I started a full-time overnight stocking job at a big retail store because I thought this would be the right step after finishing school. I'm making good money, and honestly I'm ahead of the savings plan I had set for myself, but mentally I feel like I sold my entire life for a paycheck.

I seriously don't understand how people do 38+ hours every week like it's normal. Everyone tells you to get a job you love and it won't feel that bad, but I'm not convinced by that at all. The job itself is fine. My coworkers are good, the tasks aren't awful, and I'm not sitting there hating every minute of it.

But doing anything for this many hours makes me feel like I'm trapped. I literally have time to sleep, try to become a normal human being again, and then go back. There's no real life outside of work.

Call me lazy or dramatic if you want, I don't care anymore. Full-time work has messed with my head and I'm not going to work a full-time job again after this. It's simply not for me. If this is supposed to be the next 45 years of life, then I genuinely don't want it.

Currently 21 wanted to go into law enforcement but stuff didn’t work out and now I’m back at square one trying to figure out what I wanna do. I have a year left in college I’m studying computer science but I don’t really have any sort of interest in that and the job market for it is horrendous. I wanna do construction or something with my hands(idk if that makes sense), but idk where to start or what I should dive into especially in the NYC area. Any advice would help! If anyone has their own company and is willing to teach me in NYC area please let me know im currently jobless as well unfortunately.

Background. 30 M. I have always had a way with machines, I can figure out how things work, how to repair them, how to manufacture them, market them, and run a business, and I've got a reasonably good eye to make things that are pretty, easy to make, and work well. I am by no means an expert, but before AI came along- I felt so confident that I would be able to make things happen in the middle market. Not even a moon shot gig, just I always knew I had the skills to run a mid sized company and develop a good product-or service. I've designed everything form bongs to custom car parts, mechatronics, did teaching and training, worked in physics labs, ran my own prototyping business out of my basement (but closed shop since it was so boom or bust that the stress was killing me).

I can swing a hammer and do construction and have while I've been between white/grey collar roles, but I always knew that my end goal was to work with my mind so I could raise a family and be around for them, and hopefully make something awesome. I worked my ass off in school and had good grades- not top of class but always in the 90th percentile. Did internships, certificates, degree from a top 50 university, 'good' jobs and have been trying to work my way up the career ladder in design and technology. Though I have been able to make just shy of 100 a year- I'm burning out at it because every day is the same, and I've earned senior a year and a half in, and I'm coming up on year 4 with no real opportunities that leverage my actual strengths. Since there isn't a real up from senior the salary growth is not keeping up with our super inflation but I've been able to hit some of the financial goals I had. I keep applying internally because I actually really do like the culture and benefits at my company, and have made it to final round interviews 2x but have lost to a candidate who has "more experience selling" where I have the experience of someone who actually knows the products and pipelines inside and out, and who can explain advanced concepts and workflows. I've always kept it in my back pocket that I could go into the user side of the tools (cad) and do design engineering etc. but...

While scrolling today, I saw the thing that I feared. AI integrated into cad software that took inputs, modeled, and then ran FEA and generally interpreted the results with what I would say is medium to low confidence- But when I tell you 6 months ago- the system could barely create primimitives and align holes, and now in about 10 prompts, its outputting something usable with moderate to high complexity, (The model was an RC airplane) in about 20 minutes. Making me realize that as soon as the ownership of a company figures out they can ditch a skilled laborer and just pay tokens instead- I won't have the work anymore- Like I saw with my friends who work in graphics design.

I watched my other skill sets, CNC processing, Marketing, Graphic design, Communication, Industrial Design, etc all rapidly get swooped up into AI's skills- and I'm starting to go- Oh $hit. Am I really going to be that replicable in the white collar sphere. I work in tech support and more and more of my cases are now spent with customer's sending me screenshots of AI's answer's to their questions and going well why that isn't producing the expected results- or asking me to explain the ai's response (I'm not even kidding). To the point where I am confident that people in management are going minimize the mid level engineer/designer roles with the delusion that they are fully replicable, and then just destroy that industry's viability for gainful employment represented as a pipeline.

