NationStates Jolt Archive

well, its a bit complicated and i'm not sure where to start... my parents own their own family business and have done ever since they moved away from London after having me in 1985. by the time i was 7 or so i was pretty aware of the wider world, politics, what was going on with their business and the like. the economic recession of '92 hit their business hard as they worked closely with many european clients which, after black wednesday, could no longer afford to work with my parents' company. add to that some other complications with employees and a scandalous client and you end up with almost 15 years of constant struggling, stress and hardship on their part (like i've said many times on this forum; you earn 50 grand in a year but 55 grand goes right out again to pay debts, you're worse off than someone on minimum wage), and me, for as long as i can remember, witnessing it without any hope or means of helping like i so desperately wanted to do.
i remember sleeping over in their office numerous times. a lot of time after school was spent playing (quietly, on my own) in the office, and so often i remember being the only one left at school after all the other kids had been picked up, sitting on the corner of the playground watching the cars go by waitng for them alone :(


so that's a view of what its been like being a witness to this business that has sucked the life out of the people i love and respect so much. it wasn't a terrible childhood and i bet for sure many, many children have had it a lot worse than me, but (to use a word i found particularly fitting when talking about this earlier today) it has been a lifetime of emotional torture watching their struggle while being able to do so little.

one of the things i have been able to do is take the blame for things.... and i now realise its part of my character and so ingrained in me it comes totally naturally. if almost anything goes wrong i will try to take the blame for it as to ease the concience of others (ie my parents). i think this may have been a factor in the terribly low self-esteem i suffer/suffered from, and was certainly taken advantage of by others at university.

i'll stop ranting now and get to the point.

i'll be looking for a new job sometime soon, maybe in the next year. what i need help with is figuring out what jobs are out there that would suit what i want. the reason why i explained all the back-story up there was because i've been trapped in this high-emotion pressurecooker for most of my life, and that severely influences what i want out of a job (yes i have decided, sadly, to give up on helping my parents (i work for them at the moment) and find my own way in life as i cannot take it any more)


what i want from a job:

low stress (both work-related and emotional-stress)
creative
productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)
different (not every day the same)
preferably working outside (not a desk-job)
> non-competitive working environment
being able to go home at 5 every day and leave the job behind
enough pay to live on as i am accustomed to (at least 12k a year at a guess)


so what jobs are out there that'll fit all that? (if any)

i am on medication for clinical depression at the moment, largely (i think) due to these stresses and the "emotional torutre" of the last 15+ years. i'm 21 and have dropped out of university (due to the depression).
i'm really stuck on what to do, and would love any earnest help or advice, as i have nowehere else to go for help (i can't talk to my parents about it that much, i've lost all my friends thanks to the depression, and my girlfriend is a wonderful help and gives me hope, but i need to know exactly what jobs could suit my needs)


my current favourite idea, btw, is to start my own photography studio as that is my passion and would fulfil most of the requirements above (especially if i worked on my own lol). however there are problems with that (i hate photographing people for a start) but everything requires effort, and i am willing to work to find happiness.

Postman Pat:)

edit: though it would be Postman Pure Metal then

Get a construction job

* low stress (both work-related and emotional-stress)
* creative (well, you build things, eh?)
* productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)
* different (not every day the same) (shovel dirt one day, put put beams the next)
* preferably working outside (not a desk-job)
* > non-competitive working environment
* being able to go home at 5 every day and leave the job behind
* enough pay to live on as i am accustomed to (at least 12k a year at a guess)

A bit of hard work, but otherwise, it fits your description

Yeah, PM, construction was going to be my suggestion too...not sure whether you guys are having any sort of 'boom' in that regard or not...but yeah.

You could also be a part-time gigolo if you want...but I bet Glitzy would kick your hiney...

If photography is your passion, then you ought to try to do something with that, but I don't know about a studio--seems like an awfully large outlay of cash to begin with and not much upside, and if you want a reduction in stress, the last thing you want is to be running your own business. You might try free-lancing or news photography. Not much money in it, but your outlay is generally limited to your equipment, and I'm assuming you're nearly set there as it is.

