I am 33 and very aware that I am not living up to my potential. I got to the end of high school with no idea what career I wanted for myself, so Uni was never on the cards because I had no path. I started a career in Admin in my early 20's which could have become something more if I'd been able to stick it out but my sister was diagnosed with cancer and losing her knocked my whole world off its axis and it's taken a long, long time to recover.
Now I've reached my 30's, I have an amazing husband and a beautiful little boy so I'm very fulfilled on that front but inside I'm still that floundering 18 year old who had no idea what she wanted to do. How do you find a path to take? I know you are supposed to follow your passion but my passions are reading, gardening, art and I've never seen a career path in those. I want to get my act together, I want to go to Uni if need be, to have a career but I have no idea how to find that path. How did other mumma's find theirs? Please help me!
4 Replies
There are loads of careers that fit your interests. Gardening, botanists, design, historical, just loads and loads of career paths in that industry.
Art, visual art, curators, admin etc
Reading, librarian, book shops, academia.
Do some research you'll be surprised
What about a qualification in horticulture?
I took a factory job and found I have a flair for logistics so ended up in management. I satisfy my gardening and arts leanings with a garden at home and amateur photography.
My sister in law was a bookworm her whole life. Went to uni and studied literature (worked in a book shop as well to earn money while she studied) and couldn't stay away - she now has a PhD and is a senior lecturer/course coordinator and has written a text book on her topic! I'm not saying that everyone who enjoys reading should go down that path, but I do believe you really can turn any passion into a career. If you have a passion for gardening, check out what you can do to in that area - whether it's working in a nursery or garden centre, studying horticulture, or landscaping etc. Even working in home garden maintenance - how cool would it be to get paid to do what you enjoy?! Would be very satisfying to fix up people's gardens and lawns. (I think I'm even convincing myself - maybe a career change is on the cards for me lol). If you are passionate about art, it might be worth looking into what jobs are out there other than simply trying to earn money from your own work (my mother is a painter, it's not much of a money earner for her), so it might be something like graphic design (eg for webpages or magazines or advertising) or set design or something creative but in a different vein, like cake decorating or architecture. I have had a varied career, but ended up in midwifery. I started in science/psychology, then photography, then nursing and midwifery. I'm now back at uni for the 4th time to transition into a research career now that my children are in school. Uni with kids is tough, but possible if you have the determination and passion. You have done the right thing by waiting until your life settled down after the loss of your sister and having your little boy. I think by your 30s you have a better idea of your likes/dislikes/needs/interests and when you do go to uni, you have a different motivation to the school-leavers. You're there because you really want to be there and make something of yourself, rather than going to uni because that's what your parents wanted you to do (which was my own situation!). There will be plenty of people your own age - all of my courses have had a mix of ages and life experiences. I found my path by trying different things, but to be completely honest I still am not sure of my path! It's a constantly evolving thing. I've been a nurse and midwife for 10 years and I need a change, but I love midwifery so much that I'm now trying to focus on improving practice through research (and one day, lecturing). Whatever you do now, you still have heaps of time to enjoy that and then evolve your career further once you've established yourself. So don't put too much pressure on yourself to decide your final destination when you're only just starting out. Okay I'll leave it there, sorry for the big spiel!! Hope something I've said has helped in some way :) xo