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Land of confusion


Jerry
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No, this isn't a witty allusion to the american elections.

It's rather the state of my life at the moment. I'm not even depressed or anything. I'm just confused. Confused about what to do with my life.

Manual work isn't for me. But intellectual work isn't either. I like both of them, I just can't keep up in either, and I'm so inefficient it isn't even funny. sigh_by_theonionhead-d5qjeuv.gif It might be a better idea to look at the things I'm naturally good at instead of going strictly by what I like. But the thing is, of the few areas in which there could be some potential, they're pretty much all art-related. That may explain why I can't do any serious manual or intellectual work to save my life. They're just not what I'm meant to do. But I really wish it wasn't that way.

Has any of you gone though such a thing? drop_by_theonionhead-d5qjelt.gif

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Become a mechanic. Girls and gay guys will think it's sexy that you can fix their cars. Today's generation is full of limp-wristed yuppies which makes guys who understand cars like mechanical wizards.

Hit the gym, get some muscle, get in a jumpsuit, and be the bara mechanic wizard.

Panties will drop harder than the nukes dropped on Japan. 

"Oh MURR! Come hither and connect your driveshaft to my tranny."

I know you can do this.

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I've spent most of my working life doing really mundane shit to pay bills. Scanning documents for eight hours a day or sorting mail or processing invoices.

It sucks but money is money. Took like three and a half years to find a place that's actually kind of cool, and even then, half my job is still boring shit. I just get to do fun stuff on the side.

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i had a similar problem, but all i can say is try to push your boundaries or completely step out of them, but not if its dangerous or morally opposing who you are, i hated the idea of blue collar work and dirty jobs to the core, but when i tried it, i found out that i was a compact bulldozer of the workforce.and honestly i've made a decent amount of money just on the weekends and from my own backyard because of it. just try to smile and keep your head up in the meantime :) something will come to you eventually

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52 minutes ago, LazerMaster5 said:

Have you tried welding? It's more about skill than endurance, and it almost becomes an art. Making a good TIG weld is very satisfying, and you don't need to be a scholar or a heavyweight to make your mark.

I second this. Unironically.

Welding is an easy enough trade to pick up and it's a pretty solid way of earning a decent income quickly compared to other trades that require apprenticeships.

The unions will make you waste years of your life in other trades like plumbing and electrician work.

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Interestingly I did consider welding last year. As part of my diesel mechanics program I had to be able to do basic stick welding, and I did like it.

Although there's a lot more to it than simply finding a job i'll enjoy.

Back in high school all I wanted to do is go in tech school to become an electrician, I didn't want to consider other possibilities, and this was my biggest mistake.Had I put some effort into the career search we were assigned, I would've realized my mistake ahead of time instead of wasting six years of my life figuring it out the hard way.

I did have manual jobs that weren't particularly physical. In my first two jobs I worked as an electrician on a modular home assembly line. Those weren't half-bad jobs. I was doing OK. Eventually destiny put an end to those jobs, but it was already getting clear that I wouldn't do this for years. In fact there's one common point in all the jobs I had over the years, they all lacked the same thing: CREATIVE WORK. However it only struck me a few months ago, when I landed a job in a diesel repair shop after two or so months of job search. At that point I was already considering starting over career-wise. But when I became aware of all the time and energy I'd have to spend in my job, I realized there wouldn't be anything left for the things I enjoy, and I blocked. Put simply I thrashed a job (and an entire career as a result) in a day. At first I didn't understand why I was reacting like this. I even thought I was acting stupidly.

But I looked back in my past. I was that black sheep as a kid. Not a nerd, or anything else for that matter, I just stood out. Stood out like a sequoia in a prairie. I couldn't care less about most things at school. But there were a few classes I enjoyed (at least partly): French, English, History and Art. I liked to write stories, and draw. Needless to say, when we were assigned the creation of a comic in art class, I was stoked.

(Fun fact: that comic project is what motivated me to create my deviantArt account).

For so long I ignored this side of me. But I'll be miserable in life if I keep on doing this. It's even more obvious now that I've read this article. I couldn't fit the description better.

But what keeps me confused is where to begin.

 

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35 minutes ago, LazerMaster5 said:

Then go forth and make art, even if it is just a hobby. Maybe you can have a dayjob while you build up your art skills. 

Or open a tuning shop and build amazing cars. I would gladly help on that one.

