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Career advice - "Do What You Love and You'll Never Work a Day"

Cornishman

Cornishman

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Jan 21, 2008
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Good afternoon and welcome to my thread.

Today's thread is centered around career advice:

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT A CAREER" I hear you ask?
Well, basically I wanna do something nice for the 'me' in 10 years.

The problem is I'm starting from a v low point.
My CV is terrible. I have v few qualifications/GCSEs etc & I turned 30 just recently - still unable to work out exactly what it is I wanna do with my life, I took an aptitude test for some insight;

I have an INTP personality and my list of ideal/recommended careers are as follows:

Scientists - especially Physics, Chemistry
Photographers
Strategic Planners
Mathematicians
University Professors
Computer Programmers or Systems Analysts
Technical Writers
Engineers
Lawyers / Attorneys
Judges
Forensic Research
Forestry and Park Rangers

Now. I wouldn't have a clue where to go from here.
Chemistry has always fascinated me, but the subject is so vast and there's always a chance I could end up working in yet another soul destroying environment with little money to boot.

If anyone has any info/advice on where I could/should start it shall be mucho appreciated.
 
From that list I think you should be a University Professor.

Fucking stupid tests.

Forestry/Park Ranger sounds ace, but very fucking hard to get into now...

I landed in my current job nearly 9 years ago, completely by accident, only meant to do it for 3 months, but I love it.

Here's my career advice

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Click to expand...

Try whatever comes up, ask around for cash jobs locally, we're lucky down here there's a lot of that sort of work about.

And get your email registered on royal mail website, there prob isn't anything available now, but when something comes up they'll email you. Its the hardest job in the world (evidenced here, you'll have to scroll to the last post on the page) , but its very nice if you're the sort of person who likes it, lol.
 
Have you considered doing a 1 year access course n then a degree . One that will actually mean something . It's not like you would be a 18 year old leaving home for the 1st time . Also you will be proper focused so you should get a decent pass .

I know it sounds like a long way round but if it means that you will be qualified for something your passionate about fuk i dunno mate .
When i left school @ 15 i got on ye olde YTS lasted 6 months told the Boss to fuk himself then has about 20+ jobs in 5 years. So maybe i'm not the best to advice:)

Oh for the record & cos its relevant to MM post . My favourite job ever was as a Royal Mail Postman . I used to do 6 day week 5:15am starts , i was only booked for 27.5 hours but most weeks would do 46 . That doubler on a Saturday would pay about £50 on its own . Oh & back then if you lived in a area with gradients you got a weekly bonus & we used to get paid for each door to door ( junk ) sometimes 3p each for the heavier ones . I had 315 houses on my walk so that junk sure made me a good bit of cash . I here these days they don't pay you for them MM?
 
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I'm not sure why working for someone else is a "mugs game", it's been a reasonably successful route for me and has much lower risk in many ways, I think it takes a particular sort of person to work for yourself and some careers just can't be done self employed.

I'm with MM on this, get yourself into employment first and see where it takes you especially since I'm assuming your CV isn't packed with work experience at the moment. If a permanent job is difficult to get you could try signing up for a temping agency for a bit, it was a long time ago but I did that for a while I used to have to get to office for 6am and sit and wait to see what came in. After a couple of weeks of a few days here and there I got longer jobs as I was reliably turning up. I got offered 2 permanent jobs but managed to land myself a tea boy type role at a big electronics company and took that, the fact that I was working at the time really helped in getting that role, it's always easier to get a job when you have one already and you are already settled into the routine.

I've got no degree, never had a career plan but done OK, had some laughs, travelled a fair bit and done some interesting things. Even if you want to do some qualifications or try your hand at learning a trade I'd still advise getting into employment of some sort.
 
Can you drive safely cornish? Why not start off with something simple like that rather than plunging straight into lion-taming.
 
I'm currently doing a job (which has good career prospects) which I don't particularly love but crucially, don't truly HATE while doing a degree in chemistry part time through the OU. While I'm passionate about my studies, it's had to take a back seat recently as work has been mega hectic - just one of those things though I guess :S and cos it's open university I can take a break relatively easily, which i'm probably going to have to do next year while i prepare to re-do the last couple of modules I failed ;)

I don't know where the degree's going to take me careerwise, though. It just felt like something that was important for me to do, so I went with my instincts.
 
I'm not sure why working for someone else is a "mugs game", it's been a reasonably successful route for me and has much lower risk in many ways, I think it takes a particular sort of person to work for yourself and some careers just can't be done self employed.
Click to expand...

I've done it in the past and may well be doing it again soon but I totally think it's a mugs game. You work for someone else you are at their mercy, have to abide by their rules, do what they say etc. They make all the money and pay you a small amount of it for all your hard work. Mugs game.
 
