Who is actually happy with their education/degree/job?

[Lucrezia Duchessa]

Also, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

If you don't want to answer that, then how many times have you changed degrees and/or jobs?

As for me, I am currently a third-year in industrial engineering, and I'm always on the edge of falling into severe depression. And please don't try to convince me to switch out.

[Alicia Rodriguez]

I am 21. I changed my major my first couple of months into college lol :) I never put my education first though mainly because I wanted a family and not a career. I am currently in a job now where I can't imagine doing anything else. It gives me freedom and let's me make my own choices. The only way they are letting me go is firing me haha!

[Lucrezia Duchessa]

@Silla Bakht Happy to find a kindred spirit, at least :). What was the third field you thought of switching into, if I may ask? Computer engineering, CA, and...? Have you every been particularly passionate about something?

My favourite subject in school has always been English, but only in terms of critiquing, but to be honest it's so hard for me to string words together that I think I would dread being in the field--though when I do manage to write something, it is rather decent.

[Silla Bakht]

I am 20 and i am studying chartered accountancy .This is third feild i have choosen b efore that i was thinking to be a computer engineer .It drives me too towards depression and i change myself so quickly my decisions also vary with my MDD :(

[Lucrezia Duchessa]

@Jessica (Queen Dopamine) Thank you for the compliments :). They really lifted me up. I didn't mean to imply anything about you with the quote, I was just pointing out the "control" part so I could go on a tangent, haha. I think perhaps carrying conversations well can only come with practice--but on top of this, one has to strive to acquire the chance for conversation :/.

I can definitely see privately building oneself up as a sure way to boost self-confidence. I find that in my free time, I am always on the hunt for entertainment, which doesn't really do much to make me feel good about myself outside of the time I'm being entertained.

I have a journal that I've been writing in off and on since late-2009--with big gaps in between some dates--and have taken up writing in it again since mid-2013 because my MDD was taking over my life. I'm using this journal to mull over my past to see how/why I came to be the way I am, and noting what to improve on and how to improve on them, as well as noting what I'm already good at.

I hope my self-exploration will shed some light on how I can move forward from my depression and build myself up. And I hope it helps me to come to terms with the way I am--and what to do in terms of my career--no matter how others may view me. But I also hope I don't get too lonely.

@OhMyMagenta That's very cool that you've always had such a steady passion. I've found that I've never really been passionate about very tangible things--I am still a child who needs to discover herself by dabbling beyond her immediate periphery. If you don't mind me asking, how did you come to the realization that going into social work was what you wanted for your life?

[OhMyMagenta]

I'm 35, have my masters in social work, and am currently working as a therapist in a mental health clinic. I knew from the beginning that this was my chosen education/career path and never switched majors; did take a break after my BA to gain work experience before returning for my MSW though.

[Queen Dopamine]

I think you're doing a great job of developing those conversational skills, even in this comment section! You're asking questions and then acknowledging that you value what we have said, in addition to carrying the conversation forward. I know what you're saying about not being able to control social situations. No matter how much you rehearse it or daydream it, those things will never be anything but totally spontaneous. That is scary and nerve-wracking. I meant that I build up my self-confidence in private. I have several hobbies/passions that I pursue that make me feel good about  myself. Sometimes I luck into social situations where I don't feel totally stupid, but I'm working on that. :P

And yes, what you said about your classmates and some being older does make me feel better. If only you and I both could learn how to integrate ourselves better when we feel awkward/left out/unsure of what to do or say.

[Lucrezia Duchessa]

@Jessica (Queen Dopamine) So glad to hear about the internship! Seriously, I think that's probably one of the most important experiences one should get out of one's education. As for being around juniors, there are actually a number of people in my field who are significantly older, or only by a few years, and they manage to fit in just fine, though I sympathize all the same with that nerve-wracking feeling of seeing fellow classmates. I've had three very good friends, though, who were all 27 and I couldn't tell that they were so much older--in fact, I thought they were all my age, lol. I hope that is some consolation.

But I can tell you that I build up my life and my self-confidence in things that I can do alone, things that I can control, things that make me happy.

