Alright here's the deal .net as some of you may or may not know I'm 20 years old going to community college for who knows what (general studies) And i work in the fast food buisness. Basically I was just wondering when it all clicked for you guys when you decided hey I want to do this for the rest of my life ect or hell even when you caught the break that sprung your life. Just had a really bummed morning I hate under achieving. I know someone's going to say just drop everything and do the tour next year but that's simply not an option though I am trying to see mad shows.... I don't vent often but I can't seem to shake some of the feelings tht I am feeling right now and I really just want those around me to be proud
Dave

I turn 38 in a few weeks, and it just happened to me in January.

When I was 22 I got a "real" job (I'm 37). Since then it has just been a growing process. The fact that you care about how people important to you feel about you shows a desire to better yourself. Most importantly, you have to have pride in yourself. People around you can sense your sense of self; it reflects brightly.
Try to be happy where you are knowing this isn't where you'll be down the line. People love you for who you are.

35 with a Master's degree in a high demand field and it still hasn't happened.

Upon reflection, the real moment everything crystalized for me came this past January when I received a call from the great and knowledgable Icculus, who informed me that I was under consideration to receive the venerable and desired beanie-fish, and could I handle the responsibility?

Since then its been all h00kers, blow, and emasculating n00bs. Suck it, haters.

@dave25 i was 32 when i fell into a career as opposed to working jobs.... i have been at the same company for 14 years now and still growing....

If you have no set direction in college, get a basic business degree to start off with... this will help in 99% of the entry level positions with room to tune your education towards what ever direction you decide to go in.

I never went to college and now wish i did....I know i can still go and get a degree, but at 46 yrs old and making a decent income, i just take training courses that are geared towards my job in IT...I'm considered an analyst and am working on a programmer title to get me up towards 6 figures...

At 20, its hard to get a start on a career if you dont really know what you want.... but try hard to get a degree, it really makes a difference....Trust me...i have worked every blue collar type job before getting to where i'm at....everything from dish washer at a chinesse joint to Mcdonalds crew person then shift manager, construction/masonry laborer to auto/truck mechanic (10 yrs) before catching a break and starting as a call center person at the company where im at working my way into IT...

You may want to see if your current fastfood company offers a Management Trainee program....they normally offer better pay then a crew member position and the experience can lead to better opportunities in the future...

@joonze said:

@dave25 i was 32 when i fell into a career as opposed to working jobs.... i have been at the same company for 14 years now and still growing....

If you have no set direction in college, get a basic business degree to start off with... this will help in 99% of the entry level positions with room to tune your education towards what ever direction you decide to go in.

I never went to college and now wish i did....I know i can still go and get a degree, but at 46 yrs old and making a decent income, i just take training courses that are geared towards my job in IT...I'm considered an analyst and am working on a programmer title to get me up towards 6 figures...

At 20, its hard to get a start on a career if you dont really know what you want.... but try hard to get a degree, it really makes a difference....Trust me...i have worked every blue collar type job before getting to where i'm at....everything from dish washer at a chinesse joint to Mcdonalds crew person then shift manager, construction/masonry laborer to auto/truck mechanic (10 yrs) before catching a break and starting as a call center person at the company where im at working my way into IT...

You may want to see if your current fastfood company offers a Management Trainee program....they normally offer better pay then a crew member position and the experience can lead to better opportunities in the future...

I'm actually starting management training in the next month or two about a two dollar raise I'm really excited for a new challenge in life. Funny you mentioned this

This isn't a my life sucks thread or anything I wasn't trying to start a generic thread ether I just didn't do as good as I should have on something and I have been pondering all morning.

i was in the same boat. i completed 70 hrs of community college and quit going b/c i didn't know what i wanted to do. i went back to school when i was 27 and had just decided to study marketing. since ive been back in school i had been avoiding a finance 301 course because i thought it was gonna be similar to accounting. i was totally wrong and found out that im very good at finance. I was already so far along in my marketing classes that i kept doing that and added the finance major as well. my advice to you would be to get the hell out of fast food and try to get some experience in something you might want to do in the future. don't worry about it either. most men these days don't know what they want to do with their lives until they're 30.

