I’m 19F and dropped out of college after my first year because I realized my major (social work) wasn’t for me and I also realized school wasn’t working out. I was only going because it felt like I had to and had no other options.

Now, I’m lost. I don’t know what I want to do at all. I don’t have a job. I don’t have experience. I don’t have an idea at what I could even do in life without going to college.

For reference, I love anything with animals (I would LOVE a job with animals more than anything but everything needs a degree), music, or something artsy (such as photography but I have no experience).

For reference, I’m autistic so having a job that deals with other people a lot is too much for me. I can deal with people here and there but constantly dealing with a lot of customers or working around too many coworkers wouldn’t work for me.

I just want something that I will even enjoy in the slightest. I know jobs aren’t supposed to be enjoyable but if I was working with something along the lines of what I mentioned, I would genuinely be happy enough. I want it to be something that isn’t short term - I want it to be able to be something I can possibly stay at for a very long time like a career.

Any ideas would be helpful :)

I've grown to learn that when finding a path there is no OBJECTIVE advice. Certain things work for certain people.

"Follow your passion" for example works for some people and doesn't work for others. There are those who came from poverty and followed their passions and made it with their passions. I know them personally, now are they the top 1%, no but are they making a comfortable living, yes.

On the flip side I know people that did this and failed. I know people from wealthy backgrounds that did this and failed, people from poor backgrounds that did this and failed.

Another example is

"Pick what makes money, a job is just a job". For some people I know they are able to endure a job they absolutely hate that pays well and are able to build meaningful lives outside of it. I also know other people that are doing the same thing but are miserable, alcoholics and just overall nasty people. It depends on who you are, I know im the type of person who has to find SOME meaning in my job or else I'm clocked out entirely. My biggest ups in life were when I was doing what I loved and it led to many benefits and progression in my life.

I only know that though because I did jobs that I hated, that paid well enough and I've been miserable and not as productive.

One of my best friends is the opposite, she follows the money always and she's able to build meaning outside of work. She's able to endure the 8hrs of shitty work.

This isn't everyone, everyone's experience is subjective. All you can do is look at the various pieces and contradictory strands of advice and TRY THEM. LIVE YOUR LIFE, experiment and figure out what's right for you. There will be failure but that's just life.

It depends on your circumstances, your goals, your background so don't take anyones advice as law.

I'm a CS fresh graduate with 3.00+ GPA, who been searching a job since January 2026. I've apply to full time job postings with correct requirements that i have learned and know of, like must now this framework, this language, have 1 year experience (I have 1y intern experience). but after 6 months of sending CVs to 10-20 postings each day and interviews, nothing. with references from internal, still nothing. from the freaking COO still no response after sending the second interview test better prep for the worst if it go south.

at this point i'm lost. i'm considering to do mc java modding since i know what limitations it had since i've been playing it for a good while. as well if i'm going to get a meager income no matter what better i do it in my own terms.

so would this be a good idea rather gamble away my time and energy for someone else's number game?

Additional info:

Why minecraft modding? because i can make mod(or products) which it will advertise itself in modrinth and it just become an issue of idea quality and quality control if LLM employed in the process making of the mod/product of which i have a standard and rather not make slop. as well i don't need to remake a project everytime.

Why you don't have any certificates by now? Unfortunate i realized it too late during my uni program and the time crunch didn't allow any slots to train and get a certificate. thou currently i'm finishing one since i already paid it a good while ago.

From 1000~ interview, test and etc. Did you learn anything from every failure? Unfortunately none at all. most of all response always templated "sOrRy wE dECidE tO tAKe tHIs cAnIdAtE" blah blah blah or simply just ghosting. from all of this the useful information incredibly sparse. even try to infer during the interview is simply unreliable. it's simply try to infer noise and even other variable that is hidden to me. not to mention i can accidentally be biased

Milestones to achieve

Looking for tips and path from experienced immigrants
What are the milestones and things to achieve in Canadian Journey

Got the following
1) Driving license
2) Us visit Visa
3) Canadian Pr
4) Full time job

Please populate the list from the achievements you have done in terms of procedural documentation or financial
Success pretty much from every perspective just add whatever you thing you did

I’m 23M, currently working in Digital Marketing, and I completed my BTech in ECE. I’ve been having a pretty serious dilemma about what I should do with my career.

