lost and confused about career paths

[T2urtle]

This board is most likely the least bias board i belong to hence why i'm asking here. Anyways here is a bit about myself.

currently 23, single and living with parents. no kids or anything. I went to a vocational school for automotive repair right out of H.S., moved out and worked at a dealership as a tech in a different state.( made 30k) Work slowed down and family needed some help, I quit and come back home to help. the work at the dealership was slow and it got a little nasty with the politics, it seemed like a great time to leave. Now i took a job at a bank thru a couple of referrals. Its a 3rd shift which roughly is 9pm-530am. Pay is great for the the amount of work i do and everything. i've been with them 2 years. The position is very entry level, i'm currently making 25k or so. Overall i'm happy with this job, its not a career but for now it was great. I had time in the day to attend to family needs and i even went to comm. college going after a assoicates degree in crimal justice. But now things are shaky at work, people are getting let go, new rules put in place. Seems like they are FORCING people to quit so they dont have to layoff people. With that being said...

I just accepted a new part-time as of 6/8/09. Its a small independent mechanic shop. Its again entry level. I'm mainly a grease monkey now. I do like the shop's environment. Its very laid back. The pay rate is a little weak at 21k if you count it as full time hours but i only work part time. noon-6pm

I setup both jobs so i can go to school in the morning if i drop one or the other. After 2 days i found out that i cant not balance both jobs with the little amount of sleep i get. I wanted to make my choice come august so i would work 1 job and go to school.

couple of things, ideally i wanted to attempt to join the police force. I've heard the easiest way is if you had some sort of military experience. So i might be changing that into something else. I do however want least a associates degree in science and go from there.
At this point i'm doing schooling part time 2 courses a semester, at the rate i'm going it will be 3-4 to get my ass. degree

I dont know which job to actually hold on to, the bank job has a slightly higher pay, pretty much dead end. I feel at one point i will be asked to leave or be fired, they are making more and more rules and guidelines. The mechanic job on the other hand has a lower pay rate, seems to be a decent shop environment, work is SLOW right now for them but i'm hourly doesn't matter to me RIGHT now. There was mention of me evolving into a tech there but thats still down the road, right now i'm just a tire changer/grease monkey. I'm neutral at this point but I think once they figure out i have more to bring to the table that they will have me do bigger jobs but at the same rate. I however would be happy if my pay rate was 30k. I dont know how raises go, I know my ASE will help me. but not a 50% pay increase. I do like working on cars, I wouldn't say i'm a natural but i'm a quick learner

I do however have thought about dropping the mechanic job, stayin at the bank till they let me go. If they do by august, i can enroll FULL TIME at school and looking for another random job down the line.

A lot of people tell me i have a lot of time and I'm young and all. I always felt i would just stumble upon a job that i like and the rest is history. I'm sure i've left out more information or something is unclear. If you need more details please let me know. Going off a couple hours of sleep for 2 days isn't exactly what i'm used to.

What would you guys do in my position?

I have interest in automotive, law enforcement and computers. No degrees in anything other then automotive technology. A lot of guys that i talk to in the automotive field is they start off at 15-20 years old and make it 30-35 and become managers at that point, because their bodies give up or technology just changes too much to keep up. Thats something in my mind right now.

 

[AreaCode707]

Given that you're still fairly directionless at 23 and you've expressed an interest in the military, it seems like that very well may be a good way for you to go. You'd learn a lot, gain a lot of skills that would make you a sought-after employee, and would be able to pursue your education fully funded after you get out.

Honestly, as somebody that tends to do a lot of hiring, your mixed skill set, indecisiveness and apparent inability to know your limits (sleep) would be a red flag for me in hiring or promoting you. Not putting you down, just stating a fact that would eventually limit you in a career. The automotive field is unlikely to ever pay you particularly well, so if you want to have a family you might want to do some longer range planning and/or go back to school.

I would suggest that your feeling about stumbling into a job you like is holding you back. Recognize that your life will only be what you make of it and hopefully it will help you get motivated to take some decisive steps towards forming and pursuing your goals.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[oiprocs]

I'd stick with the automotive since you enjoy it more. Take out loans instead if you need money. Once you have a degree, loans ain't shit.

And if you really want to go police/military/etc then you need to get on that fast. Don't dick around (it doesn't seem like you do that); instead, jump on the opportunity RIGHT NOW. Do whatever it takes to get where you want.

Btw, the military can open some doors. Some guys on here have full tuition paid after serving, so you need to contact...hmm....TallBill and some other dude.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Cliffs?

