Hi everyone

This is my first time on askmehelpdesk.. sorry about the venting, but I need some views from everyone about an issue.

Well I'm 23 years old, from India. And I'm qualified in Genetics.. In the meantime I applied for a visa to the UK [not work permit or student.. ] it was a sponsored visa.

The people at the UK immigration centre took all my original academic certificates for processing so I decided to take up a timepass job that is totally different from my field.. that is architecture.

Last month I got both my visa and my job appointment within a difference of two weeks. I opted to take up the job and move to the UK later. Two things to be noted here: I did not think of the visa as that much of a deal, so when I was asked for ID proof I gave them my passport [that was the only ID proof I have]. Was this a wrong move?

It has been almost a month since I started my job. I do find it a bit difficult since it's way out of my field but I do find myself enjoying my responsibilities quite a bit.

Well today was my performance appraisal. You guessed it right.. It didn't go well. Probably because I need more guidance in my work compared to my colleageues who are trained in architecture.. and I need more time to do anything I am asked to, since I have to start from the basics as I am in a different field.

Should I just quit and move to the UK or keep fooling myself here? It's not like I like architecture much but this was my first job and it feels way, way depressing that my first job turned out to be such a failure.. and I feel like I am probably not fit to do anything at all :(

I felt a few months of experience would boost up my confidence level before I move out of the country but I'm right back to square one now.. thanks to the low-paying, timepass job I took up..

Should I just quit and move to the UK or stay back just for the sake of gaining work experience..

Any suggestions would be helpful :(((((((((((

Why would you want to "...keep fooling..." yourself? Follow your heart on this and work in a vocation that you like and enjoy.

To expand on what George_1950 is saying, make a list of the activities and environments you've really enjoyed and found energizing in your first job, in school, and in your leisure life. For each of them, ask yourself: what was it about that activity and environment that I liked? Then write that down. Now do the same with activities and environments you've really loathed and found draining; what was it about them that you loathed or found draining?

Your lists represent what you should look for and avoid in your career search. That's different than what you're good at or potentially could be good at. For example, you might really like singing but might be tone deaf and have little hope of ever pursuing a singing career. But I believe that in most cases, if you really desire to pursue a path, you will find a way to do so.

A great starting point for career exploration is the Self Directed Search, one of the most common instruments used by career counselors. It looks at your preferences in six dimensions, and matches against a database of thousands of other people who have taken the test. It returns careers that people similar to you have found fulfilling. You can take it online for 9.95USD at this web site (http://www.self-directed-search.com/). It will give you suggestions for careers; each will have a DOT code associated with it that looks like this: 187.117-058. You can enter the codes on O*Net (http://online.onetcenter.org/crosswalk/)and research the job. Most of the information will be helpful, except for the salary and employment information which is based on statistics in the USA.

The other dimension that would be useful to look at is personality type; your job satisfaction will be based on personality as well as preferences. For example, you might like the outdoors but if you're an extreme extrovert a job as a forest ranger where you're sitting alone in a tower all day probably wouldn't be a good choice. A good resource for this is a book called Do What You Are; I don't know if it's available in the UK or India - it is available through Amazon. If you know your Myers-Briggs type the book describes job characteristics that are congruent with your personality and provides lists of jobs for you to investigate (which you can do through O*Net). The book will help you determine your type, and the authors' web site (http://personalitytype.com/dwya/index.html) provides a free test and short lists of jobs associated with your type. Here's another free test (http://www.41q.com/) that will tell you your Myers-Briggs type.

Regarding failure, remember that many different people failed before they succeeded, sometimes repeatedly. Here's a page (http://winpeople.blogspot.com/2008/03/great-failures_23.html) that lists some of them.