What to do with my life? Im stuck (Education/Career)What is the point of life?

There's a lot of good career choices to be made in Film & TV and the ones you have interests in are pretty exciting and rewarding in their own right. Have you given any thought to approaching some tv stations in your area just to shadow a reporter and gain some of their insight into what they do?

Having worked in tv & film, I can tell you that casting can be interesting and challenging. Sometimes it's trying to find the right people to give to director's and clients as options for a commercial; other times it could be looking for someone for a particular role in film or stage. Interning, or shadowing for a casting agency could be a good start to not only seeing if it is an avenue to pursue, but also could land you some Part-time work.

I noticed you're in Atlanta... maybe do a quick google search of "Casting agencies" and maybe email them or visit them with a resume* explaining how you would like to gain experience in the industry and are interested in volunteering, sitting in on a casting session and possibly interning for a couple weeks during a heavy work-load period for them.

*Your resume can reflect your enthusiasm for becoming a casting director, or working for a casting agency and gaining experience. Don't feel intimidated of not being able to list a whole dose of related jobs or interests - that's why you want to volunteer/intern, to gain experience!

There's a lot that happens in a casting agency, and I am pretty confident you will find something within casting that will not only be rewarding, but get you headed in understanding more where you want to go.

 

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can surpass an education. I am not suggesting you stop your college studies, but there are a lot of unhappy people with degrees that do not serve them and they are thousands in student loan debt. You make your own choices and destiny. Go for it. Make your own luck.

 

Dude, not to be unsupportive, but you've posted this same basic thing more than 10 times now.

Each time you post it, you get some number of replies offering support and advice. After which you go quiet for a bit (usually without actually replying to anybody who's posted advice to you) and then pop up again essentially reposting the same thing all over again. I'm honestly not sure if you're just hoping to get different answers to the same question or what the deal is, but from what I've seen we're all telling you the same thing again and again and again.

I'm very sorry that your life is hard right now, and I and lots of other people are happy to offer advice. But when you don't seem to really be listening to the advice being offered (or even acknowledging that anyone has said anything to you or that you're listening to anything anyone is saying) it eventually starts to seem rather pointless to keep trying to help you.

To reiterate your situation as you've described it and the general suggestions people have made:

1) You don't like living with your parents - Find a place you can afford, whether by yourself on your current salary or with roommates and move out.

a. You don't like the idea of rooming with people you don't know - Life is tough that way sometimes. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do, even if you'd rather not.

2) You don't know exactly what path to follow to get the sort of job you think you want - Talk to the career counseling services at your school. Look into the options that have been suggested by various people in their replies to your posts. Those include internships, getting a job somewhere in the business and using that as a stepping stone to what you want, and possibly getting a degree that will lead you into the field (the exact degree can vary - again talking to the career counseling services at school, or maybe going to a job fair, or reaching out to the HR depts in the TV/film industries might all be options.

There are probably others, but you can find those by reviewing all your posts - the main thing here is that you need to DO something and start looking around and trying to measure the size of the problem you are trying to solve. That is really the only way to get un-stuck. Once you have an initial grasp on things based on looking around, that may lead to next steps or you might come back here and post what you've learned and everyone can share additional thoughts and ideas to keep you moving forward. But only you can take that first step.

Todd

 

^ This, mainly.

It's human nature to want to both hold on to what you've got AND move forward, but the fact is - you can't do both. It's like Tarzan swinging his way through the jungle - he has to let go of the previous vine to let the next one take him forward. And as long as you grasp on to that vine you currently have, you're not going to be moving forward.

I was sort of stuck in a rut for awhile, too. I was living with my parents after college, doing rather menial work for not much pay. Not getting paid enough to move out and move on. I finally forced myself to start looking for jobs in my chosen field, and I was finally offered one.

750 miles away.
For 30 hours a week.
At $6 an hour.

I thought about it for about 30 minutes. To be in a small town where I knew nobody, making not-enough-to-live-on, at a company I knew very little about.

I took the job.
And I can't tell you how much better my life got after that.

No, the job wasn't always fantastic. Yes, I had to get a second job on top of the first one. But for the first time, I was actually living independently. And even when I had only a couple bucks to my name, that was awesome.

Lex

 

I understand where you're coming from. But by and large what we're suggesting you do at this point is try to get more information so you can make a more informed decision. Doing that will cost you nothing but a bit of time. And if you are to ultimately change your circumstances, you're going to have to make some changes. I'd also point back to the title of this thread - you said you were 'stuck' not just trying to get multiple perspectives. Just sayin

As far as not knowing the world - I grew up in a very VERY small town in Alaska in a very poor family. I didn't tip anyone until I was in my 20s either - because I didn't eat out by myself as a kid and only did fast food for a good bit when I hit college (mainly because of money). So I learned how over time (in part by just going out and DOING it, including moving thousands of miles away from home to a major city and a college that had more people on campus than lived in most of the cities in Alaska). You have access to a computer and the internet, which means you have access to the greatest collection of information in human history. While some care is called for in using it, with a bit of time you can learn about a lot of things. Or ask about them here on EC. Looking at your wall, I'd also note that a former member who is a former JW and has offered to help you with your situation. Have you followed up on that?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we're all prepared to help you as much as we can. But ultimately, you have to get the ball rolling - and at least in this early stage of things there's a lot you can do to help yourself with little or no cost beyond some time.

We're already to walk beside you, but ultimately you have to take the first step.

Best,

Todd