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Thread: Is 30 too late to turn your life around?

  1. #11
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Without knowing you and hearing more about you, the best advice is Teacher Terry's. Have you done the employment review with any reputable or recognized agency?

    I am having the feeling that you are simply asking the same basic question but using different phrasing than an earlier post. The results will be the same. Go to the employment support centres in your area and let them help you define your interests and strengths. I did when I was considering changing my career and found it quite informative.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  2. #12
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    I have known several, including myself, who have made major career changes in their 30's. I don't know that immediate job stability is as much a consideration as having a goal in mind and building that into a stable career. For a loose example, being a librarian's assistant while earning a degree in library sciences, then becoming a librarian, library administrator, or instructor. Or being a barista to learn to manage or own a coffee shop or maybe a bakery. You might consider finding a career counselor, although I don't know how much the local unemployment office can offer.

    There is a lot to consider, but it's my take that the most successful people find jobs that they can enjoy day in and day out for a long time, and you only get so many chances.

  3. #13
    Senior Member Sad Eyed Lady's Avatar
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    I may have missed this somewhere alone the line, but why are you stuck in L.A.? Such a high dollar area makes it hard for you looking for "choices" in the job market, I would think.
    "Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in the midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." Leonard Cohen

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    I am having the feeling that you are simply asking the same basic question but using different phrasing than an earlier post. The results will be the same. Go to the employment support centres in your area and let them help you define your interests and strengths. I did when I was considering changing my career and found it quite informative.
    +1 I don't know how many different ways there are to ask a single question but we're getting up there.

  5. #15
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sad Eyed Lady View Post
    I may have missed this somewhere alone the line, but why are you stuck in L.A.?
    I suspect Mystic feels like (s)he* is on a bit of a treadmill because none of the jobs in which (s)he has expressed interest or ability pays what constitutes a (perceived) living wage in the L.A. area. It's hard to think about moving someplace else when you're not bringing in enough money to live independently, never mind save for a move, deposits, etc. In addition, Mystic has posted that (s)he's living at home right now (rent-free except maybe for some family drama?) with at least one child.

    Quote Originally Posted by razz
    I am having the feeling that you are simply asking the same basic question but using different phrasing than an earlier post
    I've had that feeling for a while. I'm not sure if Mystic is looking for the basic question to be asked differently, but there have been several threads focused on the same issues.

    Terry's suggestions (and that of others here over the several posts) have been similar -- and excellent. There are many resources out there which can help people determine what they're good at, what jobs/careers might take advantage of unique skills and interests the job-seeker has, and how individuals can figure out what they want in life. It will require some solid thought on Mystic's part -- about likes, dislikes, aptitudes, values for which (s)he is willing to prioritize his/her time and energy.

    Mystic, right now you're in "analysis paralysis". You need to get out of it or you will not get anywhere. What is most important to you? Getting out of your parents' house? Could you do that by moving someplace with a lower cost of living? Would you move out if it meant not having family support for your role as a parent? Would you take on a roommate to cut expenses? Are there unstated restraints on moving (an ex, special-needs child, etc.)? Would you take a not-terribly-interesting job (or even any job) for a while if it got you the money to move out of your parents' house?

    Any choice you make will have its not-so-great aspects; which ones can you handle, at least for a little while? We cannot answer that question for you; you have to set your priority, make your choice, and then let the other aspects of that choice take their places in line.



    * not sure if Mystic has stated a gender/preference in previous posts; don't need to look back to verify; the advice does not change
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  6. #16
    Senior Member kib's Avatar
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    My Dad gave me a book when I was in junior high, entitled, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably wind up somewhere else." The bottom line is that it's never too late to point yourself in the direction you want to go, but that's the first step: where do you want to go? What do you mean by 'turn yourself around'?

    What is actually important to you? Do you want to be rich? Do you want a very creative life, or a family, a specific kind of career, or the ability to mostly lie on the couch and smoke a lot of weed or spend your days hiking the forests - without starving? No judgment, and I seriously mean that, knowing what you Really want and not what other people tell you is admirable is the whole point. Knowing yourself and what feels right, good and heart warming to you ... that's the first step in figuring out what you actually need in terms of material resources. "What I want right now is x, and using all my brain, my creativity, my resources and my ability to research what I want, this is what x will require."

    And I truly believe this, once you know what you're aiming for, it's a lot easier to find a way to hit the target.

  7. #17
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    Is 30 too late to turn your life around?

    In my opinion, it's never too late to try.
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

  8. #18
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    I would also recommend going to a community college and taking a class in choosing a career. MANY community colleges (and I teach at one in LA) have special programs and services for people looking to find a new career at 30 or beyond.

    The key is to just dive in and try things until you find something you like, are good at or can get good at, and that can provide you with the salary and benefits you need.

  9. #19
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    What' nice is 30 is so young--if you go take the class like ejchase recommends, you have massive amounts of time to train for a career and then enjoy that career for years and years.

  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I am currently in love with a Season 18 Project Runway contestant. She worked in education for years, and then woke up one day and asked herself, "What would I have liked to learn if I were young again." And her answer was fashion design. So at 58 years old, her husband encouraged her to get a degree in fashion, which she did, and she opened up her own space and now she's in the final 7 on Project Runway, competing with all these 20/30 somethings. She is 64 years old. She changed careers--big time--in her late 50s and just 6 years later is making a name for herself.

    Honestly, I think I'm going to hang up her picture next to my picture of Mother Teresa.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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