[Darkestred]

I find myself asking this question everyday.  I'm nearing 30 and have been unemployed for 3 years.  I always had the vision of playing music and working with computers.  I ruined the music aspect continually and I don't think i have the passion or motivation to get back into it.  When I graduated college with a BS in Tcom Management I wound up getting a job working for sprint doing RF Regulatory work.  After a year the company asked if i wanted to do the meat and potato's of cell phone coverage plots, drive testing and testimony.   I didn't mind doing Regulatory.  I liked my boss and the employees there.  When I went back to the main office I hated it.  I was forced into a hectic workload with no training or expertise.  After the constant meetings about my performance and no pay increase I decided to leave.  My cousin works at a large Financial Firm so she helped me get a job there.  I worked as a temp-to-hire in customer support.  While there I reached out to other departments in hopes of finding a better area of the firm to work in.  A couple of departments were interested but with bad timing Customer Support offered me a full time job seconds before another department asked to interview.
 
I would like to blame everything on someone or something else.  Sure, there was some bad timing events.  Ultimately, it was entirely my fault.  I'm now trying to find a job making way less working with children but that is hard to find in my area.  Jobs that i could see myself remotely enjoying are few and far... I"m hoping I can think up some Internet model to make money.  Unfortunately, my mind isn't suited for such great and "simple" ideas as we have today.  I can only hope something will pop into my head or some job will open up. 
 
I find myself somewhere between content and melancholy.  Ho-hum.
 
My idea job would be to find some rich woman...

 

[mcnoiserdc]

lol, the rich woman won't happen. lol! Rich women get lesbian, lol!

 

[BobSaysHi]

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Was it worth it overall? You bet. In fact, it's the best thing I've ever done and I would do it again. I am acknowledged expert in my field of interest, have a pile of peer-reviewed publications and love the work.
 
I had this posted to my office door in case I was ever in doubt along the way:
 
http://www.lovelab.id.ucsb.edu/biologist.html

your post really spoke to me. I hope I can find work I am legitimately interested in.

 

[Satellite_6]

My dream job would be a headphone tester! Do they have those? 
 
idk, I'm studying geology right now and I think it's interesting, I might be a scientist at heart. I'm also really good at it. My only A atm. 

 

[alphaphoenix]

 
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I just finished a Ph.D. in marine biology/ecology with a specialty in aquatic toxicology. This is a second career (also an elementary school teacher before and during Ph.D. work; still teaching now at the elementary and college levels). It was a TON of work over many years and I don't have anything to show for my efforts financially. In fact, I will earn far less money as an assistant professor (applying for positions now) than had I stayed a full-time teacher. Was it worth it financially? Obviously not. Do I care about that? Just a little. It would be nice to own a home by now, but I'll get there some day. As long as I can pay my bills and have a few interesting hobbies, I'm fine.
 
Was it worth it overall? You bet. In fact, it's the best thing I've ever done and I would do it again. I am acknowledged expert in my field of interest, have a pile of peer-reviewed publications and love the work.
 
I had this posted to my office door in case I was ever in doubt along the way:
 
http://www.lovelab.id.ucsb.edu/biologist.html
 
It's a shame to not pursue academic interests or dreams of personal fulfillment for financial reasons. As long as you can scrape by and do with less (i.e., pay your bills), do what you want to do. Life is too short to do otherwise.
 

 
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Looking back and if I was questioned on terms of passion and job, the only two jobs that comes to mind is a Marine Biologist or Teacher, which for the very same reason I chose not to pursue them very early on - you guessed it - money or the lack of it.  Until I win the lottery, receive an inheritance from a very wealthy but unknown relative, well, you get the drift.  It's moving in one direction like a cog in the machine.   

Good for you man.  I really liked your page as well.  My bump in the road to speak for pursuing Marine Biology was my early on decision that I will have a family someday (not sure if you do or not).   Now that I've been married for a while with a family, the whole money thing, or least enough of it, sadly, is what keeps all together or it can also tear it apart.  

 

[jp_zer0]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarCraft:_Brood_War_professional_competition
 
yeah...

 

[nycbone]

I've been with the same S.O. for 20+ years and neither of us ever had any interest in having kids, so that made being a middle-aged graduate student less difficult in that respect. She (a public school teacher) was also willing to move so that I could be close to the lab and we made sure we had adequate emergency $ in savings. We live within our means. It was also important to me that I pay for everything (my portion of the bills, tuition, expenses) without her assistance. There were a handful older students with kids in my program and I was impressed by their ability to juggle yet another (really important) thing. I've also known a few that started a program, left school to have a kid (or kids) and returned when it was practical. It's not a race, so people finish when they can.
 
