That point in life. . .

[letterboy]

ok so I am now 22 years old I have been working at the same retail store for 4 years slowley moved up to senior sales associate, now I am looking into my future and seeing that I need a change. A big change, as in need to find something to make a career out of and soon. I graduate highschool in 2000 joined the national guard here in maryland went to basic and AIT came back and was deployed state side for a year, got off that took some college before I realized that I couldn't pay the bills and go to college, stopped college and started working full time. Now 1 year later I am looking into jobs, as I surf monster.com or carrerbuilder.com there seem to be no jobs in my area that would fit me, I mean there is the seasonal help needed, the never ending paperwork jobs, the customer service jobs, the you need a PHD jobs. I was wondering how others who may have had a similar situation handled this whole starting a job search thing? I have done the basics such as created my resume, posted it on Monster.com and I posted my resume on monster.com, searched the gov't sites around my area, Surfed careerbuilder.com I have even gone on a couple of interviews. There seems to be no end in sight. . . .


AHHHHHHHHHHHH


Any stories or additional tips would be greatly appreciated!!

John Bryan

 

[scubadoguk]

Any stories or additional tips would be greatly appreciated!!

John Bryan

We all do it mate few do any thing about it!
On the final regular school day 27 yrs ago a nice lady told my my family it was a shame about my dyslexia, now no one had heard of it let alone thought I was anything other than challenged at school Thick was a term used a lot LOLOL
but I did as all teen agers do and upset my dad by going down the pit (coal mine) at 16, first day at the pit was the first day of wishing to be anywhere but there! that lasted for 12 lOOOOng years, lucky for me I got out at 28 and went straight to a dive store and did a padi instructor class went on to live the life belive me it happens but not without giving up a lot to do as you want in life it aint easy but it is do-able

 

[BigJetDriver]

Any stories or additional tips would be greatly appreciated!!

John Bryan

John,

Have you checked on "distance learning" opportunities in a career field that might interest you? (--schools do have a lot of curricula on the internet now--)

Or, how about seeing if your college has a Career Guidance office that might give you some tips?

Just a thought! Good luck!

Rob

 

[BigJetDriver]

We all do it mate few do any thing about it!
On the final regular school day 27 yrs ago a nice lady told my my family it was a shame about my dyslexia, now no one had heard of it let alone thought I was anything other than challenged at school Thick was a term used a lot LOLOL
but I did as all teen agers do and upset my dad by going down the pit (coal mine) at 16, first day at the pit was the first day of wishing to be anywhere but there! that lasted for 12 lOOOOng years, lucky for me I got out at 28 and went straight to a dive store and did a padi instructor class went on to live the life belive me it happens but not without giving up a lot to do as you want in life it aint easy but it is do-able

I read the above, and your profile information. I have to say that yours, sir, is an awesome life story! You have come farther than most ever will. I salute you!

Rob

 

[mweitz]

John,

The hardest thing for me was figuring out WHAT I wanted to do. I didn't figure it out until I was 32 or so. Once I did, I went like a bat out of hell.

So, I think it is easier to figure out what you want (create a well defined goal) and go after it then to look for things that you can do. You will simply never find them... opportunites are created. Get excited about something. Figure out how to make some money doing it (no, not diving, I think that is just too hard). For me it was computers. It is different for everyone.

Good luck, you can do it!

If you want more details, shoot me a PM.

Mark

 

[scubaaaronh]

The best thing I can suggest is go back to school there are grants you just have to look for them. Bust your *** to get good grades I mean like 3.6 gpa and the fed gives you a grant plus most states have academic grants. My tuition is 1016.00 per class i take three classes per semester and the government pays almost everything because of my GPA in scolarships. Again i had to search these out the school wont do everything for you. I am 33 went back to school four years ago, decided to go into programming and networking. I am now assistant network admin and love it when i get done with my degree I can pretty much go anywhere. I am now working on to BAs one in MIS management information systems and the second is netwrok security and computer forecsics. The second is a new field and with all the data theft it is making a huge market for people with this knowledge. Talk to the counslers at the school they are there to help you make informed decisions as to what field to go into. If you cant choose a field at least get your lib arts done. A lot of companys dont care what degree you have for some positions just that you have shown the Initiative to complete a degree. Most companies will train and mold you to there needs. When you start getting to the upper levels of your education every college and university has a career development area that will help you get started. Its amazing to have companies looking for you instead of having to look for a campany.
Just my opinion.
Good luck

 

[Scubaguy62]

John, the advise you've received thus far is absolutely second to none. There is, however, one angle I will point out to you; let me first give you a little overview of me. I graduated HS in 1980, went to Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach for two yrs., got all my pilot tickets and went to work as a Flight Instructor and cargo pilot before getting into corporate flying. Flying was my first passion in life. After 3 yrs of corporate flying and being at the mercy of corporate executives, I pursued working for an airline, not as a pilot because in that time pilots were being furloughed, and the only pilots being hired by the airlines were ex-military. So I worked for AA until I got an flight officer interview, and an offer to be an FE in a B727, with one contingency, being at the mercy of a beeper for 2 more yrs.

I turned down the position and went back to school (at 34) to pursue my second passion in life, the law. Graduated at 37 magna cum laude, and decided to take a yr off before going to law school. Well, I'm now 42 and not in law school, despite being accepted to two schools. The reasons for not going are mostly financial (in my area law school is on the average 33k per year, tuition only, and it's 4 yrs if you do it part-time). Nevertheless, I enjoy being a paralegal and I work for a very reputable and great law firm, and have a pretty decent salary, which allowed me to provide for my wife and kids for over 1 yr.

My point is simple, before you're successful in life, you must first TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR LIFE. Decide what it is you want to do and DO IT, come hell or high water. When I went back to school, it was because I wanted my college degree more than anything else, and it was that passion that drove me to excel. I'm proud of myself, and so will you if you keep focused and set realistic goals.

Good luck and may you achieve every goal you set for yourself.

 

[The Kraken]

I tend to agree with MWEITZ.
Interestingly enough, it seems that most people tend to gravitate to jobs that are in the area of their early childhood interests regardless of education.

As "M" alluded, figure out "WHAT" you really want to do.

Even at 22 it still may be a bit early.

Regardless of what one wants, the dues still have to be paid.

 

[MB104]

The point of life is.....to find something that will make you happy now and 20-30 years from now.

You are still young, and I am assuming you dive too (since you a member of SB). You also have military, which tells me something. What about taking civil service exams to become a police officer? Good pay, secure future, a pension when you retire, health benefits for you and the family, etc...

Get hired in a town/city that has lots of water, and you can join their dive team too.

 

[scubaaaronh]

I tend to agree with MWEITZ.
Interestingly enough, it seems that most people tend to gravitate to jobs that are in the area of their early childhood interests regardless of education.

As "M" alluded, figure out "WHAT" you really want to do.

Even at 22 it still may be a bit early.

Regardless of what one wants, the dues still have to be paid.

I agree with that point i didn't decide what i really wanted to do till four years ago. I started right out of high school into college with really no idea i listened to the counsler and started to study criminal justice. I really had no interest i was going because my parents told me to go. Later on when i moved out and was forced to have to work on a computer at my job and had to figure out what was wrong with it from time to time did i gain the interest to get into my field. The main reason i got into it is i "enjoy" working with computers. I love to get up in the morning to go to work to to see what the end users have messed up, so i can fix it.