I feel like I have no future... No idea what career I want...

[Krugerrand]

Teach guitar! There are plenty of people who want to learn guitar. The most effective marketing I've used so far is door to door canvassing. Make up a flyer and go to it. There more advertising you do the more likely you'll get responses. Do cheap advertising! [Flyers, business cards (you can get them for free online, and word of mouth] If you don't have any experience teaching, you may want to experiment on family/friends.

Just a note on cheap advertising. I drive about 2 miles to a Park and Ride and then take a bus into work. Every once in a while somebody will hit up all the cars in the parking lot with fliers for some local business. I may try out an Indian restaurant that just put their menu on the car this week. Many of them end up getting trashed. But it's a really effective way to reach people in a localized area at a low cost.

 

[Acala]

Agreed

*shrugs* That's not true for every field, and I'm not even sure it's true for most fields in a normal economy, but if people want to keep propping up this idea, I'm sure the colleges and universities would be happy for the help.

I agree. I think that once upon a time, a college education was a pretty reliable way to get a head up over the competition, unless it was in some useless subject. But I really doubt it now.

I forsee currency instability, extremely onerous taxation, and massive government interference in all sectors of the economy. And I mean MUCH more than we see now. Accordingly, I think the brightest future will be in the underground economy - work you can do off the government radar screen, untaxed, unregulated, and without using Obama Bucks or whatever the government uses to replace the dollar when it dies.

So I suggest pursuing some skill that you can practice in the underground economy.

 

[ClayTrainor]

I really don't know how I would break into that tbh

The great thing about it, is you can kind of learn and practice it as you seek other opportunities. There are plenty of worthy strategies that can help you earn additional incomes online, and if you catch on, you can make a lucrative career out of it. A lot of people do!

You can pm me if you'd like to talk more about it. For now, I'll hook you up with 3 awesome resources to give you an idea of some good approaches to take, if you decide to look into this at all.

1. www.cashtactics.net - Lots of good info and lessons on this site. I highly recommend the case study videos in the right sidebar. There is also a decent forum, where you can get your questions answered.

2. http://www.amish-shah.com/ - This guy has made multi-millions, and gives away all sorts of good tips and info on his blog.

3. http://www.getcoreinfluence.com/signup.php - This is just a good series of videos, by a successful entrepreneur named "Frank Kern". These will help get you in the right mindset, and the confidence to make some $$$.

Good luck man!

 

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

This^

Or welding, locksmithing, plumbing, auto/diesel repair, sewing, etc. Get a skill that people in a broken economy will need.

Ain't gonna need sociologists, political scientists, or teachers of same. Or lawyers (the career I pursued and now regret).

That's why I'm getting my Security License. It'll be the first step in getting re-certified for CPR & First Aid. Plan on getting my Conceal/Carry (finally) and when I can afford it, reacquire a 9mm (had to sell my AR-15, Ruger P89 and a bunch of other stuff to survive the last month). There always seem to be Security jobs available out there and I wanted something relatively low on the Mickey Mouse/Stress meter.

 

[Andrew-Austin]

I am 23.

For as long as I can remember I have never had an answer to the question "what do you want to do when you grow up?".

Disillusioned with gen ed at my community college I joined the USAF.

I was injured in training and now I am back home @ community college working towards a poli sci degree that as of right now would take me another 3 years to complete minimum due to the number of required classes that have to be taken in order (ie:foreign language req).

I don't want to be in college for 3 more years... I hate it.

I can just barely motivate myself to attend non poli sci classes that I have no interest in.

I despise math and just barely squeaked past statistics with a C.

I easily ace my political science classes and love those but they consist of maybe 20% of the classes I have to take...

I am working part time at a local electronics store where I make about 15$ an hour which is enough for me to pay my bills (apartment rent, food etc)

I am a good salesman but don't enjoy it.

I am good with computers but worked as an IT guy for 1 year and hated dealing with people that were completely computer illiterate, also I enjoy playing video games on the computer and having my day job consist of being on the computer made me no longer want to have anything to do with my hobby on the computer once I got home, which sucked.

The only thing I have ever really thought would be "cool" was back in the day I wanted to be a cop...

The problem now is my injury from the USAF that isn't something couldn't be overcome but would be difficult; however the bigger issue for me now is that I could never partake in the war on drugs...

I also think I would end up being that cop that calls for backup and never gets it because at some point I take a stand for what's right and in the process piss off my "buddies".

I just don't know what to do...

/

I'm about two years younger and pretty much in the same boat in that I don't have any clue what career path I want to pursue. Not going to college right now though. Why? I simply don't want to, I had enough "schooling" as a kid and teen, now I'd like to enjoy spending my time how I want, reading and learning things as my interests dictate whether or not I can make use of that knowledge on some job in the future.

