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How can I choose a profession?
It has been 5 years since I've finished high school and I haven't made up my mind yet. I don't even know if I should go to college or to vocational school. Visual arts and Social Sciences are subjects I'm into. But the job prospects in those fields aren't particularly attractive to me. Unless I can find a way to get the degree to really help people. 'Cause that's what I want the most: help people and be actually in contact with them, not help them through the computer or something like that. Is there any sort of meditation I can do to solve this? I can't afford a vocational guidance counselor...
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So no worries.
btw, what have you been doing for those 5 years? Have you been volunteering, and testing different venues and environments to see what suits you best? (Health care/hospital volunteer, political activism, enviro work, soup kitchens, etc.) What about being a Peace Corps or Vista volunteer? Those look good on a resume, and can really give you an in-depth feel for helping others.
The only advice I can give, as I'm going through this some with my son, is to look at what you love, what you have passion for, and look around about how to turn that into a job. Don't look for a job to fit into what you already feel strongly about, because it doesn't work as well. There are jobs, and even degrees out there for almost anything under the sun you can imagine to do. The hard part is in find that "yes, this is what I want to spend the next 40 years doing." You could also make appointments to visit a couple very different college (vocational, community, 4 year, small, large, etc) and talk to the counselors. They'll give you different tips and different ideas.
My sister spent most of her live working small time line cook jobs and vacationing in the summer. She is now 34 and recently went back to college. She swore she'd never go. Then she met someone who stoked her interest, and away she went. She's now a 4.0 student with a double major in psychology and social justice with a minor in history. It's ok if it takes time to figure out. A lot of people can't figure it out until they experience more of what is out there to even ask the questions. I always assumed that what you saw in the guidance counselor office was what there was. I wish I had known differently because I would not have missed the chance to do what I loved as a career. It's no longer possible, which is ok. But it doesn't have to be that way. Be honest about what you like to actually spend your time doing. Not just what you like to read about.
You may not know now the direction you wish to travel but at least choose a direction and see where it takes you. Too many people choose not to pursue anything either because they can't be bothered or because they are undecided. Whatever you choose will add to your life experience and make you a wiser and more informed person.
Good luck.
Dont think meditation will 'solve' it.
Rather, perhaps just do it - as in, if you want to do it that bad then do it... the same way as you make sure you have air, can eat, there is a toilet when you need it etc... put it on the priorities list and just get on with it.
There are way too many options to make a firm decision based solely on what you want plus causation is chaotic so even the best laid plans... etc etc
Take a step and it will take a step toward you too - good luck.
But I would say that it is about time to get on the stick about it.
I want to say everybody thank you for your answers and your kind wishes. I'll take your words into consideration.
You do not have to have extensive interaction with people to be able to help them. You can even do it online, by perhaps from home doing web design or other such things for humanitarian organizations. One thing to consider is that when you feed a phobia, it gets worse. I'm not saying you suddenly have to go work for some huge corporation where you have to constantly deal with people. But you also don't have to totally give in to your phobia. Chances are, when you find something that really calls to you, working with people who share that calling will not be so miserable, and you can do it in small groups or with minimal interaction. Heck my aunt works for the state revenue department (Tax collection) but she works from home and does quality review. So she has a great salary and benefits and she gets to stay home reviewing other people's work. She goes into the office once a month for a one hour meeting, otherwise her communication is almost entirely by email and a little by phone.
Sounds like your aunt has an amazing job!! Work from home with full benefits & great salary? She scored! :thumbsup:
@lotuspadma
Quote.
Is there any sort of meditation I can do to solve this?
Most meditations can stop your feeding of the more superfluous wants and aversions connected with your search for a right livelihood.
It tends to take you out of the equation and leaves the field of what seems good to do, a lot simpler to read.
The catch 22 of such divinations is that because the clearest meditations are goal less it only really works if one makes the meditation practise a higher priority than any goal.
@Dakini I've given up on psychologists/psychiatrists. Went to a few, but none helped. Also my insurance doesn't cover psychologists, and they're too expensive for me.
@lobster Have some faith. That discussion was in late November. Now it's almost the middle of December and I've picked up meditation again. And online dhamma talks, and the Tipitaka. It felt bad living aimlessly like that.
@Jeffrey You didn't ask me, but I'll hand it to you. If you haven't already seen it, the careers for ISFJ are: interior decorator, designer, nurse, administrator/manager, administrative assistant, Child Care/Early Childhood Development, social work/counselor, paralegal, clergy/religious worker, office manager, shopkeeper, bookkeeper, Home Economics. Found here: http://www.personalitypage.com/ISFJ_car.html
choose a job that you like, if you are good at it, you will be paid well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Color-Your-Parachute-Career-changers/dp/1580089305
@hermitwin Thank you, seems like a valuable read.
Even though I'm not even close to having a career yet, I wouldn't have even gotten to this point if I didn't volunteer in a long-term care facility and learn how much I liked working in therapeutic care. Or, in the case of education, volunteering with a children's group at a social service center and running workshops with them, "teaching" them about anger management, how to handle emotions, etc.