Finding Your Bliss?

[Metstoo]

Hey ladies!

I am 45 and recently completed earning my college degree in Information Technology. (Finally! Yay me!) I work at Kennedy Space Center on the Space Shuttle program, which as you may know, is scheduled to end soon with no specific program to replace it. I could go into all the politics surrounding that but I'd be typing here much too long and this is more of a personal discussion!

My job for the past several years has been, to say the least, very unfulfilled. It has mostly been concerned with project management and planning type activities and, basically, bores me to tears. I have kept at it this long to complete my degree and to pay my mortgage. Due to the ending of the Shuttle program, I will most likely be laid off some time this year which is both a blessing and a curse.

So I have a resume out there and I have my networking revved up... but I have NO idea what to look for. I have an extensive graphics/illustration background and lots of experience in various occupations from administrative to computers to fine arts. I'm really wanting to swing back to my artistic side after such a long fallow period in project management but I really have no clues other than that artsy itch on what to look for.

So... for those of you who have found your bliss at some point in your lives or are, like me, still looking... What's your story? What are some of the ways you have gone about finding what makes you happy? Whether it be career or family or life in general?

 

[CES]

Great post, and great question.

I've found my bliss several times and though nothing ever pays very well I enjoy all of the things that i do. My first career was/is as an art therapist - loved art, figured I'd never make a living at it. Love being an art therapist, but got burned out for awhile. So i went back to school and became a neuroscientist. Love that too.The most fun of all is that I also hooked up with a pottery studio, which led to trying glass fusing....So, full time I do hard science research, part time i work as an art therapist, throw pottery, and on the side teach glass fusing as a barter for pottery time and supplies.

 

[Metstoo]

CES: Neuroscientist doesn't pay well? Jeesh!

Your bliss is very well rounded indeed! I have often contemplated teaching art or something similar. I have worked as 'tech support' for computers and the internet a great deal and I do love helping people. Even now, in my current job, I'm the unofficial technical support for my department. Heh! I'm not sure how that would translate to teaching.

I also wouldn't mind trying my hand at illustration but it is mostly freelance work these days and very competitive. And, no, it doesn't pay well for the most part.

So how did you go about deciding you wanted to be a neuroscientist? Seems like a large and sideways leap from art therapy!

 

[CES]

metstoo, I'm not sure if I'm well-rounded or just frenetic. Since i made the career shift late in life I'm way behind...I'm a single step beyond post doc in academia, not faculty, and haven't had a raise in 3 years. argh. You're right, it was a sideways leap. It wasn't so far off track from art therapy at first, since I was mostly interested in the neurobiology of emotions, but there weren't any funded labs doing the work. After a couple of other sideways steps I ended up further into science than I'd expected. It's really, really fun. I'm now on the receptor side of the nicotine question. Nothing to do with smoking directly, but the receptors that nicotine binds to.

you're right, straight up illustration is competitive. Is computer graphics any better? just rattling off ideas here....You could actually try teaching adult ed courses through a community college. Combining art and computers seems like a good option. or train artists about how to use computers/IT in their businesses- web development or trouble shooting? Congrats on finishing your degree!!

 

[Katattack]

I'm still searching for that bliss. Right now I'm so focused on getting a degree and making sure my kids get a better life. Funny that CES brought up pottery. If I had the resources I'd do that all day. When making pottery it's like I enter a different world in a happy trance where to world seems alright in every way.

I feel for you Mets. Finding a job on the space coast was hard pre-recession and now with all the people having to migrate out due to the KSC/shuttle debacle it'll be even more so.

 

[Metstoo]

Thanks CES! Yes, my degree has come late in life as well. Better late than never.

I have considered a mix of computers and art. In fact, I do play around in Photoshop and other programs. I suspect that there is a lot of competition in the 3-D/animation field but it's a rapidly expanding field, they do pay well and it's not all freelance. It's definitely an option. I worry that it may be a 'younger' field and my age may count against me... but then again, there's no age limit on creative art. I would also need more training and certification which requires money and time.

