What to do After Graduating High School

[QuantumTheory]

I'm having a lot of trouble in my life right now. I can't think of anything positive, and I've had depression my whole life, I really don't need any help, I guess I'm feeling a lot happier now. I take anti depressiants and zoloft, but it never really seems to change my mood.

I just graduated high school, and I have no job, with too much time on my hands, I really don't know what to do.

The sad truth is I really don't want to work all my life for 8 hours a day, it just seems to much work and if you don't enjoy it and your living paycheck to paycheck then basically you come home and go to sleep only for the same thing to happen. With this, I've really come to fear the future of working hours and hours and hours, it just seems it would be even more boring.

I'd either want to be a physicst or a commercial pilot, both very hard careers to go into.

So maybe someone can convince me that 8 hours of working a day really doesn't suck..

I just can't look at the positiev stuff in life.

Thanks

 

[loseyourname]

This seems better suited to Career Guidance. I hope you don't mind me changing the title; the thread had nothing to do with belief in God.

 

[dx]

Are you planning to go to university? Remember that its not a matter of whether its 8 hours a day or 5 hours a day or whatever but a matter of whether you enjoy what youre doing. I know many people who don't really earn much but are very happy because they enjoy their job.

 

[1800bigk]

yes, try to find something that you enjoy doing and can get paid for it. It's not a good idea to become an xyz just because an xyz makes so much money. If you dread getting up and going to work everyday then you will be miserable no matter what the salary is.

 

[moose]

I would rather work 18 hours a day, sleep 6 hours, and enjoy what I do than work 3 hours a day and be rich...
Go to university... or else! :)

 

[mezarashi]

I'd either want to be a physicst or a commercial pilot, both very hard careers to go into.

As they say, where there's a will, there's a way. Personally I believe that passion is one of the most important things to life. Without passion, you are dead. Do things with passion. Do them to the best of your abilities with a goal in mind. If you live your life on 'dreams' (as cheesey that may sound), you will feel much more alive.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Thanks all.

I would love to be an astronaut, as far fetched as that may seem, but that is a good goal nevertheless.

It's just so hard to become one because so many smart people are on here and not one of them is an astronaut or has been to space

Let me tel you a story.
I will probably go to college, and here's my dilemma:
I am interested in physics, general relativity, time dilation, etc, however, I do not find solving calculus problems "fun". it takes a lot of work, some people really are math nerds and enjoy it, but I am good in math, and calculus seems very difficult and abstract to me

I do not enjoy doing it..

But I am interested in the theories, it's one thing to read about it and say "wow, that's so cool" but it's another thing to understand the mathematics behind it.

That's the problem I don't think I'd like to solve calculus problems all day

And when I had a job at a fast food restaurant, fazolis, I would dread going to work everyday because they only gave me one position, handing out breadsticks and cleaning tables. I swera the place must be close to going out of business, because hardly anyoen ever came, and I ended upc leaning tables being able to just have to think the whole time for 5 hours. It was VERY boring.

And that's not the worst. They cut my hours back so I would quit, and eventually they laid me off

And when I tried to get a job at mcdonalds for minimum wage, (I had already worked there before) they never called me back i assume because fazolis badmouthed me

 

[JasonRox]

I hate doing Calculus problems too.

They are always too applied for me. I find it very boring to just be handed a formula and just do it. That's what Calculus feels like to me. I enjoy Linear Algebra much more right now because I see what's happening. Until I take Analysis or a much more Advance Calculus course, Calculus will remain a boring topic in my opinion.

Go Algebra! (Abstract is just as cool!)

But then again, you have to go through the boring parts. It's part of life. Not everything is going to picture perfect fun fun fun. Calculus is one class a term, and eventually it goes away for an aspiring Physicists (except for the Calculus based Physics problems, which is like all of them).

Do what you can, but don't settle for McDonald's. That's just wrong. You are asking for a boring life right there. Atleast go to school and attempt doing Calculus problems because you might eventually like them.

Anyways, good luck.

 

[QuantumTheory]

As they say, where there's a will, there's a way. Personally I believe that passion is one of the most important things to life. Without passion, you are dead. Do things with passion. Do them to the best of your abilities with a goal in mind. If you live your life on 'dreams' (as cheesey that may sound), you will feel much more alive.

