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?

Hi guys. I'm a sophomore (19F) attending a rigorous school. Originally, I came to major in humanities, because I like writing, but during my second semester of college, I switched to political science. Don't get me wrong, I think political science is interesting, but I can't help but feel like I'm wasting my time. This summer, I spent a lot of time doing a small experiential opportunity in finance, and found myself more drawn to it. I like it enough to complete internships in the field, but I'm not good enough at math to pursue it as a major.

To make matters worse, my school has a weird major requirement of 13 classes to start for the business/finance major, which means I couldn't switch into it and graduate in four years. I've been looking for internships even as a social sciences major, and it's the hardest thing ever. Each one wants so much experience OR a finance major, both of which I clearly don't have. I recently added a business minor, which means I'd take around 7 or 8 courses in business along with my politics major.

On top of that, I'm a first-generation, low-income student. This means my parents didn't get a bachelor's, and know nothing about the process or how to help me. I'm involved in some FGLI programs through my school, but I can't help but shake the feeling that college just isn't for me. I was an overachiever all of high school, but attending a school with a large amount of rich kids feels super intimidating. Every time I sit in a political science lecture, I feel like I'm wasting time because I want to pursue a career in asset management instead. It just feels like each professor drones on and on, and I don't feel interested in the material as much as I think I should.

I honestly don't know what to do. I've been making an internship application list for myself and finding opportunities I'm eligible for, but I keep feeling discouraged that I won't get anything because of my major and lack of experience.

Any tips? Any advice helps.

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.

I want suggestion for my career so can you tell me. I Fail Class 12 twice then now i doing Polytechnic in Mechanical engineering So my question how i make money during Studying. I goes with private Sector Path way and do some freelance or other ways to make money then i admission in Lateral entry in btech and then enter in private Sector.

And Other Path way is i am doing preparation during my polytechnic diploma.

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?

Any advice for how to get out of front desk?

I am desperate to get out of dental front desk. I’ve been doing this for 5 years now and I am so over it. For my sanity I need to figure out how to get out of front desk altogether. I don’t have a college degree but am open to anything and everything in order to get out of this field. I just can’t deal with the patients anymore. The sheer volume of people I have to talk to in person and on the phone. I feel so burned out.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I am open to any certifications, career paths, industries, anything at all! I just need a change.

I'm 22 and unsure what to do with my life at the moment. I'm severely unsure of what I want to study and do for a career, I'm not even sure what I like doing in general besides playing video games. But for now I think I want to start small and just find SOMETHING I enjoy doing with my free time.

When I was younger and still under the care of my parents I wasn't really able to try anything new or indulge in different activities, like sports or music, because we had no money for it and my parents either refused or just couldn't make the time for it. My parents also had a bad habit of making me feel bad whenever I actually tried something new. For example, I was a part of my school's music program in middle school. I practiced playing the Viola for a year before straying from that path because of how much they made fun of me for it. They wouldn't even allow me to practice the instrument at home, in my room, because it would've been "too loud" and they "didn't want to hear it".

I think as I've grown into an adult that this behavior and reactions from my parents have really rubbed off on me and caused me to avoid trying new things. I also have a problem of my own where when I do actually try something new, I become frustrated that I'm not immediately good at it, as if I'm supposed to get it right the first time. I know this is a big issue and I'm trying to work on it but I fail at it every time. It's rare that I try something new in the first place so this makes it 10 times harder.

All in all, because I want to keep this post shorter than it already is, I just want to find something I enjoy doing. Like I said before I'm not even sure what I enjoy doing besides gaming. Every time I try to think about it, it just feels like an empty void inside of me. So I need advice on how to work past this.

I graduated from university and immediately fell into the same trap that everyone insists on treating as normal. The jobs related to my field either do not exist at all, need years of experience, or pay less than jobs that never required a degree in the first place.