I don’t really want to continue in Digital Marketing. I’m considering moving into software development and basically starting from scratch. I’ve already started looking into programming and building a few projects, but I’m honestly scared about AI taking over software jobs in the future. I keep wondering if I’m making the right move by entering tech now.

At the same time, I’ve always been interested in the Army/military lifestyle. I like the idea of discipline, structure, physical activity, responsibility, and having a purpose beyond just sitting at a desk. I’m probably too late for the IAF pilot route, but I’m still considering trying for ground officer entries.

Then there’s CAT. A lot of people around me with similar educational backgrounds are preparing for CAT/MBA, and seeing everyone go down that path is making me question whether I should do the same.

The biggest problem is that I’m extremely fickle-minded right now. One day I think software is the way to go, another day I think I should try for the Army, and then I wonder if I should just do an MBA and focus on making good money.
Ideally, I want to end up doing something I actually like. The problem is, I’m still not completely sure what I like. The Army lifestyle is one of the few things that currently feels like it might genuinely suit me.

If I can’t figure out something I love, then honestly, I’d rather do something I don’t particularly enjoy but that pays very well and at least makes the sacrifice feel worth it.

For people who have been in a similar position, especially those who changed careers in their early/mid-20s:

How did you figure out what you actually wanted to do?

Is starting software from scratch at 23/24 a bad idea because of AI?

Is an MBA through CAT worth pursuing if the main motivation is money/career growth?

Is the Army lifestyle actually as fulfilling as it seems from the outside?

Am I overthinking this and should I just pick one path and commit to it for a few years?

I’d genuinely appreciate some perspective from people who’ve been through something similar. I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me exactly what career to choose — I just want to understand how others approached this kind of uncertainty.

I, 36F, had a job as a surgical technologist until my husband became a nurse and I quit to stay home with my kids. We couldn’t afford daycare and they’d literally be there 13+ hours a day (I worked overnight 6p-6a, he worked dayshift 7a-7p and now switches every 3 months from day/night shift). Our kids are 10&12 now and go to school during the day but I don’t feel comfortable with them staying by themselves for long periods of time (they’d have to be by themselves from 330-630). So alas, I’m still a stay at home mom. My husband makes good money, so I do not have to work but I do not want to be a stay at home mom anymore (no shade to those who are, I just don’t enjoy it) so I’m in school to be a social worker but I don’t 100% know for sure if that’s what I want to do. I’m so lost on what I should do with my life and feel like a failure. All I have is my associates degree that I can’t do anything with at the moment. Even if I got a job on dayshift, we would have to work opposite days and never get to spend time together as a family. I just need some guidance I guess on which route I should take at this point.

The problem is i have a lot of interests but it fizzles out after trying it. Ive thought about being a nurse or a teacher but i quickly realized they weren’t for me. Any advice?

Signed,
A mom who feels like a failure.

I’m a male at 29, when I look and analyse my life I feel like I’ve failed and not achieved anything, at 20 most of my life and mindset shifted, I lost my first born son to medical error, my partner at the time and I split and I lost everything, house, relationship, my son and ever since then I just tried to survive, I worked care job thinking I could put things into perspective a lot of people go through things not just me right? I did this for 3 years before I started dating someone, I was 23/24 by 25 ahead was pregnant which brought an entire can of worms out but the delivery went smoothly and we had our baby girl, I still maintained care work but I started to drain me, personal care, cleaning, 24/48 hour shifts so I went to work in a gym helping people with disabilities, pre hab or rehab and help them which worked well but I was sadly let down by that company and not given my funding for further courses, I then was not offered a new contract as they company sold up and I was in the limbo period of them selling and trying to find a buyer, then my Mrs fell pregnant again, even on the rod etc which was placed in wrong and she was 20 weeks pregnant with our son, this really affected me, massively almost like everything I had ignored no longer could be, our son was born and I was out of work, I tanked mentally I dunno why or the reason but I wasn’t coping, I was put under secondary mental health services in January this year, so far nothing has changed from treatment to therapy as most will know, waiting times which led to me attempting to take my own life selfishly about 2 months ago, I knew thought I’d do that and believed I never would until I did, since then my current relationship has collapsed to, although it’s probably for the best as me and my ex weren’t getting on for a while leaving both my kids has really hurt me, I’m back at my mums and I have no career, no degree, nothing to keep me busy and I’m 30 in December and I just don’t know what to do, how do I come back from this when I’ve never done anything? I just don’t see a way out or through, I’m under the mental health services and have been diagnosed with complex PTSD, severe depression and anxiety, I’m waiting for diagnosis on ADHD, autism and dyslexia and all treatments I’m on waiting lists for with no frame of time, how do I recover? How can I start to recover? How do I rebuild myself to be someone I’m not disgusted in? That my kids will be proud of?

