Career crisis.....

[EmLou210]

Hi Everyone

I'm putting this post on here really because I just need to vent.

Recently, I seem to have had a lot of anxiety issues. The smallest things make me paranoid and nervous. Even activities that I'm used to doing every day e.g. going to work etc, seem to make me feel anxious.

The main thing though that's bothering me is the fact that my postgraduate uni course finishes this year and I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to go afterwards. I'm currently studying Scriptwriting. Unlike many other degrees or vocational courses, it doesn't really lead to a career or any jobs. It's a really tough industry to break into and I haven't really realised that until now.

So when the course finishes I am likely to be stuck and searching for a job. Problem is, I'm not really qualified for anything. Even though it's months until my course ends I keep obsessively looking on job websites at all sort of different jobs and I don't fit the criteria for hardly any of them.

I'm now stressing majorly about what I will do when my course finishes and I have a million questions constantly running through my head everyday such as...what do i want to do? what am i actually qualified to do? what if i start a job and don't like it? do i stay at home in the countryside? do i try to move to somewhere where the job prospects are better? etc etc etc

I guess the main reason I'm posting this is to vent but also to see if anyone else has ever been in a similar situation? I'm nearly 23 now and a lot of my friends are just starting their careers and getting impressive jobs, houses, cars etc and I'm still studying and living at home with no real idea of what I want to do or what my purpose is in life. I feel like I'm in limbo and I don't know how to get out.

Thanks for reading

Emma

[Pip]

I haven't been in your situation as I left college after a year at 17 as I managed to get myself a job.  It was quite a good one but was offered an even better one soon after I started that one so was able to leave one job for another without a break.  These days it is much harder to get a job even when you have a degree.  Apart from looking for jobs you can also send letters to companies with your c.v. even though you haven't got your degree yet.  I have done that in the past and managed to get a job.

[ParsnipPierre]

Hey Emma,
I too am 23 and in that void of what should I do with my life.  Since I was about 10 I always wanted to be a paramedic, however when I applied for university in 2012 not one of my five choices gave me an offer.  I always did well academically and got 9 GCSEs and 3 A levels but to just be shot down by universities left me feeling lost and with no purpose.  Two of the unis I failed on their fitness test, which I spend half my life in the gym, so to fail on this killed me inside.  It was because my wrists are very weak so carrying 30kg up stairs for 5 minutes, my body couldn't cope.  It left me feeling so low, my self esteem and confidence was killed.  I was left with a bitterness and resented the job I vowed I didn't want to do such a job anymore.  My current job offered me to do my pharmacy technician NVQ3 course and 18 months down the line it has made me so unhappy and wanting desperately to get out but I can't til it's finished and then there might not be the jobs.  I feel like I have lost all purpose and direction in my life and have disappointed family's expectations and wondering if I will ever make it out the other side.  Wish you all the best Emma and hope things turn out ok for you!
PP

[EmLou210]

I'm sorry to hear all of that    I had a friend who was in a similar situation. He wanted to go into the Territorial Army. He worked really hard to pass the fitness tests and did but didn't pass the medical tests for some reason (still not too sure why). He then decided to travel and get a job in Australia but that also fell through somehow. It completely destroyed him and he shut himself off from everyone. I haven't spoken to him since and miss him terribly. He has so many great qualities and so much to give. So I can understand your situation.

It's hard to stop yourself from getting anxious and stressed about these things. I feel like at the moment I am in limbo and not really living a real life. I feel like I'm waiting for my real life to begin and that thought does distress me so much sometimes. But I just keep holding onto the tiny thought in my brain that keeps telling me that things will get better. And I don't know about you, but I certainly find it helpful to know that I am not the only person out there who feels this way.

I wish you all the best too and even though at the moment it's a real struggle for us both, I know it will get better.

[Toronaga]

Hi Emma

I'm 47 and have spent the last 27 years working in a career that has been very successful. Funnily enough MY anxiety made me a great employee, I never missed a deadline, was always on time and my work was always perfect. Eventually though I ended up with a nervous breakdown!

Let me reveal a secret that no one tells you when you first decide what career your interested in. The secret is the vast majority of people in life end up in a job they hate, purely for the pay, or stumble into a career nothing to do with their degree or college course. Please dont be too concerned that things are not quite working out as planned at the moment. The skills you have developed for script writing will put you in good stead for other work.

Job websites and recruitment consultants are a bit like sausage factories, my wife was once a HR director for a large London based company and most CVs went into the bin. Everyone looks the same. Consider contacting some of those friends  (or family) of yours, not to pester for jobs but to get them to give you phone numbers for managers in their companies or to meet them for drinks where work colleagues are present. Make contacts and enjoy yourself at the same time. Put in the work,speak to people, pick your time right and you will be surprised what people tell you. Often  in life its not what you know but who, sadly. Dont worry about developing your career, just get a job for experience. Where you start out is not where you will finish.

Incidently, are you specifically worried about your career, or just is this just a part of your anxiety? Perhaps you brain is working overtime. Why not sit down rationally with a pen and paper and write down what is concerning you and then see if these are justified or blown out of proportion. A good App that helps is called iCBT.

Hope this does not sound too patronising

Good luck

[Toronaga]

One last thought Emma,

A large number of jobs and contacts are done now through Linkedin. Please consider creating a profile, if you have not already done so. Also Linkein enables you search for the profiles of other persons with specific careers, for example TV or radio etc. Contact them for advice on how to progress, some might not reply but some will.

[ParsnipPierre]

Hey,
All I feel at the moment is like I am not living the life I should have been living.  It is almost like my mind torments itself and forces me to see me as a failure.  When I think about it, I believe my job is one of the route causes of my depression.  If you think about it, I have a full time job as a pharmacy dispenser so it takes up a good chunk of my week.  However, it feels like groundhog day and is the same mundane crap day in day out, which I don't believe I should be doing.  I am currently doing a pharmacy technician course to help progress my career and get me out of my current job, however if I am still doing the same job this time next year I have no idea what it will make me do or how I will feel towards myself.  I guess the hatred and feelings of been a complete failure will multiply to catastrophic levels.
PP

[lostmyway]

hi

I can relate to what you're saying.  I was in a warehouse job for over 13 years and now am without a job presently ( i am 42 btw).  I am working towards a foundation degree with the open university at the moment hoping that it will open doors that otherwise would stay shut.  With the present economy needless to say, it isn't easy.  It really doesn't matter what the central government say. Relocation isn't always an option as it requires a lot of money and if you are not working you won't have that income available to you (probably not).

I want to work in IT as it is my main interest.  I pray the economy gets better as it has been on its backside since 2008. Here's hoping.

[Stacelet]

Tell me about it I lost my job due to backstabbing so called work friends! I was there 6 years. I am at a loss. I don't know what to do or how to help myself I have a flat and bills to pay. I hated the job anyway and saw it as a way out from the bullying and stress, and I always felt there is something else I should be doing that inspires me as I am creative. Trying to start your own business is not easy there are always huge hurdles usually to do with money which I haven't got. Vicious circle that is my life. Hence depression NOW WAY OUT feeling every day