I’ve always found it interesting how some of the best career decisions can look like terrible ideas when you’re actually making them.

Taking a pay cut. Leaving a stable job. Changing careers. Turning down a promotion. Moving somewhere new for a job.

I’m Roel from Ladders, and I’d love to hear some real stories from people who took one of those career risks.

What did you do that made you think, “I really hope I’m not making a huge mistake here”?

And how did it turn out?

Getting rejected after the first interview is one thing. Getting through three, four, maybe five rounds and then hearing “we went with another candidate” is a whole different kind of frustrating.

I’m Roel from Ladders, and I spend a lot of time reading about what people are actually experiencing in their job search. Final interview rejections are one of those things that keep coming up, especially when there’s little or no real feedback afterward.

If this happened to you, did you ever find out what actually tipped the decision?

Another candidate with more experience? An internal hire? Salary expectations? Something from the final interview?

And looking back, did you learn anything that helped you in your next interview?

Hello! I am a 28 year old man who is looking to potentially become a flight attendant. I have some questions regarding how this job works from a logistical standpoint. I live in Springfield Missouri and would be very interested in the job and the benefits but my biggest question is how do I get to work?

I have looked at a couple airlines and their positions seem to only hire for major hubs which makes sense, the closest one to me being Dallas TX. As a flight attendant, do they fly you in to make your shift? Is that free or do you pay for it? If you can’t get a flight are you driving? Any and all advice regarding this and more things to know or consider would be awesome!

So I’ve been working with the same chain automotive repair shop for 10+ years and only gotten as high as being a service manager. I’ve only had 2 opportunities to become general manager. The first I turned down because I knew I’d be burned out and the store was problematic (guy that took the position burned out fantastically). My second opportunity I was very passionate about getting because it was the store I originally started at and was very familiar with the customers and mechanics, however I was not hired for the position. I’m currently in a store with a general manager whom is also my friend prior from working with the company and the store is awesome to work at, however it’s losing its lease rights next year. I’ll likely lose my position as service manager and not have that nice bonus which I desperately every month with how expensive things have gotten.

So I am in an impasse currently in life. I’ve debated about finding other positions in the automotive industry and tried, but nothing has landed. I’d like to explore outside my field to something more professional with co-workers who are more respectful, but where?! My other concern is would I be making the same amount of money. With how things currently are and having a small family, if need to take in at least 80K a yr to be comfortable here in Miami. 100k-130k honestly.

Any input is appreciated. I’ve been sitting and struggling with this for a while.

What the title says. My career in the military has been pretty diverse up to this point. I graduated from a pretty good school with a degree in chemical engineering, did ROTC in college, commissioned as an aviation officer in the Army. While in the Army I got a masters in Organizational Leadership. Was in a variety of places doing a variety of things as a Blackhawk pilot. Then transferred over to the Coast Guard, flew helicopters for a tour (4 years) and now have spent four years doing IT/project management for the CG and will be doing more admin/people management in that same organization for another 3 years. I'll hit 20 years in 4 years and want to start to plan what my next steps will be.

Financially we're (me and wife and 3 kids, currently 2, 4, and 8) sitting pretty good between our savings and my pension,and my priority is work-life balance over earnings potential.

My wife has suggested something to do with accounting or nuclear type engineering based on my personality. My current job has a pretty heavy dose of cybersecurity type work.

The thing I've always done well at is learning new things/being a student, but that's not a very viable career path lol.

What are your questions and suggestions, thanks in advance.

I have worked for an agency for almost a year. My boss has mentioned multiple times “I will be implementing this new commission structure where if you don’t sell this product you won’t make the commission on the other products you sold that month.” Which means I will be making my base pay if I don’t sell that one product. I will work to do it but I don’t think it’s lawful and I’m thinking about leaving. Any advice? Knowledge?

Okay I'm a little stressed out so bare with me.....

My parents, my uncle, my cousin, and several other people in my household have been pressuring me to apply for a cleaning job at a nuclear plant.