Thanks, I used to work at fazolis, a fast food restaurant (I'm 17) and i dreaded it everyday because they never would raise my pay ( they said they had to train me in other things to do this, and they wouldn't train me) so all I did was pas out breadsticks and clean tables for 4 hours , and tihs got very tiring especially because I am over 50 lbs overweight and my legs and knees hurt very, very bad, and also because the restaurant was never busy no one liked there food so very few people came. maybe 2 people an hour

and another thing is they cut back my pay trying to make me quit until they eventually laid me off

I also applied for a mcdonalds (I worked there before) and they never called me back I am assuming because fazolis mustve badmouthed me or the other mcdonalds did 'cause i couldn't count my drawer

also i would like to be an astroanut, but that's so hard to do i doubt anyone here has been into space, but it would be cool

its good to have high hopes like that

also i would like to be a physicst I am interested in the theorties, general relativity, time dilation, etc but its a whole another thing to understand the math behind it and the calculus confuses me. I don't find it enjoyable solving those complex problems..

So its hard you want to know the theorties but the math drives you nuts..

i also would like to be a commercial pilot, i love to fly

and i just graduated high school too

 

[QuantumTheory]

I hate doing Calculus problems too.
They are always too applied for me. I find it very boring to just be handed a formula and just do it. That's what Calculus feels like to me. I enjoy Linear Algebra much more right now because I see what's happening. Until I take Analysis or a much more Advance Calculus course, Calculus will remain a boring topic in my opinion.
Go Algebra! (Abstract is just as cool!)
But then again, you have to go through the boring parts. It's part of life. Not everything is going to picture perfect fun fun fun. Calculus is one class a term, and eventually it goes away for an aspiring Physicists (except for the Calculus based Physics problems, which is like all of them).
Do what you can, but don't settle for McDonald's. That's just wrong. You are asking for a boring life right there. Atleast go to school and attempt doing Calculus problems because you might eventually like them.
Anyways, good luck.

Thanks, it's nice to see we can agree. I do enjoy algebra, but calculus is very abstract and deals with infinity (a number we cannot comprehend) which makes things very sticky. And especially when I learned by the book 'calculusf or dummies' that integration and derivates is actually combined made it very more confusing

I remember this one person on a gaming forum that's in high school and is already learning integration, and he enjoys it.

I just don't see how anyone could enjoy calculus, the problems are abstract, and it's really work and not much fun to solve.

But I do want to learn the theorties, in short, not learning all the formulas, which is impossible

Anyway, i would love to build a time machine, LOL

 

[math-chick_41]

when you get to university the teachers are so much better than high school (my opinion) and they explain things so well that learning calculus is enjoyable. If you make it through calc 1,2,3 and continue your math studies into abstract algebra and analysis you will look back to your calculus days and wish you were back in calculus just plugging away at integrals. Advanced math is where its at and sometimes I think about a problem for several hours, maybe even a whole weekend and when I figure it out the feeling is awesome, nothing like it! No I don't sit at home all weekend doing math, but if I am out with friends my mind is usually elsewhere.

 

[Mr. A]

Amazingly, I see a lot of similarity between your thoughts and my thoughts when I was your age.

At your age, I had similar feelings about work. I also use to work at fast food place and when I had to work 40 hours plus during my vacations I just could not comprehend how people doing it for their whole life. I also felt being lost in life. I thought of joining military or opening my business. I wanted to be commericial pilot and getting a private pilot's license is still on top of my list.

I would say time is the best solution to all this. It seems like you are ambitious and want a good career that pays good. As you grow, you will gain from your experiences and have a better idea about your life. I would say continue school and see if these thoughts clear up over time.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Thank you mathchick and especially Mr.A and everyone else.

Mr.A ,d id you ever become a pilot?

 

[Mr. A]

I never went to a commericial pilot school. The reasons being it was too expensive to do it on my own. A lot of people join Air Force so that they can get the training for free but that requires interest in armed forces and 10 yr active service. Also, the competition for pilots is super intense. Waiting for 10-15 yrs to get a promotion is normal.

There was an informative free website about pilots and I can't remember it know. :( I will post it if it comes to my mind.

 

[moose]

Hey quantum, have you ever checked out the glider rides you can get near lake pleasant?

You can learn to fly them, it could be fun.

 

[QuantumTheory]

I never went to a commericial pilot school. The reasons being it was too expensive to do it on my own. A lot of people join Air Force so that they can get the training for free but that requires interest in armed forces and 10 yr active service. Also, the competition for pilots is super intense. Waiting for 10-15 yrs to get a promotion is normal.

There was an informative free website about pilots and I can't remember it know. :( I will post it if it comes to my mind.

Yes, I heard it was VERY expensive. How expensive was it? A few million? 250K?