Help! I've Lost My Career Path!

I am not sure why, but it seems like more and more people I know are unsure of what they want to do with their careers.

Doug, a young bartender at my local pub, has a story that is probably not too different from other people I know. He has his bachelor's degree in economics, with a minor in Spanish, and an associates degree in audio production. He's a bartender now, but that's because he couldn't find any work in his field and needed an income. But how did he end up here?

He was working in another state for a small start up. It was a company that focused on green building. Everything was going great, he loved the company, owner and the work. Then, the owner tells him that she doesn't know why, but they've run out of money and can't afford to keep him on. Later on, she found out that her accountant was embezzling and had stolen $200K from the company.

So, he took advantage of the opportunity to move to Colorado. He loves it here, but he couldn't find work in his field. He took a job bartending just to get by. Now, he realizes that he doesn't want to go into the economics field and heck...he sort of just doesn't know where he wants to go. He saw me doing an exercise designed to help one find their direction in life, and told me very seriously he'd like to know how that works out for me.

My grandparents never waxed on about how they didn't know what they wanted to be. They simply took good jobs, took care of their families and moved on. There wasn't a question about whether or not the loved their jobs. My grandpa worked for the city, managing the crews who paved the streets (hot and smelly). My grandma worked for the phone company as an operator. I think that we talked about how interesting their jobs were, but it never crossed my mind to ask if they liked their jobs.

So, why do we ponder this topic to death now? Why do we get degrees that we don't use, or get 3 degrees in completely different subjects? Is this the new "hippie" culture? Instead of experimenting with drugs and exploring deep philosophical questions, are we experimenting with careers and pondering job/life satisfaction?

I'm feeling my way towards a chosen profession, but even I'm not 100% sure yet. I'm working as a professional in the meantime and getting a real middle-of-the-road degree (business, legal emphasis) because, hey, it's never a bad idea to know about business. It always applies.

But why is it that we have such career ambivalence in so many of our Gen X and Gen Y employees? Is it indicative of a larger issue?

And more importantly, has anyone found an aptitude test that will actually tell me that I should eat great food, travel and have earth shattering sex for a living? Because, doesn't that seem like what we all want? To be told that you should 'do what you love' and 'find what makes you happy' and all that other bull that doesn't seem to exist in the real world (or, at the very least, let's admit that it can't exist for everyone...we can't all eat great food, travel and have sex for a living; after all, who would cook the food for us, fly the airplanes to exotic places and, um, I don't know, create flavored lubricants?).

I would love to see some online tools, tips and tests that have genuinely helped people figure out where they should be, career-wise, in their lives. Something that has real world value. If you've used something like this, let me know. And then I'll pass it on to Doug when I stop in for my next beer.

Motivation!

I think that I've just discovered the best motivation ever for getting my degree.

I hate being a secretary. Most of the time, people are very nice and don't look down on you, but I'm facing the most difficult thing right now, where I feel that my opinions are not valued and that I am being looked down upon. By my boss.

He doesn't go out of his way to be rude or anything like that. Normally we get along swimmingly well. But little things here and there remind me that a person in my job can expect to be disregarded from time to time from people like him.

I feel so pissed off right now, just frustrated really. But again, this is really the motivation that I need to make myself get the degree that I want. Just so that I can do something completely different and never have to be the low man on the totem pole.

Plus, it doesn't help that I'm always the lowest educated and employed person in almost all social groups I've been in since I moved to Colorado. It is a highly educated area and I feel it.

Ok, enough whining!

College

So, I'm having a little dilemma. I realized this week that I could take college classes and finish my college degree in the next three years (while I work) and even be able to afford it. The catch? It would be a degree in either Social Science, Sociology or Sociology/Criminology.

I have always figured that I'd study business. Not because I have a particular career path that I'm dying to follow. But just because I have a lot of experience in offices and figured it would be a natural, especially since I don't know what I want to do.

But, there are a few reasons I haven't returned to college yet. I work full time, and taking classes at my local college/university would take forever, because I could only really sign up for maybe 2 classes at a time because of work. I also have my son half of each week and studying when he's here will be more difficult, so my studying will be isolated either to late evenings or the half of the week I'm alone. The cost is another reason I've been hesitant. But, the university that I can do an "external degree" from would only cost me about $11K plus books to complete my the rest of my degree.

I think that is pretty good, considering it's the only option that I could start pursuing while my son is this young. I've also been waiting because I'd like to buy a home of my own first, and then save/spend on my education. If I end up doing that, it will take at least another year.

Ugh! I wish, I wish, I wish! But somehow the wishing doesn't help! I have to just start doing for myself and stop waiting. I guess that I should really pursue a Saturday job to bring in that little extra to save for a house.

The good thing is that I feel like I have a viable plan that I can go after now.