Is 'Highly-educated' the best investment for the rest of your life?

[Fassina]

If I could go back I probably would have gotten an electrical engineering degree not as a safety measure but just as a thing that interests me. Yeah I can learn it by myself, but having a pre made program I can make use of for free would have been convenient.

I could have gotten a full scholarship. But alas I wasn't really interested in it at the time, and now I've got different priorities.

Anyway, my suggestion as a start would be becoming a writer, with a phd you get automatic authority and can easily find something that would be interesting to a layman in the neuroscience area.

Other than that brain implants and interfaces are coming up shortly, so you could consult or work in that area if you get some expertise in it soon. This may even be a good topic for a book.

Good luck and welcome ;P

 

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[LuckyPup]

Hi everyone,

BE REALISTIC!
HOW THE HELL CAN YOU LIKE THAT?
YOU ARE A DOCTOR!
NO WAY. NEVER, EVER THINK THAT AGAIN!
WHAT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?

Those are the answers when I currently said to my friends that I want to change my path to what I love to do.

Let me briefly introduce myself.
- I received the Ph.D. degree from the department of neuroscience in South Korea last year,
- Have started working in the US as a post-doctoral fellow from this March,
- Living with my wife and a baby boy, 7-month-old, born in the US.

I think I have believed that life with a 'highly-educated' would be the best path for the rest of my life. When I finished reading MJ's books a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't agree more with what those books are saying, and honestly, very depressed...for a while.

I thought If I would keep my path regularly, like a bachelor's - master's - Ph.D. degree, I could be happy someday and paid more. And now is the someday, but neither happy nor paid more. The biggest problem is that I DON'T LIKE WHAT I AM WORKING ON NOW.

As all of you know, a traditional education system requires countless effort, money and time. Now I am thinking that I lost tons of opportunities to find the best track of my life while keeping my energy, money and time on getting a piece of paper, Ph.D. degree. Every morning I feel pain from the deepest of my heart for what I have to do that I don't want to do...

Long story short, to get out of this life, I am currently trying to find what I would love to do, regardless of my major and my previous career. Furthermore, looking for what makes me happy and move forward and motivated more.

This forum already motivated me and helped me a lot to think about my future! Good luck all of you and thank you for reading my rambling writing!

Here are my two cents / words of encouragement, for what it's worth.

1) You're still young, relatively speaking, so this is a good time to come to the realization that you need to adjust your current trajectory. Better to happen now, with one small child, than later, when you're more deeply "dug in" to life and all its burdens.

2) The grit, discipline, intelligence and perseverance you've shown in getting a PhD are transferable qualities.

3) Right now, you may have no idea where or how to pivot, but remember that this process is more marathon than sprint (much like the doctoral path), and while a sense of urgency is paramount in getting anything accomplished, don't let urgency turn to panic.

4) It's often fun to fantasize about doing something completely different than our current vocation, but don't overlook the opportunities related to your field. After all, you speak the language and are in a better position to recognize what needs are unmet, where you can add value, etc.

That's about it. Hope it helps.

 

[Determined2012]

I personally believe highly advanced social skills/people skills will be the best investment for the rest of your life.

With social skills you can navigate any setting, make a meaningful connection, build trust and rapport. From there you can accomplish anything, because it will be with the assistance of others.

(Responded to the title of the thread before I read any posts! Whoops)...

I think its never too late to be who you want to be...All it takes is a choice deciding to do so and a commitment to bring that choice to a reality...My mantra for everything I want to accomplish is: Whatever it takes...that gets a lot done.

 

[MaxKhalus]

Running out of ideas? If you are looking for your passion, here is what you should know:
Passion = [Doing What You Love] x [Doing What You're Good At] x [Doing What Is Marketable]
x [Doing What Contributes]
As you can see, failing at any of any of these 4 elements will instantly make your passion invalid. You can only find it by trying new things everyday. If each day is different enough to stay in your memories as strongly as a birthday date, then you are living experiences. More execution = More Chance to find it

Until you find and develop your passion, you can live your ordinary live as you're doing right now.

 

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[OUTofFRAME]

If I could go back I probably would have gotten an electrical engineering degree not as a safety measure but just as a thing that interests me. Yeah I can learn it by myself, but having a pre made program I can make use of for free would have been convenient.

I could have gotten a full scholarship. But alas I wasn't really interested in it at the time, and now I've got different priorities.

Anyway, my suggestion as a start would be becoming a writer, with a phd you get automatic authority and can easily find something that would be interesting to a layman in the neuroscience area.

Other than that brain implants and interfaces are coming up shortly, so you could consult or work in that area if you get some expertise in it soon. This may even be a good topic for a book.

