General > General Technical Chat
Stuck in a rut for years
eti:
--- Quote from: jpanhalt on November 04, 2022, 09:13:09 pm ---Hi eti,
There is a basic fact you don't seem to realize. When you work for someone else, that person calls the shots. When you work for yourself, you call the shots. You have proved at age 47 that you can do neither.
In your first example, you were an employee and refused to make deliveries for your boss. Did you really think the boss should do that for you? You were the "go pher." Your boss's time in the shop was more valuable than yours. You got fired rightfully. The rest of your history is more of the same. No one really cares how you feel. What they want is a productive employee. If you wanted to be a boss, you should have stayed in school and learned more than how to have fun why engaging in you hobby. Most professionals (e.g., lawyers, physicians, professors, nurses, etc.) have made "it" by age 35, much less 47.
So, you have cast around for 30+ years and now want help from this forum. Do you really want the truth? The horse is out of the barn. It's too late to do what you should have done years ago. Get a job, work hard, do what you are asked to do and survive on your own. My mother's advice was simple, "John, you need to work hard, or you will lose your job, go broke, and starve to death." She was the most senior child in a large immigrant family when the depression hit. They survived very well. Today, there are safety nets for those who don't want to work. That choice is yours. Why complain here that you are in a rut when you won't take any advice that doesn't support your "passion?"
--- End quote ---
You speak through the lens of your own experiences, successes, failures, life, etc. Individuals have individual, made-to-fit lives - what works well for one, doesn’t work for the other. I sense you are “projecting” based on the extreme details in your message.
How you’re able to ascertain whether or not I’m taking this advice (in whole or in part), or not, escapes me entirely. You do understand that it’s not even been 24 hours since I posted this, right? - I shall reply when I’m ready to.
I read EVERY SINGLE reply carefully and with great enjoyment, taking great value from the majority.
Also, you might like to remember that “advice” is like a gift that someone is handing you; you’re not OBLIGED to follow up on someone’s “advice” - think of it like graciously accepting the gift and putting it on a metaphorical “table”, and later on deciding whether to pick it up, unwrap it and make use of it, or maybe just leave it on this metaphorical “table” (again, there’s no “time limit” - are you expecting me to “report back” to you as a child does to a schoolteacher?)
Someone who feels that I MUST reply in a certain timeframe, MUST report back, etc, and MUST heed their advice, seems rather insecure to me, and I’m not sure how much I’d want to engage with them, or heed advice from such a person.
I don’t have an issue telling my story, but you could do with a lesson in etiquette my friend.
PS: My mindset is not one of complaint - I’m open and frank about how I feel. It doesn’t matter how you feel about me, we are strangers to one another. Maybe try a less accusatory approach.
nctnico:
--- Quote from: sokoloff on November 04, 2022, 07:07:28 pm ---I remember reading a paper (more realistically the abstract and skimming the paper) that said there was evidence that telling someone about a plan you have activates some of the same reward pathways in your brain as actually doing the thing. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that watching someone accomplish a task on YouTube gives you some of that same experience.
--- End quote ---
That makes perfect sense to me. I really like to make plans for all kinds of projects. But I've learned that plans need to lead to something actually being done as well. So nowadays I spend a great deal of time on how to simplify the execution of plans so I can actually finish them in a reasonable time 8)
deadlylover:
You aren't the same person as you were 20 years ago (none of us are lol), do you think there might be a bit of uhh "sunk cost fallacy" going on with electronics? There's nothing wrong with moving on with the next thing, it seems like electronics might be weighing you down on seeking other opportunities. A mid-life, hell, even a late-life career change is suuuuper common and you shouldn't feel like a failure for it.
My enthusiasm with electronics as a hobby comes and goes because it's very project based. I can chuck it on the back burner for years until something needs doing or fixing ahahah. So to vill the void you need to pick up other hobbies/interests/work to fill the time. Just having "one thing" be your identity can put you in a rut too easily IMO.
I know it's kind of taboo but coming from a financial background, your financial health is just as important as your physical and mental health. We sometimes have to stomp on our lofty dreams of making a living out of our passions and just hustle. I'll echo one of the posters above, you gotta survive.
nigelwright7557:
I got interested in electronics around 1980 when I built the Maplin disco kit.
Had to build amplifier, speakers, mixer and sound to light.
I blew up the sound to light.
The only person I could think of asking was a a local radio/TV repair man.
So I took my sound to light to him and he fixed it explaining a SCR had blown.
I also was into playing guitar and we chatted about valve amplifiers.
He gave me an ancient 5 watt amplifier with huge bulb like valves in it.
I wanted to get into electronics but didnt know how.
I went to the job centre and noticed a government TOPS course in electronics.
I asked about it and was told I needed to pass 3 maths exams to get on.
I passed the first two but just failed the third.
So went away and studied the maths that was in the test and next time I passed.
I went to live in Durham for a year while I studied there.
We did theory in the mornings and practical in the afternoon.
I passed the end of year exam with distinctions.
I had to find a job next and it was mostly jobs in south of England but I managed to find one 15 miles away from where I lived.
I started off as test and alignment engineer and as time went on was tasked with harder jobs and eventually allowed to do some design work.
I left them after 3 years and went to work for a PIC Consultancy for 13 years.
The consultancy was interesting because I never knew what I was going to do next.
I now work for myself designing and selling all sorts of things.
What to do next ? Consultancy is good money and interesting.
Working for yourself can be hard as there is no guaranteed income.
coppercone2:
most of video social media = getting beer money for clickbait (and also advertisements)
the exchange rate is something like a 12 pack for a thousand peoples time
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