Quarter-Life Crisis?

[Bud_Fox]

Has anyone here experienced this? If you goto Google and type this in you'l get hundreds of links.

Basically i'm at a turning point in my life. I'm about to turn 25 and am realizing how hard life is. I graduated from University in 2006 and have yet to find my dream job. I work in a retail store and while the pay is good there is a lot of heavy lifting involved and I have to work every weekend and 12-hour shifts which interferes with my dating life.

I have been single (and enjoying it) for the past few years but i'm starting to want to find a girl and start a new relationship. The only problem is I spend so much time working and when i'm not working i'm trying to find a new job/career.

I was offered an entry-level job at the bank last week, the hours are good (Monday-Friday) but the pay is MUCH lower than what i'm getting now. I always wanted a career in the banks, however, I want to move out of my parents house soon and buy a Jeep but it would be almost impossible on the bank teller salary.

I gotta say, University didn't teach about how hard life would be.

Has anyone else been in this situation. What did you do?

 

[Mr.Positive]

You are facing a decision of whether to follow the path that society sets for you, or forging a new path, a path on your terms.

Society says, take the bank job, work your way up, get married, have kids, and pay taxes.

What do you want to do? What is YOUR dream job?

Bud_Fox, you are at a time in your life where you are truly free, you can do whatever you want to do. Think hard and learn yourself. Everyone is different, but make your own decisions here.

You can achieve anything in this life that you want to, but you have to make the decision to just go for it.

 

[Bud_Fox]

I've always kinda wanted to work my way up at a bank. My biggest problem seems to be whether I should stay at my present job that I don't enjoy but pays well, or go to the bank which pays much less but has better opportunity for career growth and is a standard Mon-Fri 9-5pm.

 

[Mr.Positive]

I've always kinda wanted to work my way up at a bank. My biggest problem seems to be whether I should stay at my present job that I don't enjoy but pays well, or go to the bank which pays much less but has better opportunity for career growth and is a standard Mon-Fri 9-5pm.

I think you answered your own question here, take the bank job!

 

[thedeparted]

I've always kinda wanted to work my way up at a bank. My biggest problem seems to be whether I should stay at my present job that I don't enjoy but pays well, or go to the bank which pays much less but has better opportunity for career growth and is a standard Mon-Fri 9-5pm.

And I thought you were gonna bust out and start your own business while you're young and living rent free. Oh well. Just make sure you smile real nice when the rich guys deposit their money. Maybe they'll even give you a tip, or something... Nah, on second thought, they probably won't.

 

[cordoncordon]

Just be yourself.

 

[MikeYikes122]

And I thought you were gonna bust out and start your own business while you're young and living rent free. Oh well. Just make sure you smile real nice when the rich guys deposit their money. Maybe they'll even give you a tip, or something... Nah, on second thought, they probably won't.

If you think life is measured by salary, then you still have a whole lot to learn at the age of 34.

I have plenty of friends who are in med school and law school, and the majority of them are verging on depression because their lives consist only of studying and lab work. All of them are chugging a long and pissing away their mid-20s thinking that at the end of all their graduate work, a high-paying job is awaiting them to make them happy again. But in reality, more work just awaits them. Yeah, they're going to be living a little bit better with more money in their bank account, but they have more years of tedious work awaiting them when they finally get into the professional field at the age of 28 or 29.

Not bashing anyone who has taken this route in life. Things like law and medicine are definitely for certain types of people. But if you're getting into a profession for the money, then you're going to lead a very unhappy life. It's cliche', but you start to realize it's true.

As for the OP, do what is going to make you happy. If that's the bank job, then apply for it and find a way to make ends meet.

I was a grocery bagger and stock clerk at a grocery store when I was in high school. I worked with a grown man who had almost the same job as me. He was college educated but came back to the grocery store after 10 years of doing day trading because he realized he hated his job. He said one day he realized he was happiest when he was in his late teens and early 20s and working at the grocery store. The guy had to work a lot of overtime and a second job delivering papers to make ends meet, but he was one of the happiest and most pleasant people I've ever been around.

 

[alnite]

Oh well. Just make sure you smile real nice when the rich guys deposit their money. Maybe they'll even give you a tip, or something... Nah, on second thought, they probably won't.

Eh, there has been some stories of how people got rich this way. Off the top of my head is Suzie Orman (yes, she's a chick, but that's how she got rich).

To OP, if I were you, I'll take the Bank Job. You can't buy happiness, man. I'd rather work at a FUN place and take (slightly) less money and less working hours, than working at a BORING place and get more money.