Whatever you do, you need to sponge off of welfare and get paid in cash. Say you donate a lot and deduct it from your taxes. It works.

One thing....
I think you could probably handle a medium amount of stress, if it was doing something you really enjoyed i.e. if the stress was worth it, and the positives outweighed the negative *nods*

:fluffle: :fluffle:

Why not find out if there's a local paper that has a jobs section one day a week? There is in most places, and you can start getting it ASAP and see if there's anything you fancy.

A specific job? Something in a school, maybe. A bit more abstract on the creativeness, but it's there. NOT teaching - that entails more stress than a suspension bridge and the chance of leaving work behind at 5pm is exactly 0. But classroom assistant or something, perhaps?

One thing....
I think you could probably handle a medium amount of stress, if it was doing something you really enjoyed i.e. if the stress was worth it, and the positives outweighed the negative *nods*

Stress is actually very helpful for getting anything done. For instance, I can't usually finish anything until the night before it's due. Actually, this kind of low-to-medium-grade stress has in part helped me get over my own clinical depression (remember that, kids?)—I always have something else to do and finish, so I can't waste time thinking about myself—although certain types of high-grade stress can be dangerous, because it activates my own depression trigger, social anxiety (which is also PM's IIRC).

Stress is a little bit like fat: you have to learn how much, and of what, is good for you, and when to stop intaking it.

Stress is actually very helpful for getting anything done. For instance, I can't usually finish anything until the night before it's due.

I'm the same way, last minute genius.

Hey PM, if you bounce around from job to job because you get bored easily, don't let that get you down. If you aren't the type to settle into a 40-year career at the same company, waiting for your golden handshake, just tell yourself, THAT'S OKAY. For people who tend towards depression, myself included, a certain amount of change is good. So if you try out a job, and after a while it just doesn't do it for you...move on, and don't feel guilty about it. Some people want to be in the same place forever....that doesn't mean you have to want the same thing.

Why not find out if there's a local paper that has a jobs section one day a week? There is in most places, and you can start getting it ASAP and see if there's anything you fancy.

A specific job? Something in a school, maybe. A bit more abstract on the creativeness, but it's there. NOT teaching - that entails more stress than a suspension bridge and the chance of leaving work behind at 5pm is exactly 0. But classroom assistant or something, perhaps?

good thinking, but one thing i didn't put on the list is that i need something that is actually challenging. not un-stressful but mind-numbingly dull.... there has to be a balance between the two, and i think teacher's assisstant is gonna be on the wrong side heh.


as for construction.... i'm not much of a people person lol. i don't think i'd last 5 minutes :p

well, its a bit complicated and i'm not sure where to start... my parents own their own family business and have done ever since they moved away from London after having me in 1985. by the time i was 7 or so i was pretty aware of the wider world, politics, what was going on with their business and the like. the economic recession of '92 hit their business hard as they worked closely with many european clients which, after black wednesday, could no longer afford to work with my parents' company. add to that some other complications with employees and a scandalous client and you end up with almost 15 years of constant struggling, stress and hardship on their part (like i've said many times on this forum; you earn 50 grand in a year but 55 grand goes right out again to pay debts, you're worse off than someone on minimum wage), and me, for as long as i can remember, witnessing it without any hope or means of helping like i so desperately wanted to do.
i remember sleeping over in their office numerous times. a lot of time after school was spent playing (quietly, on my own) in the office, and so often i remember being the only one left at school after all the other kids had been picked up, sitting on the corner of the playground watching the cars go by waitng for them alone :(


so that's a view of what its been like being a witness to this business that has sucked the life out of the people i love and respect so much. it wasn't a terrible childhood and i bet for sure many, many children have had it a lot worse than me, but (to use a word i found particularly fitting when talking about this earlier today) it has been a lifetime of emotional torture watching their struggle while being able to do so little.

one of the things i have been able to do is take the blame for things.... and i now realise its part of my character and so ingrained in me it comes totally naturally. if almost anything goes wrong i will try to take the blame for it as to ease the concience of others (ie my parents). i think this may have been a factor in the terribly low self-esteem i suffer/suffered from, and was certainly taken advantage of by others at university.