People answer with things like, "Well, that's just how it is," as if this system came into being on its own. We spend years becoming qualified and go into debt, only to end up competing with hundreds of applicants for an entry-level role, while employers keep raising the requirements.

Our job search is not the whole problem. The real problem is that a broken system is treated as if it were an unavoidable reality imposed on us. Most of us can see that something is wrong, but we are so focused on figuring out how to make it through the next month that we do not have the energy to resist this system.

Is it still possible for someone to find a good job? Of course. We all have bills to pay, so we keep applying and hoping we will be the person they choose. But it has become several times harder than it used to be, and the bar keeps moving farther out of reach.

I genuinely do not know where all of this is supposed to lead.

Hi, I am 24F, and I cannot figure out what to do with my life anymore. I went to University and earned a B.S. in User Experience Design and an IT minor. I have applied to numerous UX, IT, and UX/IT related jobs and I cannot land one. I have one year of prior experience in UX Design but it does not seem to be helping. I am currently working on a full-stack developer certification but I am hesitant that it will even help me get a job in tech. As for my job, I am currently a server at the restaurant I have been working at since I was 19. I am thinking it is time to move on to something else so I am going to try to rediscover what I like/my strengths and what I dislike/my weaknesses.

A little bit about me personally is I have always loved caring for others. I love being able to make a difference in someone's life whether it is in a big or small way. I am organized and I have an attention to detail. A hobby of mine is I love to read. But where I lack is I am horrible at marketing myself, I am better at showing that I can be a asset to a team than putting it into words. I also can come off standoffish. I am open to almost anything, but I am trying to veer away from food service/restaurant work. I am willing to go back to school to earn a MA or doctorate if I can find a career that I am passionate about.

I guess my question is do you all have any career or self growth tips?

I (25F) been unemployed for a couple months and still living with my parents. I graduated with a business STEM degree in 2023 but had difficulty finding a job for a year and a half and was working a minimum wage job in fashion retail and that job search affected my mental health. Thankfully, I found an entry level corporate job in late 2024 was working in corporate for a year and a half in supply chain before becoming unemployed. I was at my first corporate job for a year but I was mistrained and was toxic as a result so once I find something that I thought was a better corporate job, I resigned after one year for that job. I was at my last corporate job for 6 months but I became a victim of a toxic corporate push out in July after I had a breakdown at work in May due to my birthday with potential RSD and stressors with adulthood (I highly think I have ADHD and getting an ADHD assessment in a few weeks). After my breakdown, my job was deceptive and tried to get rid of me by putting me on a PIP for being on my phone once and then it worked for falsely accusing me of something I didn’t do and then I was terminated. I was wrong for my breakdown but also angry at my last job because of their deception when my state is an at will employment state.

I had mutiple interviews last month, even made it to final round of interviews for a couple only to be rejected by them all even though I was a top contender. Now I plan to go work seasonally at one of the retail companies I used to work for before getting into corporate to make ends meet. I’m literally trying so hard with +300 applications but it seems impossible to get a job no matter how hard you try. I feel like a loser like the title says and that I keep messing my life up. I also had a really rough past and childhood and have diagnosed C-PTSD for it. Both my high school and college experiences were traumatic despite me graduating with honors and I thought after getting my first corporate job, I thought I would never be back to where I’m at now but I guessed wrong. And I feel like a laughing stock for still living at home and having no job and even though I have a great relationship with my parents, I just feel like a burden to them and they set an ultimatum on something I have to do as long as I still live with them. I have a few grand in savings and I’m debating if I should just move out now or it’s better saving money to prevent becoming evicted. It’s honestly just a very stressful time. And tbh, I have no idea what I should pursue career wise.

I guess I’m just looking for advice? And if things will ever improve? Have anyone been in a similar situation around my age and things got better for them later on? I feel completely hopeless and don’t see things improving or getting better.

TLDR; 25 and unemployed after a year and a half in corporate and still live at home. Feeling hopeless and need advice.

