Books on finding your passion/desired career path?

[Anonymous No.15040121]

>went to uni following my passion
>how hate my "passion"
>about to graduate
>pandemic on anyway so got loads of time to read

[Anonymous No.15040226]

Literally just pick something you don't hate and get good at it. "Passion" and "enjoyment" don't come from the novelty of something or some innate idea. It comes from becoming proficient and enjoying the flow state. Go learn to code and how to play the tuba.

[Anonymous No.15040235]

>>15040121
Without God everything is meaningless. With God, some things are meaningless. In the end you'll realise the futility of money, power and status anyway.

"Passion" doesn't necessarily mean something you're always in a state of excitement about, but something which possesses more innate value in your eyes. My "passion" is literature, even after a BA and then an MA with a dissertation focused on an obscure aspect of the Romantic tradition. Even after hundreds of hours of pozzed theory and literary criticism and boring medieval texts. Because even though the ability to read critically somewhat diminishes the "magic", now and then I still glimpse the Tabor Light within the pages, the Divine Creative, still see what is purest and noblest of human beings.

[Anonymous No.15040276]

I’m not going to address the whole passion thing because I don’t know about that but why don’t you just switch while you’re still in school or join the military or something?

[Anonymous No.15040343]

>>15040121
>but why don’t you just switch while you’re still in school
I graduate in 1 month.

Well, theoretically, but clearly due to the circumstances I'll be graduating in absentia.

>or join the military
Honestly, I am looking at that. But I have physical barriers (need to lose 100lb) and mental health barriers (well, not anymore, but "suicidal thoughts" are scrubbed all along my medical records from when I was a teen)

[Anonymous No.15040363]

>>15040343
What's your degree in and why do you hate what you learned to do? Pfft, undergrad skillsets without any interest outside of it is absolutely useless. Have you applied your skills to projects outside of for class.

[Anonymous No.15040399]

>>15040363
>What's your degree in and why do you hate what you learned to do?
PolSci

Because the only people who take it are airheads or narcissists, same for those who teach it. If go down the the more real-world route (ir representative/elective politics), it's the same type of people, but with slightly more ambition.
>Have you applied your skills to projects outside of for class.
Aye, published a little, done some internships related to PolSci, but nothing anyone outside the discipline would be interested in

[Anonymous No.15041110]

>>15040121
does anyone else think that picture looks like david mitchell

[Anonymous No.15041184]

I hate law school and want to leave it before i find that the practice of it is equally boring, but i actually dont know what does it mean to be a lawyer in its differnet areas.
i could still change to an economics degree and then become a business analyst or data scientist (one of my friends is currently working for a statup modeling a pricing system for a real state company who buys houses form desperate people who need the money asap, it sound pretty interesting) but i am facing strong opposition from my family. Its reasonable since i am already 21 and ive change from philosophy to law already.

Also i study Law in a third world country where law is a 5 years undergrad program..

[Anonymous No.15041193]

>>15041184
>i am already 21 and ive change from philosophy to law already.
That was your first mistake.

[Anonymous No.15041222]

>>15040121
Few people have it figured out at your age, and the modern Western education system is retarded anyway when it comes to preparing you for the job market. Also these two are pretty much right, >>15040226
>>15040235

You can’t be constantly passionate about something as if you’re constantly eating LSD. Always gonna be some aspect of boredom or grinding. This is why practicality has to balance passion. Just find something useful you don’t totally hate. Explore, look around, develop new skills, and don’t worry too much, people aren’t paying as much attention to your blunders as you might think, they don’t have the time.

[Anonymous No.15041227]

>>15040121
i feel the same away about my classics MA OP. The plan for me is to get some casual work and join the reserves while figuring out exactly what it is i want to do next and in the mean time take drugs and party. DESU what you should do is take a cold look at PolSci and identify what about it you really like, even if its vague, and then build upon that.

Something else that might help is reading biographies of people whos lives you admire, if not just get some perspective about how things take time.

[Anonymous No.15041260]

>>15041193
Philosophy was cool. Good things to read and discuss but everyone in my uni went out to be highschool teachers or editors in mediocre newsappers if they didnt had the massive amount of money to pay for a phd.
Living with a low or even medium salary in this third world country is not just a small unconvinience, it lowers your happiness and life expectancy by a lot.

[Anonymous No.15041537]

>>15040121
Somewhat similar boat OP. I'm a history major who's close to entering my last year of uni, and I've been going down the path of getting certified in adolescent education to be a high school teacher. I've now come to realize that I absolutely do not want to teach and I have to decide if I want to make the call to switch out of it before going further. As far as I can tell, I'd graduate at the same time even without the cert. The problem is that, even though I have really enjoyed the history aspect of my degree, teaching was my only actual plan and now I detest it. If I just graduate with a history degree I'll have no job prospects. I am considering trying to get into being a librarian and might investigate that path, but it's been a stressful time.

