How many of you wake every morning and think, "What the hell am I doing with my life"?

Even though I am not the poster whom this person is responding to, I absolutely have to interject something here.

It's an absolute lie - an absolute lie - an absolute lie, that there are "thousands of career options out there."

Why do people lie to such a degree? I feel so in awe of people. They are so strange.

You must know, on some level, that you can only get a job - any job - if you know someone. There is no such thing as a rational job market. The very, very few jobs that are posted online are jobs that require very specific previous experience. These jobs are also incredibly competitive, as they are visible to hundreds of potential candidates. Even if you had any options, the idea that you would have thousands of options... that seems to indicate complete detachment from the world we live in.

As someone who used to believe in a "society," but who is struggling to be hired the lowest of entry-level jobs, despite recently graduating with two advanced degrees, I am wildly amazed that people still say this.

Why do you do it? There must be some bizarre joke here. Is this a generational thing? Were things really that different before?

Regardless, even if you have a great job and all is well for you, our society now faces some incredible environmental challenges in the near future (even aside from climate change). Isn't that enough to provoke more sane and sober thinking about our society?

DocLove wrote:

What job do you do that's so exciting?

I love watching films but if for example I was a film reviewer I would get bloody bored watching 40 hours of films a week

Loads of people claim to love their job. If they won the lottery most of them would drop it like a bomb

I'm working on a master's degree right now, so I can't really say that I have a job to enjoy at the moment. However, I do certainly enjoy what I'm doing and see no reason that I would not enjoy a career in the field. I can also say that I have enjoyed all of my previous jobs (had fun doing everything from waiting tables to working at an engineering firm).

To be more specific about what I'm doing now, I am working on a degree in urban planning with a specialty in transportation. Along with all the basic planning curriculum, I'm studying everything from mathematical modeling of transportation networks to social and economic impacts of transportation policy decisions. This will leave me with a few options after graduation this spring. I can work in the policy side for a municipal, state, or federal DOT. I can work as a transportation planner for a city or borough. I could just forget about the transportation side and do any city planning job in the public or private sector. I can work for a city transit authority doing more technical work. I can work for an engineering firm doing consulting work. Given the wide variety of work that I can do, I can't imagine ever getting bored or tired of working. The second I get tired of one thing, I can move on to something new.

You mention that you wouldn't want to watch movies 40 hours per week even though you like to watch movies. This is one of the reasons that I picked my career. It's not just 40 hours per week of the same thing. There are so many different aspects to planning and operating a transportation system that I won't just be doing the same thing day after day and month after month.

All in all, I don't see any reason that I would end up in a job that I don't enjoy for any significant period of time. I've picked a field that I find very interesting and that provides a diverse set of opportunities.

As far as your point about people quitting their jobs after winning the lottery, the fact that a better option might come along does not mean that your current situation is not enjoyable. Also, I'm not so sure that people who win the lottery and quit their jobs are generally happier as a result. I can't imagine having a challenge-free life.

Excuse me, this is the comment I was responding to:

I have never understood this mindset. There are thousands of career options out there. Not only have you apparently somehow managed to pick a job that you don't enjoy, you are convinced that anyone who claims to enjoy their job is delusional. Maybe you were inexplicably unable to pick something that you enjoy doing out of all the thousands of options, but not everyone f***ed up that bad.

Why do people lie so much? wrote:

You must know, on some level, that you can only get a job - any job - if you know someone. There is no such thing as a rational job market. The very, very few jobs that are posted online are jobs that require very specific previous experience. These jobs are also incredibly competitive, as they are visible to hundreds of potential candidates. Even if you had any options, the idea that you would have thousands of options... that seems to indicate complete detachment from the world we live in.

Yes. This is why you make an effort to know people. Seems clear enough. Find people in your field. Tell them that you are considering a career in the field and would like to buy them lunch and discuss what they do. Most of the time, you'll just end up having lunch and gaining some useful information. Every once in a while, you'll make a connection with someone that proves to be meaningful.

Yes. This is why you make an effort to know people. Seems clear enough. Find people in your field. Tell them that you are considering a career in the field and would like to buy them lunch and discuss what they do. Most of the time, you'll just end up having lunch and gaining some useful information. Every once in a while, you'll make a connection with someone that proves to be meaningful.

My main argument is that our society is not transparent. You seem to acknowledge that in your response. This lack of transparency contradicts your "thousands of choices" theory. People generally make much more humble choices based on who they know.

What was most shocking about your initial comments is that you seemed utterly certain that society is completely accessible. That's preposterous. On an emotional level, your comments come across as very aggressive and disrespectful to those of us who make honest efforts to get jobs and cannot find any.

I wake up every morning and say: "Hmm I wonder what today's adventures will bring"

Even if you have an office job there are all types of adventures to get into. Something like the old pencil sharpener on the floor trick always gets good laughs.

This guy:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3735046