Question

Topic: Career/Training

A Young Adult Needing Help On Career Path

Posted by Anonymous on 8/23/2005 at 12:06 AM ET 250 Points
I'm currently 20 years old and I feel like I can't get my career goals to go in the right direction. I have loved being around animals all of my life and so my goal is to become a vet tech or something similar.

The problem is I have no time to go back to college. In order to pay all of the bills of my boyfriend and I have had to work full time for us to get by. He works part time and goes to college fultime. And up until about a month ago I was working a full time and a part time job. Because neither of us have finished college we have only been able to get jobs that pay min wage. I'm burned out both physically and mentally and I'm not sure how to do this.

I want to get everything in order and get back to school so I can get a decent job that I like and pays the bills. Can anyone help my out? I'm not really sure what I should be doing and it seems like the more I try the more I mess things up.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by michael on 8/23/2005 at 7:36 PM Member
    Are we being candid?

    Dump the boyfriend and go home. Unless there is a serious issue, your parents have 20 years of getting to know who you are. They're also probably your biggest supporters. Boyfriends, unlike spouses, cloud issues.

    Michael

  • Posted by phil.wesel on 8/23/2005 at 8:38 PM Accepted
    Some positive steps I hope towards your goals.

    1) Put aside at least three hours a week toward your goals. It can be every Wednesday afternoon. It can be Saturday morning from 7 to 10 a.m. Get he who loves you to agree that this is time for you to read journals or study or whatever you think will help you become more knowledgable about the vet trade.

    2) If you can't get your ideal job, get one that leads there. If I loved animals and could not get the vet assistant job, I would consider a job at Petsmart or another business that catered to the animal trade. I would try and have a resume that gives people a reason to give me a chance at the next rung I want to step on.

    3) Network,network, network. I learned late in live that the more people you know in your field the better you are likely to be. You will be sought out not just for your own knowledge but for your relationnship with others. Everytime someone came into the pet store, I would strike up a conversation until I found a vet or horse breeder or whatever. You love horses go work in a western clothing or tack store. Be friendly courteous and introduce yourself to every person you can in the context of your current life.

    4) Don't give up and don't settle. The older you get the harder it becomes not to settle. If you want to go to college, you should do everything you can to make it happen. A lot of times in the situation you are in, you might find it easy to give up and take a supporting role to your boyfriend. That is not the answer. Each tree must cast it's own shadow from the sun and get its own nourishment from the soil or it cannot survive.

    Good luck and know that you know have a at least four other people that are willing to help you.

    Phil
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