With all that being said I never had the intention of never touching a tool ever again. It must just stay a hobby.

From that perspective I'll never regret taking those tech classes. Even though working as a mechanic is now out of the question I'd like to build my own vehicles eventually, now that I have the skills to do it, all the way from welding the frame myself, though I wouldn't be 100% confident on that one.

If only I could find a welder somewhere. :V

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17 hours ago, Jerry said:

With all that being said I never had the intention of never touching a tool ever again. It must just stay a hobby.

From that perspective I'll never regret taking those tech classes. Even though working as a mechanic is now out of the question I'd like to build my own vehicles eventually, now that I have the skills to do it, all the way from welding the frame myself, though I wouldn't be 100% confident on that one.

If only I could find a welder somewhere. :V

*raises hand*

I can flux core, MIG, TIG, and soon stick weld. I will also be learning pipe, which should be handy for roll cages and whatnot. Maybe someday I will head in your direction.

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19 hours ago, Jerry said:

With all that being said I never had the intention of never touching a tool ever again. It must just stay a hobby.

From that perspective I'll never regret taking those tech classes. Even though working as a mechanic is now out of the question I'd like to build my own vehicles eventually, now that I have the skills to do it, all the way from welding the frame myself, though I wouldn't be 100% confident on that one.

If only I could find a welder somewhere. :V

You can pick up some junk welder for dirt cheap at whatever the equivalent of Princess Auto is where you live. Wont burn big rod, but it'd definitely be enough for hobby level welding of thin material.

Also,

 

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2 hours ago, LazerMaster5 said:

*raises hand*

I can flux core, MIG, TIG, and soon stick weld. I will also be learning pipe, which should be handy for roll cages and whatnot. Maybe someday I will head in your direction.

That would be awesome. foxthumbplz.gif?1

1 hour ago, Wrecker said:

You can pick up some junk welder for dirt cheap at whatever the equivalent of Princess Auto is where you live. Wont burn big rod, but it'd definitely be enough for hobby level welding of thin material.

This, or I could build my own. I've got old microwave oven transformers laying around, that I can turn into welding transformers. If I remember with two I can reach around 120A. Good enough for up to 1/8" rods.

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Oh, absolutely. I'd say I'm nearing yet another crossroads in my life now, even, where I'm coming close to completing a major goal, and having to think about what I'll do next.

I'd say, pay attention to those moments when you're in Flow--when you feel fully engaged with an activity, such that time seems to stop--and notice how you prefer to spend your time when you have a choice. This can often clue you into your greatest strengths and interests.

You can also ask people who know you well what they think your greatest strengths and skills are.

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I find that the arts as a whole are not very likely to be functional, proficient jobs to live off of. As much as I would like to draw and create for a living, Im not good enough nor motivated enough nor would I get enough living expense out of it if I did.

That's why for me the arts are side hobby things, and if I ever get good enough I would intend it to be a secondary source of income.

Luckily, careerwise I plan on going on things that'll be a "necessity" as well as something I find interesting

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It may also soothe you to hear that the days of having one lifelong career are probably long gone. These days, it makes more sense to break your life up into 10-to-20 year chunks, and ask yourself what you might like to do during each period.

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13 hours ago, FlynnCoyote said:

Become a masked vigilante and strike fear in the hearts of your hometown's scumbags. Just for something to do until you decide on a job.

There isn't much scumbaggery around here. Those ricers polluting our ears with their fart-cans are the closest things we have to scumbags.

1 hour ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

I find that the arts as a whole are not very likely to be functional, proficient jobs to live off of. As much as I would like to draw and create for a living, Im not good enough nor motivated enough nor would I get enough living expense out of it if I did.

That's why for me the arts are side hobby things, and if I ever get good enough I would intend it to be a secondary source of income.

Luckily, careerwise I plan on going on things that'll be a "necessity" as well as something I find interesting

Personally I don't see artsy-art as the only option. Creativity as a whole is the way to go. It can be something more pragmatic like industrial drafting, or even making YouTube videos, as long as I create something, it's good to me.

1 hour ago, Troj said:

It may also soothe you to hear that the days of having one lifelong career are probably long gone. These days, it makes more sense to break your life up into 10-to-20 year chunks, and ask yourself what you might like to do during each period.

Definitely, the 40 year career is long gone. There's never been so many freelancers, too.

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