Society tries to drill in to your head the following schedule: graduate high school, go to a four year college, graduate college, pursue "respectable" well paying career path, pay off debt, etc etc.

I don't care for that plan, at least at the moment. The only plan I have right now is to jump around every now and then to a different job to avoid boredom. Rather than seeing myself working one job/career the rest of my life, I think I'd rather try as many as I can to the extent that is possible. Right now I think I want to learn how to play violin, which takes a damn long time, and I probably won't ever be good enough to make money off of it, but so what. I was in a community college too but dropped out since I hated it, can't stand the sort of means-to-an-end extrinsically motivated system right after I gain my freedom from the public school system.

That might not seem like a good idea to you, I'm just saying don't be afraid to think outside the box or go down the road least traveled if you think that path is better than the one society tries to subscribe to you. And no need to stress out if you haven't mapped out your plan to a million dollars yet, you are twenty three and people nowadays live to like ninety.

 

[Reason]

I'm about two years younger and pretty much in the same boat in that I don't have any clue what career path I want to pursue. Not going to college right now though. Why? I simply don't want to, I had enough "schooling" as a kid and teen, now I'd like to enjoy spending my time how I want, reading and learning things as my interests dictate whether or not I can make use of that knowledge on some job in the future.

Society tries to drill in to your head the following schedule: graduate high school, go to a four year college, graduate college, pursue "respectable" well paying career path, pay off debt, etc etc.

I don't care for that plan, at least at the moment. The only plan I have right now is to jump around every now and then to a different job to avoid boredom. Rather than seeing myself working one job/career the rest of my life, I think I'd rather try as many as I can to the extent that is possible. Right now I think I want to learn how to play violin, which takes a damn long time, and I probably won't ever be good enough to make money off of it, but so what. I was in a community college too but dropped out since I hated it, can't stand the sort of means-to-an-end extrinsically motivated system right after I gain my freedom from the public school system.

That might not seem like a good idea to you, I'm just saying don't be afraid to think outside the box or go down the road least traveled if you think that path is better than the one society tries to subscribe to you. And no need to stress out if you haven't mapped out your plan to a million dollars yet, you are twenty three and people nowadays live to like ninety.

Sometimes it's nice to know i'm not alone when it comes to my dilemmas.

 

[eOs]

System.out.println("Learn Java, let's start making money off of some android apps =]");

 

[libertybrewcity]

oh god, i would love to know how to make some apps. seems like the wave of the future and the next "yahoo-internet-facebook billionaire".

any tips on how to get started? im sure it is not easy but there is so much opportunity if you can create a good one with low startup costs.


also, im in the same boat at the original poster. im still in college for another 2 years or 3 but i don't know what i want to do. there are so many questions i ask myself over and over such as "will i be happy?"
"will i earn enough to pay off my loans and be happy?"
"will i fail or succeed?"

it is a really hard decision and i personally don't want to get stuck in a low paying job at a crappy place.

what i recommend is going to the library or bookstore and start looking through the job books. when i was looking for colleges i went to barnes and noble and studied the books of thousands of colleges eventually narrowing my choices down to 10.

ask anyone how many jobs they can name and i bet they will all say doctor, lawyer, policeman, nurse, plumber. it is all the same but the truth is there are thousands upon thousands of jobs that you can do, you just have to find them.

for me i have an interest in politics, internet, alternative medicine, alternative energy, chinese, and reading among others. i want to be successful so i am pushing myself towards med school. i don't if that is going to happen or if i really even want to do that. i have social goals like a family and kids and whatnot. i also want to start a business and run for office eventually. the other day i was reading something online, probably on this site about a guy who goes to different countries and finds out from tribes natural remedies that people use and then reports back to companies in the US that use them to produce better medicines. that's just me. just kick back, look through the books, surf the web, and write down everything! goodluck

 

[BRG253]

Get your Ph.D in political science and be an intellectual leader in the freedom movement.

The economy doesn't "need" liberal arts professors like it needs an industrial base, but as long as academics are going to exist, you might as well be one of them.

 

[silus]

1. Figure out what you want to do.
2. Figure out the road you would have to take to get there.
3. Shut the fuck up, stop whining, and do what you have to do, absorb what you have to absorb, to get there.

 

[Reason]

1. Figure out what you want to do.

Easier said than done lol

 

[silus]

Easier said than done lol

True, but the bottom line is that currently he lacks any sort of self-motivation or discipline. No matter what he decides he'll eventually talk himself out of it once it gets a little difficult. If I were him i'd practice following through on little goals and get a sense of how to keep going even when you stop wanting to.