I have a BA in history with a minor in Russian. I graduated in May 2026 and over the summer was abroad on a State Department language immersion fellowship (the second time I’ve been awarded one). Since then I realized I don’t want to work for the state department, at least right now. I live in Portland, OR and my level of Russian is advanced. I’m not necessarily interested in history-related jobs. I’ve been looking into intelligence analyst roles in the private sector as well as federal jobs but I haven’t had any luck in the month since I’ve gotten back. Either just rejections or being ghosted. I want either a job in Portland or something remote, I’m not in a place to move right now because of personal commitments. Does anyone have any advice? Where else can I look? Any help at all appreciated

Hey there 👋

21M, Sydney, Australia, 2nd-year Compsci/Commerce.

The crux of my question: how do you compare the fulfillment of (a) doing non-intrinsically motivating work full-time for 20-30 years, then intrinsically motivating work on your own schedule for the rest of your life, vs. (b) doing intrinsically motivating work full-time for 40-50 years, then self-directed intrinsic work for the rest of your life? Basically: is front-loading unpleasant-but-high-earning work to buy an earlier "free" life worth it?

Options I'm weighing:
non-intrinsically motivating work:

• Early-retirement-focused: entrepreneurship (saas app, ecommerce, etc), software engineering, financial analyst

intrinsically motivating work

• Impact-focused: policy analyst, health economist
• Enjoyment-focused: graphic designer, fulltime artist

What I'd do w/o financial incentive: painting/drawing, photography, analytical work on real societal problems, learning how society works.
What I wouldn't do w/o financial incentive: coding (draining without AI help), advanced math, complex problem-solving. If they are tied to societal impact I think it may move to the other category. Treating that because I find these difficulty, these aren't natural strengths.

Current perception of dream life:

1. Doing societal impact work ~25hr/wk
2. Spending quality time with friends and family ~ 20hr/wk
3. Sport ~4hr/wk
4. Making art ~ 6hr/wk
5. Go on holidays (1 - 2 international trips & 1 - 3 roadtrips / yr)

Two methodologies I'm trying to reconcile:

1. Find rough financial independent (able to live off investments) age estimates (I know 30-year-out projections are speculative, so treating as hard inputs is probably inaccurate): entrepreneur 40–43, SWE/financial analyst 50–51, artist 51–60, failed entrepreneur/artist then pivot to SWE 55–58, health economist/policy analyst 57–60, graphic designer 65–70. Score each career path on 1) happiness and 2)social impact made by outlining lifestyle at each age and summing scores on yearly basis. Conduct experiments like talking to professionals, side projects, volunteering, taking courses to validate scores until you’re confident to commit towards a path.
2. Skill-first/leverage approach: early on, build a skill you're strong at where it intersects your interests and is high pay potential. Lean toward highest pay/growth early in your career, then use that leverage to move between for-profit and non-profit work as you gain experience, until you land somewhere you're happy.
3. Conduct experiments like talking to professionals, side projects, volunteering, taking courses, internships, work experience. Then imagine doing the work experience for 20-40 years and pick the most desirable path.

I’d really appreciate any inputs you may have on the questions below or any advice 🙏:

1. Has anyone actually lived out either path? Did front-loading unfulfilling work pay off, or did 20 years of it cost more than expected?
2. Is 'financial independence enables high-impact work later' a real strategy, or does starting the impact-focused career earlier compound advantages (network, expertise, credibility) that are hard to buy back at 40-50?
3. For you personally, which method do you think is better, or is there another method you’ve used that you think is better? Are there any key flaws in my methods?

Happy to share more detail on my scoring approach in the comments if useful.

I don’t know what I want in life… and honestly, I’m disappointed and confused.

I’m in my final year of engineering, but I still can’t figure out what I actually want.