i'll stop ranting now and get to the point.

i'll be looking for a new job sometime soon, maybe in the next year. what i need help with is figuring out what jobs are out there that would suit what i want. the reason why i explained all the back-story up there was because i've been trapped in this high-emotion pressurecooker for most of my life, and that severely influences what i want out of a job (yes i have decided, sadly, to give up on helping my parents (i work for them at the moment) and find my own way in life as i cannot take it any more)


what i want from a job:

low stress (both work-related and emotional-stress)
creative
productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)
different (not every day the same)
preferably working outside (not a desk-job)
> non-competitive working environment
being able to go home at 5 every day and leave the job behind
enough pay to live on as i am accustomed to (at least 12k a year at a guess)


so what jobs are out there that'll fit all that? (if any)

i am on medication for clinical depression at the moment, largely (i think) due to these stresses and the "emotional torutre" of the last 15+ years. i'm 21 and have dropped out of university (due to the depression).
i'm really stuck on what to do, and would love any earnest help or advice, as i have nowehere else to go for help (i can't talk to my parents about it that much, i've lost all my friends thanks to the depression, and my girlfriend is a wonderful help and gives me hope, but i need to know exactly what jobs could suit my needs)


my current favourite idea, btw, is to start my own photography studio as that is my passion and would fulfil most of the requirements above (especially if i worked on my own lol). however there are problems with that (i hate photographing people for a start) but everything requires effort, and i am willing to work to find happiness.

You can be an artist! It's perfect for you! It meets all of your requirements, AND you'll make HEAPS AND HEAPS OF MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

suck it up and get a job at a local photography studio. even if its the portrait studio at walmart.

beginning jobs always suck but it will give you good experience working with people and the cameras used for such things. if you get good at it, you can move up to a more artsy kinda place. if you get REALLY good at it you can move on to wildlife photography.

i know that photographing babies has little to do with photographing polar bears but you have to start somewhere. wildlife photography meets all your requirements.

You can be an artist! It's perfect for you! It meets all of your requirements, AND you'll make HEAPS AND HEAPS OF MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or end up alone and destitute, missing an ear...

Construction. Pay is often brilliant, but let's hope you know Polish.

Or end up alone and destitute, missing an ear...

What makes you say that?

Or end up alone and destitute, missing an ear...

Oh come on, that only happens to artists that have... uh... clinical depression... and go unrecognised throughout their lifetimes..... meaning they don't have jobs....


Nevermind.

good thinking, but one thing i didn't put on the list is that i need something that is actually challenging. not un-stressful but mind-numbingly dull.... there has to be a balance between the two, and i think teacher's assisstant is gonna be on the wrong side heh.

You might be surprised at how challenging it is, actually. But it will involve a lot of contact with kids, probably quite a lot of that with children who're... Somewhat unusual... So might not be up your street.
(I know for a fact it'd soon drive me quite mad ;) )

What makes you say that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

Guess you're right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh

Worse than that, you could end up a pretentious twat like most modern artists.

I fear I can't really help you make a decision there, for I'm probably the last person who can give you advice... (Well, you know the stories - I'm still struggeling with low self-esteem and will make a medication switch soon)

Anyway, whichever way you go on - I believe you can and will make it!

Maybe this will give you a little chuckle: "In Soviet Russia, job finds you!" ;)

(Well, you know the stories - I'm still struggeling with low self-esteem and will make a medication switch soon)

(Actually, a medication switch is not particularly bad. There will be a rough period of a couple of weeks when you'll feel awful and be unable to accomplish anything. Then one day, you'll wake up and realise that it's not actually that bad, and there's a lot more to do in life than worry about than your own problems.

PM, if you're physically capable of it, and willing to exercise regularly and keep some kind of fairly regular routine, I'd recommend slowly tapering off medication as well. This is speaking unofficially as an ex-depression patient, not a psychiatrist, of course; this is different for everyone. But if you're of a similar mentality to me, it could help in the long run. I'm of the firm opinion that SSRIs and other antidepressants should only be used as a temporary aid, and using them for too long will make you reliant on them and quite possibly cause more problems than it helps. This is a bit off-topic, so if you feel the need to talk about this you can send me a TG or...something.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled discussion.)

