I am a recent college graduate, I have a wonderful working atmosphere, a great boss, and am learning a lot about sales and business, as opposed to television production & anthroplogy (what i studied...) As I continue to grow and learn, I find that I am not enjoying what I do. As time passes I feel that I am falling behind on things that I have yet to learn in the field I chose not to pursue. Also, I have so much more I can learn in what I DID study, at this point it would be difficult to get a good job in my "major". not that im not willing to start at the bottom should an opportunity arise... I question my unhappiness for being in my current job, because I am not sure if I dont like it because it's unrelated to what I thought I wanted, or if I am just afraid to succeed in this field because its not what I set out to do.

I have so many ideas & projects that I am afraid I will never finish because i am devoting all my time and enegy to making my place in this company work... So...a question of purpose:

do i give and grow and learn in this job of mine or do i move on and look for something else (while never knowing what i could potentially be for this company?)

-- Jaime Endick (xanadu8@hotmail.com), October 11, 2000

Answers

Two things you should do Jaime.

1. Do just three things you consider most important at a time, set a time frame and objectives for completion and then move on to the next three once you have accomplished the first three. Right now you are setting yourself up for overwhelm, just as people who procastinate set themselves up for underwhelm.

2. Find the album STRANGER by Billy Joel, sit back and listen to the track VIENNA. Just listen to it. After you have listened to it a couple of times, then reflect on what you really want to do with your life.

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), October 11, 2000.

Hey Jaime,

I know what you mean about being frustrated that where you are is not where you expected to be and not being sure whether to stay on the current path of change direction. I've been in that situation for over a year now. I've changed countries, changed jobs, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for. Here's how I'm solving my own dilema:

I made a decision to stay put where I am for a full year and learn as much as I can from the experience. Meanwhile, I'm going through the process of figuring out precisely what my priorities are. I'm working on imagining exactly what I would like to be doing next year, and more vaguely what I would like to be doing in the years after that. In May my current 1 year commitment will be up, so in March I will start my job hunt (internally at the company where I work now? Outside? maybe a little of both), and/or I'll sign up for some summer classes.

By giving myself this long period to think about that next job I will have a very focused job search for my next position. By staying put for this year, I am proving to myself that the problem isn't just a matter of being a discontent. I'm also giving myself time to learn some tough lessons about dealing with difficult people and with work projects that don't always inspire me. When I come out on the other end of this, I think I will be better and stronger for the experience, no matter what my next move is.

Hope that helps!

-- Elizabeth Rennison (erennison@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.