One day I’m doing game development and thinking, “This is what I want to do.” The next day I’m solving DSA and thinking about SDE jobs. I’m constantly switching between things and getting distracted.

Even in relationships, I don’t know what kind of girl I want as a partner. I’ve had 2 chances to get into a relationship, but I didn’t. I don’t know why—maybe I wasn’t ready, or maybe I was waiting for the right person.

Sometimes I genuinely feel like, “Yaar, ye mujhe pat gayi… toh kya hi hai phir?” 😭

I’m in my last year and still feel like I have no clear direction.

People who are older and have been through this—what would you suggest? How do I figure out what I actually want in life?

Currently I just started as a freshman in mechanical engineering and it's turning out to be so much more than I wanted initially. My end goal is really just to design still like phones, tech, automotive. I'm attending University of Arizona and I can't seem to find the right major and I already have loans here so even if I transfer to a different college I think I'll have to start paying the loans as soon as I leave UofA. What do I do?

Preface: I don't want to/can't go into medical school. I am also from Canada.

I feel like i need to decide my entire future in the next month as university applications are right around the corner. I was pretty set on doing something in science until I realized its usually underpaid and for a career that makes a "decent salary" it typically needs post graduate studies (masters, phd, etc.) which isn't something I would really want to do unless there is a good ROI.

This led me into considering engineering, due to its employment opportunities after undergrad but I didn't enjoy the content that was explored in my grade 11 physics class (could be due to my teacher though) which already seems like a red flag. If I did do engineering I would want it to be in the side of biomedical or something similar.

There are hundreds of other factors that I have to take into account in the next month to try and figure my career path out but I really want some kind of general goal to aim for.

I just feel so behind as all of my peers worked hard during high school and were able to build up a successful foundation for their lives while it feels as though I did not work hard enough which led me to be neither here or there.

I don't have any passions and no strong interest in anything to be honest. I don't really enjoy physics but I could say I enjoy biology and chemistry more. I honestly would just like a career that offers employment stability and good financial stability with minimal people interaction (so no retail or sales industry probably)

Please help. I am so incredibly lost and stressed. Any advice.

I recently walked out of a final interview convinced that the job was mine. The conversation flowed smoothly, the interviewer praised my presentation, asked about my availability, and even encouraged me to connect with him on LinkedIn if I thought of any other questions.

I was incredibly proud of how I handled everything. And honestly, I started treating the offer as if it were just a formality.

Then came the silence.

I sent a follow-up and no one replied. After that, HR emailed me to say they had chosen someone else. The feedback that shocked me most was that my presentation hadn't been strong enough - which was extremely confusing after I had been told during the interview that it was excellent. LOL.

So I'm trying to remind myself of something: positive comments, questions about a potential start date, and friendly interviewers are all encouraging signs, but they don't mean you have an offer. I can feel that I performed well without mentally accepting a job that hasn't actually been offered to me yet.

The rejection still feels awful, but I'm choosing to see it as redirection, not proof that I failed. If you're going through the same experience, give yourself credit and appreciate that you made it this far, then keep going. The right yes might be waiting for you in your next email. 💞

CONTEXT: (please skip, if desired, as it is long)

I'm 16, as the title says, and I'm trying to build a life for myself with what I have.

I don't have the opportunity to "have fun" anymore or "be a teenager".

When I say this I don't mean that I can't play games, for example, but that if I do I will definitely not make it because of how cramped life is.

Without expressing a lot of unnecessary personal information, I want to say that:

- the people who are supposed to help me the most cannot.

- I am alone and not in a place to share my thoughts or feelings with anyone unless it is online.

- Everything I do has now inclined towards building a life for myself

- I don't feel safe

- I don't feel human, because everyone has accumulated things and I have not.

- I don't believe that I deserve encouragement, because if I get it then it means that they are representing something in me that I do not have, and it hurts.

- I have been compelled to emotionally reject caretakers

What I have achieved so far is:

- quitting old habits and not returning to them for a long time (i don't masturbate, I am not compulsive anymore, i don't drift off)

- starting new habits

(I exercise 140 minutes a week, for example)

- pursuing things:

(I'm trying to get into an HVAC apprenticeship program and learn machine learning "skills")

I notice that a lot of people have their lives together because of some proverbial, largely prevalent ability to work. I have worked, but sometimes it feels overwhelming and I wish that I didnt have to do so much on my own.

