How to stop overthinking and pick a career path
Trying to balance rational cost-analysis with actual dreams leaves people stuck at a crossroads with no clear plan. This constant overthinking prevents them from finding a solid idea to pursue, stopping them from taking action and building the momentum needed to escape dead-end jobs.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How to stop overthinking and pick a career path
- 1Developing scenario plans and running cost-analysis simulationsDid this help you?
- 2Seeking objective advice onlineDid this help you?
- 3Joining the military to force discipline, break routines, and change locationsDid this help you?
- 4Setting a strict deadline to research and commit to a new pathDid this help you?
- 5Apprenticing in a trade like plumbing or electrical workDid this help you?
- 6Joining a union like IATSE as a fallback optionDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“To keep things short, I'm 24m and I've basically wasted the past 6 years since high school. I've had a couple jobs that didn't last long and I've been working part time in a grocery store for the past 4 years.”source ↗
“I know I need to be proactive or I'll never get out of this hole I've put myself in. I don't really have any solid ideas of what to pursue but I know I need to take action regardless.”source ↗
“I want something that I can force myself to do that could help get momentum going.”source ↗
“I wish we didn't need the military to change our social status but the hard truth is that it's the best many of us can hope for.”source ↗
“I'm overthinking my planning and I'm not being objective or rational.”source ↗
“I'm now again at a cross roads but my previous plans has run it's course, leaving the future open.”source ↗
“I am conflicted by which path to pursue as I'm now torn between rationality and dreams”source ↗
“Every scenario plan I develop is inevitably tainted with cost-analysis and cost-projection simulations.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 23Is teaching still a realistic option for me?
- 22How to know if you need a career pivot or just a new job
- 14Should I quit my demanding job for a simpler, lower-paying one?
- 2How to choose a career when you have no passion
- 7Am I too unstable mentally to be a teacher?
- 3Should I stay in public accounting after being fired?