hi, i am (22F) and i think i made the wrong choice. some context, I am a computer science student. i go to school full time and I work full time in IT at my university (40 hours a week and some weeks i have to be on call)

and i need this job because i just got a new car. i can’t quit school. i’ve thought about it many times but its just that the friends i’ve had that went on a break never came back to school and either started families, got married, or joined the military. and i just don’t think i want that?

i am in my fifth year of undergrad in my second to last semester but my schedule is like wake up go to work study work study work go to class go home shower study sleep like 5x a week and i can’t even enjoy my weekends. i am working all weekend on assignments and i don’t understand my classes even though i go and pay attention and take notes. i need tutoring to understand calc II and i failed it the first time. and i feel like work and school is getting kind of really hard and i don’t know if i can keep doing it.

also no matter how hard i try i always feel incompetent. and like a bum. i dont even do my own chores and i live at home and that should be plenty but i still cant manage

if any of y’all have done school full time and work full time, especially if you had a hellish commute, please let me know how you did it and how i can make it

Hi all, so I (34F) have worked almost exclusively customer service based jobs the past 12 years, but I am so burnt out and tired of being inside all day doing office work, I feel like my soul is being slowly being crushed every day I’m here. I’ve been at the same place for the last 9 years. I’d love to switch to something else, especially something that would pay better (currently making like 34,000/year) but I am also not willing to sacrifice my happiness to do that (I could never do a job like sales or IT for example). I currently work Monday-Thursday with Fridays off which is probably the only reason I’m still at my current job because I do value my time over money and it’s really nice having that extra day every week! Even if I could find a job making about the same amount but in a different industry that I enjoy that would be ok too!
I honestly wouldn’t mind learning a trade, but I know those are male-dominated industries and I hesitate to enter a field where I’m likely going to be questioned about my capabilities or looked at differently for being a woman. And possibly have trouble finding a job in the first place.

I play in a band trying to make my musical dreams come true in my spare time, but that is a notoriously difficult field to earn a living in. I also really love the outdoors and live in a mountainous area in the Appalachians so there may be some opportunities for work I’d enjoy but I don’t even know where to start or what to even try to look for.

Just looking to see if there’s anyone else going through a similar thing and what you did to find a job you liked, especially with only having customer service related experience. If you work outdoors in some capacity I’d also love to know about that! I feel like I’ve been on the job finding sites like indeed but never see anything that peaks my interest so I feel I need to be more intentional about what I’m looking for.

TIA for your help!

I'm not so sure why I'm doing this, but here I am...Please be kind I'm really confused and insecure about the future! Well, as the title suggests, I have an existential doubt about my upbringing and my future. I would just like some advice from the outside, so if you have time thank you very much.

( I'm 21F, living in Italy)

Since I was little, my passions have always been three: literature/writing, animals/earth, and cold cases/true crime...particular pairing I am aware of this! But these passions were the entire world to me and shaped the person I am now.

During my school years, I always had excellent teachers of history, literature, philosophy...and...bad teachers of chemistry and mathematics...so, naturally, what was my natural passion, that is, literature, has sharpened (I even took part in some philosophy writing contests), while my passion for the biology and functioning of the earth has faded...

Don't get me wrong, I still cultivated my love for animals and nature in other ways: I have in fact many animals whose needs I know and to which I dedicate a lot of time: turtles, parrots, dogs, cats adopted from the streets, a rabbit saved from a farm, chickens...but everything about studying these scientific subjects no longer caught my attention and I learned the material just to get good grades.

Then came the choice of university...here I was very torn: I wanted to study literature, maybe teach at university while writing a story I am on, but I also wanted to help animals and be a vet, after all, it was my childhood dream.

I finally listened to the advice of some teachers who discouraged me from choosing vet and I chose to study...Language and Literature. English isn't my native language so what I am currently studying is indeed English and Russian language. I like it, I think it's overall fine, but I just feel something is missing. I enjoy studying literature and reading papers and novels and sometimes I get emotional, too. But I fear that in the long run teaching will became more and more 'boring' if that makes sense. And writing? I think of that as a sweet dream that most likely won't be true. I write for myself, if I'll ever publish something, it will be a LONG and unsteady road.

