Hey everybody I'm at a serious crossroads in my life and need some advice. I'm 21 and have just finished up my 2 year degree at the local community college. I am going to be transferring soon to a 4 year college. Guys I have tried so hard but the harder I try the more frustrated I get. I can't pin down what I want to major in. All my life I have been a huge NASCAR fan. I guess I always dreamed that I would be a racecar driver and be involved with NASCAR somehow. I guess I grew up and realized that wouldn't happen. I wouldn't mind being a mechanic for a team and working my way up the ladder but first I want to go to college so I have some type of degree and can support a family. So with that being said I never really was able to understand what my passions are outside of being a racing fan. How do I figure this out? Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions? I'm thinking maybe economics because it does seem interesting but at the same time I don't wanna find myself in classes being bored to death and hating my future career. If anybody has advice on what they think I might like or just how to determine how to figure out what path to take in general I would greatly appreciate it. I've never met any of you but it seems like we all share a lot of the same interest (monte carlo's) and I value everyone's opinion here.

 

thats a though one and only you can make that decision. most people dont love there job but you cant hate it either. im not a huge fan of my job but it pays well and i can deal with it i dont hate it completely.

for me i never went to college i graduated HS and got into the bricklayers union.... things got very slow and i got laid off so i went to work in the oil field and that is what i am currently doing now.

its hard to give you advice on what you should do with your life all we can do is give you ideas on what kind of careers are out there that we all do for a living....

 

Thanks turbo monte. I hope others comment as well just at the very least to give me something to think about.

 

Have you considered engineering?
How about motech? There's many schools out there geared specifically towards NASCAR!
I too am a huge NASCAR fan..
But, im to old now...
Cadcam to build engines and parts, suspensions and drive lines...
A lot of drivers have engineering degrees, suspension,setups and drivelines!
Hope this helps!
Good luck.

 

Don't feel bad. I really didn't know what I wanted to do most of my college career. It took me about 2 years of college to find out that the subject that most interested me was Criminal Justice and that is what I ended up majoring in even though I had no idea what I wanted to do with it.

It took me about 2 years after I graduated to get the job that has been my career for almost 22 years. What I found out after graduating and trying to find a job was that almost every place that I applied to was more interested in whether or not I had any experience over what my college degree was in. The degree was important but experience seemed to count for more.

When I asked these people how I was supposed to get experience when I just got out of college? they told me I should have done some internships or volunteer work in the fields that I was trying to get hired in. This would be my recommendation to you whenever you do decide what most interests you so that you can have some actual work experience before you graduate as it will greatly help your chances of getting hired when you do graduate. Good luck and hang In there.

Wayne

 

There are a lot of Tech school's for engineering, That's where they learn to build engines and in fact a lot of Nascar drivers have engineering degrees.
That's something to look into!

I'd rather have a job i enjoy for a smaller salary than to get paid more for a job i dislike myself, But in the end you do have to make ends meet.

Do what your heart tells you to!

 

When I was getting out of the Navy I had to go thru a "How To Be a Civilian" class. They had Resume writing, interviewing, dealing with friends and family. All useful for the military guy getting out. One thing they thought us about was "How to Pick a Career" . Now I was an Electronics Tech in the navy, But out her in the world there are many branches of electronics. What I found useful was "Take Something that you love to do as a hobby, find someone, a company, that will pay you to do it for a living, and Bingo, you have the best job in the world.
I had 2 passions, Cars and Computers. I worked in a shop for a year and a half, for free, learning how to work on cars, so that I could work on my car. I'm still a shade tree mechanic to this day. But I went back to Trade school and got some computer certifications. Since then I've been a Cell Phone tech, an Arcade Game computer tech, a vending machine tech, and now I'm an Electronic QA Inspectors and every piece of equipment the company makes has to get my stamp before it can be sold to a customer.
And I like my job and it pays well.

My point is, first figure out Your Passions. If NASCAR is it then so be it. Don't give that up. But if there is Something that you would do for free, and you enjoy doing it, and there is someone out there that pays for it to be done, then That's what you should do. Something you enjoy doing first free that someone will pay ti have it done. The Best Job You'll Ever Have!

 

Your brain makes you more money than your back. I make my money with my back and with that it's only me bringing home the money. Find a profession that will let you replicate yourself by eventually having employees and then you have many people making you money. Be wise when jumping into the college thing putting yourself in debt only to get out and find there are no job slots and end up back where you started only deeper in debt.

 

Unfortunately deciding what you want to do for your life is one of the tougher decisions you will have to make.

I like to think of trying to take a hobby and turning it into a job. But at the same time, don't turn your only hobby into your profession. Then you won't want to do your hobby anymore haha.

I love cooking, I do a ton of different art, I love cars, I'm into photography.

Decided to go the art route and became a graphic designer. It's not a physically demanding job, and my other hobbies don't suffer from it

 

I was kind of in the same boat as you not to long ago. I was and still am, for the time being, working at best buy. I started there when I was in my senior year of high school and have now been there for 3 years. And I have to say, I hate it with a passion. I dread going to work every day. So I decided to start my own business doing car detailing. I know it will be hard work but every time I have ever set my mind to something I have accomplished it. So I know this time will be no different. But the thing is, I found out what I liked and now I'm doing everything possible to make it work. If you like nascar and racing in general go into some kind of auto tech field which will set you off on the right foot. Or you could go into the Business side of things and start up your own team. There are lot's of routes you could take. But you just have to make that decision and then do absolutely everything in your power to make it happen. And at the end of the day you hopefully can say that your doing what you love. But you will never know if you don't try.