Hello. Please note that I live in Ukraine and maybe the system of study is a bit different around here than in many other countries. So if something seems strange feel free to ask. Okay... I will be able to transfer to another type of studying (which I hate but this is not the topic) only around New Year, and until then I will have to go to college full time every day. And the timetable is really bad and no job that I like can be ok with this. I earn a little money on the Internet but not a lot and it doesn't feel like 'real' work to me. So I feel really guilty and sort of a loser that I am not working and will not be for like two or three months. Ugh. Feeling useless although I am planning to go to some courses and learn to actually do something what would me more interesting to me that things that are studied at college. I haven't decided what could possibly suit me though as I feel like the person which is no good at anything. If I were a pony I would never get any cutie mark. Also I'm not a teenager any more (although always feeling like nothing ever changed inside me and still not like an adult) and that makes me double guilty. Have you ever been in such a situation and how can I possibly live through these months? (Sorry for any possible mistakes. English is not my first language.)

hi there! c:

i'm replying because I can relate to your situation, I think. For my first two years of college I was a full-time student and it was absolutely crazy. All of my time was dedicated to my studies and I had very little time for anything else. It wasn't exactly possible to find stable employment due to my full school schedule, and so I did little jobs here and there and/or some projects to generate income (even though it wasn't much).

the way I see it, you're still going to be putting your time and effort into something productive! I know what you mean by feeling "guilty", though; there were some times I felt that way too. But honestly? if you're going to college full-time, those two or three months are going to fly by. you're going to be so occupied I think it will be over before you even realize it. (that's how i felt, anyway. months passed by in the blink of an eye)

I hope you settle in okay... you're very far from "useless", i know you're going to do great things with your time.

Hey! A while ago my little sister was going through much the same thing as you - she was part way through college, and thinking about leaving to join the navy, or to join the police, or to go work on a ski resort etc etc... (there was a new idea every week!) and she really couldn't figure out what she wanted to do. If you feel a bit lost about what job you'd like, one bit of advice I can recommend is to think about what soft / social skills you're good at (or not good at) and combining that with any other interests that you have. For example, are you comfortable working in groups, or working alone? Would you be comfortable managing other people, or training/ teaching them? Are you organised? Could you learn to be more organised? Are you self motivated, or do you find working with/for other people to be more motivating? Do you like working with kids? Can you handle working with bureaucracy? Do you want to stay near where you grew up, or would you be comfortable moving far away for work? Etc and so on...

A lot of people I knew at University didn't get a job related to their course when they left because of all the small things like this - they didn't want to live in the city to get a job, but there wasn't any work related to their degree in the countryside, or they couldn't handle being managed by someone else, but didn't really have the motivation to work for themselves. At school we were all encouraged to do degrees and courses in school subjects we were good at, but few people considered what jobs that could get them, and what that job would be like.

As for not feeling 'productive'; 2/3 months isn't a long time to be unemployed, imho, especially if you're also at college! Maybe put that spare time into doing some career research - could you do some work experience, or an internship with that spare time? Taking a little time to figure out exactly you want to do is nothing to be ashamed about! (And it's a lot better than continuing with something you hate!)