Hi SqueakyLemon,A lot of people will tell you that you need to "find" your passions. Your "bliss"I can definitely agree with that, but unfortunately there are a lot of people wandering around saying "but what is my passion? How do I know it is?"The truth is, that your passions are the interests which you chose to be interested in and devote time to. You start with a list of little things, or a couple of activities to try your hand at outside of your job. You'll know whether you want to keep doing them or not. These little interests are what turn into large interest when you devote a greater amount of time to them. You begin to see what you love about them-which is ultimately what you decide to keep pursuing or to look for in an interest that focuses on that specific aspect which you love.It is only through these that you eventually find yourself telling someone that you are "passionate" about museum curation, data research or helping the homeless.As an example.. We very often admire great ballerinas or olympic athletes. We give them the credit of having something which they love and dedicate themselves to fully. That is rather unfair of us, because it is not yours or my own fault that our parents didn't put us into ballet classes when were three. What if we were "supposed" to be great dancers? These people have a hobby, a routine which they invest time towards, and it is these interests that they come to see they are also passionate about.I apologize if I spew a little bit of my own biased opinion. I am human, so take it for what it is.In regard to your going back to school.. This may be what you will end up doing and it may not be. Here are my two cents on it at this moment:University is a fantastic thing, and the merit of gathering further knowledge is always applicable, but.. It is a path whose value is greatly influenced by the time we find ourselves in history. As an example, our parents generation experienced many great booms throughout their lifetimes. They were very fortunate that the economy was where it was, and that University tuition was both manageable and insignificant in comparison to the availability of jobs the economy would go on to create.It is reported that the baby boomers are on average far happier then any of the generation before them. Their parents had come from the depression, so very few of the children born between 1945-1960 ever thought they would attain a life of multiple cars, cottages and yearly vacations.Our generation, it is reported, will be one of the most depressed since even prior to the depression. We have grown up seeing our parents lifestyles, and often aimlessly pursuing further education without really knowing why we were in University. Unfortunately most of our peers will not have achieved the financial dreams of their parents due to the shifts in economy and recession which will take place throughout the next 50 years.(long winded, I just have a lot of opinion about this, because I've asked the same question you are before)For that reason, I think it's important to start first with your hobbies and interests. University represents a very false safety net-it's a really easy thing to jump to when in doubt, but it comes at a great cost that may not be warranted by a fleeting moment of "direction"Once you have invested in to your interests, and articulated the direction you'd like to move in to, try to look at ways that you could achieve those aims alternatively. That may mean that you want to get a certificate or associates degree, or that may mean figuring out if there's another route all together.In my case, I wanted to switch directions when I realized I had a love for Architecture and design. Becoming an Architect would have taken me another 9 years, and the earning potential and employment rate is horrible. I realized that I actually wanted to be a real estate developer, designing the homes and small commercial buildings that my company produced. I also realized that most working Architects do not produce the buildings of their dreams-the architects we learn about in school had often self-financed their own projects just to get themselves out there, and some of them were never actually licensed.Knowing this, I figured out that anyone can design a building under 6,000 s/f so long as it is approved by a civil engineer, or you are a registered home builder. So instead I started a design company to do interior and renovation designs. My aim is to see to see how much more I can make by just getting in to the industry now, and by the time 9 years is up, I hope that I will designing full developments of my own, rather then just having graduated without any work.I didn't want to make that about me, but I hope that story offers some insight for you, and it is the reason I related to your question.All the best.