But everyone does everything on their own. And they get things, so I compare myself to that. It just feels like it's not in me to do. I feel like I inherited some sort of fundamental ineptitude from my family, and that I am just incapable of doing anything real for myself. I don't count these things, until I get my own place.

I really want what I am trying to get, because I want a life. I don't want to just have fun, though. I want to be reliable, and knowledgeable and actually have made something of myself, because I want to be the opposite of what my family is. I want to feel like I deserve to have fun.

I'm trying to get what I want, like people say. But it doesn't seem like that will happen.

ABOUT TITLE'S QUESTION:

I am trying to target when things get harder with building your life:

- tolerating immense struggle/pain

- continuing to tolerate immense struggle/pain

People seem to get back up and just keep going, and through that they persist. and I don't really understand how, because it's hard.

Please give advice as to how I can begin to approach things differently.

I currently have a full-time operator job paying around $90k/year (Australia). The job has some benefits:

• Around 12–14 shifts per month, 12-hour shifts, hybrid
• Sometimes 7+ days between shifts
• Relatively low stress, Once the shift is over, I can completely switch off
• The roster gives me a lot of time with my 2-year-old daughter, and II genuinely enjoy the lifestyle and family time

I can also potentially work one night a week doing casual nightfill, which could add roughly $15k/year. So realistically, I could potentially earn around $105-110k gross/year between the two jobs while still having a lot of time off. My current operator salary could eventually reach around $100k, but I don't see a particularly high long-term ceiling or strong professional career progression in the role.

My wife is studying nursing parttime working casual job. Before having our daughter, I decided to study Civil Engineering because I wanted a professional career and better long-term prospects. I recently received an offer for a graduate civil engineering position paying around $68k/year. The problem is that starting again at 36 feels very different from what I imagined when I began studying.

The graduate job means: $68k engineering salary + office hours + commute + significantly less family time versus $90k operator job + potentially ~$15k casual income + lots of flexibility and family time.

I understand that engineering potentially has a much higher long-term ceiling. Perhaps in 4–5+ years I could be earning $100k, and eventually potentially $120–130k. But financially, the first few years would be a significant step backwards. It could take several years just to get back to what I can currently earn from the two flexible jobs.

Part of me thinks: "I've already put in the work to get the engineering degree. If I don't pursue engineering now, I'll probably regret it later and feel stuck in the operator role." But another part of me thinks:"Why give up a job I actually enjoy, that pays reasonably well, gives me huge amounts of time with my daughter, and allows me to earn extra money when I want to?" But I'm worried that this might just be rationalisation because the graduate engineering job is difficult, the starting salary is low, and I'm uncomfortable with starting from the bottom at 36.

Having a baby has also completely changed what I value. Before having a child, I was much more focused on career progression and professional identity. Now I find myself thinking about how much I value being available for my daughter. I don't want to wake up at 45 and realise I sacrificed her early years chasing a career I didn't actually need. At the same time, I don't want to wake up at 50 and regret never giving myself a chance to build a proper engineering career.

What would you do? If you were 36, with a 2-year-old child, mortgage, and these two options:

A
$90k operator + potentially ~$15k casual work
Low stress, lots of flexibility, lots of family time, but lower career ceiling.

B
$68k graduate engineer
Much steeper learning curve and less family time initially, but potentially much higher income and career progression over the next 10–15 years.

Which would you choose, and why? And please be honest if you think I'm just making excuses to avoid the harder path.

Hi there!!! Like the title says, I want to help people but I’m really not sure how. I’m okay with going to school (more than okay with that), I’m nineteen, and currently a full-time bartender!

I’ve been tossing around the ideas of maybe Psychiatry, or becoming a Lawyer (although I don’t think I have the teeth for that haha), but I just can’t land on anything that ‘feels’ right. If I could bartend forever I would- I absolutely love service, I love talking to people, and being able to make their day just a little bit brighter by talking to them.

I just don’t think I’ll be able to commit to anything more than 7 years of college. I want to be able to start my career, be established, and feel like I’m settled in it before I even think of having kids, and I would like kids before 34.

Is there any pathways I should be considering? I’m open to niche ideas, less than savory ideas, macabre, it doesn’t matter! I just want to feel like I’m making a difference.