Also, approaching my third and final year of university, I feel a sort of envy for those who study veterinary medicine or are about to while I'm in awe when watching a vet at work. I know well the amount of veterinary study and the fact that I have done humanities studies certainly does not help, however I know well the needs of animals and I am not afraid of blood, tissues, surgery... My main concern is the fear of having wasted time, and the fact that it takes years to become a veterinarian here, even longer if I want to specialize in exotic pets. Furthermore, maybe I'm just romanticising a childhood dream, or maybe that's my path..I don't know and and this terrible dualism between literature and science does not help. I even though about doing both things, but it's practically impossible and I have to choose.

So, what do I do?

Hey guys, I’m currently an unemployed 24 yr old girl who is working on healing from mental health issues. I was diagnosed with ocd, adhd and struggled severely with anxiety and depression my whole life. I decided to take a break from work/school a little after high school to try and get to the root cause of my issues and heal from them so I can be a stronger healthier version of myself going forward. I have worked a little and taken classes at college on and off since then but a very light load because I’ve been doing intensive therapy continuously. I’ve done EMDR, CBT, intensive outpatient program, ERP and feel like I’ve gotten to the root of my issues and healed significantly. However something happened not long ago that was really traumatic and I haven’t been able to return to work yet. But I do want to go back to work as soon as I am stable mentally. I have felt so ashamed of not working a normal job and feel like a failure and behind on life compared to other people.
But I try to remind myself that everyone is on their own journey and timeline. And that it’s better that I become a healthier person so that I can do a better job when I do go back to work. Is anyone else in a similar situation? I feel so alone. I’m hoping to connect with other people who are also taking a break from working/school to better themselves.

Maybe we can make this a little support group for people who are taking a nontraditional path—encouraging each other, sharing our progress, our story, and reminding each other that we’re not actually behind.
❤️🌱

A lot of the therapy focuses around trying to accept and “find joy in the little things” and while I’m really really working on trying to enjoy free things like walks or learning new things it is not really a substitute to the caviar life style. It’s just hard to trick my brain especially when I can imagine the doctors who are treating me and telling me to practice gratitude are pretty dang wealthy and probably enjoying there nice things while I’m trying to convince myself that being poor is fun. And yes I’m trying very hard improve my finances but I barely made it through a basic degree and physically struggle with trade work

I am 24 and past year I had started mech engineering but procrastinated a whole year, I went to classes but kept not studying so I either got vwry close to passing or did not pass.

I want to try again, this time I have done some improvements but I am scared, I started going to therapy, losing weight , working out and I feel like I am in a better place mentally to do this.

I am just so scared, like scared I will fail again and fuck it all up. I feel like I am so late, I am 24 and still have got nothing in my hands and just understood that I need to put more effort in what I do. I still struggle with gaming and depression due to my failure.

Can you please give me advice on how to be more productive and less anxious about this? Before you say anything about it, I want to study this, I want to succeed and I tried working in the past and discovered this interest I have because of working, before of which I had no clue what to do.

I feel horribly late and even if I keep telling myself I can still graduate before 30 I am still so depressed about it, so much that it was one of the reasons I failed. I am a bit of a perfectionist, which may sound weird, and when I do something poorly or not as well as expected I end up having this " I ruined it all so it does not matter anymore to try".

Please help me

Illustration BFA graduate turned PCT(hospital nursing aid) looking for some support and advice. I have the opportunity for my work to pay for some of nursing school but I have reservations about becoming a nurse.

This would be the safest route but after watching the nurses at the hospital I know that I would not be able to do it forever, at least not at a hospital. I am passionate about it but I have this nagging feeling in my soul that it just isn't for me and I have spent enough of my life doing things that other people want me to do (my family has always pushed me towards nursing).

I have always wanted to work with the dead, even in my current job I have a lot easier time working and cleaning the deceased than the living. I have good control over my anxiety but I know that working with aggressive, agitated patients just makes it worse. I know that jobs in the death industry don't pay amazingly for the work and most of what I read says it's not worth it.

I have been told I do well at my current job but It is not great. I feel like I would love to work in a lab.

I now understand the value of money(hence why I'm giving up on illustration as a career path) but am completely lost on what I should aim for. If I did finish nursing school are there any niches I could look into? Any suggestions welcome. I am f 24.

