So yeh, woo, between the Masters thread & bumping the one about Canada it must be pretty obvious I'm looking for a change. I've pretty much reached the end of the road with this job and trying to think of ways to shake things up.

Obviously, going back to Uni is one common way people reset things. If I'm honest it's more the year of space and possible change of direction that's appealing. I'm also considering doing some travelling, I know its bit of a middle-class cliche but I've never been ouside of Europe and what with the world ending in 2012 I think it's worth a try? I've also thought about doing some voulunteering out of pure liberal guilt, nothing too risky but I'm quite fit and good at efforty stuff.

I don't have much pressure on me at the moment, other than being pretty bored & washed out with my current work. I don't want to quit straight off because it's too risky and I need some structure. I possibly have access to a reasonable lump of inheritance but I don't want to piss it away over a couple of years.

Ideas? Make or break my life folks.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

Do you like getting your hands dirty ? Physical challenges? A career that would cost about 16K to get the certification and you could quit after 5 years and would have made your money back and then some?

you suggested most things i was going to say.
obviously a masters is a good one because it takes so little time and looks good on the c.v. plus it does give you the chance to step back and focus on where you want to be.
i've volunteered a lot and to be honest a lot of the time it's extremely frustrating, because you either end up resenting the fact you cant give more time or you eventually get guilt over having to move on.
on the travelling thing, have you thought about one of those schemes where you go somewhere exotic for a year and volunteer? some of them even give you accreditations at the end of it, but i know there is a big gulf in how good and how bad some of em are.
of the things suggested, personal choice would be the masters, cos you could volunteer a couple of days a week in the place you were doing it and also fit in some travelling...and at the end you have something tangible to show for it as well as having had a really good time

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It's a new year, I'm glad to be here. It's a fresh spring, so lets sing.
In 2080 I'll surely be dead. So don't look ahead, never look ahead.

hang on, is the world really ending in 2012??? why?/please say its a joke. thats well scary

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no no never say maybe to smack bunny baby again.

Based on the Mayan calendar or something the world is ssupposed to end in december of 2012. Personally, I think it's a load of shit.

hm i'm in a similar place right now; i decided i'm gonna take a trip around nz, work at orchards for a while and live in a tent. i'm at university but it's not working out too well at the moment.
you said you want structure
this is pretty obvious but why don' tyou find some sort of work overseas? spend some inheritance on getting there

But it's in an Incubus song! Brandon wouldn't lie to us.

I actually really like the idea of volunteering (what a surprisingly hard word to spell), it's more I don't really know what I want to do beyond the fact I'm good at heavy lifting. I've got a friend who's done a lot of work, but he's got a lot of scary stories about it and I'm not sure I'm able to cope with that. Honestly, I'm struggling for motivation or meaning in my current job, something I'd have to tear myself from sounds pretty appealing.

I thought about wwoofing this time last year, their online links aren't that good though. I was going to sign up, but is there any other similar organisations I could peruse? That sounds more my street.

I think you're right, I'm just worried I've missed the boat or could have an out-of-the-frying-pan experience in shitty city and/or course with the dreggs that are left.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

motorcycle trip through alaska.

i guess its a popular thing to do. then on your way up the dalton highway you can stop at a truckstop and you'll be like who's that lovely waitress she looks oddly familiar and why is she limping a bit? and it'll be me!

that's how i'm shaking my life up. i was having pure terror at graduating university because i've drawn it out over like seven years because of said pure terror. well then i was like i'd better do something weird as soon as I graduate or i'll probably just find some jackass to marry and never leave here. so i found a summer job at a super-remote truckstop 60 miles north of the arctic circle from may to september. then i'll come back and be less freaked out about life i think.

but yeah. the great wild north and 2 hot wheels. do it.

Brian, you need to go travelling!

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yeah
when the going gets tough, i leave town


move to a new city.

move to london

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you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

Don't move to London!

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london london london london

a man who is tired of london is tired of life!

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you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

Well I'm done, then.

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Go somewhere exotic and fall in love with someone exotic and then get divorced and go home and pretend you don't smoke cigarettes.

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bitten inner lip

Thanks for the stuff in the reps Yeh, um, I'm very much leaning towards something that combines travelling & volunteering. Like I said I don't think I could cope with anything super-dangerous. I'll probably spend tonight digging for things online. I don't really know much about but it seems like the most positive option. Is there like a questionaire you can use to narrow what's good for you, like you get with careers things?

The first time I changed city was fun but it's wearing me down and I've pretty much done the length of England now. London is a no-no, it's fun to visit but I could never live there.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

Ok this is going to sound terribly cheesy, but I think that if you're unsatisfied with your life the best thing you can do is work on yourself first, and then do something drastic. I have alllllllllways been like this, since I can remember, and I thought maybe I just needed challenges, or something like that. So I graduated, moved countries, moved in with my boyfriend, moved cities twice, worked for a year abroad, I'm now doing a masters in one of the best unis of the UK...but nothing. Nothing has changed! I am still as unfulfilled as I used to be, perhaps even more.
Sorry, I'll crawl back into my hole and listen to the Cure

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now that I know that I'm breaking to pieces
I'll pull out my heart and I'll feed it to anyone.

Depends what you want to do. Work with animals? kids? retards? on your own? big groups?

Just look around. Most are stupidly expensive but you CAN find good cheap ones if you look around.

'Global Volunteers International' has some good ones it seems.

Which impresses chicks the most? I can picture myself doing more physically demanding or skillfull stuff, as opposed to something, I like people but I'm not sure I could cope with, say, mentally disabledses.

What sort of range is 'stupidly expensive'?

Thanks, I'll check that. One of the other sites bumped me to a local centre that sorts out this sort of thing which I failed to find last time, I'll give them another go.

I see what you're saying. I think it's down to the person, I mean often the shake-up does work for people. I do know that right now I've ended up down a dog-leg of a career path, and I'm too think about things, retrain or even take a decent length break.

And the main thing doing my head is the inconsequentially of the work. I'm also don't know how long I'll stay this free, in terms of personal committments, or even just turn into some jobsworth zombie without having experienced more of life.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god