I recently have felt very lost. I'm a computer repair tech, but I've hated the tech jobs I've had--not because of the technical component, but other aspects. I even semi-successfully ran my own business for a while, but hated it too! I was not good at it, I have trouble saying no to unreasonable requests.

My wife and I recently paid off our condo, it's a magnificent thing, our cost of living is literally under $500/mo and that leaves a little bit for pleasure. All in all, our situation is great!

The down side is we don't have much money left over, when we paid off the condo we pretty much drained our accounts dry--fine with me, I've got a deed in a homestead state now. I've been making bits of money here and there, mostly buying dead computers and reselling them after repair, but nothing substantial. My wife works part time at min. wage and we actually make a small profit every month, but nothing much. Not enough that I can wait indefinitely to decide what to do, but we are well enough that I can wait if there's a reason (finding the right job).

I need to get up and decide what I want to do with myself, but I've been stalling. I don't want another job I hate, and there's a silly bit of me that is convinced I'll hate everything! I recently earned my associates degree and have a few low level IT certifications. I love technology and I love fixing things.

This does not really constitute much of a question, I'm just looking for insight, but I suspect that if you request more information it will help me figure out what questions to ask myself. I've never had the luxury of time before, it's now that I want to get the job I always wanted. I'm 22, and unlike the rest of my life (15 up) things are no longer desperate, and frankly, I don't really know how one handles a situation that is not do-or-die.

Your thoughts to this unorthodox question are greatly appreciated. Even your inquiries have value, perhaps you will ask a question I have not yet asked myself!

Then it sounds like you are in the right vocation for yourself.

I think you need to ask yourself what you truly want to do and also ask yourself what you hated about the jobs you have had.

At some level I think most of us would rather not have to work. We'd rather travel, play, fish, whatever. Even those of us who like our job (and I love mine) probably wake up sometime and wish we could go do something else.

To borrow somewhat from Joe Dominguez, we trade our energy for money by working. If you are not getting enough reward then it may not be worth it. If having money is not very important to you then maybe you should ask yourself what sacrifices you are willing to make.

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
--Confucius

That's great advice. But I love to sit on the beach and also like expensive cars and travel. Do you know of anyone who will pay me a lot to sit on the beach?

It seems to me that you'd start by asking yourself 3 questions:

1. What do I love doing?

2. What am I actually good at?

3. What will people pay me to do?

If the answer is the same for all 3 questions, then that's your answer to what you should be doing. If not, then you have more questions that you need to answer for yourself:

1. Am I willing to do what I don't love so I have enough money to do what I love as recreation?

2. Am I willing to forgo doing what I love as recreation in order to avoid doing what I don't love in exchange for money?

3. What part does money play overall in my happiness? Do I want freedom? Security? Comfort? Material goods? Experiences?

4. How will my choices impact my wife or others who are an important part of my life?

Simple questions, but hard answers.

Thanks for all the good replies. I will internalize it and respond appropriately soon.

I'm thinking about taking a few classes and expanding my skill set. One thing I'm sure of, I would rather have a job I love than a good pay check.

You are 22 and have the whole of your life ahead of you, and you are lucky enough to have a condo you own out right. The world is your ouster right now. You can still do technology; what about it do you love the most? Just repairing? Maybe ask yourself what hobbies you have and why you enjoy then and work out a plan to make it into a business (hopefully you will not hate it)

If the world ousts you, where do you go? The moon? Or do you stick around and try to change the world's mind?

maybe to try working something ONLINE?

I had similar problems and left my daytime job and now I am full time self employed online... Define what You are interested in, if you don't have any tech skills maybe you can write blog about something that you are passionate with? Blog with a lot of visitors can be great source of incomes...

It’s better to work online as a part time and also continue your day time job its better way to stable your earning

There is a shortage of Linux based web-masters and sys-admins. You could certainly look into that, and check in your area for available jobs.

It shouldnt be too hard to get the certs.

I spent most of my early life trying to land a good IT job, and when I finally did, I despised it. I've kept at it though, and I've finally found a niche where its not so bad. Sometimes it just takes some trial and error to figure out what you are good and what you like.

You could also start your own business. There are alot of people who need things repaired - especially oddball stuff. I know I just paid a guy $120 to fix my playstation - of course, even a new used one would have cost more so it was worth it. It took him half an hour, but it required a tool that costs $1000 so not worth it to buy to do myself.

Other items I've had trouble getting repaired include my used scooter (because it's a knockoff chinese brand no one will touch it), my 1941 kenmore sewing machine, and my garage door opener.

I'd go all DIY but honestly I simply am no good with mechanical things. You could probably make decent money by networking with repair shops and offering to take hard cases they wouldn't take anyway, especially if you give them a small cut of the profits.

Seems like good trouble to have over all! (Finally having "too much time" to think and plan)

If you love technology and fixing things, I say try to see how to build a more profitable business off of that!

By the way - age 22 with a condo to your name and little/no debt is a great place to be over all!