TheSpade said:
I've done it in the past and may well be doing it again soon but I totally think it's a mugs game. You work for someone else you are at their mercy, have to abide by their rules, do what they say etc. They make all the money and pay you a small amount of it for all your hard work. Mugs game.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Some people just value perceived security and comfort over freedom though.
 
I would rather have less money working for myself than much more money working for someone else.
 
Mailmonkey said:
From that list I think you should be a University Professor.

Fucking stupid tests.

Forestry/Park Ranger sounds ace, but very fucking hard to get into now...

I landed in my current job nearly 9 years ago, completely by accident, only meant to do it for 3 months, but I love it.

Here's my career advice



Try whatever comes up, ask around for cash jobs locally, we're lucky down here there's a lot of that sort of work about.

And get your email registered on royal mail website, there prob isn't anything available now, but when something comes up they'll email you. Its the hardest job in the world (evidenced here, you'll have to scroll to the last post on the page) , but its very nice if you're the sort of person who likes it, lol.
Click to expand...

I just checked it out and would deffo consider the royal mail just as something to keep me ticking over.
Cheers for the linkage!

brimz said:
Have you considered doing a 1 year access course n then a degree . One that will actually mean something . It's not like you would be a 18 year old leaving home for the 1st time . Also you will be proper focused so you should get a decent pass .

I know it sounds like a long way round but if it means that you will be qualified for something your passionate about fuk i dunno mate .
When i left school @ 15 i got on ye olde YTS lasted 6 months told the Boss to fuk himself then has about 20+ jobs in 5 years. So maybe i'm not the best to advice:)

Oh for the record & cos its relevant to MM post . My favourite job ever was as a Royal Mail Postman . I used to do 6 day week 5:15am starts , i was only booked for 27.5 hours but most weeks would do 46 . That doubler on a Saturday would pay about £50 on its own . Oh & back then if you lived in a area with gradients you got a weekly bonus & we used to get paid for each door to door ( junk ) sometimes 3p each for the heavier ones . I had 315 houses on my walk so that junk sure made me a good bit of cash . I here these days they don't pay you for them MM?
Click to expand...

The access course sounds like something I could get into.
Do you know if you can claim JSA or ESA whilst doing that kinda thing?

TheSpade said:
Work for yourself as working for someone else is a mugs game.
Click to expand...

Mos def.
I don't really have time for nobhead bosses anymore.

atm23 said:
I'm not sure why working for someone else is a "mugs game", it's been a reasonably successful route for me and has much lower risk in many ways, I think it takes a particular sort of person to work for yourself and some careers just can't be done self employed.

I'm with MM on this, get yourself into employment first and see where it takes you especially since I'm assuming your CV isn't packed with work experience at the moment. If a permanent job is difficult to get you could try signing up for a temping agency for a bit, it was a long time ago but I did that for a while I used to have to get to office for 6am and sit and wait to see what came in. After a couple of weeks of a few days here and there I got longer jobs as I was reliably turning up. I got offered 2 permanent jobs but managed to land myself a tea boy type role at a big electronics company and took that, the fact that I was working at the time really helped in getting that role, it's always easier to get a job when you have one already and you are already settled into the routine.

I've got no degree, never had a career plan but done OK, had some laughs, travelled a fair bit and done some interesting things. Even if you want to do some qualifications or try your hand at learning a trade I'd still advise getting into employment of some sort.
Click to expand...

Like an apprenticeship type thing?
At least that would save me having to sign on and go to college.

CopperChloride said:
I'm currently doing a job (which has good career prospects) which I don't particularly love but crucially, don't truly HATE while doing a degree in chemistry part time through the OU. While I'm passionate about my studies, it's had to take a back seat recently as work has been mega hectic - just one of those things though I guess :S and cos it's open university I can take a break relatively easily, which i'm probably going to have to do next year while i prepare to re-do the last couple of modules I failed ;)

I don't know where the degree's going to take me careerwise, though. It just felt like something that was important for me to do, so I went with my instincts.
Click to expand...

I always wondered how OU works regarding chemistry?
Do they send you a bunsen burner and chemicals in the post? lol.

Mr Smokes Blunts. said:
Agreed. Some people just value perceived security and comfort over freedom though.
Click to expand...

MSB I just done the enneagram personality test and got these results....

Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||||||| 66%
Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||| 46%
Type 3 Image Focus |||||||||||||||| 66%
Type 4 Individualism |||||||||||||||||| 74%
Type 5 Intellectualism |||||||||||||||||||| 86%
Type 6 Security Focus |||||||||||||||||||| 82%
Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 70%
Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||||||||| 78%
Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||| 58%
Click to expand...

