What jobs feed your soul?

August 24, 2005 1:48 PM

Having worked in a corporate job doing tech support for good money for the last few years, I'm finding that my soul has withered. My goal for the next year or so is to perk it back up again.

I'm young, male, well-educated (crappy college transcripts, but a quality degree), healthy, liberal, informed, etc, and I'm thinking that if I don't start pursuing a lifestyle that is meaningful to the world, I'll get a wife or kids or some other debilitating disease, and won't be able to indulge my creative/charitable side.

My problem is not motivation to change; I have that in spades. My problem is direction. I'm politically-minded, but I'm not certain what someone with no political experience can get into for a career. I enjoy children, but I'm not certain I have the long-term mental wherewithal to become a teacher. I enjoy art and music, but have no talent. But if I can discover what it is I want to do, I will do whatever I must to make it a reality.

So I'm polling the larger community for suggestions of careers, and especially specific jobs, that really feed your soul. Feel free to apply a liberal interpretation to "feeding"; I'd like to know what you think might fit into that, not just what might fit for me. Bonus points if it pays a livable wage. I have little savings, live with LA's outrageous rents, and have car payments to make; I can't afford to do an internship for two years to beef up my resume. But I don't need to make as much money as I do now, most of it gets wasted on toys and dates anyway. I'm unattached, and LA is not my permanent home, so I can go anywhere.

I know that this is terribly unspecific, but that's intentional. I don't have any idea what I would like. I just know what I don't like; manicured lego-lawns in office parks, vapid aspiring television writers, the manufacture and distribution of wealth. Pretty common phobias, I think. I figure that if enough people give me ideas for directions, one might appeal to me.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the inanity of the question. If I knew exactly what I was asking for, I'd probably already know the answer.

posted by Pacrand to Work & Money (10 answers total)

My short, simple advice: start volunteering. You get to try a lot of different social service careers with little committment or investment of time.
posted by bobot at 2:06 PM on August 24, 2005

And as far as direction- it's a lot easier to figure out your direction by just doing it. Try a lot of different things and figure it out by trial and error. You'll be amazed by how quickly you'll figure out which way your wind is blowing.
posted by bobot at 2:07 PM on August 24, 2005

"I'll get a wife or kids or some other debilitating disease."

Um... euw! Try that sentence again.

I'm a School Psychologist. Fulfilling and high paying, especially if you get the doctorate.
posted by abbyladybug at 2:33 PM on August 24, 2005

The volunteering thing's a good start. F'rinstance, after seeing what the community of Fair Isle were doing with renewable energy during a volunteer work session, I decided to work in wind energy. It has been, for the greatest part, very fulfilling.

(Coincidentally, my wife and I met on that same trip. Another good thing to come out of volunteering!)
posted by scruss at 2:33 PM on August 24, 2005

Best answer: You could look for work going what you're doing now, but in a Worthwhile Cause. Idealist.org has job listings as well as volunteer listings.
posted by phearlez at 2:54 PM on August 24, 2005

Please give some details about your talents and specific interests.

If you're seriously into promoting biodiesel, I might be able to use your help (on a volunteer basis) with a project I'm about to start.

It may be that just getting away from Los Angeles would help you enormously. If you start saving your money now, it might help you get together a nest egg to help you on your way, too.
posted by amtho at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2005

You sound almost exactly like me not too long ago -- same skills, same inclinations, same industry. I quit my job and went back to school to get a masters in public policy. With a year left in the program, I'm not sure exactly where I'll end up, but the program itself helped me figure out a lot about what direction I want to move in, and I'm now wrapping up a really fun (paid) summer internship with a local nonprofit and gearing up for the next school year. For someone with determination and energy, there are a lot more openings than you might imagine.
posted by nickmark at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2005

Response by poster: You guys rock.

I've never investigated biodiesel, but the ongoing energy crisis is something that has me gravely concerned. That and the intelligent design debate are the topics most on my mind lately (probably because they're all over the news).

I've been a tech guy, but I have plenty of professional writing experience and don't focus too narrowly on developing my intellect. I like just about anything.

Nickmark - how difficult was it to go back to school after working? How did you pull the funds together? I have no parental support anymore, so the idea is scary, but compelling.

Anyway, thank you all. I'm especially interested in idealist.org. That looks like the answer to my prayers.
posted by Pacrand at 3:28 PM on August 24, 2005

Why do you want to help the world? Really, the world can take care of itself for the most part. Instead of focusing on a "meaningful" lifestyle, focus on doing what makes you happy. Forget everything else; the basic criteria is that you have fun in your job. With this in mind you may look at applying your tech skills to diverse fields like biology, media, or the such.
posted by nixerman at 5:43 PM on August 24, 2005 [1 favorite]

I was in the exact same situation - great job in tech support, cool boss, nice apartment - but I was just going stir crazy. To make a long story short, I got really interested in what was happening IT-wise in North Africa, started doing some research and writing to people in the field, and it snowballed from that point on. I'm headed off to an internship there in November, where I'll be working with an organization that facilitates projects for all kinds of NGOs. After that, I'm hoping to get my Master's in International Relations, with the eventual goal of working for an NGO full time. I guess I wanted to use all the IT knowledge I've amassed (though it may be pitifully small compared to some of the MeFi folks!) in some kind of satisfying and useful way.

I would say, take bobot's advice, and just go see what you're interested in. As for going back to school after many years of working, it's no problem - I got my B.S. in Computer Science just after I turned 30, which is looooong after I started playing with the devil machines. Just say hello to massive student loan debt if you don't have A: some funds saved up B: internship experience in your chosen career path to help with scholarship possibilities.
posted by Liosliath at 8:06 PM on August 24, 2005