I guess that's the thing about social issues... I can't control other people's reactions, I can't read their minds, so I can't predict my moves ahead of time... I have to be spontaneous. But I don't like to take risks. I feel like I am so detached from people that I can't think of them beyond myself, so I have such a hard time writing about characters other than myself (and how can a story exist with only one character...?). Someone close to me once tore into me a long time ago and said that my egotism had reached unprecedented levels, and for a few weeks now I've been wondering if she was right all this time. Even in conversations, people will ask me about myself, and I will sooo belatedly think, ...wait a minute, I should have asked them about themselves, too! I wonder how I got to be in such a childish place in my mind.

So I have been trying and thinking more about improving this part of me: to care about people more, in the sense that I hope to learn how to carry on a conversation where I can make others feel good and special--it's the art of being a "True Listener". It's actually sort of inspired by my sister: I asked her how she came to be a decent conversationalist, and she said the key is to make others keep talking about themselves, so that if you have trouble thinking of something interesting to say, you can think about it while listening to the other person go on.

So that was a bit personal, sorry about that. But writing it out is making things still clearer in my mind, and the reason why I MDD, though I seriously wonder if acquiring the most secure network of friends and family, or even the most secure self-confident self, would do away with my MDD. What a mysterious thing it is to daydream.

@Antigone What a relief for your brother! When I think about the stigma of staying in school for more than four years without excuses like having an internship, I think about how unfair that kind of judgement is because why rush and sludge through things and hurt yourself when you could take it slow and actually let things sink in and enjoy immersing yourself into what you're learning?

I used to read novels/non-fiction in class but gave up because I would feel so anxious that someone would pick on me for it. It is actually more acceptable to be on one's cell phone... and read. Ah, the silly insignificant politics I indulge in. Your friend is most wise.

I assume you would need a specialized school for piloting or being part of the army. That's very cool that your two fields of interest (English and Philosophy/Religion on one hand, and the military on the other) are so distinct from each other.

I think I dislike very small groups because then people start to become distinct from one another. I think if I ever lived in the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone else's business, I would go postal.

[Hahahaha, sorry, I don't know if anyone here knows anything about Harry Potter, but it is said that each year has ~10 students per house, and there are 4 houses, with 7 years, so 10x4x7 = 280 students. Imagine spending 7 years at a boarding school of 280 students... I would totally lose it.]

@Gethin and @Ale I am so happy to hear that you pursued your passion. It always annoys me on TV when people speak about following their passions, because I feel that everything good on TV is fake, lol, but it's so nice to hear from REAL people that they truly did pursue their own happiness. I hope I find something to love as much as you love what you do.

I hope it's okay to give some advice, @Ale. Since you're interested in graphic/web design, maybe you could search for some classes on those that don't take too long (maybe less than a year, or even just a few weeks) and look for jobs in those fields? I need to double-check, but I think there are a decent amount of jobs in these fields. I don't really know where you would find adverts for those though... You could even do volunteering in whichever arts field you like and gain experience, as well as have something to do to fill your time in a meaningful way. Being pro-active is like pulling teeth for me most of the time, but when I see results I feel so happy. So I want to tell you to keep hoping for results by working any way you can :). I apologize if I have spoken out of turn, I feel hypocritical, but I empathize with you so much.

[Gethin]

I have always been into sports, specifically soccer, so when I turned down playing and an elite level in order to pursue my education, Kinesiology was the smart way to go. 

I worked at a physiotherapy clinic last year, which I really enjoyed, however my ideal job would be working for a soccer team. I enjoy working with injuries or helping to prevent them. I would like to be able to move back to the UK to do this.  

[Queen Dopamine]

Oh, and Im not going for a creative writing degree. Minoring in writing will help round out my English degree and make it more appealing to employers in the future. That's just what my adviser said. I currently do writing part-time, but in order to get the type of job I really want (working for a magazine, for instance), then getting an English degree with a minor in writing will help best prepare me for that. And my school offers an internship when you take this particular path, so it will be good experience!

[Queen Dopamine]

Oh my gosh, that would be really difficult!! Actually, I've been going online for the past few years. But I have to go back to campus next semester and I'm extremely nervous. Even though it may not be as intimate of a group or as obvious, I'm going to feel so out of place trying to fit in with juniors, when really, I'm older than everyone. For that part, I can't tell you how to handle it because I'm no good at it. But I can tell you that I build up my life and my self-confidence in things that I can do alone, things that I can control, things that make me happy. Knowing exactly how to fit in or how to handle social situations is only something I can do when I'm tipsy. ;)