Hang in there and keep putting yourself out there for opportunities. I’ve found that when you emit positivity, positive things will come to you. I know that college sets people up to expect that things will be great and easy and wonderful but the job market is tough right now. Just remember you are still VERY young, you DO have a bright future ahead of you and things will get better. I know it’s easy to think time is slipping away and you’re missing your chance at life but I’m finding that it’s a common thing for 20-somethings to feel that way. I’m 26 and I feel that way all the time…I have a job but it’s certainly not my passion in life and I feel like I haven’t even begun the path I thought I was setting out on after college!

I have been in the same situation for all of my 20’s and about to turn 30 this year and I am still figuring it out. I went to school for something based on what other people told me about it, when I graduated in criminal justice I was over it when I graduated. I realized that the original reason of going into law enforcement was not me. I have done the whole self employed thing now for a while, did a business with a friend that lasted two years and have been struggling with it the whole time. Everyone has an opinion about what I need to do or what my problem is. A lot of people say, “Why don’t you go work for so and so company I hear they are hiring,” or “Why don’t you look in to some occupation I hear they make great money.” I listen to what they have to say of course, but overall I ignore them, because they aren’t really telling me to be happy by doing what I feel called to do and they don’t know what I do in my free time toward fulfilling my goals. They are telling me that I should put aside everything I believe in order to make money. Let’s face it work is a huge part of our lives at least a third of the majority of days, so that is a lot of time to be miserable in order to just make money. The number one thing you can do though is to make a goal for yourself and you should make it your priority to fulfill that goal. Sometimes in order to fulfill a goal you will have to sacrifice and if that requires you to get a job you hate in order for you to pay for putting yourself back through school for your passion then you need to do it. Just remember what you are doing it for, because time goes by fast and it is easy to get comfortable in a job making good money if its not where you feel you belong. You will need to set aside time to attain your goals in such a case, its easy to go to work come home and forget about your dreams. But, when you retire though you may have regrets.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Mike.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think that sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves to find our “passion”. Had you asked me as a kid what I want to be when I grow up, what I’m doing in my career would have never crossed my mind. On paper, my job sounds so mind-numbingly boring that you would wonder why anyone in her right mind would want to do it. For me, it’s what you make of it. I enjoy the people in my office. They are like a second family to me. I feel secure, content and make good money to put towards things that really fuel my fire, like a trek through the Himalayas, a nice car, my own home with a dog and backyard, music concerts with my friends and more. Do I feel like I’m changing the world in my work? Not necessarily, but it’s a job that I can take pride in anyway because I do the best I can do and see the progress I make each day. I work to live, not live to work. You’re right that we spend so much of our time devoted to our work that it should be something we can enjoy. That said, we have our free time to pursue hobbies and interests as well – it’s about setting a healthy work/life balance. Get out there and perform your music! But don’t pressure yourself into feeling like you need to parlay it into a career. Play for fun on the weekends and as your experience and fan following grows, you may be able to make a living off it. But if you don’t, you can sure have fun doing it. You have your whole life ahead of you. You have not wasted any time. You’ll find the right path in time. Don’t feel like you need to know right now where that path will take you – that’s the joy of life. You just jump in and do what you gotta do and as you move through life you will be presented with new opportunities that may take you in a whole new direction. Go easy on yourself, friend. You can do this 🙂