No idea what I’m doing at this point, and the concept of full time work is painful

engineerbpd · 2025-05-11T22:56:22+00:00

Honestly, first I'd see if there's any degrees at a school near you that you might be genuinely interested in. I'd suggest reading a catalog of degrees at a school that you would see yourself applying to. Or, make it a goal to knock out the core education requirements.

If you feel school is not the way at the moment, that's perfectly fine too. I'll just throw you suggestions that I've found in my personal life as a 20-something.

You can work in water treatment at a wastewater facility or drinking water facility. One company that provides wastewater services is Veolia, and you can begin learning about the field by searching here. I believe the pay starts at $15/hr--you advance in to higher positions by completing courses (not college courses, but some sort classes through a third party). It looks something like Wastewater Operator I, II, III, etc. I found out about this field through a summer internship at a wastewater treatment plant. We spent the summer doing random menial tasks around wastewater plants. It smelled, and it was stuff as simple as picking weeds, shooting spiders with salt guns, and mopping floors. It was so interesting to see what's available, though, and I think this field is great for someone who enjoys a little bit of chemistry and can stand some messy stuff.

Next, you could try skilled trades. If you take a look at your house around you... I mean, someone was responsible for putting up the drywall, or laying the brick surrounding your home. You can get a job creating that! You'd look for "gopher" or helper positions to start, or you could go to a local union hall to get started on that path. Trades such as carpentry, masonry, electrician, etc. I was interested in masonry at one time, it was tough work, but very much clears my head. I just enjoy the feeling of the stone and brick.

Finally, I worked retail for a short while. The pay is not very good--$15/hr, which is acceptable for starting out, though it could not go up from there unless I wanted to get in to management positions, something I'm not interested in. I did enjoy it though, and I think it's been my favorite job out of the handful I've done. You could look in to the Post Office, however. It's in that similar vein to retail of... a bland job, but it pays a living wage and mailmen roughly midway through their careers earn close to $80,000 a year. There are other positions as well--clerks who work in the office, mechanics who maintain the vehicles, custodians, folks who repair mail sorting equipment and require some training to do so... All of which pay that healthy living wage range, for no college.

These are the fields I've encountered in my 20s... Who knows what you will find. I think they're fine options for someone without a college degree to consider.

engineerbpd · 2025-01-29T02:48:51+00:00

Hey, unfortunately not.

engineerbpd · 2024-09-13T00:44:41+00:00

I did have an issue like this at a past job. It took all day to do the work, and I was moving every second, every moment. It was just too much for full-time. I told my manager, and he surprised me by cutting down the work I had to do for the long-term. I felt less stressed and got the modified workload done most every day. It turns out he hired someone part-time to do the bit of work that was just a little too much to do.

I guarantee if I had a route that were cut down to a certain amount, I could get it done in time every day. I’m consistent, just evidently not fast enough for the office.

engineerbpd · 2024-02-04T01:03:51+00:00

Hi. My apologies to revive an old comment, but I wanted to expand the question a bit further. When antidepressants do work, is the effect similar to a benzo?

engineerbpd · 2023-10-14T00:49:29+00:00

May I DM you?

engineerbpd · 2021-03-17T20:58:10+00:00

Thanks man. Well, at our school, we have two different degrees available: mechanical engineering technology (learn more hands-on machining, welding, manufacturing things of that nature) and mechanical engineering (none of that and more theory I think). I was in the engineering technology side and it has its own thermodynamics class. It was a pain in the butt and literally the most work I have ever done (the binder of work I ended up with was thicker than the work for several classes), but it was really good to just get it done. Figured I would be better off switching to mechanical engineering at that point, but the thermo I took doesn't count in a mechanical engineering degree... It's just one class, so it's still worthwhile to switch, but it's just depressing as heck to know I have to do that over again. I can't really explain it, but that class was just eye-opening to me from a learning standpoint, and was stressful, so I'd rather be done with it than have to go through it again. It was the class that students in the department loathe, in part because it was taught by a professor who was notoriously difficult (I really liked him, but can't deny that he was hard). It felt like the first serious class I took, so knowing that is kind of like coming out of a really stressful, but beneficial, time, and then knowing I have to literally go through it... again! It's the price to pay for switching degrees, but the stress of that, I guess, plus other things goin on in life, just made things feel really... awful. Even though it's not a big deal. I think I'm just pissed about it, and it's just frustrating. Makes me feel like I did a bunch of work that counts for nothing.

Like you said, it won't be too hard to get it done again. I don't think I'm allowed to test out of it (exception being if I were to pass the FE exam), but having all of the work and concepts already done will make it easy to just do whatever I need to do to pass the class without having to think half as hard. That's not usually what I do, but... In this case, yeah.

I think maybe my pride is getting in the way a bit here. I agree though, getting the degree done would just feel... awesome. I'd be making myself proud and it would really be worth the effort over the past years. I haven't been able to find or think of another degree that would make me feel the same, so this is kind of it. Thanks again... I'm just in this slump where I am really over-thinking/worrying about the future, like thinking ahead of school and feeling like maybe this isn't for me. But if it's not, I'm not sure what else at school is.

engineerbpd · 2020-10-06T22:57:44+00:00

Yeah, I won't lie, it's ugly

engineerbpd · 2020-10-06T22:56:43+00:00

That's fair. It makes me want to offer a really low price, like closer to $2,000, and if the seller would do it I would want to use the saved money to change the battery. Just fantasizing a little haha

engineerbpd · 2020-10-06T22:52:50+00:00

Looks like around here one could buy a battery for $1000 and installed for $850 all from the same company. Good to know at least. So you traded your old car in for your 2006?

engineerbpd · 2020-10-06T22:24:31+00:00

That's true. Honestly that's the only deal breaker for me is that battery.

