Quote from: Analixus on December 04, 2012, 08:54:29 AMDo kids not start off at the bottom anymore? Do they get an executive corner office out of the womb these days? I started at freaking Taco Bell at 14. Odd that my first job used headphones. A lot of people here in Singapore(not sure about every else) wants to start at a manager's role after a degree these days. No one wants to start from the floor. I expect to start off from the floor though, given the nature of my (future)job.
Do kids not start off at the bottom anymore? Do they get an executive corner office out of the womb these days? I started at freaking Taco Bell at 14. Odd that my first job used headphones.
Anyway, I'm now in a "respectable" government job (though tenure is unsecured) where every day is a challenge and the technical aspect of the work provides stimulation over the otherwise monotonous nature of the environment. It is soul crushing at times, especially when ingrained procedures and policies counteract the meaningful work that needs to be achieved. Other times it is very rewarding, as I'm in a position to help people in dire need. There is no stat or metric for these occasions, and most of the time they go unnoticed by managers. There is no monetary reward (though the pay itself is quite adequate), just the knowledge that you've done right by someone else.
Traditional college isn't for everyone. I hated LA college, as I felt like they wasted my time. Oh you start taking classes toward your major after two years of dicking around learning about goats. Oh ok, and so I just pay you tens of thousands of dollars then, to learn about goats. Lovely. The class I think I hated more than any other was a mandatory 1st year class that all the CIS kids had to take on how to use MS Word (I kid you not). The class was literally "find the most obscure, most buried sub, sub, sub, sub option that no one has ever used and the Word developers forgot was in there, and use that. Over and over. Lots of colleges are little more than diploma mills anyway, and these days especially a large number of degrees qualify you to work in a bookstore or make coffee.Does anyone else still have the "oh shit, I'm failing X class" dream? I'm over 10 years out of school already, and I still have that one every few months or so.
Is the reason you're having trouble coming from emotional trauma of some kind or a more generalized/vague lack of motivation/direction/interest?What do you want to do? Are you working towards something?
OP sounds like me 10 years ago. I flunked university and am constantly reminded of my "wasted potential". Working shit shovelling jobs for a few years compounded the regret. I never went back to make a proper fist of it though. I felt alienated by the whole system, where adherence to schedules and meeting requirements took precedence over intelligence and understanding. It's a bitter view and perhaps one used to condone the many distractions that conflicted with committing to tertiary studies.