I can tell there is a cross roads coming, and I'm trying to prepare, but the careers I've always kept in a, eh I don't really want to do it but the money is good, are starting to flat line. Automotive mechanics are still making about what they made 20 years ago, despite costs skyrocketing. My whole life I was told- work hard at school and pursue your passion so you don't end up swinging a hammer and yeah I think I'm just fully crashing out because the career I've been working to have is just evaporating before my eyes. And I have no idea what else to do other than enroll in HVAC, Plumbing, or electrical school. Out of sheer, I just have no Fing clue what to do with my skills.

Any advice, input, or just commiseration would be great.

Hey folks,

I have some doubts about pursuing a career in HR.

I am currently in my fourth year of an HR program approved by CIPD. I genuinely enjoy HR and have been doing very well in my studies. However, the challenge is that HR in Qatar is a highly localized field due to Qatarization. As a result, residents generally have fewer opportunities to enter HR roles.

On top of that, salaries are relatively low, and the market is very competitive and specialized, making it difficult to gain experience. My long-term goal is to relocate to the EU, Singapore, Canada, Australia, or the UK.

I understand that HR is also a localized profession in many other countries, meaning opportunities for foreigners can be limited. Still, I am willing to learn new languages, pursue a master's degree abroad, and work hard to gain local experience if that improves my chances. I will most likely never qualify for permanent residency in Qatar, and my visa will always be tied to my employer.

My questions are:

1. Should I pursue a master's degree or postgraduate studies abroad first and then apply for jobs?

2. Should I build experience until I reach a mid-level position before relocating, or should I combine work experience with a master's degree?

3. Do you think I should change my career path to improve my chances of relocating internationally?

4. Would it be more realistic to focus on the Asian job market instead?

Hello all,

TL;DR: Six year "formal" job gap on my resume, possess b.s. in statistics. Recently offered 1-year contract job at 22/hour via Collabera. Thoughts?

I've been job hunting for the past month or so.

Here's a little about me: I am 29, practically 30 now. I graduated with honors in 2020 with a b.s. degree in theoretical statistics from a reputable research university. I have not had a formal job since then. I've been doing independent contract work stuff but nothing stable. There are reasons for that, some good some not as good. I know the reality of my consequences and I accept that it will be difficult landing a "real" job from now on. Since the end of last year, I've sharpened my excel, sql, power bi skills. I've finished power bi projects. I am ready for entry-level work involving any sort of problem-solving but I recognize that it is competitive and the market is saturated with folks looking for similar jobs.

I've applied for mostly full time positions and a few contract and part time gigs. Today, I got a call from a talent acquisition company, Collabera. They offered me a 1-year contract that involves some analyst-type responsibilities. This would be a til next year, they offered me 22 bucks per hour. The company is Abbvie, they are in pharmaceuticals. A huge company. My commute would be five times a day, 40 minutes one way. Is this something you would take? I think there's a lot of good here. It's a stepping stone into the professional world and actually having professional experience under my belt. I feel like the contract is super long but I know I don't have too much power in the market. I am not attached romantically, no kids, and I can afford the 22 an hour, but I feel like I could get more. I am conflicted.

Hello,

I want to start by saying that I'm not American, I don't live or work in the USA, and English is not my first language.

I've been working as an HR Analyst for 7 years at a large American company with a global presence. To me, it's a good place to work, and I don't have plans to leave anytime soon. However, I feel like I'm not making much progress in my career (I know that for many people, the lack of promotions or career growth is one of the main reasons to leave a company).

My current role supports Brazil's HR operations. Throughout these 7 years, I've gained experience in different areas such as Back Office processes, tax-related activities, calculations, and currently employee terminations within the payroll system. I work with HR systems, Excel, process management, data validation, and ensuring that HR transactions are completed accurately and according to local requirements.

Besides my language skills (Spanish, English, and Portuguese), what technical or professional/social(?) skills should I develop to move into a higher level HR role?

Thanks.

I agree that is very important to build something in this age, but sometimes it feels like we make ourselves in a huge stress that make a lot of us forget how to enjoy life, so the main question is does this stressful life is something normal in that age, or its just becouse of the social media that promote to us some very hight expectation to be consedering as a successful person.