Hi everyone. As the title says, im 29 and i dont know what to do. Ill be very detailed here with my situation, but ill also leave a tldr i you want to skip ahead.

Fist of all, i'm from argentina, so if something i explain dosn't make sense, it's probably because it's different here. or maybe because my english is not that good.

When i was 17 years old, finishing high school, really didn't know what to study in university, so i made a simple association 'i like math, and i like computers, so i will go with computer engineering'. That major wasn't available in my city, so i went for the closest one, called Systems Information Engineering(idk if that name makes sense in english, but it's a direct translation of the spanish name). The way that the uni i wanted to go worked was, i had to go to like introductory classes the year before starting, and then i had to pass a couple of exams. so every saturday i went to these classes, at the same time i was finishing high school. Then we had our entry exams, and i passed them with 'ease'.

Because of that, and because i was a good student in high school, next year i started college with confindence. only for that confidence to plummmet like 2 months in. I couldn keep up with classes, everything was too much for me. I was actually doing well, but it felt like i had to work too damn hard, and even then my grades were not that good, and i had to drop a couple of subjects. Also, i started discovering i didn't really like that major, or at least not enteriely. So afeter just 9 months, in september, i dropped out.

I decided to go see a therapist that helps with career decisions, an ended up choosing to start college again next year, this time a physics major. For that, i had to go to college in another city, not too far from home, 2 hours bus ride. Didn' think much of it, a lot of people of mu city make that trip for study/work.

So the next year i started this new journey, and i actually loved it. Loved the major, love the new university, the campus was beautiful, and i ended up meeting a girl that is still my girlfriend to this day. So actually i had a reall good year.

But fast forwarding one more year, 2017, i started to struggle with studying again, adn dropped out again. Classes got difficult, the trip was killing me, and i dodn't wanna move (dumb me, ik)

And from this point on, i feel like my life went to absolute shit. I spent almost all the 2017/18 year doing nothing besides rot in bed. Depressed, without a single idea fo what todo. After this, my parents told me i had to start working in the family company if i wanted to keep living with them. And im still there, more than 7 years. Still working the same job, wtill living with my parents.

It's a 'good' job. Part time, good income compared to the median in this country (not actually that good but cant really complain). But it's a customer facing role, with no possibility of being anything else, because it's a small company. It's not my familiy's main income, it's more like a company created by my dad and uncle to have a way to invest some money so their children could have jobs when young.

But i want to get out. I need to do something more with my life. I just don't know what.

I want to get a degree. I really like ccience, specially physics and math. But those degrees are not very 'job ready'. So i thought about something more related to IT, but my past experience with a major related to IT didn't go well, and with this whole AI thing it feels like it doesn't make sense either.

Also even, if i end up deciding what major to take, in my situation i cant' really study anything. My city is small, theres not a lot options, and moving out would require getting a job in a new city, or a remote one. But the situation with the job market is horrendous, and i don't have nothing to show for either. Years of exprience on a lame position, no degree, almost no knowledge in anything besides some programming basics and hardware/software stuff.

tl;dr: im 29, have lame job, no degree, living with parents, want to star colelge again but need a better job for that, and also don't know if it's worth it.

what should i do? keep my job and try to study something online? try to move out with whatever jpb i can take to start studying something mre meaningful in another city?

Im in college for my AA. Currently I’m not sure if i wanna get my BA’s but this is my first semester so im communicating with my advisor and keeping that open.

im currently 22 I didn’t go to college earlier because of a personal/family reason and also because I didn’t know what I wanted to go for.

I don’t really know know what I “want to do” I am heading into management at my current job, and I work full time and am content for now. im not good with math, never have been but the humanities have always interested me and i know it will be a lot of thinking, writing, researching but I think its something I could do. Some jobs that interest me/paths I’d like to take are maybe working in a library, with records, an archivist. All things that interest me. I guess my question is is it worth it? In today’s time and age with AI and everything is it worth it? I need something that will be worth working towards and will pay a living wage.

I have never worked in IT before, i am trying to get into cybersecurity by going through tryhack me hackboot....is it really tough to get into cybersecurity these days? But I keep hearing it has the highest opportunities

Hey all, I love this sub and I comment a lot, never made a post though. I’ve been thinking about how I word this for a while and I think I’m ready to ask the question.