Thanks for all the pick me ups .net seriously grateful and put my life into a whole new persepective today im thankfull for what I got and it could always be worse
You guys rock

I am literally in the same position as you man haha

Bad luck extreme and misfortune will infest your pathetic soul for all eternity.

Just playin. Don't be disappointed in yourself. You're doing a hell of a lot better than billions of other people on this planet.

Just throwing this out there the origin of the op that i made was not at all about the money, yes moneys a good thing but that will not alone lead anyone to happiness. I think im pretty much just a confused twenty year old with lots and lots of opertunitys who is very indecisive... Anyway Im feeling alot better after throwing my pity party early this morning

I think for most of us, there really never was a click moment. Most of us are not fortunate enough to have "chose" our path. Life, chance and circumstance usually dictates those things. If you are lucky enough to work your dream that's great but don't think most of us really chose our paths. Whatever jobs are available when your looking sends you in a direction. What happens after that up to your work ethic and capabilities.

For me, I worked stocking shelves in a Staples, this was right around the time PC were becoming affordable. I learned the business machines and got some early computer experience. That computer experience was enough to get me into a job where I created little marketing charts and graphs for execs who figured they would never have to learn computers, that's what secretaries are for. As a result I got good at excel, I always was strong in math. I took that experience and got a job in inventory control, strange crossover but I had the skill set they wanted. 3 years later they move me to accounts payable because I understood the inventory side and was good with the accounting as well. Staples stock boy to Accounts Payable Manager. My point is my career chose me. I never dreamed of being in AP, who would. Never met any AP or AR person who set out to do just that.

Do the best you can at whatever job you have (sounds like you are), the pieces will fall into place. Worry more about how you're spending non-work hours. That matters so much more. Lost 2 good friends in the last 2 weeks. One was 46 the other 42. All that matters to any of us now is how they were defined by everything other then their jobs. For most of us work is just a necessary evil, not who we are or that important to being happy.

Think about it bro. Just sit in a dark room, smoke a bowl, get quiet in your mind for a little bit and let your subconscious handle the "hard" "deep" thought. If you do this enough, IMO things fall into place.

2¢ - Follow the path of least resistance to happiness. College is important, a fast food job is less important than an epic 30th year tour by the best band to have ever existed in this plain.

33 and I still don't know. I've found a good career that may end up being what I retire from but it certainly isn't my passion and I'm always look for something else.

I started working in the cosmetic industry when I was 20. I quickly was promoted to management and transferred to California to work. I was the youngest person to hold a corporate position for the US division for the company with a position that the founder made me. However, my dream ever since I was a little girl watching the end credits of "The Goonies" at a theater in CT, that I wanted to have my own theater! So...I figured I better start from the bottom up and took a part-time job at a single screen(and worked during "Blair Witch Project" which is as heinous as you could imagine!, as a popcorn maker, ticket-taker and messy theater cleaner-upper. I was then asked if I wanted to become an assistant house manager at three screen art-house where I would have my opportunity to learn the craft of projecting!!! So, I left the cosmetic world and went to the darkened shadows of the art house. OMG! I loved out and started gathering all the info I could and visiting as many projection booths and theathers I could. I had my own midnight film series as well. I loved almost every minute of it. I got another job offer a few years in, Personal Shopper at F.A.O Schwartz, and how in the heck do you pass that up?? They also transferred me to NY and I got to really be a part of a true NY institution. Then, 9/11 happened. It was heartbreaking to have to shop for so many kids who's parents had died and people thought some silly gift would make a difference. I also did Special Events like scavenger hunts in the store and we hosted those same kids. Something changed for me. And I sent my resume out a few days into February. I got a management position in IMAX at a very large movie theater and I couldn't stand the big corporate movie monster! So, after a sort of crystallize period in which I raced mountain bikes and worked a cookie shop...I moved to Portland, OR where I ran twin movie house with beer and wine. Since I learned how to project, got a position with Gus Vant Sant and projected reel to reel for him at his PDX studio. Everything was awesome. I went solo backpacking near Sister,OR one week and met up with these guys who ran an outdoor ed. Program and it totes got me thinking. A few days after, they called and told me that needed a woman to go on a trip because they had too many girls...so, I went. Somewhere at Smith Rock, I decided that I wanted a job in the Outdoor Industry. Got my WFR, and stared guiding for them while still working at the theater. Things in PDX started to really suck...after my third bike was stolen off the Tri-Met, I was over it. I packed up and left for Driggs, Idaho to work at a ski resort. I became an EMT> WEMT. So, got a job on ski patrol in CA and worked my summers for the Girl Scouts in AK as a back country leader and as a healthcare supervisor for the bay area. Then...I got hurt. And had many opertations. Now, I am having a very hard time figuring out how to feel like me again. I spent my whole life working and having all my dream jobs and measuring my self on success,which I don't have anymore. But...I still want my own theater! I still collect everything I can and do much research. I am looking for the "right one".