My artistic forte has generally been portraits and drawing. Not sure how that might factor in... I generally do that for friends and family though.

I keep thinking there is some kind of "Aha!" moment I'm waiting for that will point me in a specific direction. I have no problems with more training or school but my options are just too fuzzy at this point to make a decision. And the job clock is ticking which kinda puts some pressure on.

 

[Metstoo]

I'm still searching for that bliss. Right now I'm so focused on getting a degree and making sure my kids get a better life. Funny that CES brought up pottery. If I had the resources I'd do that all day. When making pottery it's like I enter a different world in a happy trance where to world seems alright in every way.

I feel for you Mets. Finding a job on the space coast was hard pre-recession and now with all the people having to migrate out due to the KSC/shuttle debacle it'll be even more so.

Hey Kat... you have a goal right now and that is no small thing! Having just completed that same goal, I know how you feel. My energies for the past 4 years have all been aimed at finishing school and completing my other goals.

I had several goals lined up for myself when I left Seattle and moved back here to FL. One was getting my degree. Graduating was the completion of all those goals and now.... well... Now what do I do?? Heh!

I haven't tried pottery since high school. That would be fun!

 

[mixxy]

I didn't figure out "what I wanted to be when I grew up" until I was 53 -- and decided to go to dog grooming school! I was a work-at-home wife & mom for 15 years until my husband left me for another woman. I ended up going to work for a company tracking newspaper advertising data for TV & radio stations for 11 years (until the company closed) and then ended up in a job (working for a friend) in her CPA/tax office. I hate math.. thus hated my job doing payroll.. and hated tax season even more. After 9 years there I thought if I didn't get out and do something I enjoy I would for sure go completely insane. I had started a (part-time) candle making business back in 1998 that I did for about 7 years. I loved the artistic part, and did make a little money, but working full-time I never had time to do much marketing. I sold online, in 1 gift shop, holiday craft shows and a farmers market. I finally gave up on the candles in 2005 (not enough income.. and tired of the mess!) I spent several years trying to decide what to do next, and had always wanted to work with dogs. I also missed having something "artistic" to do.. so the dog grooming turned out to be perfect for me. I opened my own dog grooming salon at my home (remodeled garage) in 2007 and I love it!!

 

[PatriciafromCO]

Mixxy that was inspiring to hear....

 

[Metstoo]

Mixxy - sounds like you've found your groove! Good for you!

I need ideas! Some kind of germ or spark to set the gears in motion! I know I should be job hunting in a more practical sense right now but I think I might be better off if I take some time to do some soul searching and determine what it is that I really enjoy doing. The thing is... how do you know what you enjoy if you haven't done it yet??

 

[mixxy]

Thanks Patricia & Metstoo

Even though I started my new career later in life (I'm now 56) I'm really relieved to finally love what I'm doing, since I don't think that complete "retirement" is every going to be in the cards for me. I never had a job with any sort of pension, 401k or even basic benefits. I've paid my own health insurance for the past 20+ years (and hoping & praying for this health reform!) I figure I can groom dogs until I'm 99 years old.. will just have to keep going down to the very tiny breeds that I can still pick up, LOL!

Metstoo... Wishing you all the best in finding what you love doing! I know exactly what you mean about not "knowing" -- when you haven't done it yet!

 

[CES]

Mixxy,

I agree with you, loving what you do is key- and I'm glad that you found your bliss. Especially since you may get to/have to keep doing it for a long time.

 

[Mary Kay]

I am so proud of all you wonderful women!
I can't say I ever found my bliss in a job and I have had hundreds of them! The few I enjoyed were pulled out from under me by Military moves, store economics or just bad luck.
But my bliss has always been having kids and now grandkids..it is my calling! I have an extended family of my kids friends whom I all but raised. They still call and visit. Now we get to start again with my grandkids and their friends. We had backyard olympics (son broke a wrist) backyard tree houses..(daughter broke her wrist)..wait! Maybe those weren't my best ideas! But I haven't broken my grands yet..bug hunts, swimming lessons, teaching them to drive, cook and do crafts.