 

[Hacp]

Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

 

[The_Dude8]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Cliffs?

job 1: work @ bank on a third shift; bank is not stable, they're letting people go. Lot of rules and guidelines. Bank job may last till auguest of 2009.
Job 2: work @ a grease monkey @ a mechanic shop, lay back, make less money.

Want to stay @ bank due to more $$$ than the mechanic shop; if get lay off @ bank, will enroll at a CC full time.

 

[JS80]

Let's start with: Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? How do you expect to achieve that plan?

Sounds like you don't know what you want to do in life. First figure that out, then create a plan to achieve it.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

 

[T2urtle]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Given that you're still fairly directionless at 23 and you've expressed an interest in the military, it seems like that very well may be a good way for you to go. You'd learn a lot, gain a lot of skills that would make you a sought-after employee, and would be able to pursue your education fully funded after you get out.

Honestly, as somebody that tends to do a lot of hiring, your mixed skill set, indecisiveness and apparent inability to know your limits (sleep) would be a red flag for me in hiring or promoting you. Not putting you down, just stating a fact that would eventually limit you in a career. The automotive field is unlikely to ever pay you particularly well, so if you want to have a family you might want to do some longer range planning and/or go back to school.

I would suggest that your feeling about stumbling into a job you like is holding you back. Recognize that your life will only be what you make of it and hopefully it will help you get motivated to take some decisive steps towards forming and pursuing your goals.

Good luck! 🙂

I'm not interested in going into the military at all. I don't feel its my place or a need or care for it at this time. I do understand that by attending the military it will give me a edge in a law enforcement career.

I do have a very mixed skilled set but overall I feel that proves that i'm a faster learner. The whole not knowing my limits, well i didn't mention why i can no longer do this. Along with the whole new guidelines that i said the bank was putting out and trying to FORCE people to leave, well they make it a mandatory 6 day work week every middle of the month, also they randomly issue mandatory 2-6 extra hours of overtime as well. I accept my 2nd job 2 weeks ago and they announced these new rules and guidelines as of last night.

My feeling about stumbling into a job i dont feel is exactly holding me back. I do agree with your thoughts on the automotive field, It will never pay me what i put in.
The reason why i wanted to go back to school was planning for the future. After my first year in the field working and talking to people, this is a very hard field to make money in. I'm young at 23 but i'll admit it does beat up my body at times.



-------------
as for Money issues, I dont have any honestly i might be able to live off 10k because living at home is a huge postive in saving money. I'm not exactly a big spender, i help with household stuff, school and gas thats about it. I still have my auto school loans to pay and etc.

I haven't thought about the military at all.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: T2urtle

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Given that you're still fairly directionless at 23 and you've expressed an interest in the military, it seems like that very well may be a good way for you to go. You'd learn a lot, gain a lot of skills that would make you a sought-after employee, and would be able to pursue your education fully funded after you get out.

Honestly, as somebody that tends to do a lot of hiring, your mixed skill set, indecisiveness and apparent inability to know your limits (sleep) would be a red flag for me in hiring or promoting you. Not putting you down, just stating a fact that would eventually limit you in a career. The automotive field is unlikely to ever pay you particularly well, so if you want to have a family you might want to do some longer range planning and/or go back to school.

I would suggest that your feeling about stumbling into a job you like is holding you back. Recognize that your life will only be what you make of it and hopefully it will help you get motivated to take some decisive steps towards forming and pursuing your goals.

Good luck! 🙂

I'm not interested in going into the military at all. I don't feel its my place or a need or care for it at this time. I do understand that by attending the military it will give me a edge in a law enforcement career.

I do have a very mixed skilled set but overall I feel that proves that i'm a faster learner. The whole not knowing my limits, well i didn't mention why i can no longer do this. Along with the whole new guidelines that i said the bank was putting out and trying to FORCE people to leave, well they make it a mandatory 6 day work week every middle of the month, also they randomly issue mandatory 2-6 extra hours of overtime as well. I accept my 2nd job 2 weeks ago and they announced these new rules and guidelines as of last night.

My feeling about stumbling into a job i dont feel is exactly holding me back. I do agree with your thoughts on the automotive field, It will never pay me what i put in.
The reason why i wanted to go back to school was planning for the future. After my first year in the field working and talking to people, this is a very hard field to make money in. I'm young at 23 but i'll admit it does beat up my body at times.



-------------
as for Money issues, I dont have any honestly i might be able to live off 10k because living at home is a huge postive in saving money. I'm not exactly a big spender, i help with household stuff, school and gas thats about it. I still have my auto school loans to pay and etc.

I haven't thought about the military at all.

Good revision on your OP, lots of new info and more about you.

