Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

Ohh boy.. What a question. As someone who graduated university two years ago I thought I would be more established and knowing what I want to do in the future. I am currently employed full time, my first professional job. I am a library settlement worker, I help newcomers to Canada with information and orientation services in the library. I am employed by a non-profit organization but we have a partnership in the library, so no the library doesn’t pay me. I love the organization because they do so many different things in the community; like children literacy groups, youth groups for  both newcomers and mainstream Canadian youth, settlement services and counseling, basic needs, anti-racism and bullying, and so much more! The job itself is rewarding even though there are some restrictions on the services we are able to provide for a client the feedback from the clients are always positive.

What is the problem?

Other than the fact that I am on a contract that has possibility for renewal which isn’t even my biggest concern. My concern is that I do not see myself doing this for the rest of my life and to go a little deeper I have no idea what my “dream job” would even be. I have many topics that interest me but I don’t think I could pursue a career in any of them. I like natural home-made products like soaps, lotions, deodorants, and laundry soaps and possibly selling them. I love the wedding industry including make centre pieces, invitations, candy tables, and favours. I do like helping newcomers to Canada settle but I think I like more the immigration side of this, I could see myself being an immigration consultant for a while.

Regrets

The biggest regret I have is not continuing with French during high school and sticking through it during university. I guess you could argue that it is not too late to start which is true but it would've been easier to learn going through it day by day in school.

Another big debate I am contemplating is whether or not I should go back to university as a "special student" to raise my grades and later apply to complete my Masters. My marks were terrible during school there is no way I could apply for a Masters with the grades on my transcripts.

Stability

I am sure everyone who is working by contract or as a temp would understand that there is no stability whatsoever. As soon as it is nearing the end of your contract term you might get an extension or the boot. Whatever the case is there is no vacation days, no benefits, and no stability! The experience is always good but having no stability or that extra security with benefits is a groaner. I'm feeling the struggle of it now since I have thousands of dollars worth of dental work that needs to be done and nothing to ease the pain of my wallet.

The Plan?

Like many people, I have no immediate plan as I change my mind every five minutes so I guess the short term plan would be to sit down and contemplate on what my plan is. Come up with realistic achievable goals with realistic outcomes and think about where to go from there. Being the way I am now is not going to work out for me plus I have a family I need to think of that I would like to grow as well but can't at the way things are going now. Who knows you might get an update from me in the next couple of months saying I got a new permanent jobs and things are good for now. Realistically, I need to do something to expand my current skills and open new doors for me I know that for a fact. Now I just need to set out and find those opportunities.