this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2024

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Feeling lost and with no direction, what skill should I learn? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Hi everyone. I am feeling like I've lost any direction after getting laid off earlier this year (was working as an analyst in telecom and very recently landed a much lower position in healthcare data entry due to necessity). I already have several hobbies but I am either burnt out on them or they have lost their luster (similar to how life has lost its luster for me this past 6 months).

I would really love to learn a new skill, preferably using my hands to create something while challenging my brain. I'm willing to take classes, study, practice, and buy some equipment required for the skill.

Please tell me about your skill/hobby that gives you purpose. I've kind of exhausted google search which always returns the same 20 or so craft suggestions like "make custom invitations for weddings", and while that sounds good for someone, it may not be good for me.

Current hobbies: Music composition and gardening,

EDIT: trying to move away from hobbies that involve me sitting in front of a computer. I already do that way too much.

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[–] cosmicrose@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I recently got into video game development, and I’ve had so much fun, and it’s given me some much-needed meaning. I’ve solved problems unique to my game using programming skills as well as game design skills, and it feels meaningful because i can send it to my friends and they can enjoy it without needing to appreciate any of the technical aspects. I get to be creative about how people I care about can have more fun. It could also involve your music composition hobby, since every good game needs some music and sound design! I’m a programmer for my day job so most things I do there are only meaningful to other programmers, and the problems I solve there are incredibly boring ones.

Edit: I saw your comment about being burnt out on programming, and I totally understand that. That happens to me frequently. I enjoy programming as a hobby when I’m not burnt out so we’re kinda in different boats there. There are lots of skills involved in making games and the variety has really refreshed me, though I’ve still gotten sick of sitting at a computer while working on it.

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

I appreciate what you are doing and am glad you found something that you enjoy. I've tried to contribute music to game development before, and each time the project ended up falling apart and the game never finished. I even wrote a score for an independent film once... then covid hit, funding fell through, and the movie was left in post production hell. I've released a ton of stuff on my own, but as a big ol video game nerd, I would love to breach that medium.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Does art interest you? I personally really love drawing!

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I've never been particularly talented at visual arts like drawing and painting, my artistic talents mostly come in music. Which I've been doing for a long time and burnt out on. I do know you can develop a talent like drawing with enough time and effort, so its not totally out of the question.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I fondly remember a time where I could only draw stickmen. I'm sure if you spend time and effort, you can do pretty much anything! If you don't mind me asking, have you shared your music anywhere?

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I've got a ton of music published, its all on Spotify/iTunes/etc. The name of my band is Giant Monsters on the Horizon. Been doing music for a long while. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HmglWNfF7jAYQxbEjv9Xt?si=wKM8b_rATrSgx5WV7ITDdw

[–] JackiesFridge@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Holy cats - just bought Night City Redux on Bandcamp. Great stuff!

If you're burnt out on music making, have you tried other ways of creating? Like if you're used to a DAW, invest in hardware like a groovebox or a handheld tracker (my current love is the Dirtywave M8) or something. Try modular (but don't, it's expensive) or some weird boutique noise machine. Or dive into orchestral instruments and perfecting a classical music performance.

It could be a way to defamiliarise yourself and make music creation new again.

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You are my favorite person, I appreciate you! :D

Seriously, thank you for supporting. I've worked with softsynths all my adult life, mainly Reason for production and arranging, Ableton for live shows. One of my bandmates is a gearhead, we've tried all kinds of his hardware including modular stuff, and it was just a learning curve that I was not really interested in. My music production time is really limited (One of my bandmates and his wife just adopted 2 kids out of foster care, and my other bandmate is a full time teacher), I only get about 4 hours a week to actually collaborate with them. Every time we've tried writing and creating with hardware, it just left us with getting nothing done during our once a week session. We stick with the softsynths we know and keep the train moving forward. So the balance struggle there is, do we take several sessions off to try something new? Or do we keep creating and being productive. Its tough.

[–] JackiesFridge@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Thank you for introducing me to a new (to me) band! Yeah, life can be kind of a roller coaster, and everyone's interests ebb and flow (as you've discovered with yourself and your bandmates). Sadly we only have so much energy to roll with it, and I'm sorry you're at a low energy area right now. Those suck, and it is VERY difficult to battle inertia and muscle back into the fray.

Art is kinda cruel in the way that it makes you choose - familiar and possibly uninspiring, or new and possibly a frustrating dead end. The reason I mentioned the M8 was largely due to its pocketability. It's not much bigger than a large smartphone but it's a whole production device with instant-on and a sensible design. Work on stuff during lunch, at the park, on the bus, etc. But there is a learning curve, so spending a lot of energy you might not have may get frustrating if it doesn't click right away.

One thing you might try is suggesting gentle deadlines or challenges for yourself and your bandmates - like write a catchy 10-second jingle by the end of the week. Or parody the chorus of an existing song by the end of your next phone call. A deadline for something silly is easier to meet, and you all would have created something and had a little fun.

There are a lot of amazing people here suggesting different things you can do, and I notice a lot of their ideas are creative activities. I think you can land on any of those and find satisfaction. There's no high like creation. No matter what, remember that things always change. If you're at a low point, it can't last forever, especially if you keep powering through it. You'll come out ahead.

