Help

[Jason47]

Hi there, here's my problem. By no means am I depressed, but this is beginning to worry me. I have recently just turned 23 and don't know what to do with my life.  I am a job hopper, the longest I have stuck with a job is 8 months and it was as a pizza delivery boy.  I could pretty much do any thing I wanted in terms of intelligence but not in terms of qualification.  What I really want to do in my life is illegal, grow marijuana, not deal drugs but grow either for myself or for a company, something along those lines, the only thing I can consider is to find a job that makes me a decent amount of money so I can support myself and hopefully retire early.  I currently live in South Africa and desperately would like to move to Europe, which is impossible due to the lack of qualifications and finances. I'm starting to worry because all my friends, even my younger sister, are living their lives and moving towards their goals.  I would have to say my biggest fear in life is being a failure and it looks like that's where I'm heading at the moment.  If you would like any more details don't hesitate to ask.
Please Help

[Kal3]

You can move to California and work for a cannabis depository. Because obviously, California would legalize pot. That's why I took my crap life and moved to Ala$ka$ki!

[Jaquta]

In many countries there are free courses available.  Have you looked into scholarships or grants?  We had a disability scholarship advertised just prior to Christmas.  There may be something that meets your needs.  Look and ask around and see what you can find.

It's never too late to start working towards something that you're passionate about.  If you want it you will find a way to do it.

Science goes part way towards both proving and disproving the existence of a God.

It sounds as though you need to establish some more goals in your life.  Maybe define what you want in life and work towards attaining that.  A persons values and beliefs often guide this process.

Another option could be worked-based training or on the job training.  I expect wages would be a lot lower but it could help improve your skill base.

Maybe work experience or voluntary work would also open doors for you.

Looking back perhaps it was your accident that has caused you to reevaluate things.

I don't think that it is necessary to have experience prior to study (unless it is a prerequisite).  Maybe you should just back yourself and give something a go.
Health and safety is always a useful skill to have and is transferable.

Start by establishing what you want (please don't include anything illegal in this) and then look at your resources and how you can go about achieving this.

Ask your sister and friends and family to also ask around for you.  Use your social network.  Word of mouth can be a very powerful tool.

Good luck.

[Jason47]

You see I cant obtain the qualifications because I don't have the money.  I was recently in a bike accident, before the accident I had 3 part time jobs and was on my way to making something of my self.

I would love to study horticulture but I kinda ****** up in high school, i didn't take the correct subjects and also took the easiest subjects.  I dropped Science which I loved because my teacher was a Christian, you cant teach science and believe in god that's contradictory (I should have just bit the bullet) and I also dropped maths because I got lazy and just wanted to get out of high school.  Also my interests have changed since high school.  

I never really thought about my future until I realised I didn't have one.  Growing marijuana is my PASSION, I love it with all my heart and soul, you could probably say I love growing even more than I love smoking, which I cannot do now because of the accident.  You could probably also say that hoping I get to grow one day is the only thing keeping me going.  

I have tried everything to get overseas, cruise ships, going to study, working visas, but no country will accept me because I either don't meet their requirements or don't have enough money.  I am thinking of studying the NEBOSH Health and safety qualification at the moment but I have no experience in the field and if I cant find a job then I really am ****** because I have exhausted all my resources.  

I really don't know what to do.  :(

[Jaquta]

Have you thought of studying to obtain those qualifications?

If you want to grow stuff, why not make it legal stuff?  Crops, as a food source, are of vital importance.  Horticulture could be quite interesting.

Personally I don't blame you for wanting to leave SA.

If you have enough money for an airfare, accommodation, etc for a period and have a suitable work permit then you should be able to pick up some work.  Even with the economy the way it is there are still jobs available.
In Oz and NZ you can pick up seasonal work.  I'm sure it is the same elsewhere.
Maybe you could look on the internet and see if there are jobs available in other countries that you would be interested in (if you have the financial means of travelling, etc).  An exchange program may also be an option.

Probably seeing others excel is causing some self-doubts.  Using yourself as a reference is often more important.  What do you want?  Maybe the problem is just that you feel stuck at the moment.

You're asking questions and that in my opinion is less of a failure than growing drugs that negatively impact on so many lives.  Keep searching and don't settle for anything less than you are worth.

[Peter Forster]

This is certainly an interesting question, although a bit off the topic of this forum. I hope that some of the readers of this forum will contribute.
Although your family and friends are "living their lives and moving towards their goals" I can say from experience with working with other young people that your situation is pretty common.
One thing that might be worth noticing is your criteria for being successful... a lot of folks I have worked with who have had similar problems have ideas about what it would be to be successful that are pretty hard to achieve... and then make their process more difficult by having a pretty short time frame for achieving success.