Poll of the Day > Help me out, future wise

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ok, prepare for reading. So here's my current situation. I work as a carpet cleaner and have for 6 years now. I'm 27 years old. I enjoy the job well enough and recently got a pay raise. Lately I've been bringing in around $900-$1100 per bi weekly pay check working four days a week after taxes are taken out. Now, that may not seem much but I'm an extremely content person. I don't work a 5th day as I take part in a volunteer work that I also do over the weekend and that is what I really view as my career.

Here's the big catch: I've never actually lived on my own. See, I've been living with my grandpa for quite a few years now as he had a couple of strokes and needs a little looking after. He's independent, but the family really wants someone there and I've been doing that ever since I moved out of my dad's place. Once again I'm a content person and so is he so we never get on each other's nerves and the place is big. Since I'm helping him out (and I think he knows he doesn't have a lot of time left) he refuses to let me pay over $200 rent so I can rather just save it up for my future, which I do. Although I'm happy to help him out, I feel I'm a bit disconnected from what it really takes to make it out there, but other times I feel like I'm totally fine with what I'm doing and what I'm making that I could make it just fine independently when that time finally comes (when I decide ok I can't live here forever or he, sadly, dies).

Based on people's experiences, do you think I should consider taking a class for something and what should it be? Working 3 days a week making similar pay would be even better as I could focus more fully on the volunteer work, and I really don't care what I do for work. I don't have any particular passion. I enjoy meeting people and talking with them and their excitement when I get those nasty stains out of their carpets. Also meeting their dogs is pretty great as I'm kind of a dog person. Or should I just stay as I am? Lately what I've done is look at rent in my area, deduct $200 since I'm paying that in rent now, and then add in a high number for what utilities might be and I always end up being able to afford it. Other than the rent discount, I handle all my own bills. Any help would be greatly appreciated from some more experienced people. Sorry, this is super rambly, but thanks. My main question is do you think I'm ok and if not what's something good/decent I can go for that lets me be part time?
---

Clearly you should be using this time to take classes or intern or something. You have a very easy schedule in what could be described as an unstable living situation, as there's no guarantee of how long it'll last. While you're currently making what's probably a living wage for your area, it's a low-skilled job you probably shouldn't hang your hat on for the long-term.

Given that you apparently enjoy volunteering, you could try to pursue a career at a non-profit. At least that way you might care about your work.
---