Forum > Non-Gaming Discussion > So I'm Confused of What I Want to Do in My Life
So I'm Confused of What I Want to Do in My Life
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Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:19:21
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Hey guys. I'm really confused with what I want to do in my life. So I've decided to turn to the internet for help as I find it to be a trust worthy source.

Basically I'm not sure what career path I should take. I really want to become a cognitive psychologist and help people with problems but it doesn't pay as much as I want it to.

I was kind of thinking of being a pediatrician because I love kids, but I heard that going through medical school isn't worth the effort due to how much you will end up owing in loans and how much you will have to take off from insurance.

I was also thinking of trying to create my own video game by starting an independent game studio but that's kind of risky I think.

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Play fighting games!

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Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:08:21
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Independant gaming studio is the most advantageous , yet most fulfilling of those careers. There is yet a studio to invent, let alone specialize in the genre of "Fantasy Sims". A couple untapped fantasy sim ideas:

- Zombie Apocalypse Survival (no zombie games are open world or even large scale. There's an oblivion mod called "28 Days and a Bit" which is really awesome and does this, but no full game exists). I know zombies have been run into the ground, but this will made serious bank, anyway.

- Space Travel MMO. Build your own ships (engines, weapons [auto cannons, player controlled turrets], sheilds, radio, navigation, crew capacity, cargo capacity). Transport goods to other planets and make money. Run out of fuel and have to send out signals for rescue. Be a pirate and take over weak/vulnerable ships. Be a hero and hunt pirates. Be an agent of chaos and attack everybody. Be a merc and hunt whoever pays for your protection/assassination services.

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Listen to Iced Earth and play Doom

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Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:28:04
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Just don't do anything that you'll regret in the long run. That's all I can say.

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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns

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Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:29:44
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Have you ever considered being a pimp?

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:38:57
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To me it sounds like you ought to pursue psychology.  Granted I'm taking a sentence and assuming a lot from it, but if that's your interest, that's the direction to go.  So long as it's not a dead-end career path, I can't see doing anything other than where your interests lead.

There are very few paths where you can say "I want to do this", rhyme off a specific occupation, and expect to land there.  You aren't choosing a specific career, you're choosing a field.

By the end of elementary school, I had the concept of going into computers in general, without a specific area.  I landed on programming in high school after classes in it, but then with no specific path within programming.  My background was web, but I hadn't specifically wanted to do that.

My first job in the field, which is where I am now, is as a web developer, and I've worked out my intention to work towards becoming a database administrator (DBA), but that still doesn't mean that's where I'll end up.

I don't know the field of psychology in general for employment, let alone cognitive psychology, but I bet you'll find in the end that in almost anything you go into, you'll get opportunity that pay better or worse, and so long as you're living comfortably, the money's not going to be the dealbreaker.

It's different for different people, so it's hard to say though.  For full disclosure, I hardly spend anything, and am very abnormal.

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:39:50
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Coopersville said:

- Space Travel MMO. Build your own ships (engines, weapons [auto cannons, player controlled turrets], sheilds, radio, navigation, crew capacity, cargo capacity). Transport goods to other planets and make money. Run out of fuel and have to send out signals for rescue. Be a pirate and take over weak/vulnerable ships. Be a hero and hunt pirates. Be an agent of chaos and attack everybody. Be a merc and hunt whoever pays for your protection/assassination services.

EVE Online?

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:50:16
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Wow thanks Yoda!

I guess I'm kinda burnt by Psychology because you have to go to school for 8 years and only end up with 50k - 80k pay. That just seems far too low compared to other fields.

I'm also a bit worried because I'm only 2 years done with college and owe over $30,000 (mostly because I was an idiot and went to a really expensive school my freshman year).

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Play fighting games!

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:02:15
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That is an entirely different concern.  The American school system is an unfortunate beast.  I can't really advise you on that end of it, as I don't even want to fathom just that 30k debt.

If it's 8 years, plus the US system, I can understand the apprehension, the main point to emphasize is do what you enjoy, not what's analytically the most efficient career choice.  Perhaps social work or sociology?  Anything else in the field that isn't master's level (or is that the only real interest)?

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:17:56
+1

If you're interested in pursuing a career in any form of medicine (even psychology) for God's sake don't do it for money or status unless you can still be conscentious. There's too many uninterested, incompetent and lazy people in a field that really requires the opposite. (Of course perhaps that wouldn't matter so much if the doctor to patient ratio wasn't consistently getting worse.)

On top of that if you're burnt out only by the money thing you should bear in mind that in psychology (depending on what you end up doing I suppose) you're going to be dealing with a lot of seriously ill people that you can do little or absolutely nothing to help which can be incredibly draining.

Sorry, that wasn't very encouraging. xD

Of course on the bright side you could end up with a lucrative job talking to the upper middle class about their day and prescribing the odd Xanax. Assuming none of them goes on a murderous rampage on account of the drugs and you get sued, it should work out pretty nicely financially!

Edited: Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:19:47

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:22:52
Yodariquo said:
If it's 8 years, plus the US system, I can understand the apprehension, the main point to emphasize is do what you enjoy, not what's analytically the most efficient career choice.  Perhaps social work or sociology?  Anything else in the field that isn't master's level (or is that the only real interest)?

I was wondering if there was a way I could just move to a different country once I get my undergraduate degree and continue pursuing there.

30k really isn't that big of a deal. It's just a $200 bill in the mail every month, but I don't want to get it to the point where that $200 bill will raise to something significant.

Edited: Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:23:09

One of the site's forefathers.

Play fighting games!

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Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:35:46

Go into nursery school teaching. Low paid but very rewarding.

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