Slateman Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I am getting out of the Marine Corps in about 5 or 6 months and I have no idea what to do for work. All I know is what I don' t want to do. I don't want to re-enlist. I don't really want to work private security. I don't want to leave the United States. But beyond that, I have no idea what I want to do or even how to look. I haven't been this frustrated and down in a long time. I feel almost helpless. Every time I try to get started, I just get distracted or stop for no reason. It took me an entire weekend to type out a one and a half page resume. I used to bang out 10 page papers in a night back in college. So how did you decide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shk75 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Well me personally I just decided to do what I was passionate about. I think the only way you can really excel at anything in life is if you truly have a passion for it. Me personally I was born in Cuba and my family fled when I was 14. Having experienced life in Cuba I really developed a passion for human rights but I did not really know how to make that into a career. I studied political science since I thought that would be a stepping stone and I was thinking about law school but then I saw how terrible the debt would be and refocused my efforts to health care. I think I was lucky that I was able to develop a passion for something at a young enough age that I could try to mold my career around it. My advice to you would be to really find what makes you tick, find what would make you get up in the morning on a Sunday and not be bothered by going to work. Find something that excites you and motivates you. If you cannot think of what that is try to volunteer a day here, a day there at as many diverse organizations as possible and maybe you will find out that you are passionate about something you never thought you would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus71 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I am a pimp, it choose me... What can I say :pfft: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I let life come to me...probably not the best choice,but things could be worse. aded find something you enjoy or get fulfillment from,ya got a long road ahead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I let life come to me...probably not the best choice Definitely not the best advice, as nothing is coming to me.....except herpes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slateman Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Well me personally I just decided to do what I was passionate about. I think the only way you can really excel at anything in life is if you truly have a passion for it. Me personally I was born in Cuba and my family fled when I was 14. Having experienced life in Cuba I really developed a passion for human rights but I did not really know how to make that into a career. I studied political science since I thought that would be a stepping stone and I was thinking about law school but then I saw how terrible the debt would be and refocused my efforts to health care. I think I was lucky that I was able to develop a passion for something at a young enough age that I could try to mold my career around it.My advice to you would be to really find what makes you tick, find what would make you get up in the morning on a Sunday and not be bothered by going to work. Find something that excites you and motivates you. If you cannot think of what that is try to volunteer a day here, a day there at as many diverse organizations as possible and maybe you will find out that you are passionate about something you never thought you would be. I let life come to me...probably not the best choice,but things could be worse.aded find something you enjoy or get fulfillment from,ya got a long road ahead I'm not really passionate about anything. On Sunday morning, I really don't want to get out of bed. I actually don't want to get out of bed most mornings, but I'm pretty sure its cus I hate my job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Like TWA, I let life come to me, which let life dictate to me. I was very unhappy until about twelve years ago when everything I thought was my life fell apart. Now i do what I always thought I should be doing... except when I knew that I wanted to do commercial art for my life, the technology that has allowed me to spread my wings didn't exist. So, one never knows. It's a long ride. What you want will come to you, even if you don't know what that is yet. Don't panic. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shk75 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm not really passionate about anything. On Sunday morning, I really don't want to get out of bed. I actually don't want to get out of bed most mornings, but I'm pretty sure its cus I hate my job. Yes that is because you hate your job. I remember one professor told me something that I remember to this day. If you wake up in the morning fearing to go to work because you despise it so much, you need to find another job/field. There have actually even been studies showing a link in poor job satisfaction with poorer health. Get out, (obviously if you can, don't just quit right away and not have a way to pay rent lol especially in this market). You may not know what you are passionate about that is why I said to try out a bunch of different things. Find out what you like to do, some people like to be out interacting with people, others like to be alone in an office, others like to work in places that stress teamwork. Maybe you should let us know what you like in life in general and we could try to give you ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brave Little Toaster Oven Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Look into joining government contracting... considering you were a Marine, I would look into anything Navy related whether it be for a private/public company or with the Navy itself (NAVSEA. NAVAIR, etc) Youre welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkabong82 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I went to college after a few years community college, working for a living, and having several surgeries and recovery, and it was there that I re-kindled my love for history and then found that one of the best paths history majors takes is teaching after masters and PhD (tho some work on PhD while teaching) and using the school as a support system forresearch and publishing findings. Now I'm pursuing my masters and am glad to be on my way. My best advice slateman, since you say you aren't passionate about many things, is to figure out a bunch of things you are real good at it and can be made into a good and enjoyable/tolerable occupation. Do you enjoy working with your hands? Explore a craft you would enjoy doing. You can use what you don't like as a method for thinning down the possibilities. And I don't mean to disparage you Taoster Oven, but as a former employee of CACI and Lockheed Martin (only a few years tho), I wouldn't recommend getting into that business unless you can start off in management or a mit program; too many there live in constant fear for their jobs, and it's because there are alot of backstabbers and office politics played. IMO, the disatsifcation slateman is looking to avoid he'd likely find in that world. Though you are right that he could be better off because of his service time, those people are typically very respected in that field, rightfully so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Personally I've been nutty about cars since I was very young (which is weird because no one in my family cares about them) and it just became clear to me as I got older how much I loved working on them and that I was good at it. I went into it for 1.5 years straight out of high school but the place sucked and had a horrible work environment, combined with the fact that I was not mature enough at the time to handle the responsibilities involved. Namely trying to party with all my friends who were college freshmen and missing too much/overall sleep deprived After that experience I thought I had decided it was just a hobby for me and spent 5 years bouncing around jobs and school, not having much success. In the back of my mind somewhere I always knew that working on cars was the only job I'd ever had that I enjoyed doing and I could never be a desk jockey. So I went back into the profession, more mature, prepared and it's been the best decision I ever made. In retrospect it seems so obvious but it took a few years and a few failures to come full circle. It's a great feeling when you finally wake up one day and realize you have a career, not just a job, but a career you enjoy doing and the stability that comes with that. Good luck, follow what makes you tick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins_Fan82 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Look into joining government contracting... Agreed. I did 4 years in the Air Force as a Contract Specialist, and now I'm working for DOE in the Civilian World. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebluefood Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Well, I figured out what I wanted to do rather early, so I may not be of much use to you; but I think the best thing to do is figure out what you're good at and/or what you enjoy doing. That seems to be a good place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I don't know if I'm a good person to respond, but I will. I'm not big into my career. My job (and it's a solid, high-paying one) is just that. I'm a government contractor so I'm not doing anything I'm passionate about. But it pays the bills. The reason I'm responding is because my job affords me the opportunity to do what I "wanted to do with my life" which is raise a family. My wife and I have two children and the three of them are what I wanted out of life. We live a very typical suburban life and I couldn't be happier. So, the work thing is a very, very small part of me and never something that I believe defines me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Look into joining government contracting...considering you were a Marine, I would look into anything Navy related whether it be for a private/public company or with the Navy itself (NAVSEA. NAVAIR, etc) Youre welcome. This is good advice if you're going to be in the area. Check into homeland security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popeman38 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I am getting out of the Marine Corps in about 5 or 6 months and I have no idea what to do for work.All I know is what I don' t want to do. I don't want to re-enlist. I don't really want to work private security. I don't want to leave the United States. But beyond that, I have no idea what I want to do or even how to look. I haven't been this frustrated and down in a long time. I feel almost helpless. Every time I try to get started, I just get distracted or stop for no reason. It took me an entire weekend to type out a one and a half page resume. I used to bang out 10 page papers in a night back in college. So how did you decide? What do you do in the Marines? Do you have a degree (what field)? Do you want to work in the DMV area? Do you/can you hold a clearance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Wish I knew. My main problem is that