Help with direction

[ellie]

Hi,

Some may of read my post here Jobs - I hate them

Well further down I said I came to an epiphany about me wanting to become a librarian.

The thing is I'm worried I'm just jumping around from field to field trying to figure out where I belong and I'm worried that I might find that librarian studies might not be my thing either. I have a strong sense that it will suit me, because I've been really accessing my personality other the last month and I just think it will be more suited to my personality.

You see I am a designer, but although I'm ok, I'm realistic to know that I am not the best and that I'm probably a bit slower than most designers and because of this I tend to have to work back and do a bit more work to finish off designs. Anyway, I'm just over design. I just don't think it's for me as a full-time career. I also don't have the personality. I'm too shy and introverted and I don't know how to stand up for myself. You may say, well just try and overcome this, but to be honest I think that's not the problem. I think my personality is always going to be shy and introverted and although I maybe able to take steps to become more confident and extroverted I realistically know that my personality will never be a "hard sell" kind of personality and to be honest I don't want it to be.

Anyway, I think however being a designer has enabled me to see my strengths and weaknesses and I think I can use some of the skills I have as a librarian.

However, I am still kind of worried that I might also do the same thing with library studies? Find excuses not to like the job.

I tell you the reason why I think library studies would suit me. I have a library within my work and I watch the interactions of the library staff. They have similar personalities to mine, kind, helpful, friendly. They're not loud or over the top. Some are what you call shy.

Two, I could use my skills to help train customers on the computers. In libraries in australia, librarians often help customers learn how to surf the internet and use word processing programs. I have also taught a short course. So I'm good at helping people and I want a job that helps that allows me to assist the general public.

Three I love children, so I would like to work in a public library where I can work with children during "story times". I really do get along with children, I just have this connection with them. I don't know what it is, think of me being the beatrix potter of our time

Four, I think I would be a lot more technical than most librarians so I could work eventually in setting up sytems. Which I think I would be quite good at.

So what do you think? Do you think I'm just running away from my current field to avoid improving myself?

I hadn't really planned on doing more study. Although, luckily it will only be one year of full-time study to get my qualification.

I'm just really keen on it, but I do have those little worries, as I do tend to jump around.

Also I just want to say, my career is not that important to me. What is important to me is that I am valued and that I am happy and content in my job. This is more important to me than making lots of money or career titles. It's a means to an end at that is all.

[justfiverules]

Ellie,

Check out Barabara Winter's work.

Barbara Winter - Welcome to the Joyfully Jobless Life!

She has been around for a while.
I have a 1993 edition of "Making A Living Without a Job" - all pre-Internet but still very relevant to the whole "jobless living"| concept.

[Ilya]

Ellie,
Go with your gut. Unless you try, you'll never know. If you try yourself as a librarian, you can either find that it is your cup of tea - great! Or you can find that you are indeed job-hopping in order to improve - also great, you can get back to design then or stay a librarian and grow. Or you can learn about some other field that it is more appealing then design and libraries - great again, you can try that one too. Nowadays professions are so narrow, that it is natural to try several fields before you settle.

Of course, you can go on with "no job at all" option. But that will require a lot of growth for sure.

[ellie]

thanks ilya. I think I will do it. I just have this feeling that I am meant to do it. I just emailed course co-ordinator and seems that I can do a lot of the work off campus, which will enable me to work part-time.

I'm only spewing that I didn't apply for a job on the same campus in design, last week. I don't know what was stopping me, because it seemed like it would of been perfect. 5 minutes from my home, working in my current field whist being able to study on the same campus. Silly me, there must of been some reason why I didn't apply -stupidity maybe

The only thing I don't like is the feeling of jumping from job to job and field to field.

Although I like the idea of working for myself, I know realistically that I am not organised to work by myself. I have worked for myself as a freelancer and well I wasn't very good at it. I would need a business partner that is more organised than myself. I'm am creative, so I do have an entreprenarial mind. I also do have some personal projects that I want to develop, but I know that I need money to fund them, which is why I would like to first and foremost have full-time job, where I am able to fund my ideas.