u/BobbyBoo_

feeling stuck on what to do and possible career path to choose

For context, I'm 21, dropped out of high school due to mental health reasons, and haven't worked before.

School was relatively easy for me. I'm decently smart I guess. I'm particularly interested in health and sciences. My main difficulty at school was English, I can do it well enough it just takes a while to get words out a lot due to writers block.

I'm mainly looking for a career that:

• Pays well / gives me a path to financial independence
• Has a good work-life balance
• Isn't extremely stressful or difficult all the time
• Ideally has some social interaction and is somewhat active
• Ideally has hybrid/remote options, although that's not essential

I'm also open to trades and office jobs, but trades aren't my first thought.

I mainly want to start with something relatively easy and close by. I'm considering doing a fee-free TAFE course, with TAFE Caboolture and UniSC being the nearest options. I already completed TPP at UniSC, but now I'm a bit stuck on what to do next.

One option I'm mainly considering is a Cert III in Individual Support (Ageing). It's offered at a nearby facility and most of it would be online apart from the practical component. I'd actually prefer disability support, but its the easiest for me location wise.

I dropped out of high school mainly because of poor mental health. It's a lot better now, although I'm still working on myself. My late father had melanoma and dementia. The dementia wasn't too much of an issue until he had to stay in hospital in palliative care, so I do have some experience taking care of someone elderly.

The main reason I haven't looked for part-time work before is social anxiety, procrastination and depression all together lol (social anxiety now isn't as bad as it once was). My parents have been kind enough to let me stay rent-free and pay for living essentials, so I've been in a fortunate position, but I want to start becoming more independent.

I've considered quite a few different careers:

• Nursing, possibly in a specific field / Mental health counselling / Pharmacy
• Occupational therapy / Physiotherapy
• Science, potentially researching diseases or medicine like Biomedical science / medical research
• Other health/science/med careers I don't know about yet.

I briefly considered psychology when they were talking about careers back in high school, but I saw how competitive it was and how writing-heavy it can be. Something like counselling could potentially be an option though.

Nursing was something I considered when I started doing my TPP. When I spoke to careers people, they recommended occupational therapy. Seeing what nurses had to do and deal with while visiting my dad during his decline also made me think nursing wasn't for me. However, I realise there are lots of different areas of nursing, so there may be a type of nursing that would suit me that I don't know about.

At the moment, I'm thinking something like:

Cert III Individual Support → get some part-time work while studying (maybe a local IGA, bowls club, RSL) → get my driver's licence → potentially study OT or another health/science degree.

But I'm considering a lot of different things and that's where I'm stuck. I don't really have one specific thing I'm passionate about, and there are so many options that I don't know how to narrow them down.

I'm mainly looking for advice on figuring out what direction to take. Is there a career/pathway I haven't considered that you think would suit someone with my interests and situation? Is the individual support/carer pathway a good way to get some work experience and figure out whether I actually enjoy working in healthcare?

I'm also wondering whether it's better to just start with something like the Cert III and see where it takes me, rather than overthink trying to choose the "perfect" career. I can always go back to university later if I decide I want to become an OT, physio, nurse, etc.

I'd also like to eventually have some side projects/hobbies, such as social media content creation, photography (I like taking pictures), and learning more about investing and personal finance.

I have other interests too, like biomedical science, nature, geology/gems, maths and puzzles, and I've even considered things like music, dance, modelling, acting, comedy, entertainment, writing and business. But I'm mainly trying to find a stable career with good work-life balance and decent income, rather than necessarily turning one of my hobbies into a career.

So yeah, I'm basically looking for advice on figuring a life path out haha. Any career suggestions, advice on narrowing down my options, general advice, or experiences from people who have been in a similar position would be really appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any advice you may have.

feeling stuck on what to do and possible career path to choose

For context, I'm 21, dropped out of high school due to mental health reasons, and haven't worked before.

School was relatively easy for me. I'm decently smart I guess. I'm particularly interested in health and sciences. My main difficulty at school was English, I can do it well enough it just takes a while to get words out a lot due to writers block.

