Question: I don't know what to do about my life career/job wise, I'm really scared?

I'm 19 yrs old and live in australia. For 3 years i been working at home specifically so my mum can get money.. she has cancer and was unhappy my stepdad wasn't giving her any money.. and so i took this job so she would. It's made me spend a lot of time at home, which isn't bad, but it's also made me really lazy and isolated. I'm going 20 this august and have no idea what i wanna do with my life. I'm worried no one will hire me, and I'm terrified of working at a new department and having to adapt and learn everything. I feel like I'm gonna break down cos I'm incompetent. I'm very shy and scared. I was working when i was 16 yrs old and i JUST made it there, with the help of others, otherwise i woulda flunked. It was as at retail... and i had no idea about all the products and stuff.

I'm thinking I'll just keep working until one day i know what i wanna do.. which could be like 23 or 25 or whatever. Is this bad??

Answer:

I don't want to make any assumptions, but in your case it seems as though you were thrust into work at a young age due to your mother's illness and so did not really get a chance to dabble in and ponder possible career choices. The decision is yours, but I suggest that you continue to work for a year or so whilst also exploring other opportunities, interests and hobbies to figure out what you enjoy and what you're good at. From there you could go to Tafe, University, another job, or whatever happens to float your boat. It pays to take a bit of time deciding on what you really want so that you're not stuck doing something you hate. Good luck!

What are you doing at home work-wise? Does it have transferable skills that you could advertise if you apply for a new job/

Generally, it's not 'wrong' that you don't know what you want to do (I still don't) - but you do need to get out of home, try new things, or you won't have a chance of figuring it out