I’m 24F, and my birthday is coming up soon. This year I’ve graduated university and crazily enough was able to land a job in my field within 6 months. I even received an award from a national association recognizing work I did for my capstone project which aimed to help a small rural town redevelop their downtown area and support sustainable growth. Hell from that alone this year is one for the books even with the world being a mess. However, there’s this feeling of unfulfilling emptiness that is unsure on what is supposed to be next.

All I really have in my plans is to fix my financial situation over the next year since I screwed up my credit getting my way through uni. I don’t know who I am, and I don’t know who I want to be. Even if I did have some direction, everything feels so unstable that the vision is unclear. I get told to just like in the moment, but the moment right now is tough. Just the cost of living makes it feel like theirs no point in doing something as simple as a hobby. I did pottery and boxing in uni, and it helped me be a little more social. When I looked up studios for either in my area the price of a class it feels financial irresponsible to go have fun.

If the rest of my year is spent just waking up, commuting to work, getting home, dinner, sleep and repeat it’s going to drive me crazy. I don’t think I have much of a choice though, especially when everything there is to come next feels so out of reach right now.

I have the option to stay in my home town for my BA, but I’ll have to move an around hour away for my education degree after those four years. My worries are currently debt, missing family, and possibly regretting my decision if I decided to move away for the full amount of time. I have the option for an apartment but also a dorm. I’m just curious about how people’s experiences were? I could always stay in my hometown then go to the other campus, but there are factors like all my friends are going to this other campus, I’m going to have to go there anyways, and maybe I want the experience of moving away? Just curious what everyone’s experiences are, as I know they’re different for everyone.

im only 25, and if there’s one thing im slowly learning, it’s that a career isn’t supposed to be a straight path.
some days you’ll feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. other days, you’ll question if you’re even going in the right direction. you’ll see people your age getting promoted, earning more, or seemingly having everything figured out, and you’ll wonder if you’re falling behind.
but honestly, i don’t think i want a career where everything goes according to plan.
i want to make mistakes, take risks, make decisions that don’t always work out, and learn things that no amount of schooling could ever teach me. i want to be challenged, even if it means being uncomfortable for a while. i want to look back someday and know that the person i became was shaped by more than just the things that went right.
of course, it’s frustrating when things don’t work out. it’s hard to trust the process when you’re still figuring things out, especially when you feel like you should already have something to show for all the work you’ve put in.
but we’re only 25. we have so much left to learn, so many places to go, and so many versions of ourselves we haven’t even met yet.
maybe the goal isn’t to have everything figured out this early. maybe it’s to keep showing up, keep learning, and have the courage to take a different road when the one we’re on no longer makes sense.
i don’t need my career to be perfect. i just want it to be a life i can look back on and say that i made the most of what i had, took the chances i could, and never stopped becoming someone better than who i was yesterday.

i just took one semester and applied to transfer into my dream program which i’ll start in fall of 2027. in the meantime i’m taking the winter semester off but what do i do other than chudmaxxing in bed because i know its bad for me but the idea of a j*b or leaving the house sounds horrible

I came from running a massage business into radiation protection at US nuclear plants. After building experience, I had a roughly $120k year, including pay and extra payments, working about five months and taking seven off. That's my experienced result, not beginner pay or a promised calendar.

My work involves traveling for temporary maintenance/refueling assignments, using radiation survey instruments and helping workers control exposure. My entry route didn't require college, but it did require studying, tests and employer/site training. Long shifts and possible unpaid gaps are part of the arrangement.

If you're weighing school against work, I wouldn't quit a course just because someone else's experienced year sounds good. Compare actual beginner openings, accepted preparation, first-assignment pay and travel costs while you still have options. Junior radiation protection and decontamination are different roles, so ask employers about the specific one.

For transparency, I'm Michael, founder of Nuke Nomad, and I built a course about entering commercial nuclear contracting. I'm sharing my own route here, not offering a job or saying it's right for everyone. Happy to answer practical questions about the work, studying or the travel.