Places of the Soul Christopher Day

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1169 ... f_the_Soul

Note the lack of straight lines and right angle.

Gaudi

AlohaChris- I think being a surgeon would be one of the best fits for me- I get to physically do something and see the results like that news artical someone posted says. But, the schooling will take a very long time and after talking to other kids in medical school, they say its hard to have a job and study medicine at the same time. By the time I actually start my career I'll be in my mid thrities and I don't want to start my life that late. I wanted to become a doctor so I could help people who can't afford it or have no where to turn to like in third world countries- but after reading a books called "mountains beyond mountains" I see that it's more of a political problem than a healthcare one...and I don't think there's any place for me in it to be honest. I really just want to make a mark on the world. So I'm thinking, maybe becoming an architect would be better than a doctor who just patches things up in places where they will inevitably fall apart again. Idk, Im feeling sort of lost again.

It does take a long time to become a physician, but it can be very rewarding. 30's isn't late to start a career in medicine. As for 'fixing things that just fall apart again', so it is with everything:

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

^I've been really thinking about this. I know life is short and I don't know if I would want to spend it in a hospital taking care of people. I want to have adventures and really live a rich life- not be stuck in a building all of the time. I was thinking the military maybe because it would be free to an extent, but I'm scared to do that to be honest. But when I think about it, I can't think of anything more rewarding than having saved someone's life. But still I don;t know, there's just so many paths I could take.

I have a question for you guys- do you think living a life like a doctor working in the third world can really entail a happy life? I've been thinking about the quote "be the change you want to see in the world" - do you think this is rational or a reasonable way to think about life?

inkaStepa wrote:^I've been really thinking about this. I know life is short and I don't know if I would want to spend it in a hospital taking care of people. I want to have adventures and really live a rich life- not be stuck in a building all of the time. I was thinking the military maybe because it would be free to an extent, but I'm scared to do that to be honest. But when I think about it, I can't think of anything more rewarding than having saved someone's life. But still I don;t know, there's just so many paths I could take.

I have a question for you guys- do you think living a life like a doctor working in the third world can really entail a happy life? I've been thinking about the quote "be the change you want to see in the world" - do you think this is rational or a reasonable way to think about life?

Fuck the military. Find something creative to do building stuff instead.

Or how do you feel about animals? Becoming a veterinarian should be easier than becoming a doctor, I think, plus it's still hands-on, you're saving something living, you can use your biology education and depending on where and what kind of job you get, you might get to travel around and see many different animals in different places.

inkaStepa wrote:I'm a girl! Lol I thought engineers did work on things like models? The men in my family are auto mechanics and I've always thought it would easy to just do that but I always went along with my moms wishes and didn't take it up but I really wish I had now.

InkaSkep,

I'm a mechanical engineer. Firstly, getting a bachelor's degree in engineering is hard work. Courses are notorious for having a lot of lecture hours and difficult course content. You would want to be reasonably comfortable with both Math and Applied Math/Physics before entertaining undertaking such a course. Although in University you will most likely get some "hands on" experience with familiarizing yourself with manufacturing and production, perhaps building things for projects or doing some welding classes, electronics labs etc. every now and again, most of the University work will be sitting in lecture halls running through pages and pages and pages and pages of physics like content.

In the working world you will most likely be a paper pusher of sorts, however you may get to work on a construction site or in a manufacturing facility but even then your role would be more supervisory and hands off. Again this may vary but for the vast majority of engineers, this is the case.

^^I don't think I would do well as an engineer- I wouldn't be able to take so much math. I'm not going to do military either after looking at all of the gives/takes of it.

I'm going to just finish my biology bachelors and the pre med courses I need. I don't think my gpa will be anywhere near what med school look for but I think it's too late to turn back now.

* sculpture / clay modelling?
* pottery/ceramics?
* jewellery design?
* stop-motion animation?
* tapestry work?
* physiotherapist?
* chef?
* baker (especially pastry chef)?
* confectioner (candy-maker)?

inkaStepa wrote:^^I don't think I would do well as an engineer- I wouldn't be able to take so much math. I'm not going to do military either after looking at all of the gives/takes of it.

