How can I pull myself out of this self-induced rut?

I would recommend consulting a career counselor. Around here, every city and town has a local employment center where you can get all kinds of information on career options. They can help you find out what you want to do for a living and tell you what training you need and what to expect on the job market. They'll help you polish your resumà as well.

also I'm 22 and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I don't think anyone my age does (unless they are freaks). I know many people who at 22 thought they were going to be a lawyer, a banker or a doctor, and now they're something totally different 10 years later.

i totally get how you're feeling, but there's lots of opportunity out there, you just need to reach out and grab it

fyi: once you are married you can file a FAFSA (free financial aid document from the federal government) as an independent couple, and if you both are pretty broke, you are almost GUARANTEED a full ride..

Maybe you could be a life coach.

i'm not being a dick, but start boning for chrissakes. if it wasn't for vag, i'd still be on my mom's couch.

and why don't you just get ****** grades and struggle through college and finish, and then learn a trade. college opens doors, and before long, no one will give a **** what your GPA was/is, but the paper itself will open doors. that you don;t "do well in school" is pretty lame. also, you'd need to throw yourself into a trade. being an a-man/master craftsmen takes the same kind of dedication excelling in school does.

also when you say you don't do well in school that seems like a cop out/excuse. if you want to succeed, you put the effort in and study and do well. you don't need a 4.0 GPA, but if you aren't pulling better than like a 2.5, then you just arent trying...

have to continue, here sorry.

believe me, the world conspires against you, so don;t conspire against yourself. i don't have the world by the balls by any stretch, but i make a very nice living, have a solid house, a great wife and kids. statistically, none of this should have happened. i grew up with a single mom who i love dearly but was/is screwy as ****, no father, in a kinda crappy neighborhood with no money at all. didn't have a vacation til i got married. couldn't take karate, piano, even afford little league uniform. if not for my grandparenmts, i';d have no education at all-they paid for catholic school as i was zoned for the worst high school in nyc. sorry for the feeling sorry for myself, but i have a point here.

i dropped out of college a week into freshman year because i didn't think i deserved or was entitled to any modicum of higher achievement. took a security job for $8/hr. 6 months later, i went back to school, and realized i could do better and did deserve better.

believe me, do something now or you will perpetuate the cycle and your eventual children will be in the same boat. you owe it to yourself to do better.

It's ok not to know what you want to do, but you have to explore, and by not going to college, you already limited yourself. You will never find out if you're interested in something if you didn't try. Also you will never know if you truly love it until you had to pull your brain and guts out for it.

Why don't you try community college in something that you're at least remotely interested in. If you do very well in community college, you might just end up going to a 4 years school after 2 years and got the rest 2 years with full scholarship. I definitely knew people who have done it. I am not saying you have to go to college, but you should know that will always be a frustrating limiting factor in the beginning.

Sure, 10 years down the line, no one will care, but today, at least as something to knock on the door, it will.

Do something, but don't rush into it without thinking things out first. You'll just end up with more debt and a job you hate.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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i'm not being a dick, but start boning for chrissakes. if it wasn't for vag, i'd still be on my mom's couch.

and why don't you just get ****** grades and struggle through college and finish, and then learn a trade. college opens doors, and before long, no one will give a **** what your GPA was/is, but the paper itself will open doors. that you don;t "do well in school" is pretty lame. also, you'd need to throw yourself into a trade. being an a-man/master craftsmen takes the same kind of dedication excelling in school does.
QFT

Originally Posted by robbie

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I don't think my view of the military and their business would make me a viable candidate for service.

Then try the Coast Guard.

Originally Posted by robbie

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I appreciate all the suggestions so far.

I have tried looking into some volunteer work Jonathan. I do a little with my church, but really need to look into something involving Adult Literacy. I worked with several functional illiterates, and it really pained me to see them trying to make sense of instructions, ordering food at lunch etc.

Thanks for the reminder man.

Keep the suggestions coming by the way, I really do appreciate them.

Sounds like you might have a "calling."

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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have to continue, here sorry.

believe me, the world conspires against you, so don;t conspire against yourself. i don't have the world by the balls by any stretch, but i make a very nice living, have a solid house, a great wife and kids. statistically, none of this should have happened. i grew up with a single mom who i love dearly but was/is screwy as ****, no father, in a kinda crappy neighborhood with no money at all. didn't have a vacation til i got married. couldn't take karate, piano, even afford little league uniform. if not for my grandparenmts, i';d have no education at all-they paid for catholic school as i was zoned for the worst high school in nyc. sorry for the feeling sorry for myself, but i have a point here.

i dropped out of college a week into freshman year because i didn't think i deserved or was entitled to any modicum of higher achievement. took a security job for $8/hr. 6 months later, i went back to school, and realized i could do better and did deserve better.

believe me, do something now or you will perpetuate the cycle and your eventual children will be in the same boat. you owe it to yourself to do better.

+1

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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you owe it to yourself to do better.

+1. good advice kunk

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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i'm not being a dick, but start boning for chrissakes. if it wasn't for vag, i'd still be on my mom's couch.

and why don't you just get ****** grades and struggle through college and finish, and then learn a trade. college opens doors, and before long, no one will give a **** what your GPA was/is, but the paper itself will open doors. that you don;t "do well in school" is pretty lame. also, you'd need to throw yourself into a trade. being an a-man/master craftsmen takes the same kind of dedication excelling in school does.

That's all well and good, but he's getting married.

I can honestly see myself in the very same rut in the next five years of my life.

My buddy became an electrical-stereo extractor consultant. Basically you go around to cars and take their stereo out temporarily to ensure it's up to code. When you return it if the car isn't there anymore you're allowed to legally claim possession of it.

Originally Posted by Teger

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also I'm 22 and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I don't think anyone my age does (unless they are freaks). I know many people who at 22 thought they were going to be a lawyer, a banker or a doctor, and now they're something totally different 10 years later.

i totally get how you're feeling, but there's lots of opportunity out there, you just need to reach out and grab it

fyi: once you are married you can file a FAFSA (free financial aid document from the federal government) as an independent couple, and if you both are pretty broke, you are almost GUARANTEED a full ride..

I must be a freak then, still at the same job, and moving onward on my career path.

Also go to community college, atleast dabble in studies, even getting an associates degree will open more doors for you than not having one. I am sorry if you don't want to work 40 hours a week, with upwards of 2 hours worth of commuting a day, but son, welcome to america, this is what it is.