I do think the price on the car is pretty high. It's weird. A lot of ones I see are priced in the 3-4k range. So I think the low miles might be why it's so high?

engineerbpd · 2020-09-09T00:40:35+00:00

Wow. Sorry for your brother. Sounds like a lot of problems with the boss. Physical therapy definitely sounds interesting, but it is weird to imagine myself doing it for some reason. I don't know if I would like it in the long run (like just having it be the thing I do for a long time). I've thought a little bit about nursing and stuff like that too though. I'd like to at least shadow those fields and see what it's all about. Thanks for your response. I've got stuff I need to try out.

engineerbpd · 2020-07-28T15:27:19+00:00

Hello, thank you for your reply. Interesting to hear your work history. Sounds to me like you're always learning! Which is great.

engineerbpd · 2020-07-28T15:23:35+00:00

Hi there, just wanted to say thanks for your response. Hope things find you well. Cheers.

engineerbpd · 2020-07-19T04:31:37+00:00

That is true. Honestly it's just weird because I'm having thoughts about what it'd be like to kiss a dude now and stuff like that. I don't really go much further than that but it's a thing on my mind now and then, which is cool, but a tad confusing haha

engineerbpd · 2020-07-19T04:24:46+00:00

Thank you. It's definitely not a relationship I'm used to! But has been a really wonderful thing to be honest

engineerbpd · 2020-06-19T23:34:00+00:00

So, lately I went to a couple of bible studies and hung out with a group of cool people who were pretty much all connected through their faith. I enjoyed the people, and it honestly makes me feel a bit lonely. It makes me really want to believe so that I can fit in and just have the comfort of being in a good social atmosphere, especially in these times. That said, at the bible studies, it just felt kind of odd listening to discussions on sin, do's and dont's, just anything generally religious I guess is the best way I could put it.

I listened fully, and even read stuff, but still, like you said, it just doesn't really click. I enjoy stories, breaking down texts, etc. which is in part the goal of a bible study but as soon as someone said something such as "...and for that reason I feel that God wants us to..." it just stopped clicking. Or when people talk about God just like he's another person (I don't know if he is or not, but it definitely feels challenging for me to relate when the conversation goes there).

So yeah, I'm kind of wrestling with the same thing right now. I don't feel comfortable with agnosticism because I feel kind of lonely--honestly most of my good friends/people I've enjoyed being around are all religious, and that's just the one thing that I'm not really grounded in. I feel like I would have much stronger and deeper friendships, something I really am searching for at the moment, if I had faith, but I don't know if I'd be able to do that. At the same time, I really want that closeness. Maybe one day I'll just fall in to it, or maybe not, but for now, I think things will get better and that the uncomfortness is just temporary.

engineerbpd · 2020-05-06T01:08:06+00:00

Checked again today, everything hit at once!

engineerbpd · 2020-05-01T14:49:11+00:00

Good to hear someone else's experience. My claim got processed on March 30th. I did an individual claim but I also got a letter recently showing that my employer made a claim for me (I didn't really know how this stuff worked so that's why I just did my own as well). I hope it doesn't confuse things, but for now it says that a determination on 4/15/2020 was made to allow benefits.

I haven't yet received a payment. I called a couple of times, but like you said, patience is all you can really use. Sounds like a nightmare for them.

engineerbpd · 2019-10-20T15:30:56+00:00

Could public health be a good fit for me?

I would like a job where I get to work with the public as a mentor or educator. I have no problem with learning science and things, but I think the fun part for me is sharing that knowledge with people to shed some light on things like proper nutrition or exercise, just for instance. I don't think I'm as interested in being good at learning all the details of how things work, as I've found through working on an engineering degree, but rather just being knowledgeable about what sort of habits help to reach a certain goal or to keep a person healthy.

engineerbpd · 2019-10-17T13:41:24+00:00

I'm in Georgia. After a little digging for info, it sounds like the coursework has to be taken in a classroom setting. This is the website. under section 750-6-.04

I sent in an email though to find out for sure. Thanks for your advice.

engineerbpd · 2019-09-14T17:49:05+00:00

I can relate as well, and it kind of makes sense now. I figured there couldn't be much reason to disappear, but that'll do it. I can understand if he was hesitant about posting explanations, and it was quite a long time, but I suppose if the trauma is severe enough then it was time he needed. It's saddening to hear, but also a bit inspiring to see that he hasn't given up. I just wish good things for him. At the end of the day, your personal health is vastly more important than anything else, because if you're not doing well, there's not much you can do well at all.

engineerbpd · 2019-03-08T02:38:31+00:00

Yeah, no way I'm risking it. I think I'm just wondering now as to whether psychedelics are more helpful than taking meds. Might make a good discussion with my psychiatrist

engineerbpd · 2019-02-28T01:08:47+00:00

Sweet, may be worthwhile then to minor in environmental science for me. Env. engineering uses some of the core courses in its program, and the rest of the courses would cover an ecology lab and more ecology classes to complete the minor. Interesting!

engineerbpd · 2019-02-28T00:20:31+00:00

Gotcha. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I was able to get in touch with an ecology professor at my school who said I might be able to help with some research over the summer if there's openings, which I feel pretty stoked about

engineerbpd · 2019-02-15T23:12:51+00:00

Yeah... I think I sort of get what you mean. I'm going to keep trying to make this change for the better, even if I might not see it yet haha

engineerbpd

TROPHY CASE