Sometimes your Bliss is not a career but a calling.

 

[shopgirl284]

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a comedian or comedic actor, but I was a single mom from very young, so most of my bliss was raising my son while earning a living, meanwhile it took me 10 years to get my bachelor's degree.

Along the way, I did a lot of temp work. One reason was that I got bored easily in jobs and with temp work, you leave before you get a chance to get bored. Also, it gave me the chance to see a lot of different types of companies and industries and what I liked and more importantly what I didn't like. I ended up settling into computers, because it changes so much, it was hard to get bored and I had a knack for it.

At the age of 35, I finally chose a career in web design (creating business pages, but also support pages and intranets). I loved this because I was able to use my geeky side to program, my artistic side in graphics and design, and social skills and business skills in consulting with customers and making sites user friendly. Also I enjoyed technical writing and being able to make technical instructions and procedures easier for the non-techy (yes I am that much of a geek).

I was doing quite well in that career and loved it, and then I got sick and was no longer able to work due to a chronic pain condition. Since I could no longer do what I was good at (computers) and earn a living, I decided to pursue my first love of comedy. I took some improv classes, read alot of books, and have been doing standup comedy for the past 2 years. Because of my illness, I will never be able to pursue it full time or make a living at it, but I am enjoying the process. I always say that getting me back to my first love of comedy, was the silver lining to the cloud which is my illness.

One of my favorite sayings is: Do what you love and don't lie. (The exact quote is: "Do not tell lies and do not do what you hate," attributed to Jesus, saying 6, The Gospel of Thomas, a little known gnostic apocryphal book)

 

[MacArthurBug]

I believe I'm almost there. I think I've at last decided what I want to "do" '
I'm taking classes- I want to be a laughter therapist. I'm not even wholly sure how to get the degrees etc I'll need to get there- but I saw a documentary with a gentleman who did it for a living. Helping people laugh to work through their issues. Until I get there I plan on counseling military families.

 

[Metstoo]

Wow... great stories! Thanks everyone!

I suspect that I have not discovered what I enjoy doing yet. I started drawing when I was 4 and continued all through school. I was good at it and everyone, including me, assumed I would be a professional artist of some type when I grew up. I have dabbled in various forms of art all through my life up until the past 3 years or so but it has not been at all prominent in my life lately. Art, for me, has always been a diversion or an escape (sort of a meditative thing at times) but I have not had the itch to do it lately, despite a lifeless, dry job and lots of stress. Not sure why but I just haven't picked it up again.

So... I'm just really confused as to what to do with myself.

 

[thelook]

Just reading these stories makes me proud to be a woman

 

[CES]

Metstoo, Don't wait til you *get the itch* to do art- start doing it again anyway. Even if it's just a doodle or two. As soon as you pick up a pencil, pen, or brush, you'll likely get the urge back. You've got enough stress in your life that it's worth pushing to bring back something that you enjoy and that has been a big part of your life.

MacArthurBug, laughter therapist sounds like a lot of fun!

Shipgirl, I love the way you took adversity and used it to bring something important back into your life.

MaryKay, it is important to remember that finding your bliss doesn't have to be about a job, but is finding the life you want.

Yay for all of us

 

[Metstoo]

CES, I know what yer talkin and I have tried. I recently set up my neglected drawing table and got all my stuff organized and started a few doodles and drawings...

Nuthin. It's just been sitting there. I attribute some of my apathy to a huge lack of energy I've been fighting for 3 years or so. (Thyroid + perimenopause) And I really DO have the artsy itch so I don't know what else may be holding me back. I've got talent! Where is it hiding?

Btw, you can see some of my past work at Metsart Online if you're at all curious. If you take a look, please tell me I'm not crazy... or confirm it for me.

 

[MacArthurBug]

METS! Your work is amazing! I can't even put it in words. You have a gift. If I had the $$ I'd commission you. OMG!