I haven't exactly been talking to Dr. Leo Marvin but I have taken a small step toward getting some kind of focus with regards to my professional life. I met with a career counselor this week. I guess I knew what to expect. After some short pleasantries and the requisite rehashing of my recent and not so recent academic pursuits we got down to what I have come to refer to as "THE Question". Whenever I start talking about work and career and the future there is always one question that comes up very early in the discussion. It is a question I can not answer and haven't been able to answer in quite a while. When someone asks "What do you want to do?" all I can do is stare at them like a lost dog. I honestly have no idea what I want to do.
Occasionally I get very depressed about this problem. It is just really hard to understand how I don't have something I feel so passionately about that I want to make it a career. I get interested in things but I can't ever seem to stay interested in them for very long. I thought maybe technology was the answer but even that is boring me lately. I have a few career assessments to take and I hope that somewhere in that process I can find some direction. Otherwise I feel like I will be sentenced to drift aimlessly until I wake up one day and find I am too old to do anything worthwhile. It is not a pleasant thought.
Occasionally I get very depressed about this problem. It is just really hard to understand how I don't have something I feel so passionately about that I want to make it a career. I get interested in things but I can't ever seem to stay interested in them for very long. I thought maybe technology was the answer but even that is boring me lately. I have a few career assessments to take and I hope that somewhere in that process I can find some direction. Otherwise I feel like I will be sentenced to drift aimlessly until I wake up one day and find I am too old to do anything worthwhile. It is not a pleasant thought.
Same boat here. I took the meyers briggs, keirsey temperament sorter, and some other interest test while I was a student at UAB. The career services office is available to alums, btw, not sure what the cost would be.
The results were enlightening but didn't give me a silver bullet answer to what I should be doing as a career. When you are head of household, as you are, it is difficult to take a financial risk to change careers. If entrepreneurship is your thing, I have worked with several people who built their businesses on the side and then when they reached the tipping point (venture required more time than just free time) they took the leap of faith. That seems to be the way to do it if you are looking to avoid risk, but it sounds exhausting.
The career office at the business school is where I went. :)