I'm so indecisive. And to be honest sometimes my motivation/ambition is lacking. I have a possible job opportunity in Turkey or Qatar, so even though I don't really wanna go I'm just going to do it because it is a great opportunity. That's not guaranteed, the job that is. Another one of my problems is that I place personal goals (i.e. relationships) over career a lot. Like all the time. I don't know if that is necessarily a bad thing though, but there needs to be a balance. I should've been a journalist I feel. That was my true calling, all I do is type on the internet all day long. anyway lol. Now I'm an after-school tutor. Don't start for a couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 In my opinion the best way to figure out what you want to do is just to start doing as much stuff as possible to get a better idea of what you do and don't like. Apply for anything and everything that pays enough, go on interviews, and see what sounds interesting. Do you have hobbies? You obviously like sports, what else do you like? Do you like working with people? Mentoring people? Helping people? Fixing stuff? Working with computers? Are you creative? Do you focus more on the big picture or the details? Do you like public speaking/presentations? Do you want to sit in an office? Do you want a fixed schedule? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rypien 91 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm 31 and it took me until I was 28 or 29 to finally get serious about school. I had bounced around a few diff. comm. colleges and nothing ever stuck. I was working an ok job, but decide that enough was enough. I went back to school to get my teaching degree and finally got to a big boy school (UCF) and it was there, I decided I did not want to teach, haha. I realized, "hey, I love sports, I don't mind kids, why not recreation?" So here I am, one year away from graduating and hopefully starting my internship with a softball complex soon.. The point is, it takes some people a while, others know right away, but guys like us it takes some time. You will figure it out. It all works out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 one day while I was in prison and just thought that God hated me. Then I met this priest (he was in the cell next to mine). And he convinced me that what happened to me wasn't just pure coincidence, but I had been set up by people who I thought were my friends. Since that day, my every action has been devoted towards planning out and executing a beautiful revenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 When I was 19 and not doing well in college my father decided what I was going to do with my life as working at DQ and staying out till 3 every morning while living in his house wasn't to his liking. After 10 years in his profession (which didn't turn out half bad) I went back to school and chose geography because I really like maps and I knew there was good work to be had. All I can say is no matter what you do, do your best and then some. You'll get noticed and additional opportunities will present themselves. Not everyone can have their whole lives planned out when their young. We don't all work that way, but if you work your ass off no matter what it is you're doing you'll do fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I decided I wanted to get a job and earn money so I could live comfortably and have a family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hdf561 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I knew I wanted to be a fireman since I was age 13.....My dad is a fireman, my younger brother is a fireman, a couple of my cousins are fireman......I knew I wanted to do it but pushed it away for a few years cause I didnt want to conform, at 15 I joined the FD as a volly went on my first call and I was hooked 14 years later I still love it just as much as I did when I went on that first call. Im lucky though my wife is similar to you....she has a Masters degree and works a good job but its not what she wanted to do with her life but is now trapped because of the money and our kids....Take your time and what ever you do do not commit to someone or at least do not have children until you get is striaght all it will do is frustrate you and hurt the relationship if your unhappy in your work as it is a big part of you no matter how much emphasis you place on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosher Ham Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 ^^^ That wouldn't work for me. As selfish as I am, I would HATE for my wife to feel trapped because of a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 work... is like, work. work is for chumps. work is the opposite of fulfilment, it takes you away from the things that you truly enjoy (family friends hobbies). but work is necessary, both to be able to afford those things, and to keep you grounded to the planet (it ensures that you wash everyday, and shave, and get out of the house, and interact with people) the point is, don't over emphasize "your calling", particularly if you really don't have one. Get a job that you don't hate, with people that you enjoy being with--- but don't expect nirvana bliss from work, because it is VERY rare (otherwise you wouldn't have to be paid handsomely to do it). my job is about as good as i could possibly hope to expect, i think. (it both pays fairly decently-although not extravagantly so, and provides some social fulfilment-- my job entails promoting investments in poor coutries, ie helping people) but i still would rather work 1 week a month and do other stuff instead. It is natural, i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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