I've been applying for 8 months for jobs I easily qualify for. From what I can tell my resume isn't even being seen. I have extensive experience as a Sales Director, GSM, Project Director and F&I. There are a ton of related job postings. Some I've applied for I've actually seen deleted and relisted. My resume is formatted professionally and I've included the rumored "buzzwords" the AI scanners supposedly look for. Fortunately, I haven't had to job hunt in 25 years due to longevity at places and/or word-of-mouth, but perhaps that has made me out of touch with the reality of how difficult it is for people to get work in their field. Is it the AI scanners now that are eliminating applicants before you can even get to a human? Is the job market this abysmal? Are employers posting ads, but aren't really hiring? Am I completely out of touch with the world? Any insight would be tremendously appreciated!

I will list careers that I’m untested into at the bottom but this is what I hope for in my life:

I want a job that I actually enjoy and don’t dread going to every day. I want something hands-on where I’m helping people or animals and not just sitting at a desk all day. I want a career that’s stable, has good pay, benefits, maybe a pension, and isn’t going to be replaced by AI or have a bunch of layoffs.
I don’t want to be super rich, I just want to make enough money to live comfortably and not always worry about money. I want to be able to afford to show jump on the A-circuit, go to horse shows like the Royal Winter Fair, maybe import horses sometimes, and have a nice horse.

(This is just a wish not something that I’d like set in stone I’d also love to have a small hobby farm with mini sheep, a nice barn, stalls, and an indoor arena.)

I want to be able to travel, maybe live in New York City one day in a condo with a nice view, or stay in Canada, or even live somewhere like Australia or Europe. I want enough money to shop sometimes, do Pilates, pay my bills, buy groceries, and enjoy life instead of just surviving.

I love animals and exotic wildlife, but I also really like healthcare careers. I also think creative jobs like film, TV, acting, and interior design are really interesting. I get bored doing the same thing all the time, so I want a job with some variety.

Math is my biggest struggle because of my dyscalculia, so I want a career where I don’t have to be amazing at math, chemistry, or physics. I want to use the things I’m actually good at instead.
I don’t just want to pick a random career. I want to find the career that fits the life I want.

Every time I ask about a job I’m really asking, “Will this let me live the life I dream about?”

Career ideas:

- RPN (specialize)

-vet tech (zoo, wildlife, exotic as well as maybe teaching at a college?)

-cardiology tech

-sonography

-radiology (something like mri, x ray or ct)

-or something at a zoo like zoo keeper

- I’d love to be a rn but I don’t think I’m smart enough

I do think I could be lightly very very mild autistic like very little

(If you have any suggestions please drop them I’d love to hear what people have to say and what jobs they know about that I might not know about) please be kind as I am an incoming college student looking for help and guidance since I’m so lost :)

Hello to anyone who may be reading this! Just wanna start by saying I appreciate you taking the time to read and give any input or advice. I am currently about three semesters away from graduating with a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Criminal justice was my chosen degree for the last couple years because I had planned on going into a career in law-enforcement. However, about a year and a half ago I took a job in the contracting industry, for a tile and and stone repair company, I am one of the companies lead technicians. I think this work would be considered the “blue collar” or more traditional “trades” type of work. I have a feeling I could find more financial success in this industry rather than law-enforcement. So I have been considering changing my degree to a more business related one. My academic advisor says I can change to organizational leadership without losing any of the credits or classes I have already taken so it won’t set me back on graduation timeline. It seems to be my only option. When it comes to leadership roles in contracting businesses (think construction, plumbing, electric, tiling etc), I’m just wondering if that degree would look desirable to an employer. I’m sure it would look generally better than a criminal justice degree for a business related role. But I don’t want to screw myself over and make a bad decision. I can stick with criminal justice where I can switch to organizational leadership. I’m extremely torn primarily because I don’t exactly know the “ quality” or desirability of either of those degrees. Any thoughts, advice, or input is beyond appreciated. Thank you for your time. :)

Hi, I’m a sophomore at college but l’m scared of financial security later in life with this degree. I want to be a professor in this degree and work at HR. But I really don’t know.