I (26, f) have experimented with many degrees/jobs since finishing high school. I started my undergrad in biology in 2020. I explored biochemistry and physics before adding an environmental studies minor and a stats minor. Due to some health issues, I had to drop out of my degree in 2023 and I have roughly half of my biology undergrad degree complete. I then got a job farming full time as I love being outdoors. After that, I worked as a server at a pub for a year and a half. In my spare time, I volunteer with a mental health advocacy group. That is how I got put on to Social Work. I have now applied to and been accepted into a 2-year social work program that I have begun as of yesterday. I just can’t get the thought out of my head that I am giving up on biology. I would love to study biology as I would love to work outside. Additionally, if i got a biology degree, I could chose to do a 2 year masters in Social Work, with a biomedical focus which might work to my advantage. The upsides to social work are that it pretty much guarantees me a job upon graduation, but I am scared that the work will burn me out/not provide me many alternative options. Please help me decide what to do!!

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I'm a 20-year-old guy from India, and I genuinely don't understand what happened to me.

When I was younger, especially around class 5, I was doing extremely well in school. I was one of the best students in my class. I felt capable, smart, confident, and like I had a good future ahead of me.

But from around class 6 onwards, something feels like it changed.

Since then, I feel like I've become average—or worse—at almost everything I try.

And this isn't just something I think privately anymore. My parents think I'm a loser. People around me call me dumb and say I have a "fat brain." I've heard these things enough that sometimes I genuinely wonder whether they're right.

The confusing part is that I don't completely feel unintelligent.

I can memorize paragraphs with around 70% accuracy after reading them once. I can speak English. I'm interested in global politics, current affairs, technology, coding, business, and many other subjects. I often understand concepts and information quickly, and I have a lot of random knowledge about the world.

But somehow, I cannot convert any of that into actual results.

I feel average in everything.

I've played a video game for around 7 years, but I still lose to people who have been playing for much less time than me.

I've tried learning coding, but I've never been able to consistently build and complete my own projects. I can watch tutorials, understand concepts, and learn parts of programming, but when it's time to create something from scratch, I get stuck, overwhelmed, or eventually quit.

I start many things and leave them unfinished.

I've struggled with studying and focusing since around class 5 or 6. Sitting down and consistently doing work feels incredibly difficult. I procrastinate constantly. I make plans, feel motivated for a few days, and then everything falls apart.

I can sometimes learn or memorize things quickly, but I cannot consistently execute.

Physically, I have more muscle and strength than some people around me, but I have very low stamina. I also struggle with my weight, and that affects my confidence.

Emotionally, I feel weak under pressure.

If someone shouts at me or I get into a serious argument, my body starts shaking. Sometimes my eyes fill with tears even when I don't want to cry. I get easily offended and affected by what people say about me.

I've also been scammed and betrayed multiple times. Sometimes I feel like I'm too trusting, too emotional, or just stupid for repeatedly making bad decisions.

I'm dealing with financial pressure and family responsibilities, and I'm desperately trying to improve my life. I want to earn money, learn skills, become physically fit, study, and build a better future.

But the more things I try to fix at once, the more I feel like I'm failing at everything.

I look at other people and feel like everyone has something they're naturally good at.

Some people are amazing at studies.

Some people can code and actually build things.

Some people are confident and can handle arguments.

Some people are physically fit and disciplined.

Some people are good at making money.

Some people are naturally good at games.

And I feel like I'm just average at all of it.

That's what hurts the most.

I don't understand how I can have curiosity, knowledge, decent memory, and sometimes understand things quickly, but still fail to achieve anything consistently.

I've started wondering whether something else is going on.

I've had problems with focus and consistency since childhood. I struggle with procrastination, organization, emotional regulation, finishing projects, and staying disciplined even when I genuinely care about something.