 

[Nate-ForLiberty]

True, but the bottom line is that currently he lacks any sort of self-motivation or discipline. No matter what he decides he'll eventually talk himself out of it once it gets a little difficult. If I were him i'd practice following through on little goals and get a sense of how to keep going even when you stop wanting to.

That approach might work. I didn't for me, but everybody is different.

 

[TCE]

The economy doesn't "need" liberal arts professors like it needs an industrial base, but as long as academics are going to exist, you might as well be one of them.

They may not need them, but they sure could use some. Liberal Arts these days includes historical texts such as Adam Smith, Marx/Engels, and the professors choice of others. And that is just one class. Sure, the arts aren't needed to spread liberty, but some could be useful.

I disagree with Melissa that he might be brought down by the 90%-ers. It isn't so much the material, it is how the material is taught. College has changed a lot in a couple decades. They are, for the most part, not 3 hour lectures with exams and term papers anymore. Sure, the latter two remain, but teachers tend to use better methods to get their point across and I have actually learned a lot from it (at unusually low price, thank you scholarships!).

However, there is a difference between college and high school/middle school. The younger the kids, the less freedom the teacher has, but it works in reverse as well.

 

[Andrew-Austin]

True, but the bottom line is that currently he lacks any sort of self-motivation or discipline. No matter what he decides he'll eventually talk himself out of it once it gets a little difficult. If I were him i'd practice following through on little goals and get a sense of how to keep going even when you stop wanting to.

Reading Henry Hazlitt's book on willpower (available for free off mises.org ) might be helpful in this endeavor (yes he wrote non-economic books).

 

[Nate-ForLiberty]

after 4 months, any change?

 

[Reason]

after 4 months, any change?

Not really, just chugging along towards my BA, put through my application for my xfer to SDSU now that I am just about done with the first 1/2 of the degree.

I have fun in my argumentation class right now but despise the 3 semesters of spanish I am suffering through.

Still feel pretty listless overall with the near future to be honest.

I hate how this comes across as sort of emo, I know I have a lot to be thankful for, I just don't feel that I have found my "calling" in life or w/e, does anyone?

 

[Clairvoyant]

I am 23.

For as long as I can remember I have never had an answer to the question "what do you want to do when you grow up?".

Disillusioned with gen ed at my community college I joined the USAF.

I was injured in training and now I am back home @ community college working towards a poli sci degree that as of right now would take me another 3 years to complete minimum due to the number of required classes that have to be taken in order (ie:foreign language req).

I don't want to be in college for 3 more years... I hate it.

I can just barely motivate myself to attend non poli sci classes that I have no interest in.

I despise math and just barely squeaked past statistics with a C.

I easily ace my political science classes and love those but they consist of maybe 20% of the classes I have to take...

I am working part time at a local electronics store where I make about 15$ an hour which is enough for me to pay my bills (apartment rent, food etc)

I am a good salesman but don't enjoy it.

I am good with computers but worked as an IT guy for 1 year and hated dealing with people that were completely computer illiterate, also I enjoy playing video games on the computer and having my day job consist of being on the computer made me no longer want to have anything to do with my hobby on the computer once I got home, which sucked.

The only thing I have ever really thought would be "cool" was back in the day I wanted to be a cop...

The problem now is my injury from the USAF that isn't something couldn't be overcome but would be difficult; however the bigger issue for me now is that I could never partake in the war on drugs...

I also think I would end up being that cop that calls for backup and never gets it because at some point I take a stand for what's right and in the process piss off my "buddies".

I just don't know what to do...

/

Try getting an IT gig where you service several clients, like health industry or food industry, etc. You usually deal with office managers rather than idiotic end users, and you spend as much time driving/flying around going to different offices and meeting different people as you do sitting in front of a computer.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Not really, just chugging along towards my BA, put through my application for my xfer to SDSU now that I am just about done with the first 1/2 of the degree.

I have fun in my argumentation class right now but despise the 3 semesters of spanish I am suffering through.

Still feel pretty listless overall with the near future to be honest.

I hate how this comes across as sort of emo, I know I have a lot to be thankful for, I just don't feel that I have found my "calling" in life or w/e, does anyone?

I was fortunate to have found my calling at 15 years old-virtuoso musician/composer. It's not an easy goal at all, but I found it early and am slowly and steadily getting there.

 

[TheHumblePhysicist]

I always told myself that if I found myself working behind a desk shuffling papers at a job I hated, I would run off and join the forest service.

Nature is a great place to find yourself. Imagine, great salary, great people, clearing trails high in the mountains where you have time to yourself to think. Camping with your pals under the starry sky, telling jokes and laughing.

You don't have to stay in the job either, all the job requires is muscle and knowing how to use a chainsaw. When you finally know what you want to do with your life, come back to college, and let your passions take you to the top of the world!