Photo Journalist.

Photo Journalist.

*likes the idea*

*likes the idea*

I've been thinking about it myself, perhaps you could do it first and be my puppet? Hm?

Well, I think you'd be great at it.

Being a photo journalist is a high pressure job which requires a competitive streak and laughs in the face at your desire to leave it every day as soon as the little hand hovers over five.

I say military gunner observation post sounds good maybe something in intelligence

...why is everyone looking at me like that?

suck it up and get a job at a local photography studio. even if its the portrait studio at walmart.

beginning jobs always suck but it will give you good experience working with people and the cameras used for such things. if you get good at it, you can move up to a more artsy kinda place. if you get REALLY good at it you can move on to wildlife photography.

i know that photographing babies has little to do with photographing polar bears but you have to start somewhere. wildlife photography meets all your requirements.

I agree, but, if you can, get a job at a non-chain photography studio, learn how they run the business, then when you feel like you really know how to make money, open your own.

my current favourite idea, btw, is to start my own photography studio as that is my passion and would fulfil most of the requirements above (especially if i worked on my own lol). however there are problems with that (i hate photographing people for a start) but everything requires effort, and i am willing to work to find happiness.

you don’t need to take photos of people. consider other artists who probably have a web site/cd/portfolio of their work. you can tell who propped up a piece against a sheet at home and tried to get the lighting right, and who took the time to have it professionally done. consider fields such as real estate, where they do photo tours of properties that are for sale. there is plenty of commericial work you could do to pay the bills and still have the ability to do your creative work.

My parents both went to art college, and my mother worked free-lance for photographers as a bookkeeper for 20 or so years, so I know many artists and photographers around 50 years old. Many of the one's who tried to make their money by doing their art and photography ended up very depressed because of the comrompises that they had to make for their art inorder to make money. The happier people tend to be the people who were able to get jobs that weren't that high-paying, but they weren'r emotionally draining or time consuming. And many of these people were able to create art that they liked and made money on the side selling their art. Proffesional photographers always seem very stressed and emotionally drained, although definatly not all of them.

The jobs that some of the happier people (including my parents) have include freelance bookkeeping, working for an artdealer, working to find homes for nyc's homeless, an elementary school teacher, editing a small local magazine, being a part time cook. On the other hand, if you are able to make a living making good art that you like, thats the ideal, and still the dream of both of my parents. And most of the people I'm thinking of are pretty poor, so maybe that path isn't the greatest. And your still pretty young, so there is a ton of time to change directions in life if you feel that you didn't make the right decision. And also follow your heart tells you to do. Or something

ignore the horrible grammer/spelling. :(

let me promote my country/ province Canada Alberta, you need a job come here, just about anything you want, you can have, the labour shortage is critical , and you needn't learn Polish....

construction-frightening amounts of cash to be made....heavy equipment operators 100K.....carpenters/framers 100-150K.....

well, its a bit complicated and i'm not sure where to start... my parents own their own family business and have done ever since they moved away from London after having me in 1985. by the time i was 7 or so i was pretty aware of the wider world, politics, what was going on with their business and the like. the economic recession of '92 hit their business hard as they worked closely with many european clients which, after black wednesday, could no longer afford to work with my parents' company. add to that some other complications with employees and a scandalous client and you end up with almost 15 years of constant struggling, stress and hardship on their part (like i've said many times on this forum; you earn 50 grand in a year but 55 grand goes right out again to pay debts, you're worse off than someone on minimum wage), and me, for as long as i can remember, witnessing it without any hope or means of helping like i so desperately wanted to do.
i remember sleeping over in their office numerous times. a lot of time after school was spent playing (quietly, on my own) in the office, and so often i remember being the only one left at school after all the other kids had been picked up, sitting on the corner of the playground watching the cars go by waitng for them alone :(


so that's a view of what its been like being a witness to this business that has sucked the life out of the people i love and respect so much. it wasn't a terrible childhood and i bet for sure many, many children have had it a lot worse than me, but (to use a word i found particularly fitting when talking about this earlier today) it has been a lifetime of emotional torture watching their struggle while being able to do so little.