Also using this pandemic to read a lot.

[Anonymous No.15041696]

>>15041537
i realized that at the end of my first year in philosophy. Now i am studying law an i want to chang into economics.
If i continue with law ill graduate being 25, but if i change to ecnomics ill graduate being 27

[Anonymous No.15041716]

>>15041537
>If I just graduate with a history degree I'll have no job prospects. I am considering trying to get into being a librarian and might investigate that path, but it's been a stressful time.

OP here

At least you've got a year to explore other avenues.

But ye, fucking sucks. Wish I hadn't been naively sold the idea of "follow what you're interested in and it'll reward you". Like, no, nigga, it won't. You shoulda pushed me towards trade school not fucking uni.

[Anonymous No.15041768]

>>15041716
I feel the exact same way. I went from thinking lesser of some people who took the trade school route while I was in high school, but now I advertise it to most people who will listen. I've enjoyed my major, but I really wish I had done something like business or economics instead.

[Anonymous No.15041809]

>>15040121
>15 posts, no books (though good discussion)
Here are some recommendations:
>"So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love" by Cal Newport
It's about how being skilled at something leads to higher job satisfaction, than following an abstract dream. This is similar to the take at >>15040226.
>What Color is Your Parachute?
Newport directly criticizes this book, but it explores the opposite of Newport's point of view. It encourages you to follow what you're passionate about.
>How to fail at almost everything and still win big by Scott Adams
Adams encourages you to narrow down your passion into following a job that lets you manage your personal wellbeing first and foremost, such as giving you freedom to manage your schedule.
The second priority is economics, and the third priority is caring for the world.
Adams argues that you can't take care of the other two, if you don't take care of that first. I found that true in my experience.

>>15041537
Consider finding a steady job that pays decently well, and lets you use your free time to study history or write articles based on historical analysis (e.g. freelancing for magazines).
You can become an instructor for a university, work in air traffic control, work with the merchant marines, work in communications for a non-profit, find a government job (civil servant and/or even law enforcement), and plenty of other careers.
You don't truly need to study history in your job itself, to enjoy your passion in the remainder of your time.

>>15041227
>read biographies to understand how things take time
This is a good take on how things do take patience.

[Anonymous No.15041890]

>>15041768
>I feel the exact same way. I went from thinking lesser of some people who took the trade school route while I was in high school, but now I advertise it to most people who will listen. I've enjoyed my major, but I really wish I had done something like business or economics instead.

Pretty much the exact same. I thought lesser of a friend bc he became a barber. But he's set himself up a job for a life, one that is rewarding him well bc he's fucking good at it. And I now I only think lesser of myself for being dragged into such an obvious meme. I wish I hadn't gone to uni at all.

[Anonymous No.15041893]

>>15041809
Same poster here. I forgot to mention that these aren't "hard truths," and that there are other options.
For example, Navy lieutenant Jonny Kim (who enlisted in the SEALs, went to Harvard Medical School, and was accepted into NASA's astronaut program) talks about how he didn't have a clear plan all the way to the present day.
For instance, he joined the SEALs to improve his self-confidence and learn to protect himself and his family, following domestic violence growing up.
He then applied to medical school after being inspired after seeing physicians doing work, and from his experiences as a corpsman.
It's less clear how he became interested in NASA (I forgot his reason on a podcast interview), but he was inspired by their ability to bring countries and people together.

So, I suppose another option is to take jobs that help you fulfill a personal ideal. This is more risky (I've realized I've followed this path in my own life, and have become cynical and guarded as a result), but rewarding (oftentimes I felt for sure that I was doing the right thing at the right time).
I'm sure there are plenty more people who failed while following their ideals, but it's certainly a possibility.

My only two main principles are that you need to have a good, long-term goal (possibly 20 years from now), and you need to have a good system to back it up.

[Anonymous No.15041909]

>>15040121
Just get a job, start your career.
But do your real passion as a hobby in the hopes of later making it a living.

[Anonymous No.15041929]

>>15041909
That reality is settling in. But even just getting the job is a task atm.

About to move back home with my parents in a little hamlet with no transport connections, and no jobs around. Cannae wait.

[Anonymous No.15042145]

>>15040226
Name literally one thing you can pick if you are already past the point of changing majors. If your major is shit, you are fucked, and you can blame your teenage self for making that mistake