Exactly - got a mate who found it really tough (sorry!)
And guess it depends on eventual plans. Problem is I think I want to do something like you are doing now, but I do want to settle down here eventually, have a career etc, and I think they possibly contradict each other.
Wish I'd done it after uni instead of my (very boring, very useless) masters.
Its never too late to change courses or plan. I was strolling through my 20's and then suddenly hit 29 and thought I'm not in a position that I want to stay in the rest of my life. Go for it!
Im the complete opposite, currently earn pretty much nothing but Love getting up and painting everyday. Tbh id rather live like that than hate my next 40 working years
Im the complete opposite, currently earn pretty much nothing but Love getting up and painting everyday. Tbh id rather live like that than hate my next 40 working years
That's a great attitude.
Through my work I have met lots of very, very rich people and although many of them are very happy a good number of them are very sad people, they have nothing outside their work and fortune.
Very often, they have no real friends, they worry constantly about how their money is screwing up their families (access to lots of cash means people can buy whatever drugs or booze they want) and they are often scared and lonely.
As the old saying goes, "There are two ways to get enough, one is to earn more and more, the other is simply to desire less."
My daughter is 25 and she has moved to Australia where she is studying for a year to obtain a qualification that will assist her in getting residency. My nephew and his wife have also moved out there and both have jobs and now have residency. They all love it out there - decent way of life and better prospects. Worth thinking about, but a very big step.
Just for balance I'd like to point out that there are many 50 plus people (both men and women, but mainly men) that I know that followed a very gratifying life in their 20s and 30s and are now approaching retirement with no children and no spouse.
There is, you see, a down side to doing what you want 'as life is short'. Sometimes you have to pass up on your short term dreams to accept (and to offer) commitment. Otherwise you can end up old, lonely and miserable and it's often hard to console yourself that you did have a cracking good time when you were young.
Just for balance I'd like to point out that there are many 50 plus people (both men and women, but mainly men) that I know that followed a very gratifying life in their 20s and 30s and are now approaching retirement with no children and no spouse.
There is, you see, a down side to doing what you want 'as life is short'. Sometimes you have to pass up on your short term dreams to accept (and to offer) commitment. Otherwise you can end up old, lonely and miserable and it's often hard to console yourself that you did have a cracking good time when you were young.
You dont have to become a loner to enjoy the job you do day to day . You could work 20hrs a day in the City earning millions and end up with no family etc to share it with. Through my low income job ive got 4 weeks travelling to Oregon and Amsterdam next month, so even a lowish income can have good perks
Im the complete opposite, currently earn pretty much nothing but Love getting up and painting everyday. Tbh id rather live like that than hate my next 40 working years
Great attitude shine...pity more youngsters don't have the same attitude.
Im the complete opposite, currently earn pretty much nothing but Love getting up and painting everyday. Tbh id rather live like that than hate my next 40 working years
Great attitude shine...pity more youngsters don't have the same attitude.
Really? If we all decided to bum around doing whatever we fancied (and to be clear I'm NOT saying that's what Shine is doing) then there wouldn't really be a lot of tax being paid would there?
In fact, I would say that a lot of youngsters today DO have that sort of attitude. They want to do something they fancy doing and end up doing nothing, rather then just do something to be able to get by and contribute to society. You've only got to look at the lack of "local" kids working in coffee shops, sandwhich bars, etc to realise that.
I did an English degree and decided in the second year that I wanted to be a chef. So I finished my degree and got my first job in a kitchen at The Wharf in Galleon Boulevard. Six months later I was working at Jamie's Italian in Bluewater, got to train with and work alongside my hero Gennaro Contaldo, six months after that I'm working at an amazing restaurant in Hong Kong called Brickhouse. I learn something new every day and improve my skills and organisation every hour. It's a job with clear progression and where your personal improvement is there for all to see.
24 was a very late age to start as a chef. Most people start straight out of school and that means I've taken instructions and bollockings from people younger than me. But I absolutely love the job. Work 78 hours a week for just over minimum wage but I wouldn't swap it for anything.
Think about what you love, then find a way to do it for a living. We all spend far too much of our lives at work to have to suffer through it.
And guess it depends on eventual plans. Problem is I think I want to do something like you are doing now, but I do want to settle down here eventually, have a career etc, and I think they possibly contradict each other.