Type ---- Score ------- Type behavior motivation
5.......... 21 ........... I must be knowledgeable to survive.
6.......... 20 ........... I must be secure and safe to survive.
8.......... 19 ........... I must be strong and in control to survive.
4.......... 18 ........... I must be unique/different to survive.
7.......... 17 ........... I must be fun and entertained to survive.
1.......... 16 ........... I must be perfect and good to survive.
3......... 16 ........... I must be impressive and attractive to survive.
9.......... 14 ........... I must maintain peace/calm to survive.
2.......... 11 ........... I must be helpful and caring to survive.
Click to expand...

Your main type is Type 5
Your variant stacking is sp/sx/so
Your level of health is very low, i.e. very unhealthy
Based on your health score you would benefit from working on your physical health/fitness & psychological health.

Your main type is which ever behavior you utilize most and/or prefer. Your variant reflects your scoring profile on all nine types: so = social variant (compliant, friendly), sx = sexual variant (assertive, intense), sp = self preservation variant (withdrawn, security seeking)
Click to expand...

Thanks for teh repliez peeps. :D
 
Did you find that helpful then cornish? Does it largely correspond to what you feel your motivations are?
 
Mr Smokes Blunts. said:
Did you find that helpful then cornish? Does it largely correspond to what you feel your motivations are?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's absolutely spot on.

I'm just reading the type 5 career page http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/typefive.asp

My recent sobriety + productivity leads me to believe if I find my niche there will be no stopping me.

They should encourage struggling young people with no direction into doing these tests.
 
Mr Smokes Blunts. said:
Agreed. Some people just value perceived security and comfort over freedom though.
Click to expand...

For me freedom has absolutely nothing to do with work, yes I work for someone else, as in a company but even if I had my own business I would inevitably be working for others in some way, I'm unsure of what's wrong with that ?

I have never sought anything really important from work other than a stable, decent income and a modicum of job satisfaction the latter is more about your own response to the work than the work itself. Seeking something as complicated as perceived "freedom" from something as superficial as work is asking for disappointment.
 
Do these tests test your charmingnesss?

You are very charming Cornish, that comes over on the internet very much - quite a skill :)
 
atm23 said:
For me freedom has absolutely nothing to do with work, yes I work for someone else, as in a company but even if I had my own business I would inevitably be working for others in some way, I'm unsure of what's wrong with that ?

I have never sought anything really important from work other than a stable, decent income and a modicum of job satisfaction the latter is more about your own response to the work than the work itself. Seeking something as complicated as perceived "freedom" from something as superficial as work is asking for disappointment.
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem with that, it's just not for me. The world goes round cus we're all different. By freedom I mean the ability to work when you want to, which I find quite important given my frequent hospital visits. I also like that the harder and better I work the more directly linked to my pay that feels. I see it from both sides though, it's very stressful running your own business. You don't get to just work 9-5 like everybody else, and you have to do all the bollocks stuff like tax. Most of us have to work to live, and i'd rather not have to have anyone above me, even if you think that having customers means that I must have someone above me somewhere.
 
I like the stability, forced routine, and lack of stress in working for someone else in a manual job. I'm pretty much left to my own devices, just follow the rules, tweak them a bit if need be ;)

I'm too lazy and unmotivated to work for myself, succesfully.

When I was teaching I enjoyed the income, but the hours are long, working at home, preparing classes, marking, worrying about students, sorting out pastoral issues, ridiculous amounts of paperwork....

Manual work you go in, come home, and switch off. I don't sit about planning new routes, or new methods of putting paper in a hole.

I agree about Cornishman's charm.

Mr Smokes Blunts. said:
and i'd rather not have to have anyone above me, even if you think that having customers means that I must have someone above me somewhere.
Click to expand...

I don't believe there is anybody above you, anywhere, you are the don!
 
I dont understand that bit, the bit about the customer? Who are your customers?
 
For me freedom has absolutely nothing to do with work, yes I work for someone else, as in a company but even if I had my own business I would inevitably be working for others in some way, I'm unsure of what's wrong with that ?

I have never sought anything really important from work other than a stable, decent income and a modicum of job satisfaction the latter is more about your own response to the work than the work itself. Seeking something as complicated as perceived "freedom" from something as superficial as work is asking for disappointment.
Click to expand...

For me it will be near impossible to be happy / free / content / satisfied etc etc etc working for someone else. Also I want to be my own boss, set my own working hours, take time off when I like, have the freedom to work from anywhere in the world (hence the online thing) and so on. It's not going to happen if I work for someone else.
 
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