Good luck and welcome ;P

Thanks for your precious comment.
As you mentioned, I have already thought to write a book based on my research background. But I wasn't sure because... I've always kept a mind that how can I write a book even though my boss or more famous people in this field wouldn't try that! In addition, I couldn't escape from underestimating myself if I would deserve to write a book that could, probably, affect hundreds of thousands of people's mind and their behavior as well. Well... After I've joined this Forum, I decided to change my mind to which I can also do it. The most important thing to do that, I think, is an attitude. More than just writing a book, I will keep in mind of which way would be the best to enhance my potential that has been accumulated for several years from where ordinary people can hardly come into.

 

[OUTofFRAME]

If I could go back I probably would have gotten an electrical engineering degree not as a safety measure but just as a thing that interests me. Yeah I can learn it by myself, but having a pre made program I can make use of for free would have been convenient.

I could have gotten a full scholarship. But alas I wasn't really interested in it at the time, and now I've got different priorities.

Anyway, my suggestion as a start would be becoming a writer, with a phd you get automatic authority and can easily find something that would be interesting to a layman in the neuroscience area.

Other than that brain implants and interfaces are coming up shortly, so you could consult or work in that area if you get some expertise in it soon. This may even be a good topic for a book.

Good luck and welcome ;P

And when it comes to writing a book, honestly, I have no idea 'right now'. I'm pretty sure that writing a book targeting public will be different from writing my research paper or running animal experiments. So, will think about more in details.

 

[OUTofFRAME]

Here are my two cents / words of encouragement, for what it's worth.

1) You're still young, relatively speaking, so this is a good time to come to the realization that you need to adjust your current trajectory. Better to happen now, with one small child, than later, when you're more deeply "dug in" to life and all its burdens.

I agree with you. My baby is still too young, and I just started working as a post-doc a couple of months ago, so, I believe I can adjust my trajectory to where I want to go.

2) The grit, discipline, intelligence and perseverance you've shown in getting a PhD are transferable qualities.

3) Right now, you may have no idea where or how to pivot, but remember that this process is more marathon than sprint (much like the doctoral path), and while a sense of urgency is paramount in getting anything accomplished, don't let urgency turn to panic.

I couldn't agree more with you... I have no idea now, and even don't know where should I go from here. Trying to consider this moment just as one of the long journeys of my life.

4) It's often fun to fantasize about doing something completely different than our current vocation, but don't overlook the opportunities related to your field. After all, you speak the language and are in a better position to recognize what needs are unmet, where you can add value, etc.

That's about it. Hope it helps.

My uncle is one of the successful (in my opinion) person in business, living in New York. When I told him my worries a few weeks ago, he advised as you said. "Don't overlook the chance from your field. You are on the advantageous track where normal people can't easily access, and the information from your field could be unique. So always keep your eyes to find opportunities and then turning it to profit".

It is still hard for me to see any opportunities in my field. I believe I don't have keen eyes to look at it yet. So, as mentioned above, I will take it as a marathon than a sprint until I am ready enough for grabbing the opportunity coming to me.

 

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[OUTofFRAME]

I personally believe highly advanced social skills/people skills will be the best investment for the rest of your life.

With social skills you can navigate any setting, make a meaningful connection, build trust and rapport. From there you can accomplish anything, because it will be with the assistance of others.

(Responded to the title of the thread before I read any posts! Whoops)...

I think its never too late to be who you want to be...All it takes is a choice deciding to do so and a commitment to bring that choice to a reality...My mantra for everything I want to accomplish is: Whatever it takes...that gets a lot done.

I like what you said, "its never too late to be who you want to be". I think the only barrier that blocks me to get there is rather myself. Thanks for your comment and encouraging me.

 

[OUTofFRAME]

Running out of ideas? If you are looking for your passion, here is what you should know:
Passion = [Doing What You Love] x [Doing What You're Good At] x [Doing What Is Marketable]
x [Doing What Contributes]
As you can see, failing at any of any of these 4 elements will instantly make your passion invalid. You can only find it by trying new things everyday. If each day is different enough to stay in your memories as strongly as a birthday date, then you are living experiences. More execution = More Chance to find it

Until you find and develop your passion, you can live your ordinary live as you're doing right now.

In my opinion, the definition of 'Passion' you mentioned seems to be closer to 'Success'. I've had a passion that guided me to achieve my short-term goals such as getting a degree, being a post-doc fellow in the USA (even though I am not being satisfied with my current situation) and etc. Once I've chased those goals, I didn't have 'Marketable, Contribute' things at all. Though I totally agree with your opinion that "More execution = More Chance to find it". That's one of the reasons that made me visit this forum and I am now communicating with you guys