I started researching different careers once again. I even volunteered in a hospital for a while. I became really angry and depressed. I kept thinking, I did all of that work and studying for this. This is it? I'm going to have to do this type of crap 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for several decades. Then I read the book. I realized that the rosey picture that my teachers, the media, and my family had painted for me was not realistic.

I've been looking at job ads for the past two years. The initial optimistic, idealistic plan I graduated with was to find a job I enjoy. The current plan is to find a job I don't hate. I'm also planning my retirement right now. I want out as early as possible. If I happen to find work that I think is meaningful and worth doing, maybe it wont be necessary, but I'm not counting on it.

The few friendships I have seem to be fading. I'm also not that great at making friends in the first place. I'm an introvert, so getting out and meeting people is complicated for me. My relationships with my family are pretty much non-existent, but that's a whole other story. Let's just say my childhood was not fun.

That's most of it. Reading these message boards has helped me a great deal over the past few months. Thanks to everyone who let me know I'm not alone.

and1grad
09-18-2004, 06:51 PM
Welcome gia,
What kind of job are you looking for?

gia
09-19-2004, 05:58 PM
Hey and1grad, thanks for responding

For now, I want a job that isn't too stressful and doesn't interfere with my personal life, not that I have much of one . No more than 40 hours a week, short commute. I would prefer to not feel like I'm going to have a heart attack any time during work or that an ulcer is somewhere down the road. I want proper training, so that I actually know how to do the things that are asked of me. Salary decent enough to cover my expenses and save for retirement. A 401K, and good benefits would be nice too. I don't really care much about what industry it is in. Training is most important, with procedures that don't change every two months like they seem to at my current job. I actually really like following procedures. I am wiling to go back to school, but I'm am too worried about wether or not I will find a job in the field once I graduate or having massive debt and hate my new field. Most recently I was contemplating getting an MLS to become a librarian.

One of my fears is that if I pursue something I'm interested in, I will get bored with it after a short period of time. Like I did with this job, after 2 months. I learned everything I want to know about stocks and bonds. I have followed this pattern for quite something. Have a strong interest in a certain field, learn a whole bunch about it, and get really sick of it. I guess I just have to keep trying.