one of the things i have been able to do is take the blame for things.... and i now realise its part of my character and so ingrained in me it comes totally naturally. if almost anything goes wrong i will try to take the blame for it as to ease the concience of others (ie my parents). i think this may have been a factor in the terribly low self-esteem i suffer/suffered from, and was certainly taken advantage of by others at university.

i'll stop ranting now and get to the point.

i'll be looking for a new job sometime soon, maybe in the next year. what i need help with is figuring out what jobs are out there that would suit what i want. the reason why i explained all the back-story up there was because i've been trapped in this high-emotion pressurecooker for most of my life, and that severely influences what i want out of a job (yes i have decided, sadly, to give up on helping my parents (i work for them at the moment) and find my own way in life as i cannot take it any more)


what i want from a job:

low stress (both work-related and emotional-stress)
creative
productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)
different (not every day the same)
preferably working outside (not a desk-job)
> non-competitive working environment
being able to go home at 5 every day and leave the job behind
enough pay to live on as i am accustomed to (at least 12k a year at a guess)


so what jobs are out there that'll fit all that? (if any)

i am on medication for clinical depression at the moment, largely (i think) due to these stresses and the "emotional torutre" of the last 15+ years. i'm 21 and have dropped out of university (due to the depression).
i'm really stuck on what to do, and would love any earnest help or advice, as i have nowehere else to go for help (i can't talk to my parents about it that much, i've lost all my friends thanks to the depression, and my girlfriend is a wonderful help and gives me hope, but i need to know exactly what jobs could suit my needs)


my current favourite idea, btw, is to start my own photography studio as that is my passion and would fulfil most of the requirements above (especially if i worked on my own lol). however there are problems with that (i hate photographing people for a start) but everything requires effort, and i am willing to work to find happiness.

Fluffer?

I don't think there's a job out there that doesn't have a fair ammount of stress in it from time to time. What counts though is how well you deal with that stress and the number one thing affecting how well you deal with the stress is how much you enjoy your job.

You seem interested in photography, how about film crew? As a standard photographer you're director and photographer in one, you have to pose the subject and you have to motivate them. As a film cameraman the director handles the people and let's you know where he wants you to take the shot from. I've no idea how hard that would be to get into but having been in a few films myself I can tell you that it would be LONG hours though. But there's far more than just people to take pictures of anyway.

It's true, I might be talking bollox but if I've given you one idea to think about even for a minute or two then it was worth while. :)

I wish you the best of luck with finding enjoyable employment.

what i want from a job:

low stress (both work-related and emotional-stress)
creative
productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)
different (not every day the same)
preferably working outside (not a desk-job)
> non-competitive working environment
being able to go home at 5 every day and leave the job behind
enough pay to live on as i am accustomed to (at least 12k a year at a guess)


I'll be honest and say that in my opinion, that list seems like a lot more than most people can hope for. :( You might be able to get two or three of those criteria.

Postman Pat:)

edit: though it would be Postman Pure Metal then


That'd be an awesome show.

I say military gunner observation post sounds good...

...why is everyone looking at me like that?

Maybe because he said LOW stress? :p

PM - Take pics of concerts for music magazines! :D

Fluffer?

# productive (as in producing things that i can see or touch or taste)

:eek:

:eek:

Winner of thread.

Winner of thread.

Awesomes. :D

Awesomes. :D

So is it the link or my browser blocking me from posting your eyes here? ;)

good thinking, but one thing i didn't put on the list is that i need something that is actually challenging. not un-stressful but mind-numbingly dull.... there has to be a balance between the two, and i think teacher's assisstant is gonna be on the wrong side heh.


as for construction.... i'm not much of a people person lol. i don't think i'd last 5 minutes :p

When I droppedout of college at 21, I got a job driving a truck for a year. You never have to talk to another human being if you don't want to, and it pays top dollar. It's a challenge, you see new places constantly, and you can take your vacations whereever you want, so you can see as much of whatever country you're in as you like, and probably other countries as well. I got to see 40 states in the first three months of work alone.

