What's a Thinker to Do (for Work)?

[HandsandDreams]

I am a thinker.  A dreamer.  An analyst.  My talents primarily lie in my brain.  What, then, is a young, medium-experienced, un-degreed thinker supposed to do for work?

   I've been looking for a job.  I have worked at jobs before that were monotonous and boring, and I'd like to avoid that at all costs.  They make my head hurt.  Funny, how some people say math or reading or philosophy or politics makes their heads hurt?  Well those are exactly the things that rev me up.  Today I've been feeling under the weather, and pretty wool-headed.  When my wife mentioned something that led me to think of a political situation, I went of like a rocket.  I was blabbing away about it, and my head suddenly seemed clearer.  Flipping burgers or filing never made me feel that way.

   I look at the jobs out there, and they fall into two broad categories.  First is the entry-level, uneducated/unskilled jobs.  95% of these are dumbfuck jobs that anyone with muscles could do, and most people complain about.  Second there are the degreed/skilled jobs, where you need a Bachelor's to qualify for.  Some of these jobs even are dumbfuck jobs; only some of them even come close to looking interesting to me.

   Where have all the thinkers gone?  Are they all doomed to the teaching profession where they are bound and gagged by the No Child Left Behind Act?  Are they in research, where they have to beg and scrape for funds, often from controversial tax dollars?  Are they freelance writers, who have to compete with the millions of others who envy the freedom and personal touch of such a career?  Are they the entrepreneurs who have to use a machete to cut through the jungle of red tape surrounding business?

   Where's the middle ground?  Where do entry-level thinkers apply for work?  Where do I fit in this society?  How can I turn my greatest strengths into cash?

   I have done a cursory search of the Web for other people in my plight.  I thought surely there must be some webpage out there where people are talking about this very thing?  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  I feel all alone.  I feel like I ought to have more to give than stocking shelves at Kmart.  I feel stifled.  I'm beginning to wonder if America doesn't want its citizens to feel dumbed down and shackled by the economy.

Any thoughts?  Suggestions?  I need some help here.  This forum must be overflowing with people like me.  What do you do for work?   Did you face similar challenges before your career took off?

[Reginus]

Start a small biz (or at least that's what I hope to do in 10 years   )

... overly optimistic or no?

[Whitney]

Unless you want to start your own business, your best bet is to get a degree or certified training in something you would enjoy doing.  There really aren't many jobs out there that don't suck and available to people without a degree.  Well, unless you happen to be really good at graphics, web coding, or game design...then you could get a portfolio together and maybe find a job or get contract work.  However, this economy isn't really the best time to be trying to compete against people who want to do the same thing yet have a degree in the field and/or more experience.  Honestly, right now isn't really an easy time for those who do have a degree..I'm just now working again temporarily after not being able to find anything I am not under/over qualified for since March.

[Kylyssa]

Before I got sick I was a florist and ran a small marine aquaculture business to support my writing habit.  The florist gig was great.  I ran somewhat on autopilot and could sometimes express myself creatively.  It gave m,e plenty of time to compose in my head as my hands worked.  The marine aquaculture deal was fantastic because I got to play with chemicals and study bizarre lifeforms as I nurtured them.  But I have worked a bunch of different jobs, often at the same time as those two - mostly because I'm a workaholic.  

The thing is to not be defined by how you earn your bread but by what you are.  You probably can't earn a decent living doing the exact mental work you enjoy.  So just roll with it and do something to get money but don't wrap your identity in it.

Since I've gotten sick, I've worked exclusively as a freelance writer.  Sometimes I get fabulous gigs and earn a good chunk of change but then again I usually get mediocre hack jobs that don't earn much.  I'm doing what I want - basically - but I still have to compromise to earn money from it.  So I continue to write what I want as well as what I must.