[–] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

How about taking a trade?

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[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I really want to get into casting, because it's crazy how much stuff you can make. Machining too, but that requires a lot of equipment. If you want to use metal casting to make machining tools, David Gingery's works are a classic.

[–] Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Machine is a very fun hobby, but be very careful when using high power tools. Mills, lathes and surface grinders can easily bite yah. As my shop teacher once said "If it can cut metal it can cut you!" "Metalworking tools are not toys, treat them with respect and they will respect you back" "Follow the MSDS procautions and shop rules, ie no long sleeves or gloves near rotary equitment and dont roll up sand paper on the lathe"

It is very rewarding being able to show people the part you made and solving problems feels great too!

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Casting can also be dangerous. It's not too surprising, when glowing hot molten liquid is involved, but it's not necessarily intuitive. Any excess moisture in the work area is a potential steam explosion, including the water in porous concrete you might not think about. Materials weaken at high temperatures, and thermal expansion of metal when you're going up that high is more than a detail. To deal with that, use PPE, your brain and Murphy's law. They say to assume everything in a metalworking shop is hot unless you know for a fact that it isn't, for example.

Machining is also cool because you can get microscopic precision with pretty standard equipment, and quite often need to if you want something to make something like a smooth-rolling bearing. That makes it a lot more of a science than more common skills like woodworking.

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[–] Greee1911@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Sales. If you want to starting make really good money without a masters or PhD. Learn sales. Get a bdr type role. Even part time and get some experience. After that you can start making 6 figs within a few years.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

While I agree you can make good money in sales. I think it takes a certain personality and a tough skin to handle the job well. It can be an extremely stressful work environment.

[–] Ironfacebuster@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

I learned how to flintknap a little, and it was super fun. I heard buying rocks can be expensive if you don't live near where they're plentiful, but what hobby doesn't get expensive? I went to the class with my brother in law and he got absolutely lost in the sauce working on his flint, and didn't talk to anyone else there

It can be tiring but it's definitely fun seeing what you've made (even if you're not very good at it like me) and besides, you get to say you're hitting rock/buying rock so there's even more fun to be had!

[–] Volkditty@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Do you live in an area where you can go sailing?

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Heh, unfortunately no. I was born and raised in Ft Lauderdale, but now reside in Missouri... so no where near water, lol.

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[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Feeling lost and with no direction, what skill should I learn?

You could go into teaching?

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, when I was younger, I could always see myself as a teacher. The truth is, its not enough money and being more of a "jack of all trades" type, I don't have any expertise in anything to be able to teach someone else effectively. At least that's how it feels to me.

[–] folekaule@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What about volunteering? Usually no credentials or experience is required. You get out of the house, get to be around people, and you get the satisfaction of feeling like you are doing something useful, which is rewarding in itself.

It could be anything. You have all kinds of organizations wanting volunteer help: social outreach programs, churches, scouts, clubs, etc. See if anything local catches your interest.

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

I'm already on the board of directors for a non-profit on a volunteer only basis. I have a passion for charity, but its pretty slow going sometimes. Its kind of lost its luster like everything else.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 1 points 5 months ago

I don't have any expertise in anything

Nonsense, sounds like you're more than qualified to teach.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If you become a plumber or electrician it will satisfy your desire to create with your hands while challenging your brain. It pays decently good and keeps you in shape too.

As an electrician you’ll start off paid low for a year or two as a laborer, but in four or five years I think you’ll be a trade professional making good money and doing useful work.

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Thanks! I have a tour scheduled next week for a trade school for their electrician program. I'm not 100% sure if I have an interest in it, but it has the traits I am looking for. Being useful, having a purpose, working with my hands, etc. I will see how I feel after the tour.

[–] webPunk@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I've (more or less) got those two hobbies as well! :D

I work on cars for fun, but that might not be the most budget friendly thing to do outside of basic car maintenance. Of course, this is assuming that you or a friend has a car to work on.

What if you get an Arduino starter kit? That involves putting things together with your hands and writing code to make the hardware do cool things.

For music production, you could check out a website like Looperman or a subscription service like Splice. Then, download a few audio samples and use them as a starting point for a song. This helped me get back into music production after a five month period of minimal inspiration.

Photography (even with a cellphone) could be nice too. You could even use it as a reason to do physical activities like hiking.

EDIT: Have you been hanging out with friends regularly? If not, I think that it should be

[–] Shocker_Khan@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Thanks much! I do use Splice sometimes when I need a loop quickly, or a fill, or even a decent riser. I've been doing music production for a long time and its been really good (released some stuff I really love, worked with some of the people in the industry I look up to, and shared the stage with some really phenomenal talents). Its something that I am continuing to do, but just burnt out on it is all.

Working on cars sounds awesome, but also intimidating. I'm not one to shy away from a challenge, I just don't think I have the space or materials to start that. I have a new car (so I'm not taking that apart any time soon), and I don't have a decent workspace like a garage. Its a good suggestion though and one I would want to attempt in the future.

I'm trying to move away from coding/programming type stuff. I already spend way to much time in front of my computer.

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