How to start my career?

[TripleFly]

Hi I am a 26 year old from Israel. My high school diploma is incomplete, there' some things I need to re-take so I'll have the equivalent of a GED here. I haven't taken the equivalent of SAT exam.

I took a 1 year course in full stack java programming. I haven't found a job yet, I don't know why. Maybe employers are looking mostly for people with a degree.

I don't have a driver's license yet, that's my next goal...

I work as a customer service rep at an insurance company which pays me 2K$~ a month.

 

I don't know what to do next.

 

Maybe I should go back to school. It will take me 2 years to study math and literature, take the exam, and get my GED. Then another 1 year~ to study and take SAT exam. Then I can start looking at going to college to get a degree in programming. I don't know exactly how debt works as I have savings and neither does my family(we are poor) so if it's even possible I am looking for another 3-4 years of studying. so by the time I am 32-33 I will be ready to start my first job in programming. For me this long route makes no sense...

I also thought about trade school..?! 

Anyone has any idea?

[Average Investor]

Putting aside requirements, time, and money. What do you want to learn? What skills do you want to master? What do you enjoy? 

[Nahm]

Make a dreamboard. 

[Michael569]

What are you most passionate about? If happiness was the currency of your salary, what would you be doing to maximize income?

[TripleFly]

On 9/18/2021 at 11:40 PM, Average Investor said:

Putting aside requirements, time, and money. What do you want to learn? What skills do you want to master? What do you enjoy? 

I want to able to write code professionally. I don't know if it's something I can do... studying at a university, or going back to acquire my GED from high school, this is a lot of learning to do. I don't mind studying for a year or two. But 3-7 years is too much. Am I being rash here? at 26? with no savings?

I was thinking that I could try to take another course, and some of them promise you a job at the end. While it does sound promising, I don't know if I will be able to advance my career, as future employers would look and see that I do not have some of the education required. But I would have some experience though.

I feel that it would always be difficult for me to pursue in this profession simply because I lack some of the education basics. This fundamental lack surely projects on other professional options.

It makes me think that I should go for a trade. I know that people see it badly, it's a hard job, the pay is not so good. But I am not sure what other option do I have?

On 9/19/2021 at 11:20 AM, Michael569 said:

What are you most passionate about? If happiness was the currency of your salary, what would you be doing to maximize income?

I would ride my bike a shit ton. I would travel all over the world mostly by my bicycle. I would bed many many women. I would eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables. I would visit ancient yogis.

I would settle at a small community, either at the tropics or a cold European country. I would have a wife and a daughter, I could also have only a daughter. At least half of my food grown by myself. I prefer off grid living. 

peace.

 

[Michael569]

25 minutes ago, TripleFly said:

I would ride my bike a shit ton. I would travel all over the world mostly by my bicycle. I would bed many many women. I would eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables. I would visit ancient yogis.

I would settle at a small community, either at the tropics or a cold European country. I would have a wife and a daughter, I could also have only a daughter. At least half of my food grown by myself. I prefer off grid living. 

Good start, now think about how you could turn that into living. 

Put up a drawing board and everytime you walk around it spend 1 minute thinking. Anything comes up, a keyword, add it to the tab. See what you got in 3 months. 

Of course it needs to be at least somewhat profitable so you can leave the job you don't enjoy 

 

[Bubba66]

@TripleFly consider approaching this uncertainty you have from an experiential and experimental point of view, rather than logically. The following questions and actions helped me to establish the correct metaphysics before picking a career, and eventually led me to job satisfaction, security, and fulfillment as an emergency room nurse. 

1. What problems do I naturally have a knack for solving in my own life? Would anyone pay me sufficiently to solve these problems for them?

2. Job shadow three careers: one that you think fits you, one that is opposite of your personality, and one that you have a vague interest in. 

*for example I job shadowed a neurosurgeon, an architect (I hate math, but found this job interesting), and a biochemist. I ended up repeating this "job shadow exercise" four more times before finding an experiential match to my personality in the career of nursing.

3. Read the Four hour work week by Tim Ferriss, complete all exercises. This helps to uncover limiting beliefs about free time and wealth, and gives you alternative lifestyles you could practice as a member of the "New Rich" society. 

 

4. Pick one "dream item" on your bucket list when you "have the perfect career set up," and just do it. 

*this is nuanced, but we often fail to recognize the freedom we have already. I used to think about getting to visit the art museum to expand my mind when I had the perfect career that allowed me the time and mental energy to do it. But I decided one day when I was in school to just skip class and head to the art museum, and see if that was the sort of thing I really valued doing, rather than waiting for the career to allow me permission. Perhaps you owe yourself a similar call to action? 

 

Let me know if you have questions on how to optimally prepare for job shadow experience.

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Bubba66

[Average Investor]

6 hours ago, TripleFly said:

But I am not sure what other option do I have?

There is almost an infinite amount of career options these days with the internet. 

Something to consider is the fact that you can self teach yourself coding. You could make your own projects and sell them. You can do freelance coding for people as well. 

Mastery in anything is usually going to take more than 5 years. University coding might not be as applicable though. I know here in the US you could get a great job in coding without a degree if you are good at it. Degree's are not everything. Certain things like being a doctor though would require it to do much. Even then there is still a lot of work arounds for that. 

 

6 hours ago, TripleFly said:

I would ride my bike a shit ton. I would travel all over the world mostly by my bicycle. I would bed many many women. I would eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables. I would visit ancient yogis.

I would settle at a small community, either at the tropics or a cold European country. I would have a wife and a daughter, I could also have only a daughter. At least half of my food grown by myself. I prefer off grid living. 

peace.

 

After you exhausted those things what would you want to put your attention on? 

[TripleFly]

Thanks for the advice, but I am just too damn LAZY to do all this work...

I am not really looking to reinvent the wheel here. I just want something to pay the bills. I don't mind working 8 even 10 hours a day and I like my comfortable secure 9-5 paycheck more than your, excuse me but wacky solutions. I don't mean to be judgy or close minded! So let it be known that it is much appreciated!!!

I want to work in coding. I don't if it's a good option to me because of lack of education, and some people have said that it's okay but I still think it's risky. I am going to pay for a counselor to help me figure this out.