I don't fit in anywhere

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These are my major difficulties. I have a BS in Zoology and am finishing a MS in Entomology (Insects). I don't have a clue about where to look for a job or about finding one that is intellectually challenging and meaninful to me. No, I hate research. I've done that and couldn't handle that, for some of the reasons mentioned. Neither field work. It seems like I don't fit in anywhere. And I don't want a menial job that is nonstimulating and boring--I've tried those. I don't know what to do. I am an excellent artist, but that's not a viable career; I am excellent at organization, just not myself. Where do I fit--anywhere??
Social difficulties
Motor difficulties (typing, descending stairs etc.)
Need external structure
Need clear expectations
Unable to manage personal organization
Need definate conclusion to job
Am concrete, not imaginative
Hard to put original thoughts together
Sometimes hard to pull everything together
Oppositional and passive aggressive (very stubborn...)
Rigid about obeying rules
Perfectionist
When stuck in area of interest, trouble getting out (but have limited interests)
Change is difficult, unless forewarned (sometimes)

Zoology and bugs.....hummmmm


Find road kill in your area.set up a "stripping station" with those beatles who eat meat off bones.Use stripped bones to sell to schools,at flee markets or on-line.Use other bones to make art and maybe learn taxodermy to use the fur.

May be a "netch" market.But I have always loved taxidermy animals (but would never buy one unless it was not murdered),and bones for decorating.There use to be a punk/death rock scene who likes bones,skulls...dont know if there is anything like that these days but the internet should help as far as marketing goes.

As far as "real advice".....I am 43 and still cant figure out what I will be when I grow up because I cant seem to grow-up.I have a BA in psych and now do janitor work and babysit 100 dogs overnights.I read a lot of existentialism and now spend my nights cleaning up doggy poo and getting lots of furry attention.Lets just say,so far it is my favorite job but it sucks to make $9.75 an hour at my age and being on my feet for 13 hour shifts(3 nights in a row), is making my body feel like someone has taken a bat to it.....every coin has a "flip-side".


Good luck.

Anna-Mag, you just need some occupational and personality assessments to help you find the right fit, and it may take a few tries, just like trying on shoes. Assessments like these are available at all college/university career and placment offices as well as Voc-Rehab offices and whatever Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs exist in your area.

Start with the SDS, the Self-Directed Search. It's perfectly legitimate and if you do it on-line it's only about $5.00 - $15.00. Google "Holland Codes SDS" for more information. It will define your level of interest and (self-reported) aptitude within 6 categories: R for Realistic, A Artistic, I Investigative, E Enterprising, C Conventional and S Social. Your 3 highest will be grouped and explained and then followed by lists of occupations, hobbies and leisure activities correlate. Each job will be followed by a series of numbers from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. The middle three numbers in the DOT code signify the level at which a person working in the position deals with data, people and things. I prefer high data, high people and low-level things (if computers are excluded...) and that aligns with jobs I've held and hold currently (career counselor).

Then try something like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and follow your letter results in a book called Do What You Are. MBTI results are composed of 4 letters with 16 possible combinations. There's a chapter in the book for each of the 16 combinations, or "types", in which people whose type you share say what jobs they have, why they like it/find satisfaction in it, what jobs they had they didn't like, why the one they like works for them, etc. For some people discovering their type and that it's legitimate and that others share it is like a freakin' miracle!! !! !

There's also the Strong assessment, formerly known as the Strong-Campbell. Just another way of looking at Holland Codes.

I hope this helps. I've been a career counselor for 15 years and have used these assessments with hundreds of people, the great majority of whom derived great personal benefit.