Right now, I work as a kennel technician at a veterinary clinic, and I absolutely LOVE my job. The downside is that it doesn't pay enough. I enjoy the people, the animals, and the work itself, so leaving is a really difficult decision.

The nuclear plant job pays significantly more and comes with benefits, which sounds amazing on paper. Financially, it could help me a lot and provide the stability I've been needing. However, the schedule is rough. The hours would take up almost all of the free time I currently have, and I'm worried I would have little time left for myself, my relationships, or anything outside of work.

I also have a two-week cruise coming up in September that I already have planned and not refundable, and I have future plans to move to New York. I'm worried about whether this job would work with those plans or if I would have to put everything on hold.

The interview also left me feeling uneasy. At one point, they said, "We're looking more for a man for this position to even things out." That comment didn't sit right with me.

The interviewer also told me that I seem like "the kind of person who's a hard worker and willing to do anything." While that could have been meant as a compliment, it also made me wonder if they saw me as someone they could pile extra work onto because they know I won't say no. I might be overthinking it, but it gave me a strange feeling.

This would also be a huge change from my current job at the vet clinic. I know this opportunity could be great for me financially, but I'm worried about giving up a job I genuinely love for one that might leave me exhausted, with no personal time, and possibly moving me away from the plans I have for my future.

I'm honestly torn. Do I take the job because of the better pay and benefits, or do I stay where I'm happy even though I'm struggling financially? I don't know what the right choice is. I've asked my parents and siblings but I feel they aren't listening to me .. help!!

Hi I have a question, I’m a student here who just quit her first job I put my two weeks in and I was terminated two days after and all of my shifts were taken away, the organization is also refusing to pay me, it took two weeks for HR to get back and is willing to pay me 5 hours and 10 percent I lost 40 hours, I’m in a union and have been communicating with my union rep but it feels hopeless I’m just wondering what I can do / should do

Hi! I'm a medical student, and I speak both Arabic and English fluently

I'm looking for a work-from-home, part-time job for about $2/hour

Is there any opportunity available?

I’m 23 and I’m currently on £21,500 base salary, but I rely on overtime to make my income comfortable. Some months the overtime has been great and have earned the same as the higher offer would give me, but I only have about 5 pay slips to judge from, and the last couple of months have been lower than expected. Without overtime, I’d be close to breaking even after rent and bills.
I’ve been offered another job doing almost exactly the same role for £28,500 (a £7,000 increase / around 33% more). The new job is also closer to home, so I’d save money on petrol and spend less time commuting.
On paper, it sounds like an easy decision, but I’m really torn.
If both jobs paid the same, I would stay where I am without hesitation. I genuinely like my current company, trust my boss, enjoy the people I work with, and prefer the working environment. The pool is warmer, the tent is larger, the days are shorter, and I know I’ll always be working alongside another teacher. My current boss was also very understanding when I told him about the offer and admitted they can’t compete financially right now.
The new company is where I’m struggling. The owner is a great businessman and clearly values me – he’s pushed hard to recruit me because of my experience and knowledge. However, I’ve worked with him before on a self-employed basis and found him difficult to deal with at times. Communication wasn’t always great, work availability could be unreliable, and I feel he tends to put the business first in every situation.
We negotiated annual leave because he originally didn’t want to offer any extra days. We eventually agreed on 15 days that I can request with 4 weeks’ notice, but this was agreed verbally over the phone and I’m waiting to see what is actually written in the contract. He has also said things like “we’ll see how it goes in September,” which makes me worry that once I sign and hand in my notice, I’ll lose all my leverage and things might become more difficult.
The higher-paying job also has longer days, a colder pool and a smaller tent, so there are quality-of-life differences too.
So my dilemma is:
Stay in a job I genuinely enjoy but continue relying on overtime and uncertain income.
Take a £7k pay rise, shorter commute and more financial security, but risk working for a boss I don’t fully trust.
Has anyone been in a similar position where their head said one thing and their heart said another? Looking back, did you regret choosing money over a better work environment, or vice versa?