As for stress, I'd call it "medium." There's absolutely no physical work, and traffic is light outside major cities, but random screw-ups and bad weather hit you occasionally. However, you make your own hours, more or less, and it's almost impossible to get fired. Even if you fall asleep and annihilate an entire family, you still get two more warnings before they fire you. Also, you basically never get drug-tested (my company was once every 3 years), AND, if you test positive, you only get a warning and a week off. No big deal.

Maybe something to consider, especially if you like to see interesting places. It's not 9-5, but there's a lot of freedom there. Also, you don't pay taxes or rent or utilities. Not bad.

So is it the link or my browser blocking me from posting your eyes here? ;)

My eyes?

PM, you should be something to do with advertising, working on animations and the so? Making websites.

I really think that fits all of the critera, except for the coming home at 5 and forgeting your work perhaps.

Anyway, PM. You're a good guy and intelligent (as what I've seen in the forum) and you deserve a good job, it'd be much better if Britain was Communist! ;)

When I droppedout of college at 21, I got a job driving a truck for a year. You never have to talk to another human being if you don't want to, and it pays top dollar. It's a challenge, you see new places constantly, and you can take your vacations whereever you want, so you can see as much of whatever country you're in as you like, and probably other countries as well. I got to see 40 states in the first three months of work alone.

As for stress, I'd call it "medium." There's absolutely no physical work, and traffic is light outside major cities, but random screw-ups and bad weather hit you occasionally. However, you make your own hours, more or less, and it's almost impossible to get fired. Even if you fall asleep and annihilate an entire family, you still get two more warnings before they fire you. Also, you basically never get drug-tested (my company was once every 3 years), AND, if you test positive, you only get a warning and a week off. No big deal.

Maybe something to consider, especially if you like to see interesting places. It's not 9-5, but there's a lot of freedom there. Also, you don't pay taxes or rent or utilities. Not bad.

What company was this, again? :p

After several years of lurking I have returned to offer you no helpful advice at all, but I will still continue my post, just as soon as I finish masterbating.

Become a dishwasher at a fine dining restaurant. The pay is good, the work is physical but not too taxing, you can work with some awesome chefs (don't work in a kitchen full of cunts) so you only have to deal with a small number of people each day. The food is great (and usually free). The work is mentally challenging and requires a lot of planning. If you do your job well the whole kitchen loves you, they will cry when you leave and give you expensive presents.

Also helps if you have free access to a walkin coldroom used to store booze.

Become an Engineer.;)

Doesn't that take just a little training? I mean, the council won't let me build a house out of matchsticks... (bastards)

Nah, being an Engineer is almost as easy as being Jesus, all you have to do is sit on your fat butt looking down on everyone else.

Move to the states. Become the stage manager for my band. Get paid to design/run/watch pyscadelic shows. Hang with me. Buy taco's.

Seriously though, if photography is what you love, go for it. You may make it, you may not. That depends on smarts, hard work, and a whole lot of luck. But be aware that doing at as your own business will create stress.

Tree Surgeon

Landscape Gardener

Park Warden

Become a dishwasher at a fine dining restaurant. The pay is good, the work is physical but not too taxing, you can work with some awesome chefs (don't work in a kitchen full of cunts) so you only have to deal with a small number of people each day. The food is great (and usually free). The work is mentally challenging and requires a lot of planning. If you do your job well the whole kitchen loves you, they will cry when you leave and give you expensive presents.

Mentally challenging? Dishwashing?
Having worked for a year as a dish washer in the top local restaurant I found the job required the least thought of any i've ever done. After a week it should all be instinct - what things are big jobs needing more time spent on them (big greasy pans etc), what are high-demand items you need to pass through quickly, when you have time to take a quick break from the work etc. 95% of the time i spent talking about football while working - not really thinking about the job at all.

Well you obviously did less than a quarter of a million dollars each night.

Yeah, it probably wasn't as big a place. Even so, I think you'd have to be pretty lucky to get work somewhere that had such a high turnover it was 'mentally challenging' but wasn't a stressful job. I can only imagine, unless you worked in a more managerial capacity, that you'd be rushed off your feet for hours on end (and every time you snatch a minute some ****** chef spots you and sends you off on some half-baked errand for them...).