I'm going to just finish my biology bachelors and the pre med courses I need. I don't think my gpa will be anywhere near what med school look for but I think it's too late to turn back now.

And the Veterinarian stuff is out of the question too?

^^Yea, I don't like animals that much to be around them all of the time. Thanks for the suggestion though.

* lion tamer?
* alligator wrestler?
* snake charmer?
* dog catcher?
* sheep shearer?

Sorry, just kidding!

More background please? What is your experience, what do you love, what are you good at, how did you get to where you are now,

Where precisely are you now in career terms?

Where might you be, when. Six months, one year five years, ten years.

inkaStepa wrote:^^I don't think I would do well as an engineer- I wouldn't be able to take so much math. I'm not going to do military either after looking at all of the gives/takes of it.

I'm going to just finish my biology bachelors and the pre med courses I need. I don't think my gpa will be anywhere near what med school look for but I think it's too late to turn back now.

You don't have to do a degree in the US to become a Doctor, the UK course is 5 years (4 years for graduate entry so you may qualify under that ) but after that there is more training depending on the chosen speciality.

Alternatives (in simliar fields)
Nursing (and most nursing qualifications appear to be accepted worldwide with little problems)
Dentistry ( OK if you like to talk but aren't bothered by a reply )
Paramedic (get to drive a vehicle with blue flashing lights and a two-tone horn)
Veterinary ( course is the same length as medicine - however you either have your arm up a cows ass or the chance of being bitten by some horrible little dog - think James Herriot)
Optometry (live in a dark room all day but you may get out to do home visits)
Dispensing Optician
Chiropody - smelly feet!
Prosthetic Technician

Chef, brewer (micro-breweries are all the rage in the US at the moment I believe), baker, chocolatiere.

Plumbers are earning good money in the UK at the moment.

Teacher

With a Biology degree you could try wildlife photography

Masseuse?




I'll go sit in the corner.

Fossil preparation expert. Long hours at low pay, unless one is a freelancer or contracts work.

RS

I've decided I'm going to apply both to medical schools and to medical illustration schools when I graduate with my bio bachelors (in the US you have to be a grad student to apply for med school, if I had the money I would definately move to the UK though). Because my gpa is low right now, only a 2.0 and going down from this semester no doubt, I don't know how I will do as far as getting accepted into Med school. I will need art classes though to make a portfolio and computer animation classes as well I think are a pre-req.....but I think medical illustration is even harder to get into than med school.

To mean it sounds like you're floundering a bit because you don't really know what it's like to work in any given career. Anything you are considering is guess.

My recommendation is to graduate and not apply to any further education yet. In my experience, most schools require you to show an interest at the very least, if not some actual experience, and it sounds as if you haven't got a keen interest in anything yet. Get a job doing something part-time that brings in money, and start volunteering where you can-- I did this out of school and the experience I got is still paying dividends in my life.

If you think you might like to help people in difficult situations, there are plenty of people around in your town or city who need help. Lots of people volunteer in Old People's homes for example, or for the poor, or with disabled people (esp. adults) or with disadvantaged children or teenagers. It will give you a sense of the kind of work involved and the community of people involved and also the spectrum of jobs available.

If you're more interested in something more technical and less people-y, you can volunteer in a huge variety of places which will allow you to do something they can quickly train you to do. I stuck plants on paper for inclusion in a herbarium half a day a week, for example, and volunteered at the very local TV station behind a camera or behind a row of buttons, or keeping track of the clock.

Getting a sense of what the job is like, what the community in the job is like and what it's like to work a normal work week and in part time work is an important part, I believe, in the journey towards deciding what you not only want to do but also are capable of doing semi-happily.

Don't pay out more for school when you don't have the money or the interest. Do things first, figure out what your interest is, and then go back to school.