Thanks everyone for your replies, I do need to calm down but this is something that has been building up for over a year & I'm getting to the point where I'm fed up not knowing. People ask you the question ..Where do you see yourself in 5years time?....My answer is...God Knows! I don't have a friggin clue! Which in a way some people could find it exciting but I find it scary. Thought they do say 'to make plans is a way to make God laugh'.

I'm not necessarily looking for a big time career that I devote my life to, but what I'd like is just a job that makes me happy and earns me enough money to lead a normal life without worrying! I'm not that kind of person who is gonna be business woman of the year, I do live by what Ciaran said that a job is only a job, it gets you by. pays the bills, I definately know that family, friends are more important. But to lead a healthy family life I think you need that balance of liking what you and being able to earn enough to support your family life.

Some people say- meet a rich man & marry him. I could do that but I dont want to. I have a long term boyfriend who has his own house, earns a very good wage, but I'm not about to sponge off him, i'd like to be on power with him & show him that I can do well for myself as well. His house will become half mine if we marry, but I'd like to be able to say that even if that wasn't to happen I could easily get my own house & support myself. I think I'm maybe too independant!

From the replies I get, I've seen very different stories, some have emailed me to say they've gone their life moving from job to job & are still working for nothing as they have no degree/skills and struggle to get by. Others are lucky enough like ciaran to have just fallen into their career and not worried about it!

I guess I'm just worried I could go the wrong way...

Hi Lisa!  I think you've brought up a subject that obviously appeals to loads of people, myself included.  First of all I applaud your attitude, you've decided you want changes but aren't moaning about your life.  I tend to be a bit of a moaner!  And I definitely was when I was your age.  But it sounds to me like you've got a great life, and at nearly 21 the world is literally your oyster.  I miss living at home every single day.  I'm a mum which is the best thing in my life, but it is definitely easier to pursue modelling if you've just got yourself to think about.  I don't know if you're single or not, but its also easier to do your own career without a partner who is quite frankly a pain in the bum when it comes to this topic.
If I was in your situation I would hop on the next flight to London!  But I guess its easier to have courage in hindsight.  You make a great model even if it's only part time.  Good luck.
P.S - when I was at uni just a few years back nurses were paid to study because there was such a shortage of students.  I think they got a £5000 grant or something - definitely something to look into if its only the money that's holding you back!

I pretty much fell into my "career", it certainly wasn't a concious decision to pursue a specific carrerr decision I chose a subject to study in university. As easy as it is for me to say this, I think the key here is to relax.

In a lot of ways, careers are over rated. People can be extremely ambitious, do exceptionally well, get promoted up what ever career ladder there is for them, but after X amount of years most people come to realise, that at the end of the day, what they do is just a job - it provides them income, but in reality home life, friends, family and health are infinitely more important.

I've had friends that have been desperately unhappy, always chasing a career, moving from job to job, trying different courses etc. because they always felt they had to choose something, a career path for life. The truth is, you don't. I don't see any problems moving from job to job, trying this, dabbling in that. Maybe one day, you'll stumble upon something that will suit you for life, and maybe you won't. My happier friends are the ones that have settled on knowing that they don't have to chase the dream of a career, they're happy working at what ever they're doing now and are able to enjoy their lives in their off time.

I'd also agree with Thorsten in suggesting travelling, even combining that with working whilst you're away. When you're young and have no ties, it's a really great time to do it.

Long story short.. don't worry about not having a career. It's not a necessity in life, where as being happy is.

To quote Mary Schmich (Wear Sunscreen):

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

I'll send you an email in due course, but have you considered travelling? Get out there and see the world! Although I've done a bit of business travel in the past, one of my biggest regrets to date is not taking a year or so out to travel the world. It would most likely open your eyes to opportunities you may never have thought of.

- Thorsten.

Hi Lisa,

Interesting blog you got there :) as leanne was saying already dont panic and take it a step at a time. Think about a career as a big sandwich, there is no way you will be able to swallow it as a whole, you need to bite bits of it and break it down. Same with a career take it slow try new and different things. You got your life ahead of you, you not too old and retirement is million miles away from you :)

Maybe try to embrace several "jobs" at a slower pace to see if you like them, maybe see if some animal shelters needs some helps a few hours a week, then lookout for some modelling work locally to see if there might be a niche that you might enjoy, maybe try to grab the camera and be on the other side to see if you like it. You mentioned outdoors, I am sure there are plenty of companies or businesses that might need someone to be involved outdoor.