I think, given what you've said you want, what you like and what you're good at, that you should take whatever job will pay the bills while you go back to school for law enforcement. The military isn't the only way in, not by a long stretch, and education is your other path to that career.

That said, it's hard to go to school and work the hours you work at the bank. Maybe see if the grease monkey job will allow you enough income and flexibility to go back and get your bachelors? Seems like the most solid and practical plan in the long term.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

I don't know about 24-25 having $40k in the bank, but I'd agree that 23 isn't young. You should have a good idea of what you want to do with your life at that point and be working to accomplish it. Being without a degree, plan or career at that age and still thinking you have a lot of time... well, I agree with Hacp about some straightening out being needed.

<---25

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

i'm wondering about that also. i mean, 30-40k is a ridiculous amount. you have to have at least twice that by the time you are 18 to even be a member of this forum!


fuck...i'm 29, have about 6k in the bank, got laid off at my permanent job and had to take a shitty call center job because I can't find anything else. not having a degree is probably not helping either.

I still have no clue wtf i want to do with my life and trying to do anything about it now is going to be difficult/take forever.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

i'm wondering about that also. i mean, 30-40k is a ridiculous amount. you have to have at least twice that by the time you are 18 to even be a member of this forum!


fuck...i'm 29, have about 6k in the bank, got laid off at my permanent job and had to take a shitty call center job because I can't find anything else. not having a degree is probably not helping either.

I still have no clue wtf i want to do with my life and trying to do anything about it now is going to be difficult/take forever.

I think that's exactly Hacp's point. If you aren't prepped or knee-deep in prepping at the age of 23, it will be difficult and take forever to hit the more major life goals.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: T2urtle

Originally posted by: AreaCode707
Given that you're still fairly directionless at 23 and you've expressed an interest in the military, it seems like that very well may be a good way for you to go. You'd learn a lot, gain a lot of skills that would make you a sought-after employee, and would be able to pursue your education fully funded after you get out.

Honestly, as somebody that tends to do a lot of hiring, your mixed skill set, indecisiveness and apparent inability to know your limits (sleep) would be a red flag for me in hiring or promoting you. Not putting you down, just stating a fact that would eventually limit you in a career. The automotive field is unlikely to ever pay you particularly well, so if you want to have a family you might want to do some longer range planning and/or go back to school.

I would suggest that your feeling about stumbling into a job you like is holding you back. Recognize that your life will only be what you make of it and hopefully it will help you get motivated to take some decisive steps towards forming and pursuing your goals.

Good luck! 🙂

I'm not interested in going into the military at all. I don't feel its my place or a need or care for it at this time. I do understand that by attending the military it will give me a edge in a law enforcement career.

I do have a very mixed skilled set but overall I feel that proves that i'm a faster learner. The whole not knowing my limits, well i didn't mention why i can no longer do this. Along with the whole new guidelines that i said the bank was putting out and trying to FORCE people to leave, well they make it a mandatory 6 day work week every middle of the month, also they randomly issue mandatory 2-6 extra hours of overtime as well. I accept my 2nd job 2 weeks ago and they announced these new rules and guidelines as of last night.

My feeling about stumbling into a job i dont feel is exactly holding me back. I do agree with your thoughts on the automotive field, It will never pay me what i put in.
The reason why i wanted to go back to school was planning for the future. After my first year in the field working and talking to people, this is a very hard field to make money in. I'm young at 23 but i'll admit it does beat up my body at times.

as for Money issues, I dont have any honestly i might be able to live off 10k because living at home is a huge postive in saving money. I'm not exactly a big spender, i help with household stuff, school and gas thats about it. I still have my auto school loans to pay and etc.

I haven't thought about the military at all.

If you're a fast learner and you have the will, then go for your associates in 1 year+2 summers. The plan is easy. 20 credits for the 2 regular semesters, 4 credits in the winter, 12 credits in the summer, and 4 more credits next summer. When you graduate, hopefully your community college has a program that will let you into some type of regular college. As long as you're willing to work hard at school, you can turn your life around.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

i'm wondering about that also. i mean, 30-40k is a ridiculous amount. you have to have at least twice that by the time you are 18 to even be a member of this forum!


fuck...i'm 29, have about 6k in the bank, got laid off at my permanent job and had to take a shitty call center job because I can't find anything else. not having a degree is probably not helping either.

I still have no clue wtf i want to do with my life and trying to do anything about it now is going to be difficult/take forever.