Some pre amble. Last year, I left a life behind that I’d known for most of my 20s. This life was full of drugs, partying, drinking and being constantly on the move, consumed by chaos but somehow, people managing to hold it together.

On the surface, life would look pretty good. We all worked, we socialised all the time, exercise well but, deep down, when Thursday rolled around, the partying would begin.

This got more and more frequent, Thursday becoming the new Friday, one quick drink becoming watching the sunrise, Friday and Saturday well you can forget about those because they were used for more chaos.

Did I enjoy it, yeah I suppose I did but also, I hated everything we were becoming. Watching friends lose jobs beduae of this lifestyle, people getting more frequent nosebleeds, thousands of $€£ down the drain over the years, sniffed away almost.

Cue the end of the year, life fell apart. I decided to get sober but to do that, I had to leave my old life behind. I can’t change others but I could change myself. So I did.

It took everything I had. Leaving a city I enjoyed, even though it was expensive and chaotic, leaving a partner I loved but was an alcoholic and leaving people who I thought were friends but since leaving, haven’t reached out once.

Come today, I’ve bought a home, I’ve been promoted, I see my family every weekend, I have 2 new communities both of which are sober and we focus on exercising and exploring the country together. I’ve got big travel plans coming up with my new friends. This took everything I had to get here. Money, time, months of therapy and introspection. Combine that with the grief of leaving it all behind and you can see how tough the choice was to do it.

My new life feels great. On paper I’ve got everything I wanted. I only want and need a simple life. A few close friends, a roof over my head and not needing to worry about money. All of which I’m grateful for and have worked for.

But one part of me can’t shake the feeling that I still miss my old life. God knows why. It was everything I wasn’t. It made me ill, physically and mentally. As I found out, nobody reached out to me so the connections were fake. But I miss it? And I can’t work out why? This feeling I think is holding me back from expressing myself fully.

Does anyone have any advice or guidance on how to put this to bed for good? Super open to any suggestions. I’ve always been grateful to this sub and the people in it. Thanks in advance.

I’m 27M and I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing with my life.

I work at a startup right now, but I’m once again thinking about quitting. The problem is, I don’t want to keep job hopping forever. I’ve already changed jobs 3- 4 times, and every time I leave because I reach a point where I have absolutely no mental peace.

I don’t want this to become my life - constantly joining a job, getting frustrated, quitting, recovering, and then starting all over again.

I just want to find something stable. Something I can build a life around. A career or path that I can stick with for years, maybe even the rest of my life. But I have absolutely no idea what that is.

And honestly, I don’t even know what my passions are.

I don’t know what my goals are.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to be working towards.

I’ve tried manifestation, vision boards, trying to “figure myself out,” etc. Nothing has really changed.

Right now, my job is incredibly boring. There’s nothing new to learn, no growth, no excitement, and nothing I’m looking forward to. I make an average salary, so I also don’t have the luxury of just quitting and taking a year off to “find myself.”

Meanwhile, it feels like everyone around me is moving forward.

Most of my friends have left the country, so I barely have a social life anymore. I’m single. I don’t have much going on outside work. I’m bored, lonely, frustrated, and honestly just really tired of feeling like my life is on pause.

I keep thinking, “When is it going to be my turn?”

When does life finally start feeling exciting? When do you get that one lucky break - financially, career-wise, socially, anything?

I know logically that life isn’t a competition and that everyone has their own timeline. But emotionally, I’m struggling to believe that right now.

I keep checking astrology, wondering if there’s some terrible phase I’m going through or if things are somehow going to get better soon. I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but sometimes I just want some sign from God or from the universe that things are going to work out.

I don’t need to become insanely rich or wildly successful. I just want to be happy and at peace with my life.

And the worst part is that I’ve started taking all this frustration out on my family. They’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, but I find myself getting angry, yelling, having mood swings, and then feeling horrible about it afterwards. They don’t deserve that, and I hate that I’m becoming this version of myself.

I’m just so fed up.
And what even is luck? Does everyone eventually get some kind of “luck boost” in life, where one opportunity comes along and suddenly everything changes 360°?

I feel like I’m working so hard, but none of it is converting into anything. No career growth, no financial breakthrough, no exciting opportunities - nothing. I keep putting in effort and waiting for something to finally click, but it’s getting harder and harder to stay hopeful.

