How do you know what job you were meant to do in life?

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I'm 36 now, and I've always been going from job to job, trying new things out but never stayed anywhere too long and not sure what was meant for me, career wise. How does one find out?

No one was "meant" for any particular job -- no one is destined for a particular path of employment.  It is up to each individual to decide what kind of job they want and to learn the skills necessary to qualify for that job.

To say that one is "meant" to do a particular job in life is to assume that the decision has already been made for you, and that if you choose any other path, then you are doomed to failure.

Stop waiting to find out what employment "karma" you have going on.  Instead, determine what you like doing, learn how to do it, and find someone who will pay you to do it, just as billions of other people before you have done.

Are there any patterns or themes to the jobs you have had? If not, what area would you like to work in?

But it is not always easy. I have kind of floated into different fields. But most revolved around education, communication, and analysis. It is surprising how all three feed into each other.

Follow your interests as far as you can.
Failing that, go for work that's in an environment which will suit you. I can't stress that enough.
It doesn't really matter what the work is - as long as you can tolerate going and doing it every day (and hopefully people pay you decently for it).

For instance, my current work is a really good fit for me, because it's technical rather than managerial or customer-facing, I'm in a quiet office, able to work independently for the most part, and can get out to do fieldwork sometimes which helps with stress regulation.

Thats a good question Ironpony. I think Mrs Peel's answer was right on. Finding a good environment that suits you.

Oh okay. Well before I wanted to get into filmmaking, but I was told by a lot of others that it costs too much to get into and I might as well just find something else. I talked about it on here on another thread:

viewtopic.php?t=370872

But I don't know what else I want to do and not sure how to find out though.

I think a dream job falls under what fits your personality the best.

It has to also be realistic, setting up these businesses and things you need money to do that in the first place. Not just a bit of money I'm talking like if you want something serious you need a few grand.

I have noticed people with autism can get overly optimistic only to have their hopes brought back down to earth with a loud crash after they realise setting up businesses is not as easy as it looks.

As for jobs, you need to find something that you can actually do and do well. Like an empathetic person would probably quite enjoy being a social worker for example. It depends.

If you really want to try for something that is completely outside of your current experience, you need to create that required experience, so you have something to show a potential employer.

If you wanted to make films, but you have no experience, make some films for fun / for yourself. Join a hobby film making enthusiast group. Volunteer to make a film for a community project. Make a music video for your little brother's rock band. Submit films to online or local film festivals. Etc, etc....

This may not land you a position, but it at least gives employers a reason to consider you in the first place.

I wish you all the best

Oh okay thanks. It's just I don't think that is enough to get employers to consider me, and you have to actually make a feature film to get in and get noticed. I don't think there is another way, based on other filmmakers I have asked.

I want to study UFOs

is there a market for ufo study?

Most of the jobs I have done were in the bicycle trade, and that I kind of slipped into because it is a hobby of mine. It is a secondary special interest.
I say I slipped into. I was hanging around a bicycle shop and I just started to make myself useful! Haha. I kind of slipped into it if that makes sense?
It was not a planned career choice and the pay is rarely enough to live on, but it was something I was tallented in and enjoyed.

I always wanted to work on the railways though. It is my number one spwcial interest. It took me ten years to wait for a job to come up and I applied and was tested in the interviews, and I had the job. There was around 2600 applicants per position.

I could have gone to a railway job on leaving school at 16 but it would require me moving away from home and I would not have been able to cope. The thought scared me.

I did the railway job for nine years which is a record for me! Three years was my previous record in a job. The only reason why I lasted so long was because due to the ever changing shifts, I rarely worked the same shift twice in a week and rarely worked with the same driver for more then a day or so. Usually half a day depending on the shift. This meant it took much longer before my masking was discovered.
I eventually quit the job after going through my first burnout. (I call it my first burnout though I had moments before through the years, but usually on a smaller scale).

Today I am not working and on a sickness benefit which is actually the same benefit as if I was unemployed, but I am not required to look for work yet. It has been a huge relief because after the last two or three burnouts (Especially the last one) I was in quite a mess and realized if I had another burnout (Each one had hit me harder then the one before) I would very likely end up physically dissabled... The realization came as quite a shock, because I have always relied on my abilities to work in the bicycle trade as something to fall back on but now not being able to do that meant I had no "Crutch" to fall back on.

Oh okay. Well maybe I am looking at it the wrong way, and perhaps it's not a bad thing that I keep going from job to job so far in my life? Or this is bad, and I need to find a permanent career?

I guess I can relate more to inmates near my local insane asylum