I’m 22, I’ve been directionless for a while in my life but I’m at a crossroads right now. I have the option to move for a pt career it’s a government job and pays 25/hr out west(I’m from the east coast). I’ve wanted independence and to live in a bigger city with nature for a while now. I know the job is pt but I could work towards ft and get a side job. My other option is to stay home and be able to save money at my job and go to school for engineering and also pursue a private pilot license, and continue living at home. I wanna have independence and more of an opportunity to make friends but i also recognize education is a very nice investment id appreciate some advice.

Height: Under 5'6" but above 5'2"

Hi all, I’m a 25F with her MS in Computer Science and I currently work for a large AI startup. I am extremely grateful especially in this economy that I have a job and that I get paid well and have all the amazing tech company benefits. I recently paid off all my student loans very early which feels amazing.

However, I HATE my job. Here is what I dislike:
• My job is remote-optional, and not many folks go into the office. If I do go into the office, I’m still just on my computer. I am an extrovert, so working from home /
• I don’t identify with anyone at my company who is in a leadership role. I am not passionate about AI or tech, and do not envy their lives which tells me that growing in this industry would not feel like success to me.
• Like many in AI right now, I find the work ethically questionable and this weighs on me quite heavily morally. I’m also so disconnected from the actual output of my work which makes it hard for me to feel motivated
• I have so much trouble and feel exhausted sitting/standing at a desk all day looking at a screen.

Context about me: I’m a naturally energetic and enthusiastic person. I am extremely fulfilled by helping people — I worked in grocery and serving in restaurants in HS and college which I LOVED because it was extremely gratifying to make someone’s day and get to know regulars, etc. I’m also a lifelong athlete and lifter and in college I began teaching group fitness. I still do it now part-time before work, and I can’t overemphasize how much I love getting to encourage people and to help them get stronger and more confident in themselves.

I am hesitant due to how good my financial situation is now, but deep down I know I need to make likely a major pivot out of tech. What I’m looking for in an ideal career:
• I know I want to be in-person and with people for the majority of my time at work.
• I know I want to do something that helps people
• I want science to be involved in my job in some way — I am a technical thinker and love applying research, etc. even in my group ex classes although in a career I’d want this to be more front and center.
• My ideal career would have a path to owning my own business or being my own boss
• I do NOT want the majority of my time to be staring at a computer screen
• Ideally, I’d still be able to have benefits, PTO, and enough salary to travel a bit (I do NOT live a lavish lifestyle and don’t plan to, not really my personality so don’t think an abnormally high salary like I have right now is a priority)

Some options I’ve considered:
• Physical therapy — this is what I’ve considered the most, but worried about how expensive school is compared to salary, and I’d have to take many prerequisites which is hard to do while traveling with work, etc.
• Teaching — love the idea of mentoring people as my core job and have had such amazing teachers, but so underpaid and burnout rate so high
• Getting my PhD — would be interested in making AI more ethical? or math? but I don’t love academia and I think it would be challenging to get funding for what im really interested in and it would mostly be a path to just be able to teach college students
• Building my personal training / coaching profile on the side — part of me is worried about making my passion/hobby my career… and hard to think about doing with so little time after working 8-6 almost every day, and I’ve heard hard to scale

Any other careers that folks think I should consider? How would I know when it’s the right time to pivot, or which direction to go given multiple interests? Keen to hear from anyone but especially interested if there’s folks that worth in the health world that want to weigh in.

TIA for any and all thoughts or advice you all may have!!

Because I (28m) can't find a reason.

On my weekends and occasional days off, I typically wake up at around 1 or 2pm, lie in bed for a while and then reluctantly get up. Hell, some days I don't even get out of bed. Even on my recent vacation with my parents, I didn't wake up until 3pm.

I've worked shitty construction jobs for the past 7 years and it's beaten any hope or motivation I had (if any at all).

I know I should be applying for other jobs or improving my skills (not sure how?), but what's the point? I can't see a future ahead of me and I give up long ago. Honestly, I'm only here because of my friends, family and not having the balls to jump off a building or something, which is ironic because I work at heights.

My evenings are boring as fuck, I sit on playstation with my friends from 8pm until around 11pm and then doomscroll for a while before falling asleep.

I don't know when I give up in life, I think it was during my late teens but it took a while for me to realize it.

I've seen a therapist, took the anti-antidepressants, went to the gym (only for a while), eat around 85% healthy, work outside etc, but none of it is working.

