Feeling frustrated at how far I've NOT gotten in life despite working my butt off

[Ben_]

It seems to me that there are three paths that you can go down here:

1- See what the job market wants and go back to school for a different degree that would land you a job with better income.

2- Go back to school for a masters in Anthropology and find a job in research. You might have to relocate.

3- Go down the entrepreneurial path and see if you can turn your craftsmanship into a lucrative online business.


Don't give up, pal. It's never too late to turn your life around.

 

[SoulPatcher]

A non-INFJ perspective:

I'm 31, I have a BA in anthroplology and I've never made more than 16$ an hour at a job. I've had some ok jobs, museum teaching during my college years, and more recently retail sales (kitchen and bath design) which I just sort of fell into. I also starting selling crafts on etsy because thats what I REALLY want to do with my life, make stuff!

There! This is the punch line as far as I'm concerned.

You already know what you want. It's not easy to make a living out of this, but if you keep pushing in this direction, eventually you will. Find out how people become full-time craft makers.

From my own experience (in a different area, but nevertheless), when you follow your dream career-wise, your earnings may go down at first, even if they were modest before. But it won't matter to you a lot.

My problem is that I get the feeling that I'm supposed to have a REAL job. Not part time, or anything like that. Something that nets me a 401k and health insurance. That's virtually impossible for me. I left my last full time job at a big box because of the anxiety I had from bosses that expected me to continually get better (I was a good performer) but never gave me raises. When I found out that a new guy in the position I was PROMOTED FROM was making 2$ an hour more than I did in a BETTER position, I really felt like I was getting the shaft and just couldn't justify the stress my job caused me for so low pay.

As someone who co-founded a company, I can tell you that in most cases salary raises are so random that they are not an indicator of anything.

So here I am in my 30s with nothing really to show for it. I'm basically starting over. I KNOW that I am a good employee, hard working, great personality, creative and smart. But I don't feel like I'm a good fit for about 99% of the jobs out there. I'm terrible at office politics and I admit I require motivation from time to time (in the sense that if I am doing a good job, just let me know-is that so crazy to ask?).

I started part time at a small kitchen place, but this is no full time job, I'm not sure it will grow with me into my senior years, you know?

I kinda of feel like a failure compared to all the doctors and lawyers I went to school with, even though I know that I'm not cut from the same cloth as those types.

Any kind of help, or thoughts or personal stories would be so nice to hear. Thanks in advance

There will always be someone who'll do better than you. In everything.
There will always be someone who'll do worse than you. In everything.

Like others said, the rat race is bullshit. (While I don't mind a bit of extra cash, this is not the primary reason why I became an entrepreneur.)

From a pragmatic perspective, any job is a job that can look nice in your resume, and in small places you get to do more things so you gain more experience.

I would recommend using your current job as a fallback while trying to see how you can make a living of the craft making.

 

[Cornerstone]

I like how the word 'off' is not visible on the 'new posts' page when this thread comes up.

Wait. Have you considered that as an option?

[video=youtube;eOQIMOcEVc4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOQIMOcEVc4[/video]

But all jokes aside, you have to find your passion and go for it!!
Easier said than done but don't look to the end, enjoy the process!

The video in the next post is a genuinely good advice one but perhaps you've seen it before.
I can't embed two here and, that one is too funny...sorry.

 

[Cornerstone]

[video=youtube;ERbvKrH-GC4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4[/video]