A specific job? Something in a school, maybe. A bit more abstract on the creativeness, but it's there. NOT teaching - that entails more stress than a suspension bridge and the chance of leaving work behind at 5pm is exactly 0. But classroom assistant or something, perhaps?

it's a good idea - you get the spontaneity/creativity of working in the education field but not the workload/stress of a class teacher - the downside for you could be working with a lot of people all the time - students/teachers, etc...even at the best of times, schools are high-energy and stressful

i'd suggest horticulture - landscaping/gardening is very creative, very peaceful, good for you physically and plants are far less complicated then people - you treat them well, they respond positively... no complicated relationships :) - it's outdoors, non-competitive and you'll sleep really well after a good day's work. And your photography would fit in well, too, horticultural photography is an industry and your subjects don't talk! It can be extremely rewarding and is naturally therapeutic for mind and body. That's my two cents worth, really...you just need to start somewhere.

If it doesn't turn out to be the right thing, that's OK - chalk it up to experience and take a shot at something else. The days of doing the same thing for 40 years are over - there's absolutely no reason why you can't do whatever you choose. All circumstantial inhibitors aside, if you wanted to pack up, move to Peru and breed lamas tomorrow, you could. I'm not saying you should :) of course but there's really nothing stopping you from treating this as a bit of an adventure and trying something/anything that takes your interest.

I'm sure they're lovely people but you're not your parents and you clearly don't want to repeat the choices they made. Go for it, you'll never know for sure until you give something a try.

My eyes?

Yeah, you know ... the one that makes WYTYG all twitterpated.

;)

Well, I would find something small first. Maybe a paid internship or apprenticeship somewhere in a field you like.

I've had 2 jobs since high school (graduated Class of 2005, w00t!):

1. Theatrical electrical technician for an outdoor ampitheatre in my hometown.

I have to say, the theatre job, as little as I was paid and as much physical work it was in 95 degree weather in the middle of summer, was probably the best job that I've ever had.

2. I currently work for Defender Technologies Group, LLC (Defender Hosting, PowerVPS, Power360Hosting, PowerVS, East Coast Gaming Network) as an Operations Engineer in our Virginia datacenter space. It's a fast-paced, high stress job, but I'm making more money than most other 19-year olds - and some adults in my family!

In the end, do something that you think will open new doors for your future AND that you will have fun with.

Yeah, you know ... the one that makes WYTYG all twitterpated.

;)

*narrows said eyes*

Who are you? Speak! *gets out phonebook and holds it menacingly*

After several years of lurking I have returned to offer you no helpful advice at all, but I will still continue my post, just as soon as I finish masterbating.

Become a dishwasher at a fine dining restaurant. The pay is good, the work is physical but not too taxing, you can work with some awesome chefs (don't work in a kitchen full of cunts) so you only have to deal with a small number of people each day. The food is great (and usually free). The work is mentally challenging and requires a lot of planning. If you do your job well the whole kitchen loves you, they will cry when you leave and give you expensive presents.

Also helps if you have free access to a walkin coldroom used to store booze.

Dishwashing is, in fact rather low stress and if I wasn't such an OCD bastard I might actually enjoy my position as a dishwasher.

"pay is good" - How good is "good" in a fine dining restaurant? I'm currently a dishwasher at Perkins Family restaurant and get paid $8/hr. It's not a bigtime place but it definitely isn't a mom and pops place either. We also have a few cunts as well and our (employees) food isn't free. We get a lame employee meal where they take $3/day ($30/paychck) and can get any meal we like under $8, with the exception of specials, seafood, and appetizers. The employee meal is also non-negotiable, so if I just want a pb&j sandwich (which we don't sell, and also happens to be cheaper/day than $3 anyways..) they take $3 anyways. Thieving bastards.

So, are you talking about the likes of Red lobster, Longhorn Steak House, etc? (maybe even Cracker Barrel)...


Inquiring minds looking for a better employer need to know. :confused:

You could always run up to people, flash their picture with a Polaroid and then demand they give you $5. :D