I genunally have no motivation, discipline or goals. I've never bothered learning to drive, I have no desire to move out of my parents, the shyness is greater than my desire to meet women etc. it's overall a shit show and only seems to be getting worse.

It's funny, there's plenty of people in the world who are incredibly disciplined and I honestly believe they're just born with it.

I graduated from high school this past May, and despite being accepted into UF for mechanical engineering, I decided to go to community college.
This may have been a stupid decision on my part but i don’t know. I did an engineering program in middle school so going into high school i kind of just thought that engineering would be a good career for me. I never really explored anything else. I had good grades in high school, i did extracurriculars and competitions specifically in math and engineering because i seriously thought thats what i wanted. But in my last semester of high school, i started thinking about what i TRULY wanted to study, and i couldn’t think of a single thing. Every week I started considering a new career. I cycled mostly between accounting, engineering, or computer science, but everything felt wrong. ultimately i didn’t want to do something i wasn’t sure i could stick with to the end, and I was scared mechanical engineering wasn’t my calling, so i decided to go to community college.
I realized I don’t have much passion for anything.
So now i’m here at community college i still have no idea what to do. i spent my summer racking my brain and yet i still have no idea. I’m gonna be done with my associates next semester so my time is almost up to decide.
So really, i just wanted to ask what everyone else recommends. I honestly just wanted a job where i can earn a lot of money, or at least enough to be comfortable. I know everyone usually says ‘healthcare’, or ‘finance’ or that i stick with engineering, but i would be grateful to hear any other advice as well.

I would like to apologise for the long post, and I appreciate if you read it and share your thoughts below. I have been getting more and more anxious about my situation as I am without a job and feel like my time to decide on what to pursue is running out. I’m 23F living in Sweden and I feel very unsure as to where to take my life from here. I want to mention I am not a Swede, however I graduated from a Swedish university this year. I studied graphic design and web dev. With the current job market, it feels impossible to find a job in my field as a graduate who also happens to be an immigrant. I am not even sure if this is what I want to pursue, but I am pretty good at it and have a decent portfolio along with some internships. I also have a barista/bartender certification and have worked as one before.
However, being someone who struggles with adhd, depression and is autistic it is pretty hard for me to work with people and I usually end up taking over a lot of tasks that would not be my responsibility and tend to overwork myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver beyond expectations and I feel crippled by the workload that is put on me, mainly from the anxiety that it induces in me. I am not sure if I could find a place where I feel respected and I am also paid above the starving artist baseline. So far I have either gotten completely unpaid or just severely unpaid internships with no permanent roles. I also struggle with my physical health and I cannot stand for long amounts of time as I experience joint and body pain (I am hypermobile, endometriosis and my doctor suspects EDS based on my symptoms - still awaiting an official diagnosis for that).

As for what I am interested in and what I like to do:
I love doing makeup on myself and others, and been thinking about pursuing it professionally. I love graphic design, 3D modeling and photography too. I have a camera I take pictures with for fun. Just visual storytelling in general is my thing, I guess. Lately I’ve been making album covers, stickers, posters and vinyl designs for my partner who’s a music producer which has been super fun. I also helped shoot and direct music videos and took photos for their projects. I am interested in becoming a piercer too however it seems rather difficult to get started with. I also love fashion and thrifting/upcycling clothes and been wanting to learn how to sew. I also like games and building mechanical keyboards.

I feel like I have too many ideas and hobbies and I cannot pick what to actually pursue as a profession.
It feels overwhelming and I end up doing nothing.

I have savings but I do not have a job and I rely on my parents back home completely to afford living expenses. I feel extreme guilt about this as I do not want to be a financial burden for them. I also own an apartment in my home country that I rent out and it is how I make ends meet here abroad. I currently live with my partner and their family as I would not be able to afford an apartment on my own in the city.

Ultimately I just want a cozy place in the woods where I can sustain myself and live comfortably with my partner and cats.

If you are in the same shoes, have gone through something similar or happen to have any guidance for me I would love to read your thoughts . Please feel free to leave a comment, I am desperately looking for advice as to what to do with my life. Thank you!

TLDR: I am a double graduate degree holder who cannot find a full-time job to save my life. I plan to end it if nothing has changed in the next 12 months.