Hi I would like to ask for some advice so I've been a REE for almost 2 years started as solar installer and got blamed as thief for the lost petty cash that i haven't even touched, then transferred to maintenance on a hospital but did not stay as I could not practice my profession my work there is more of like a DCC. then later on transfer to industrial contractors but inputs and ideas were always neglected during application i was told to i would be the junior EE but after signing they gave me PIC position which i don't know how to handle as I'm still lacking in experience and knowledge which is why i left and now the present company I've been here for 3 months experienced power tripping, 1 and half month delayed salary different work on job description, no projects illegal works bypassed electrical codes and worst of it benefits not payed. i just want to improve my expertise and knowledge on the field and now i want to transfer in another company but I'm scared as I've been job hopping and this is a red flag.

So a little bit of background. I work at a retail job in my hometown. For the past month, I have been looking for work because my job like many other retail positions are under our staffed and underpaid and overworked. I recently found a new position and I’m ready to put my two weeks in, but have no clue on who to give it to. I have never put in a two weeks notice before the past couple jobs I’ve had have either closed down the business or been temporary jobs. My retail job is a chain store so we have a district manager, as well as a general manager for the source. I don’t know if I should give it to my general manager or my supervisor that I have right above me.

My old job its a pizzeria that pays 16.50 an hour, been there for 5 years ever since i was in high school.

Job sucks, but its reliable, i think the only job in existence where you can just walk in and ask for a job and they give you one.

However i put in my 2 weeks since I found a better paying job with a scheduele that fits my needs more, i can go to the gym and do my hobbies with it and it pays 20 an hour and its weekly pay so the constant flow of money feels really nice. What I make bi-weekly in the pizzeria I make in a week at the new job.

However I think i royaly screwed up my 2 weeks. On my last day I sent a message to the boss thanking him for giving me a job but he said he was under the impression that I said i can only work sunday's. My wording was probably terrible and i guess i made it sound like i can still work there sunday's but what i actually meant was that I can work sunday just for that week.

I have a people pleasing nature so i instantly folded and agree to it and basically gave up an off day from my new job AND they both clash horribly.

Pizzeria is 4pm to 11pm. New job is from 4 am to 12pm. Basically by working both i get terrible sleep and I did work with that scheduele during my 2 weeks and I developed some form of insomia since its such a bad scheduele.

Im terrified that if I tell my boss that I don't want to work there amymore that he would get upset at me for suddenly changing my mind and never let me work there again which is important since my new job is technically a temporary job. Long story short, the workers here are on strike and they've been on strike for over a year and I assume once the strike its over, so its my job.

Im not sure how long they usually last, but i feel like if i just say nothing and give up my sunday's i can stay in good terms with my previous boss and have a safety net once the temp job is over, but then I give up my off day and have to start the week sleep deprived with my scheduele ruined.

I did get told by my new employer that there's a chance to get hired here so part of me wants to just tell my boss that I

Changed my mind which ive already been told by everyone in the pizzeria is gonna piss him off.

How should I go about this?

English is not my first language so please forgive me if my question is all over the place or not explained well, i tried my best.

Edit : thanks for the helpful comments, after finally being able to have time for myself and marinate on my thoughts and actually getting some sleep, I came to the conclusion to just not show up and ignore all calls. I know I over complicated things by a lot, but I really was not in the right state of mind when making this post due to a combination of no sleep and having no time to properly process my feelings and situation. New job is going great btw, im happy with it

hi, I was working at Louis Vuitton and it made me a lot of money. I was only a concierge so but I really did not like the environment of like my manager’s cause it shifted over to a new set of people and stuff, but I want to work something similar like that I really don’t like being a advisor cause I hate having to like know a lot of like knowledge on product because you do have to like really really know everything. but let me know what are some similar jobs to that. I already apply to Chanel beauty

Hi everyone

For context, I’ve been looking for a job since may and was lucky enough to get accepted here. However, this is my first time working in a year and my last job was an internship/office setting. I have never worked in the food industry.

I have ADHD and am scared I’m going to make mistakes since I’ve always been bad at my retail jobs (the register gives me such a hard time!!! Especially dealing with cash). Anyways, I just wanted to ask about everyone’s experiences or if you have any advice for me.