Not necessarily. A friend from work did VSO before returning to the UK, and actually met her future husband while she was out on her placement. If you're not currently in a serious relationship, and you want to travel and see the world, now is the time to do it while you don't have any permanent ties here. It'll help you grow as a person and develop skills that will be useful to you in whatever career you settle on when you come back. It's much harder to do when you're older, have a settled career, a wife and kids.
Just for balance I'd like to point out that there are many 50 plus people (both men and women, but mainly men) that I know that followed a very gratifying life in their 20s and 30s and are now approaching retirement with no children and no spouse.
There is, you see, a down side to doing what you want 'as life is short'. Sometimes you have to pass up on your short term dreams to accept (and to offer) commitment. Otherwise you can end up old, lonely and miserable and it's often hard to console yourself that you did have a cracking good time when you were young.
You dont have to become a loner to enjoy the job you do day to day . You could work 20hrs a day in the City earning millions and end up with no family etc to share it with. Through my low income job ive got 4 weeks travelling to Oregon and Amsterdam next month, so even a lowish income can have good perks
I was referring to the suggestion that he jack it all in and go travelling and chase dreams. I may not have explained it very well, but it was more of a suggestion that you need to committ to something, rather than earn a lot of money.
Rather like the chap you described in the City, my Uncle was an airline pilot. He had air stewards, flash sports cars, he stayed in 5* hotels all over the world and now he has retired and he has no wife, no children and, obviously, no grandchildren. He lives in a flash Penthouse in Eastborne, he has more money that he can spend and he is, literally, miserable all day long.
Therein lies my choice I guess! The reason I have a choice as well is a little bit of inheritance. Could go on a deposit for a house, could go on training for a TEFL etc etc.
What should you do with your life? Just start saving right now. Nobody is going to be able to afford to keep you in old age - you'll have to do it yourself. (And just hope that the world population explosion doesn't leave you starving to death.) Then of course, China will invade Russia - it will need Russia's natural resources - and then we'll all be stuffed anyway. There that was cheerful wasn't it?
Trying not to bore you too much, let me tell you about me.
Left school wanting to be a rock star, but in the meantime through contacts, got a job as a bank clerk. Hated almost every minute of it, but it was a job. As rock superstardom continued to pass me by, I gained an interest in IT. That was the absolute making of me - I managed to get a job as a trainee computer programmer and within a few years was earning good money but not only that, I was enjoying the work too.
Considering how much of your life is spent at work if you can find something that you at least like, life will be so much better.
I never stopped wanting to be a rock star by the way - I just do that in my own time.
If you want a TEFL type job back in the UK then look at ESOL. @Stu - I much prefered the conversational classes to the text books, you might regret the change.....
NLN, You have had some great advice here. I would suggest you sit down and consider the pro's and cons of everything. At the end of the day you don't want to wake up in 20yrs with regrets on not doing something.
Personally I wish I had come to Asia in my early 20's rather than my late 30's, but I wouldn't have a great wife and a wonderful son and I would probably have worn my d!ck out.
If you still don't have a career you are happy in then charity work home or abroad will be fulfilling and does look good on a CV. It will give you a sense of perspective and help you appreciate how lucky most of us are.
Just for balance I'd like to point out that there are many 50 plus people (both men and women, but mainly men) that I know that followed a very gratifying life in their 20s and 30s and are now approaching retirement with no children and no spouse.
There is, you see, a down side to doing what you want 'as life is short'. Sometimes you have to pass up on your short term dreams to accept (and to offer) commitment. Otherwise you can end up old, lonely and miserable and it's often hard to console yourself that you did have a cracking good time when you were young.
You dont have to become a loner to enjoy the job you do day to day . You could work 20hrs a day in the City earning millions and end up with no family etc to share it with. Through my low income job ive got 4 weeks travelling to Oregon and Amsterdam next month, so even a lowish income can have good perks
I was referring to the suggestion that he jack it all in and go travelling and chase dreams. I may not have explained it very well, but it was more of a suggestion that you need to committ to something, rather than earn a lot of money.
Rather like the chap you described in the City, my Uncle was an airline pilot. He had air stewards, flash sports cars, he stayed in 5* hotels all over the world and now he has retired and he has no wife, no children and, obviously, no grandchildren. He lives in a flash Penthouse in Eastborne, he has more money that he can spend and he is, literally, miserable all day long.
Do loads of Mandy and live off haribos for two years.
This.
There is no easy answer and whatever you do you'll end up wishing you did the other option! During times like these I think the importance of job enjoyment has to be lower down the priority list than usual.