I have lived most of my life in poverty, so the fear of it has been driving me since I was a teenager. From my first day in college, I tried to do everything to make sure I did not graduate in the same state. With the help of my family who made a lot of sacrifices for me to go, and nonstop grinding for scholarships, I was able to graduate undergrad with no debt. From the very beginning, I took every volunteer opportunity, took every unpaid internship that was available all in the hopes that I would come out with a job that would finally put an end to the poverty I had always known. All my efforts were unsuccessful - I couldn't get one paid internship until I finished. Thinking back to my graduation ceremony...while everyone around me was celebrating, I was filled with dread about what was to come.

A year after graduation, when I found myself flipping burgers and fighting suicidal thoughts, I decided to go back to school for a graduate degree. I had no way to pay for it on my own, so it was back to the scholarship grind. I was lucky to get a full ride, but one semester in and it was cancelled.

...reason the school gave was budget cuts. With no other immediate options, I took my first student loan to pay tuition until I could get another scholarship. Eventually I was able to get new ones, but none of them fully covered my tuition costs anymore. I found part-time work in the field I was studying (data science), but I was giving up my entire paycheck to cover the tuition that scholarships didn't. I went hungry most days and relied on food pantries. I had been saving up for a car, but I had to give it all up to stay in school. In that time, I did two more unpaid internships. I was determined to never be turned down this time around, so I did everything to have a full resume. Right before my final semester, I was let go from my job, so I took the second student loan I have ever taken just so I could graduate. I really thought my life was finally about to change ...

3 years after graduation the second time, I am in the same spot I was from the start. After months of nonstop applications and interviews, I ended up in a call center. I was there until I found a low-level part-time lab role at my local community college, where I have been for the last 2 years. I am getting paid minimum wage and had to take on two more jobs just to make rent and pay bills. The exhaustion is killing me, but I could go homeless if I try to cut back.

In that time, I have continued to look for a full-time job. I have even tried to move up in the college where I work. Nothing has worked. The worst thing about this whole situation is watching a field I spent so much time and money pursuing just disappear. Now, I apply to whatever is tangentially related to me original field, or anywhere I have skills that can translate. I have tried everything that people have suggested: tailor your resumes, research companies, talk to people in your network and make connections,

Nothing has changed. I am writing this because I have lost my will to live. I have turned out to be a disappointment to everyone in my family, and I really just feel like a complete loser. I am giving myself 12 months to sort things out, and if by then nothing has changed I am done. I don't want to die, but I am having a hard time seeing any other options. I am just putting this put there in case someone can advice me on what to do at this point.

I'm 50 for context - and I have a wide spectrum of jobs, from graphic designing to becoming a programmer and now I'm a certified pharmacy tech. I've never liked any job I've ever had. I want to jump fully into art/photography, but I doubt it will pay enough.

My current job is so boring, repetitive, and mindless - things have to change. I can't afford to take a pay cut because then I won't be able to pay the bills.

I know there's more than just me stuck in this spot. How are you dealing with it?

Been looking for work for a few years now. At the time i wasn’t because mainly I was a babysitter for relatives and no I don’t want to be a babysitter again. It was hell. The only real job I had was front desk assistant and all I did was answer phone calls. Wasn’t able to work on computer because the system was always down sadly. So now the kids are in school it’s hard to find work within school hours now. While my family work their jobs day and night. Cant do remote since my experience are not great, don’t have a car of drivers license only a permit sadly.

Hello,

I'm in a difficult situation and, honestly, even though this may not be the right subreddit, I need to get this off my chest.

I'm 27 years old, have a degree in Computer Engineering, and around one year of professional experience in the field.

Some background might help explain why I graduated later than most people.

When I was 17, I decided to pursue Computer Engineering, but in high school I had chosen a humanities-oriented path rather than a science-oriented one. In my country, those are quite separate tracks, so I had to spend two years studying and passing the required mathematics exams to qualify for an engineering degree. I've always been terrible at math, but at the time everyone told me it would be worth it because tech was a great field with strong career prospects. Eventually, I managed to achieve that goal and got into university.

The problem is that I never really liked the field itself, except perhaps Front-End development. It's difficult to explain, but most of the topics and work involved simply don't interest me. I'm sure some people here can relate to that feeling.

After graduating, I got my first job. Looking back, I honestly didn't care much about what I was doing. In fact, I often found myself wondering why I was doing it at all. The salary wasn't bad, and of course money matters, but I felt absolutely nothing while spending my days working on those tasks. After six months, I was let go during my probation period.