I think that's exactly Hacp's point. If you aren't prepped or knee-deep in prepping at the age of 23, it will be difficult and take forever to hit the more major life goals.

seems to me you need to be prepped way before that.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

i'm wondering about that also. i mean, 30-40k is a ridiculous amount. you have to have at least twice that by the time you are 18 to even be a member of this forum!


fuck...i'm 29, have about 6k in the bank, got laid off at my permanent job and had to take a shitty call center job because I can't find anything else. not having a degree is probably not helping either.

I still have no clue wtf i want to do with my life and trying to do anything about it now is going to be difficult/take forever.

I think that's exactly Hacp's point. If you aren't prepped or knee-deep in prepping at the age of 23, it will be difficult and take forever to hit the more major life goals.

seems to me you need to be prepped way before that.

Fair enough. Prepped in the sense that the OP is asking about then.

 

[sindows]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

I don't know about 24-25 having $40k in the bank, but I'd agree that 23 isn't young. You should have a good idea of what you want to do with your life at that point and be working to accomplish it. Being without a degree, plan or career at that age and still thinking you have a lot of time... well, I agree with Hacp about some straightening out being needed.

<---25

What industry are you in? Seems kind of brutal if you're older than 23 and don't know what you want to do.

I think I can speak for most for those who are goal-less, we just have too many things we want to do 😛

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: sindows

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: Hacp
Ok let me straighten you out. You are not young. You do not have a lot of time. At 24-25, you should already have 30-40k saved up for a downpayment on a mortgage. You are behind the curve in every single way. An associates degree won't get you anywhere either. Get your lazy ass out of that chair and start panicking.

Tap tap tap? Broken?

I don't know about 24-25 having $40k in the bank, but I'd agree that 23 isn't young. You should have a good idea of what you want to do with your life at that point and be working to accomplish it. Being without a degree, plan or career at that age and still thinking you have a lot of time... well, I agree with Hacp about some straightening out being needed.

<---25

What industry are you in? Seems kind of brutal if you're older than 23 and don't know what you want to do.

I think I can speak for most for those who are goal-less, we just have too many things we want to do 😛

I'm in corporate, have been since I was 19. I'm not saying you need to have accomplished anything by 23 (and I'm not really saying that you SHOULD know what you want to do), just pointing out that if you consider yourself young and in no hurry that you'll be unpleasantly surprised at 30 or 35 when you've got a wife and kids and want to buy a house... it's why so many families live paycheck to paycheck.

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
Along with the whole new guidelines that i said the bank was putting out and trying to FORCE people to leave, well they make it a mandatory 6 day work week every middle of the month, also they randomly issue mandatory 2-6 extra hours of overtime as well. I accept my 2nd job 2 weeks ago and they announced these new rules and guidelines as of last night.
.

avoid the military at all costs. if you can't work a 6 day work week every middle of the month, you wont be able to make it thru basic, let alone a military posting.

My brother in law, who is in the air force, just flew out about a week ago on a refueling mission... 4 days straight of work... and when he came back, he's on a noon-midnight shift, 5 days a week.

the military is WAY stricter than any 'bank' in terms of its working guidelines.

 

[T2urtle]

Originally posted by: guyver01

avoid the military at all costs. if you can't work a 6 day work week every middle of the month, you wont be able to make it thru basic, let alone a military posting.

My brother in law, who is in the air force, just flew out about a week ago on a refueling mission... 4 days straight of work... and when he came back, he's on a noon-midnight shift, 5 days a week.

the military is WAY stricter than any 'bank' in terms of its working guidelines.

I could do 6 days a week and etc, if that was MY ONLY JOB. I can easily do 60 hours a week. Right now i'm scheduled to go 75 hours a week + whatever weird guidelines they want to come with.

for the posting about me being a faster learner and school taking 1-1.5 years. YES I CAN DO IT but i can do 10 hours a semster while having a full time job. There are people that can but i can't with the homework and all. Hence why i'm going at my current rate of 2 classes per semster.

My situation would be a WHOLE lot better if there wasn't a 60% chance of me being let go at the bank. (but then again everyone in the country is hoping of similiar). Oh another good thing about the bank is that they offer a LOT more benefits, tution rembursment, dental, vision and etc. Where was my mechanic job only offers your basic medical.

thanks to all those that are being brutal, I honestly do feel that i need it. Reason why i ask this board is know most here are well off or decent and you guys speak the truth ( or least what you think is the trunk most of the time) =)

 

[T2urtle]

so looking at this, most of you guys would suggest me stay at the bank and focus more on schooling...

I'm going to finish out my week and see whats I ultimately feel i should do. I think if i get let go at the bank, i get let go. Then i have the option of filing for unemployment or find another small job and go to school more. Living with my parents seems to be on the postive side. I dont have 30-40k saved but i do have something saved.