I have just started a new job I hate, applying for other jobs but feel abit down beat. I am young enough to do anything and feel I need to do something different. any thoughts ?
I have not scanned this thread, just read your initial post.
If I have any advice to give that can help it is this, do it now! Do not let the years slip by doing something that will make you unhappy and unfulfilled every day of your life. Time is finite and it does run out in the end. Your powers diminish with age and you only get to realize it too late. Go for your dream, because you have time to fail but you also have time to succeed.
Comments
And guess it depends on eventual plans. Problem is I think I want to do something like you are doing now, but I do want to settle down here eventually, have a career etc, and I think they possibly contradict each other.
Wish I'd done it after uni instead of my (very boring, very useless) masters.
North lower Neil sounds like a big decision for you, luckily for me I don't have any ties apart from family in this country so can easily move abroad.
The rest will all fall into place if you're lucky. And if it don't, just think what a good time you will have had.
Or at least follow Off_it's advice!
Through my work I have met lots of very, very rich people and although many of them are very happy a good number of them are very sad people, they have nothing outside their work and fortune.
Very often, they have no real friends, they worry constantly about how their money is screwing up their families (access to lots of cash means people can buy whatever drugs or booze they want) and they are often scared and lonely.
As the old saying goes, "There are two ways to get enough, one is to earn more and more, the other is simply to desire less."
My daughter is 25 and she has moved to Australia where she is studying for a year to obtain a qualification that will assist her in getting residency. My nephew and his wife have also moved out there and both have jobs and now have residency. They all love it out there - decent way of life and better prospects. Worth thinking about, but a very big step.
There is, you see, a down side to doing what you want 'as life is short'. Sometimes you have to pass up on your short term dreams to accept (and to offer) commitment. Otherwise you can end up old, lonely and miserable and it's often hard to console yourself that you did have a cracking good time when you were young.
In fact, I would say that a lot of youngsters today DO have that sort of attitude. They want to do something they fancy doing and end up doing nothing, rather then just do something to be able to get by and contribute to society. You've only got to look at the lack of "local" kids working in coffee shops, sandwhich bars, etc to realise that.
Many people love law, accountancy and pretty much all jobs, it's the people who love doing nothing at all that are the problem.
24 was a very late age to start as a chef. Most people start straight out of school and that means I've taken instructions and bollockings from people younger than me. But I absolutely love the job. Work 78 hours a week for just over minimum wage but I wouldn't swap it for anything.
Think about what you love, then find a way to do it for a living. We all spend far too much of our lives at work to have to suffer through it.
Rather like the chap you described in the City, my Uncle was an airline pilot. He had air stewards, flash sports cars, he stayed in 5* hotels all over the world and now he has retired and he has no wife, no children and, obviously, no grandchildren. He lives in a flash Penthouse in Eastborne, he has more money that he can spend and he is, literally, miserable all day long.
Therein lies my choice I guess! The reason I have a choice as well is a little bit of inheritance. Could go on a deposit for a house, could go on training for a TEFL etc etc.
Left school wanting to be a rock star, but in the meantime through contacts, got a job as a bank clerk. Hated almost every minute of it, but it was a job. As rock superstardom continued to pass me by, I gained an interest in IT. That was the absolute making of me - I managed to get a job as a trainee computer programmer and within a few years was earning good money but not only that, I was enjoying the work too.
Considering how much of your life is spent at work if you can find something that you at least like, life will be so much better.
I never stopped wanting to be a rock star by the way - I just do that in my own time.
Personally I wish I had come to Asia in my early 20's rather than my late 30's, but I wouldn't have a great wife and a wonderful son and I would probably have worn my d!ck out.
If you still don't have a career you are happy in then charity work home or abroad will be fulfilling and does look good on a CV. It will give you a sense of perspective and help you appreciate how lucky most of us are.
What I will be teaching will still be conversation based, just with some actual structure and curriculum, right now it's some what of a free for all.
There is no easy answer and whatever you do you'll end up wishing you did the other option! During times like these I think the importance of job enjoyment has to be lower down the priority list than usual.
If I have any advice to give that can help it is this, do it now! Do not let the years slip by doing something that will make you unhappy and unfulfilled every day of your life. Time is finite and it does run out in the end. Your powers diminish with age and you only get to realize it too late. Go for your dream, because you have time to fail but you also have time to succeed.