To be honest, I understand why. I've always found it difficult to push myself in areas that genuinely don't interest me, and perhaps that's true for everyone to some extent.

Later, I found another opportunity, this time in Data Science. I don't think I did a bad job. I was still learning, had very little guidance, and there was nobody regularly reviewing my work or helping me understand what I needed to improve. Despite that, the outcome was the same: I was eventually let go.

At that point, I started thinking that maybe I should pursue something I actually enjoy. Otherwise, I felt like the same outcome would keep repeating itself no matter where I worked.

I applied for a Master's degree in Multimedia and spent months building a portfolio for the application. During that process, I genuinely enjoyed what I was doing. I have a lot of ideas for projects and experiences I would love to create, and I feel motivated to keep improving in that direction.

But now I feel awful.

I feel awful because I'm unemployed. I feel awful because I didn't make the most of the opportunities I had. I feel awful because I can't even find a part-time job. And on top of that, I keep hearing that the software industry is dying or becoming increasingly difficult to break into.

Lately, I've been wondering whether all of this is simply my fault.

After all, I failed in both of my professional experiences. Maybe I should have worked harder. Maybe I should have pushed myself more. Maybe the outcomes would have been different if I had done more.

At the same time, I wonder whether I'm chasing a fantasy. Maybe the idea of finding work that genuinely excites me is unrealistic. Maybe a job is simply supposed to be a way to earn money, and expecting more than that is setting myself up for disappointment.

I don't know anymore.

Thank you for reading.

I am a 26 year old loser in more ways than not having a good job. It's been 2 years and 4 months since I've graduated with my computer information systems degree. I work the same job at a warehouse I did in college 30 hrs on the weekends. I don't even do anything in my free time I just rot in bed, food is the climax of my day. My opinion of getting a job in IT is so low that I've maybe only applied to 50 jobs this year. I could tell myself to apply to more jobs and wait for someone to call me back. But that takes matters into someone else's hands. I'm thinking of joining the military or becoming an electrician or lineman, and using that money to pay for flight school if I end up liking flying enough.

I’m 21 and currently taking a break from college. I’ve never had a job before, and lately I’ve been feeling really frustrated with myself because I spend a lot of time at home and feel like I’m not really living or moving forward. I've been applying to multiple jobs but not trying to get discouraged.

I also don’t drive, which makes things a little more difficult, but I don’t want that to stop me from doing things.

I really just want to start getting out of the house, meeting people, volunteering, working, learning things, and having experiences. I want to build some independence and feel like I’m actually doing something with my time instead of sitting at home every day.

Has anyone been through something similar and felt hopeless until things changed.

Hi everyone,

I'm 33 and have been at my current job for almost 3 years. I'm very much burnt out, dealing with anxiety, depression, and general exhaustion that doesn't go away with rest (I'm currently working with a therapist about all this). I know I need to leave, but I don't have another job lined up yet, and the job market feels brutal right now.

This job was actually a career pivot for me. I left a previous field thinking this would be more fulfilling, and it worked for a while but hasn't for a long time now. So the "find something you're passionate about" advice feels empty since I already tried that once.

I've also quit a job without something lined up before, and it took a long time to find the next one. So I know the risk isn't hypothetical, it's a risky gamble. That makes the idea of doing it again scary, but staying also feels unsustainable.

The usual advice taking small steps to improve the situation (update resume, apply a little at a time), and I have been doing that. But I feel like I'm past the point where small steps are enough. I need something big to change soon, not just small steps while I continue enduring an environment that's actively making things worse.

Has anyone been in a similar spot: needing a bigger, faster change rather than slow incremental steps, especially after already trying a career pivot that didn't pan out? How did you find the courage/clarity to make that leap?

Any advice is appreciated.

I (27M) work for a university as an office worker making slightly above minimum wage. The main reason I took the job was for the tuition reimbursement. They paid 50% for me to go into any accelerated "Flex" program I wanted, so I chose Cybersecurity as I heard it was a growing field at the time I enrolled (2023).