So, moral of my story is keep a dream in case you need something to fall back on.

Here is some more advice. Go have as much fun as you possibly can. Be smart, but party your little ass off. You should start by getting involved with at least three chicks. Wear rubbers. That's part of being smart. Seriously though dude, quit worrying. You are normal.

A very wise man once told me this... The dream never dies.. he was one of the worlds greatest footbag players..... it holds true all the time. never give up on dreams ........my problem was once my dreams came true what to do next..... then I moved to montana to find out what life is all about Bitches and pow..... Dont sweat the small stuff and trust your instincts..... take chances and live life to the fullest. and shred pow.....

Usually death.

99% of the time.

I turn 30 next week.
I was laid off Sunday night.
I am now on unemployment.
I have no prospective job offers.
I have no idea what am doing with my life.
I cashed in my retirement to pay off my car loan and some student loan debt.

The only thing keeping me from going off the deep end are my two tickets to see Phish on the 30th and 31st.

Trust me 36 and I sure as hell don't want to clean carpet for the rest of my life.

I've been in college since I graduated high school 10 years ago- I'm 27 and will be 28 Jan.8th. I've wanted to be an Algebra teacher, a sociologist, a criminal psychologist, and a dietician. I changed my major so many times that I have enough credits to have 2 degrees by now. I'm junior status but it will most likely take me a couple years to finish. And during those couple of years, who knows, I may change my mind again.

The last 7 years I've only been able to take a class a semester. Because of that I have plenty of time to change my mind, get into new hobbies, and come to the notion that I should choose a different career path.

I've been in the retail business since I was 16. Right now I manage a small business located downtown with the two owners. The store sells natural, organic and environmentally-friendly products for families. The store is an active participant in the community around us, gives back, and helps protect our customers, their families and our planet from toxic and harmful ingredients. I love it, and I love the women who started it.

Life has many roads for you to take. Pick a path, and if you change your mind than it's okay.

@WGphan92 said:

I'm 20 also, attending a state school for Music Industry right now. Getting a degree in a failing industry is quite disheartening. I find myself asking these same questions sometimes, like "where is my life headed."
I've been kinda getting off the right track lately and been more stressed now than I ever have before. It sucks. But staying focused and keeping clarity is the key, I think. Gotta keep pushing foreward and do what you gotta do to get by. I recently had quite the eye opener to get my shit back together. Got let off the hook by a cop yesterday when I should've been arrested and sitting in a jail cell right now. Things aren't so bad once you realist how much worse they can get in a short matter of time.
Keep on keeping on dude.

Yes dude i read your thread I did go away to a state school (Suny Alfred State) out of high school but It was too overwelming for me I have a few problems but it did teach me alot about life (seeing friends get alochol poisning and get hospitalized, how much effort you have to put in to get the resoults you want ect). Good luck to you moving forward its nice to know im not the only youngin out there questioning my path in life