I'm mainly looking for a career that:

• Pays well / gives me a path to financial independence
• Has a good work-life balance
• Isn't extremely stressful or difficult all the time
• Ideally has some social interaction and is somewhat active
• Ideally has hybrid/remote options, although that's not essential

I'm also open to trades and office jobs, but trades aren't my first thought.

I mainly want to start with something relatively easy and close by. I'm considering doing a fee-free TAFE course, with TAFE Caboolture and UniSC being the nearest options. I already completed TPP at UniSC, but now I'm a bit stuck on what to do next.

One option I'm mainly considering is a Cert III in Individual Support (Ageing). It's offered at a nearby facility and most of it would be online apart from the practical component. I'd actually prefer disability support, but its the easiest for me location wise.

I dropped out of high school mainly because of poor mental health. It's a lot better now, although I'm still working on myself. My late father had melanoma and dementia. The dementia wasn't too much of an issue until he had to stay in hospital in palliative care, so I do have some experience taking care of someone elderly.

The main reason I haven't looked for part-time work before is social anxiety, procrastination and depression all together lol (social anxiety now isn't as bad as it once was). My parents have been kind enough to let me stay rent-free and pay for living essentials, so I've been in a fortunate position, but I want to start becoming more independent.

I've considered quite a few different careers:

• Nursing, possibly in a specific field / Mental health counselling / Pharmacy
• Occupational therapy / Physiotherapy
• Science, potentially researching diseases or medicine like Biomedical science / medical research
• Other health/science/med careers I don't know about yet.

I briefly considered psychology when they were talking about careers back in high school, but I saw how competitive it was and how writing-heavy it can be. Something like counselling could potentially be an option though.

Nursing was something I considered when I started doing my TPP. When I spoke to careers people, they recommended occupational therapy. Seeing what nurses had to do and deal with while visiting my dad during his decline also made me think nursing wasn't for me. However, I realise there are lots of different areas of nursing, so there may be a type of nursing that would suit me that I don't know about.

At the moment, I'm thinking something like:

Cert III Individual Support → get some part-time work while studying (maybe a local IGA, bowls club, RSL) → get my driver's licence → potentially study OT or another health/science degree.

But I'm considering a lot of different things and that's where I'm stuck. I don't really have one specific thing I'm passionate about, and there are so many options that I don't know how to narrow them down.

I'm mainly looking for advice on figuring out what direction to take. Is there a career/pathway I haven't considered that you think would suit someone with my interests and situation? Is the individual support/carer pathway a good way to get some work experience and figure out whether I actually enjoy working in healthcare?

I'm also wondering whether it's better to just start with something like the Cert III and see where it takes me, rather than overthink trying to choose the "perfect" career. I can always go back to university later if I decide I want to become an OT, physio, nurse, etc.

I'd also like to eventually have some side projects/hobbies, such as social media content creation, photography (I like taking pictures), and learning more about investing and personal finance.

I have other interests too, like biomedical science, nature, geology/gems, maths and puzzles, and I've even considered things like music, dance, modelling, acting, comedy, entertainment, writing and business. But I'm mainly trying to find a stable career with good work-life balance and decent income, rather than necessarily turning one of my hobbies into a career.

So yeah, I'm basically looking for advice on figuring a life path out haha. Any career suggestions, advice on narrowing down my options, general advice, or experiences from people who have been in a similar position would be really appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for any advice you may have.

There's a good local gym quite close to where I live, less than a 10 minute walk, which is great. I really need to take better care of myself and improve my mental health.

Just looking for any advice on gym anxiety and making it consistent. I'm quite introverted and socially awkward at times, I get in my head and overthink a lot. I want to make a habit of training at least 3x a week for the rest of my life. M21.

I've never been to a gym before. I've thought about it for a while and now I want to commit to it for myself. I assume I'd go in and someone would show me the basics and maybe give me a simple beginner routine. I also want to make sure I don't procrastinate on going, since I've honestly wanted to start for a couple of years now. Social anxiety plays a part too, I know most people won't care and just do their own thing, but it still gets to me. I'm overthinking for sure but i guess it's hard to start a new thing. I also don't really have any friends to go with.