BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey guys
This is a rant/need some advice/floundering in self pity moment. I want two things in life--travel(obviously) and to finish my degree as I'm very passionate about the career path that I've chosen and can't wait to be in teh field.(if you'd like to know what I'm planning on doing with my life--post me a private message as it's kinda complicated) anyhoo the two are in direct conflict with one another. As a student, I am poor and unable to muster the money together togo travelling. But my education is extremely important to me and my career is probably going to end up tying me down. i don't know which side of my heart to follow. drop out take off and see the sights and the stars in all the different places in the world, or stick to it, finish my degree settle down and start my own business. I'm utterly lost and feel hopeless to the point where everytime I try to do homework I can't motivate myself and I dick around on the internet lookisng on here or other random travel sites. That's bad because for my program I need to keep my marks really really high. I'm very torn and just need to chat withsomeone who finds themselves in the same situation.

I'm not in the same situation, but it sounds familiar! When I was in uni, I busted my ass to keep my marks up (for scholarship and job reasons). I thought I knew what I wanted to do at the time, and I was such a determined person.

However, I took the opportunity during breaks to go on vacation (summer/spring/winter breaks are great opps, use them!). Looking back, I should have taken so many more trips. Once you're out of school and in a 9-5, these don't exist anymore. I did whatever I could to save money and budget for the trips. One semester, I worked a full time night job (40-60 hours a week), went to school part time 80 miles away (yes, I said 80 miles away!!). I slept in my car after my commute to uni (I had a few hours between when I got there and when my classes started), after class, drove back home 80 miles, took a 30 minute nap, woke up, then commuted to work. That semester (granted I was only taking 2 classes, but 2 very difficult computer classes), I managed to get a 4.0.

That job was extremely boring (data entry at the IRS). I brought my "Europe on a Shoestring" book with me everyday to work, put it by my monitor, to constantly remind me why I was putting myself through that.

Was it worth it? Absolutely!! Do I think I was crazy at the time..yeah. Would I do that again? Well, I'm getting old and need my sleep nowadays, so I would figure out another way to swing it.

In the end, I ended up dropping my old career because I grew to hate it so much. Funny how that works out.

Moral of the story..don't flounder in self pity. Find a way to work things out. Manage your time well with your studies. Find a way to motivate yourself in both ways, like..if I make an A on an assignment, I'll put in $100 (or something) to my trip budget. And besides, you don't need to see the world all at one time. You've got your whole life ahead of you.

rockon,

I have been/am in the same situation. I am on these boards right now dreaming of trips to do and have a rather large assignment due tomorrow that I still have yet to start. I always find myself surfing travel sites and planning imaginary trips despite the loads of studying I should keep up with. As far as a solution to that one goes i can't really help you, I am still trying to figure that one out too!

But there are still ways you can travel!! One answer: Co-op. I am a poor student too and never dreamed of travelling when I entered University. I always thought I would do it after graduation and can make some money and pay off loans first. So I ask you what exactly are you studying? I am in engineering so I entered the Co-op program to make some extra money while going to school. Then one day a company I was working for decided to send me to another country...that was how I got the bug! The next summer when I was applying to jobs again I only applied to jobs abroad and ended up landing one in Europe! In a way that has motivated me to do better in school (well not tonight anyway:P) so I can get better grades to get cool jobs overseas. So if you can I would recommend applying for Co-op jobs (internships) out of the country. It will extend your degree by about a year but is totally worth it. It sort of depends on what you are studying as certain fields have more jobs (engineering, bio, pharmacy, computers, etc.). But there is still hope, you can have the best of both worlds!

Hope this helps, Evan.

oh, I forgot to mention that there are lots of international placement agencies whose sole purpose is to find students jobs abroad...you are in Canada?...one is Iaeste http://www.queensu.ca/iaeste/ I applied to them last year and found that they have a large variety of jobs for all disciplines in countries ranging from China to Norway, or even some in Africa or South America.

Also Co-op Japan: http://cjp.coop.uvic.ca/mirror/main/cjp/index.php

Hey, thanx for the idea--now get to work!!!!

I think the situation is very common, and I've been going thru it a lot myself lately. I lived in Germany for a year, and I returned to Europe a few times after that. I thought it was something I'd do every year. Then the real world kicked in: student loans, credit cards, etc. Living in CA doesn't help, since the cost of living keeps me from saving up a decent chunk of money. So I plod along...

But lately, the fire has been slowly rekindled by reminders of how great travel is and how important it's been in making me who I am. It helps that I've got friends who do these amazing trips and that I'm more active in travel communities like BootsnAll. I'm also doing a little travel writing (finally finishing stories of trips I took eons ago), and I'm hoping to do more trips soon for more material. So in the past month or so, I've actually decided that I WILL take a big trip again. Perhaps a year abroad. Deep down, no matter what is going on in my life, I need to travel.

Ah, thanks for letting me vent. Feels good. Now, how does this relate to you? Well, it sounds like if you don't travel, you'll regret it. I know I would. Is there any way you can take a year off, study abroad for any time, or take a little time off after your degree but before you start working? I think it's great (and rare) that you're on a clear career path, and you can always travel once your business is established and you make some money. You'll hear people say, "It's good to travel while you're young." But you know what? I'm still planning on traveling when I'm old. So it doesn't matter. (Although I do believe in the "The sooner, the better" philosophy myself.) Anyway, it's mostly a mater of you making the effort--you can ALWAYS find the time and money. If it's important to you, it'll happen.

Since I'm not sure of your specific situation, I can't say much. And it might be that the career is the most important thing for you right now. But I'll tell you this: I was in a great relationship that ended over stupid reasons. I thought that she might have been the one. Then I went to school and studied abroad for a year. It opened my eyes to so much. I think that I'd be married now living in the Midwest, and I might have been happy. But it would've been because I didn't know what was out there. But because I know, I can say that I'm much happier traveling, and that it is the biggest component of my identity. And now I now I could never go back to the type of relationship I was once in. In fact, my partner (and, to some extent, my job) needs to allow for travel.

Thanks for letting me rant. If nothing else, it's reminded me that -I- need to get out of this job and on the road soon. Good luck!