I'm feeling like a failed high iq kid

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My iq test resulted as 148, this was 13 years ago and i think that was true.

I had special interests, like programming, coding games and tech.

Then i got mental problems like depression and anxiety. So these problems slowed me down in terms of pursuing my goals and interests.

After some time i got a 2 year degree in my field. But that's not really worth much so i went for a 4 year degree, but did not continue. At this time (age 26) i want to work or do something instead of studying among kids. But i also have less social skills and no network. At the same time i dont live in the us or canada. I'm residing in eastern europe so the opportunities are limited.

I always wanted to be somewhat successful. But ended up badly. I want to try reversing this situation but dont know what to do.

So i need your advices honestly about this situation.

you are still quite young, and it is not too late to find a path to the future. You might be able to apply the skills you have learned to your most favorite interests. Find your best strengths, team them with your interests, and work them like a muscle! Learn what your personal best skills and weaknesses are and figure out some ways to either use them more or work around them. For example, if you can't do interpersonal interactions (customer service for example) there are many "in house" jobs where you might only interact with a team leader and a couple of co workers instead. There are a thousand different ways this could apply to you, depending on what your skills, strengths, and weaknesses are.

If you think you might want to do a certain job, try to learn from others already doing that job about its best and worst points.

If you want to work someplace in particular, say with a particular team in a particular location or for a certain company, seek out information about what needs to happen to become part of that team or company. Most people experience a lot of searching and "try on" jobs during their 20s, and many find they want to get more education in their chosen field or they may choose to learn a new field instead.

If you have not taken skills tests, many employment agencies give these tests as part of attempts to place an applicant. I found the book "what color is your parachute" useful. any edition will work, the first half of the book is all about finding out what you are best at, what your strengths are, where you might fit in the working world.

It is a lot of emotional homework and a lot of mental problem solving, sorting the past even from childhood to help you discover the things that might fit best for jobs in the future.

You can get the "what color is your parachute" book online at any used book site for very little $$ and most libraries should have copies too.

The second half of the book talks about finding jobs and how to do it, and the fashions and demands of today's job search may have changed a great deal, so the back half of the book is not likely to be as helpful, but might still be encouraging .

you are definitely not alone.

Failed high IQ kid here. Mine was 164.

The Parachute book was around back then, and it really helped me as well. I found my vocation in non-people-facing tech work. I'm still doing it. You can see my age in my profile.

I am not socially skilled. I've always got work based purely on my technical skills. In some corporate environments, autism can even be an advantage - if the techies are 'weird', they have more confidence in them as scientists. (That's neurotypicals for you!)

If you like programming, put some of your own projects out there, like on a blog or on GitHub, particularly if it's solving a problem in a new or interesting way. Then if looking for work, you can point people quickly to what you can do.

Good luck.

Thanks for your advices. I owe too much to my 13 year old self. I had goals and pursuit. Now i have lived another 13 years and no progress. That's lame, actually thats not all my fault. I'm living in eastern europe where opportunities are limited and did not grow up in a healthy environment. But i should have tried harder. Because i know that it wouldn't end well if i stay the same, without using my potential.

We can always wish that we tried harder, but honestly, it's better to start a process of change now than never. Ruminating over the fact that you failed your 13-year-old self when you were still young, and you can still flip your life around is a wasted opportunity.

I sound harsh and I hope I am not coming off as too mean. I'd still try to look into what you can do. Is it possible for you to leave your country and to try moving to somewhere else in Europe?

What honeytoast said. Besides which, 'tried harder' at what? I spent most of my youth chasing someone else's goal, not mine. As a result I considered myself a 'failure' at age 20. But I was never going to 'succeed' at that.

What are our 'goals' in life? Or, if there is a God, what are their goals for us? Well, I still don't know, even at my age. That's ok. It's a day at a time. Even becoming a tech geek wasn't a 'goal' for me. It just happened along the way. I tried it and I liked it.

Some good news: here in the UK, Eastern European techies are regarded with great respect. In recent years I've worked amongst others with Poles, Romanians, Latvians, Serbians, Ukrainians, both in person and remotely, and they've all been brilliant. You might think about trying to get into the sort of tech company which has offices in both West and East, where teams work together remotely, and where there may eventually be an opportunity to physically relocate.

If your home country is in the EU, of course, you already have a big advantage over us here in the UK!