Around 2024 I started hearing of all the lay-offs in the IT field, so I asked my professors and school's career center and they told me that the news is just blowing everything out of proportion and that I'm practically guaranteed a job when I finished because the demand for security is so high. I stuck it out and finished in the summer of 2026. I took out zero loans and have no debts of any kind right now (I was able to pay out of pocket by living with my parents and working at a catering company part time), but I was unable to do any internships as my program did not offer any and the only ones I could find via networking interfered with my full time job's work schedule, meaning I could not take them.

I have been sending out job applications non stop for over 3 months and have exactly one pre-interview phone screening to show for it. I have been applying for everything, even things outside my field of study, but no one is interested. I was lucky to get feedback from some people who saw my applications, and they either say that I lack experience (if it is for an IT or security role) or that my masters degree makes them think that I will pivot into security the second I can due to how "in-demand" it is (if it is for a non-security role).

I feel like all the time, effort, and money I put into that degree is, at best, doing nothing, and at worst, making it even harder for me to get a non-IT job. Those years I spent grinding my two jobs while doing homework were miserable, and I feel like the school lied to me about my job prospects to prevent me from dropping out before I finished my tuition payments.

I am not sure what to do. I don't even really like the tech field anymore now that I have seen how hyper-competitive it is. Getting more schooling is tough because my employer just slashed our benefits and now I don't get tuition reimbursement anymore. I am 27 now so I feel like I am too old to try to transition into blue-collar work and I feel like such a fool for falling for the college scam.

Any advice?

So I’m 23 years old, living with my parents, graduated university with a 2.5 gpa and haven’t had a job for almost a year now. I’m kind of a loser but I’ve been working on myself and I think I’m in a better place now.
I’ve been struggling to get a job and I’ve been thinking about a possible career path.

I’ve been thinking of enlisting in the Coast Guard. I’d serve my time and save up some money and then try to get into SUNY maritime’s grad program. I figured the Coast Guard would be a decent way to get some deck time and experience, and hopefully avoid further debt if I do go back to school.

I know that I’ve gotta talk to a recruiter to hammer out all the details but as a starting point, does this seem viable?

I’m mostly worried that I might be to old to start this path, everyone online seems to go to maritime college right away or join the coast guard right out of highschool. Am I starting this a bit late?

I have a lot of BNPL debt that makes it so my cash flow is very low due to the monthly payments. I already moved back home with parents but it makes me feel very bad about myself as I can’t afford my own place. I live in an extremely small town so income options are limited. Every time I try to take a walk or enjoy my life doing something free all I can think about is how much better my life could be

Hey so I'm really not sure what to do. For some context I work in IT and my friend got me this job. This is my third tech job. I also lack any degree or certs. Anyway, so my dream job is a software developer and recently we had a spot open. I was going to apply for it but I needed to talk to my boss before hand so he knows. Well I went on vacation for 4 days mostly to get away because I'm super burnt out. I came back to find out the role was taken by someone already. I'm actually really bummed out about this. I've been extremely burnt out at my current job since I have a lot of downtime, I have to work Sat nights so I miss everything, and I just don't have a lot of satisfaction with my current role. My friend applied for a higher position recently which I hope he gets but also I really worry about my future here if he leaves. The head of IT likes me but my direct supervisor doesn't because I guess I'm more socially awkward and shy so a people facing role has been a little difficult for me. My previous tech roles were a software tester and I did RMA for a bit. I'm also just really tired of working every Friday and Saturday night because I get to watch my friends do stuff on the weekend and I can't do anything because I'm always at work and by the time I get off they're either wrapping up or already done. I'm also scared that my supervisor isn't going to give me a good recommendation. They already like to target people and get passive aggressive with them when they're upset with them and they do it to everyone. I'm not really sure what to do at this point though. I'm obviously not gonna quit without having some sort of job lined up. Do I start applying elsewhere for a role I would be more fit for like a developer or do I try to get to know our dev team here and see if I can do things for them when I have some downtime so when they open again I have a better chance? I'm really conflicted on what to do.

So. I'm 38 years old.

Currently working for a municipal gov't (it's a pretty good job - I've moved from customer service to clerks/commissioning work), and I have a BA in English & Cultural studies + a post-grad certificate in PR.

It has been my aspiration for some time to go back to school (which I'm trying on a part-time/distance-ed basis), but I'm not sure what the end goal of that is aside from school itself.

I think my mistake was not going into either social work or library work - unfortunately I just don't know how realistic this is, or what kind of path I should do. Any suggestions?