The same goes for undergraduate, graduate or professional education. I know a family with three students (mom, 55; kids, 21 and 22) who all attend the college where I teach. We've chatted and they are a bit self-conscious that they are each 'behind' in some way (i.e., they should have finished college by age 21). I say nonsense. The important thing is to be the best student that you can when you can make school
a priority. I teach a lot of older/returning undergraduate students who sit in the same classes ats 18 y.o. freshmen. Some are working on a second career, some returning to school after having a family, some are doing it just for fun/self-improvement. Some are full-time, some take a few credits each semester. Whatever works.
 
Quote:

Good for you man.  I really liked your page as well.  My bump in the road to speak for pursuing Marine Biology was my early on decision that I will have a family someday (not sure if you do or not).   Now that I've been married for a while with a family, the whole money thing, or least enough of it, sadly, is what keeps all together or it can also tear it apart.  

 

[Planar_head]

My dream job would definitely be one of these three things:
 
1. Photographer. I don't think I have nearly enough talent, raw or otherwise, but it sure is fun!
 
2. Basement engineer. I love to work with metal and I love to think about amplifier topology, so I'd be building custom amplifiers all day long if I had the choice.
 
3. Shadetree car mechanic/weekend racer. I love cars, I love racing, I love competition. Put the three together: work on cars while attempting to beat the pants off the local competition.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

My life is always a pickle, admittedly I have a hard time dealing with stress.  This is probably the saddest post I've ever made lol.
 
My situation these days:
-In school right now getting my MBA, I'll be out by May, 100% of the debt to follow
-Constant pressures from the GF to get married.... and soon, we've been together for 7 years now
-Constantly broke thanks to this site
-I work at a decent paying job and in a field I really don't care for
 
My serious passions that I could probably do for money:
 
-Volkswagens; my dream job is to work for VWoA someday doing anything Marketing related (read: not being a salesman).  I love the brand, I love the community, I love the shops.  An idea of a job; working with local dealers to implement corporate programs, looking at customer data and surveys to develop new programs, meeting customers via events and tradeshows, etc.
-IT; There's lots I can do with computers, I've been a technophobe since forever but I honestly don't have much motivation to get into the field.
-Gaming Industry; I've been a gamer all my life, I never see this changing even though I don't have any time to enjoy them I keep on top of the latest releases and news.  Again I'd love to be able to work in any sort of marketing related function in this industry.
 
The honest to goodness truth is that for the past 2 years I have made more money than ever have before, but to be brutally honest I am probably less happy now than ever been before.  It's a vicious cycle because these days I have NO motivation to chase the above like I used to. I feel like I used to be the type of person who when asked would say that I could do anything because I had confidence in myself and cared about what I did, but I guess the challenges of daily life and the economy have really had a lasting impact on me psychologically.  School has also really warped my perception of what a decent employer *should* be, a lot of the "cool" companies out there really treat their employees really badly, ultimately hurting their bottom line.
 
Here's to hoping posting this doesn't bite me in the ass someday 

 

[BobSaysHi]

Damn dude...
 
 
 
Quote:

-Constantly broke thanks to this site

 
Also, it's your own fault you are broke, not head-fi's. Jus' sayin.

 

[kboe]

Teaching at the collegiate level, which is what I'm going to do anyways!!!

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Damn dude...
 
 
 
Quote:

-Constantly broke thanks to this site

 
Also, it's your own fault you are broke, not head-fi's. Jus' sayin.

You're right

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Quote:

Also, it's your own fault you are broke, not head-fi's. Jus' sayin.

You're right

Forgot my smiley. Have two.  

  

 

[ForgottenxxRebel]

Quote:

I'm surprised no one has said musician yet, but if money were no object I would be a musician.

 
you'd think there would be on a headphone board.

 
but yeah, i was just about to say punk band.

    and not the type of band that sets out to sell buttloads of albums and be on mtv, more like traveling the country in a van and playing cheap shows in crappy, fun venues.

 

[darcyb62]

I'm lucky.  I have a job that I absolutely love.  And I am paid well to do it.  If I were to win a lottery I am pretty sure I would continue what I do but drop the pay.  If I couldn't do what I do today and money was no object I would be a musician or run a boutique music shop.