Whatever you choose I wish you all the best in your future endevours, I am 38 had a reasonable work experience so far, had several jobs too, but there is always something somewhere that will push me to go further in terms of ideas or experience. Look around the solution if you feel that you are stuck that is the problem and you already know about it so there is no point debating about it....the only way is forward :)

All the best! :)

Guy

Hahaha thanks for your reply Leanne, I am going to go along to some dog training classes, I contacted a guy who works self employed who gave me some info and invited me along. Only thing is at the moment I'm working 3nights a week until 9Pm so I usually have a pile of things to do the other two nights during the week which leaves me very little time for volunteering. I was thinkginof contacting like the RSPCA to see what kind of things I could do there! Sent you a PM also! x

PS if you can, could you volunteer somewhere for experience with animals (you'll not get a  paid job without it, too much legislation) while you do  a "boring" job during the day. People underestimate volunteering but, by project managing the Calendar Girls thing i got my promotion at work because I needed to show I could manage a project and its finances to conclusion. Bit embarassing showing my "Belfast Baps" round the interview panel but hey it worked lol

OK 1st off my dear CALM DOWN  you've got a lot going for you and you know that otherwise you'd be happy in a dead-end job so let's start with a positive!

Secondly, don't panic that you don't know what to do. I'm such an organised, anxious person I decided my career path at 15 - I wanted to work in PR and I chose my GCSEs and A Levels so I could get into the CAM degree at uni. In the end, I didn't want to work in that sector - too competitive and long hours for little pay so it didn't matter that I had it planned you see? Also, it meant I missed out on doing what I loved - art GCSE (which I was told would take too much time and damage my other grades) and French A Level (which I was good at but needed 3 As so picked subjects I knew I'd pass with flying colours).

What I advise everyone is KEEP MOVING. My family laugh at me that I've had so many jobs but I've stayed in each one at least 6 months. Maternity covers are great because you get taken on with little experience when they're depserate and they also pay above the odds for your insecurity in the job so you get experience without the scary "changing career path altogether" feeling. I've bumped up my salary easily in the last 2 years since graduating and I'm not ashamed to show you how I did it:

May 2006: Expedia Call Centre agent £12k (thought I wanted to be a Travel Agent)
August 2006: Flagship Media Adv Sales Exec £14k (decided I hated sales lol)
October 2006: Materntiy Cover PA at LyleBailie Advertising £16 (was offered to stay on but found advertising too cut-throat)
March 2007: Administrator Skills for Justice £12k (started 4 days a week - moved up to full time £16k when office got busier)
March 2008: Almost made redundant but went for promotion to Workforce Development Advisor at got it £25 a year

Now, OK, the last bit was luck, I was pregnant, they didn't wanna fire me yadda yadda. BUT I still don't know what I want to do lol these short experiences however have taught me something important 1) I know I don't like sales and 2) you don't know what you want because you don't know what's out there! I've ended up working in skills and qualifications development, eventually I might like to promote higher education and workforce training to schools and employers maybe? I don't know.

What I do know is my degree has helped me, a bit. It's hard to earn over a certain threshold without a 3rd level qualification unless you've built up serious experience, I know this because I work with NOS to help employers write job specs and job ads. However, I also know that it's not required and mine is pretty much worth the paper it's written on while I repay a 10 grand student loan! I work in the Justic Sector so I know that for police etc., maybe there are certain qualifications that you can do if you look outside the box, NVQs for example are very highly viewed but you have to be in a job to be assessed. If you want to be a vet or something then yes you'll need a degree, but it's a huge leap to take if you're unsure.

My advice is to stop thinking about jobs in name terms and list aspects of work you like and don't like - e.g. I like running events, I hate travelling (that's just me ) but this might help you narrow it down. We're also very bad at recognising our strengths so get others to do it for you. I'm not sure how much help I can be but I'm very passionate about this (it's my job after all lol) and I'm doing a huge project next year on Careers IAG - Information Advice & Guidance - for adults so I tend to be the one in my family they all come to to help them find jobs and write their CVs so anything I can do to help you know where I am!!!

xoxoxox