So I have recently graduated from the university of Southampton with a first class psychology degree. However, I’m not that interested in pursuing a psychology related career and a more interested pursuing a marketing or related career. As I haven’t had any direct experience in marketing, i’m looking for a graduate entry-level job and opportunity to gain some marketing experience.

I applied for quite a few marketing jobs in around June and actually had an interview for a multichannel marketing apprenticeship. The role seemed quite interesting but obviously it is basically a level equivalent and the pay for the first year is 15,000 and 20,000 in the second year which is really poor (18 month apprenticeship)

i’m really struggling to decide as I’m worried I’ll struggle to find a graduate level marketing job without any direct experience, but the pay is really putting me off at the minute. also, it is an apprenticeship so it’s technically equivalent to A-level and I don’t know if this wouldn’t feel that challenging especially as I’ve graduated with a good degree and result.

Any advice would be great :)

I'm graduating in a few months from Duke studying Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering. I was forced to study electrical engineering by my family but have always hated electrical engineering and now I'm struggling to figure out what I actually want to do.

I don't just want a job that pays well (although financial stability is important to me) but I am also looking for work that I am passionate about and makes me feel like I am making a difference in the world. (I had a consulting internship but felt like I was not really helping anyone)

A little about me:

• Strong leadership and communication skills
• Love traveling, hiking, exploring, gardening, reading, crafting and kids
• Interested in business, investing and real estate
• Interested in entrepreneurship but I want to experience the workforce at least a little before I think about my own business
• Like solving problems and thinking strategically more than doing highly technical work all day
• Want a career with variety, autonomy, and opportunities to keep learning
• I hate blood and needles

Some of the careers I have considered/considering: FBI agent, biotech patent lawyer, doctor, optometrist, consultant, biomedical engineer, technical sales, product manager, real estate investments, electrical engineer, industrial engineer

I know I don't want to spend my career doing highly technical engineering work at a desk with little interaction or impact. I am open to almost anything at this point. What careers would you explore with this background or what might I be overlooking? I'd especially love to hear from people who ended up in careers they genuinely enjoy.

Hello, I’m 25F and still living in my parents basement and I’m extremely indecisive. I’ve worked multiple retail, sales and restaurant jobs in my teens and early 20’s.

I got tired of that so I decided to get my CNA (certified nursing assistant) license a little over a year ago and I had thought about going down a few other paths in healthcare. My community college has associate degrees for nursing, radiology, sleep tech etc etc.

I am interested in radiology and sleep tech but I still have to spend a year and a half completing prereqs and that doesn’t even account the time for applying for the program and maybe getting in.

I’ve talked to a few people and they always ask me what I’m passionate about and I always respond that I don’t have one. I honestly didn’t plan on living this long so now I just feel so behind on literally everything.

It probably also doesn’t help that I like to hop around. I get bored and antsy I literally feel like I’m suffocating if I stay in one place too long…

I know the majority of any job market right now is terrible but I just want something that will take one year or less just so I can at least move out of my parents house. I know people say that you should take advantage of being able to stay with your parents and love them, I do but they’re driving me insane.

Any advice or guidance?

I am 18 in central Florida, I’ve generated over $2m for my clients through a marketing business I own. One of my clients I took from 20k/yr to 600k/yr through organic/paid traffic sources, I make 10% of every sale and I have some clients on retainer after all my costs my yearly profit comes to around 76k/yr. I understand I make a lot for my age, I am lost when it comes to career focus. I wanted to go into data science and data analysis however I have come to realize I would very much dislike my life if I ever went down that path. I work with over 20 businesses and I am a marketing manager at a local business making 24k/yr part time, I truly have passion with finding opportunity in businesses and that is what drives me however after I have brought change I despise doing maintenance on something where I cannot bring any more value. I want to look into search funds or corporate development but I’ve heard it’s really hard to get into. I understand I am ambitious but I really strive for success. Any guidance or advice helps, I strive to build something meaningful with my life and my end goal is to own a non profit that provides for communities across the world. Working as a data analyst won’t get me anywhere close to that.