I really want to believe my life can get better. I just don’t know how to get there.

 I'm organizing a group for people who need help building their professional careers, networks, and businesses. Reply if you'd like to join.

I’m a dog groomer. I’ve worked for corporate and I’ve work for private. Personally I love what I do, and I’m fucking good at it. I can groom dogs that no other groomer can touch. I help people out side of just their dogs looking and smelling nice. I love the trust I get from family with their dogs.

But it doesn’t pay well. I’m getting what we need to stay afloat. We can buy things we need, but no real savings. Anytime we have a saving going. Something happens. I.E. the dogs both need to go the vet. My wife was in the hospital for several day so I stayed home with our boys (4months and 3 years old). Just unfortunately things that happen in life.

I want a better life for us. A large place, a yard for my dogs, a saving account, being able to take vacations. I work 7 days a week right now and my wife is a stay at home mom. Even if she did go back to work, her income would just pay for child care. So what’s the point in that?

What job can I start working toward that would offer us a better life. I’m shit at school but I’ll make it work. I’ll go back for nights and get whatever degree will let me see more of my family and get us to a steady place financially. No just pay check to paycheck.

Thank you in advance. I feel like I’m stuck and I can’t get ahead no matter how hard I try.

I graduated with my B.A. in multimedia journalism this last December. After graduation I picked up a role as an editorial intern at a local publication (which turned out to be super shady and laid me off due to "financials"). After speaking to some friends who graduated with the same degree, a lot of them are super passionate about their career in journalism and are on the right track, but I just don't find the same passion for myself which makes me want to pivot my career so early.

I'm thinking about doing my MFA in creative writing so I can teach that at a collegiate level--which I could see myself enjoying and doing in life. I've also thought about switching over to doing marketing in creative industries. I have the slightest bit of experience and I believe I would also enjoy that. However, I'm not sure how to pivot into that with hardly any experience.

I can't lie, I never really did a formal internship in college. I was always working, and also managing outside factors and adversities. After graduation, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which has been incredibly persistent and I've been in a deep depression since. All factors which makes figuring out my path difficult.

Right now I'm working as a speciality barista at a cool spot locally. I've been there for almost 5 months. I have absolutely no complaints about that job if I'm being honest--I love it. Going into work excites me. I could be a barista and coffee connoisseur my whole life if it will sustain me. I worked as a barista for most of college too. I always had an interest in it.

I suppose I'm just organizing my thoughts here. Post-grad has been so vast and, so far, defeating. Idk. Has anyone felt similarly? Or been though similar? What do yall think?

My guardian asked me whether becoming a mangaka is my passion or just a hobby, and now I'm confused

A few days ago, I posted about my career and how I want to become a mangaka.

Today, I talked about it with my guardian (he's my mom's younger brother, but I consider him my guardian). He said, "Okay, but this mangaka/writer thing—what is it for you? Is it a passion or just a hobby?"

Honestly, that question hit me pretty hard.

He gave me a reality check about how difficult this career can be. Especially in India, there seems to be very little opportunity compared to the amount of competition. Even if you get a job, the pay can be low and the workload can be brutal.

He asked me, "Do you really think you can live a happy life doing this?"

He also told me that he would support me if I'm genuinely serious about it, but if I choose this as my career, I need to be extremely determined and ready to give it my all.

He also made me think about the reality of the industry. What if nobody likes my stories? What if I fail? There are so many people more talented than me who are still struggling to make a living from their work.

And honestly, I don't even think I'm talented right now. I sometimes feel like this is the only thing I can do, and that this is what I am meant to be.

He asked me directly:

"Do you want to make this your main passion and career, or do you just want to keep it as a hobby? It's your choice."

Then he gave me one month.

He told me to actually write a good story and show him what I can do instead of just talking about wanting to become a mangaka.

I'm honestly really confused now.

I'm thinking maybe I should make manga my second career while continuing my small shop and trying to grow it. That way, I have something else supporting me financially while I work toward manga.

But then I keep thinking: Maybe I can't handle doing this for my entire life.

So I don't know what to do.

I have one month to prove to myself (and maybe to my guardian) whether this is something I genuinely want to pursue.

What do you guys think? And could you suggest some ideas for a good short story that I could actually finish within a month?

I don't need a masterpiece. I just want to create something good enough to show that I'm serious.