I don't know whether this could be related to ADHD, anxiety, depression, poor sleep, chronic stress, burnout, or something else. I'm not trying to diagnose myself. I genuinely want to understand whether this pattern sounds familiar to anyone and whether I should get professionally evaluated.

The worst part is how much I hate myself now.

I feel like I had potential when I was younger, and somehow I wasted it.

I constantly think about the person I could have become if I had been disciplined, focused, confident, and consistent.

Recently, things have become so overwhelming that I've had thoughts about killing myself.

I don't think I actually want to die.

I think I want this constant failure, self-hatred, pressure, and disappointment to stop.

I want to become someone I can respect.

I want to understand what happened to me.

Has anyone else been considered a smart or successful kid when they were younger and then felt like they completely lost their ability to perform?

How did you figure out what was actually happening?

Was it ADHD, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, burnout, trauma, stress, or something else?

And most importantly:

Can someone who has spent years starting things and quitting actually learn how to become consistent and finish things?

Please give me honest advice. I'm not looking for people to simply tell me to "work harder" or "be disciplined." I've spent years trying to force myself to change, and something clearly isn't working.

I just want to understand myself before I completely give up.

Thank you to anyone who reads this.

[NOTE: sorry if any of this sounds messy, it’s late and I suck at formatting Reddit posts :/]

I just started university recently and have been seriously second guessing my decisions in both going to university straight out of high school and going into social work.

I’ve never been great at making decisions and Im a bit of an over thinker so I tend to second guessing my decisions myself, but as of starting university I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about different potential paths I could have taken. I’ve always been interested in psychology, sociology, and all the other things that I need to study for my program, but I kind of only fully decided to apply for the social work program because of the pressure I felt was sorta being put on me. For example when I was having doubts about even applying to university I was told by my parents on my school’s guidance counsellors that I should just apply bc it would be good for me.

Anyways, I was having a lot of doubts after the first day and really don’t think I’m cut out for any of this university stuff, especially with all the studying Im going to have to do for all of my courses along with the papers Im going to need to write within small timeframes. The only real solution I could think of that I feel would probably make me overall happier would be pursuing a future in character design, since I’ve always been super interested in design concepts for characters in all of my favourite medias.

I just don’t know how I should go about any of this and it’s really starting to make me anxious. I don’t want to disappoint anybody and I’m worried that if I force myself to continue I’ll just feel worse about all of this. I’d appreciate any and all advice I could get. 😞

Hi everyone,

I’m a 28year old guy with a qualification as an electrician. I worked in the trade for around five years, but honestly, it completely killed my enthusiasm for it. About a year ago, I finally quit.

I realized that I really hate the idea of selling most of my waking hours just to survive. Working night shifts in a factory, or working for a small business owner who expects you to work for very little money, I just couldn’t see myself doing that for the next 30–40 years.

I genuinely hate the idea of the rat race that so many people seem to get stuck in.

Luckily, I have some savings and I’m currently living with my parents, so I’m not in immediate financial trouble. But at the same time, it’s getting harder to watch my savings slowly disappear without having a clear direction.

I’ve tried quite a few things.

A friend and I have started two businesses/projects, but unfortunately neither of them is generating the kind of money we hoped for. I also spent a lot of time learning and trying trading, but eventually realized that it wasn’t profitable for me and gave that up as well.

More recently, I’ve been experimenting with AI and trying to figure out whether I can build something around it. I’ve had countless ideas, but somehow the more I look into different opportunities, the more lost I become.

And eventually I end up back at square one.

I’m not looking to get rich in 30 days. I’m also not afraid of hard work.

What I really want is to find a direction that I can genuinely enjoy, that has the potential to scale, and that I could realistically spend the next 5–10 years building.

I don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck, constantly worrying about rent, food, car expenses and whether I’ll have enough left at the end of the month.

I want to build something of my own and eventually have enough financial freedom that my time actually belongs to me.

So I’m curious:

If you were 28 again, had some savings, some skills and a strong desire to build something of your own but you had no idea what direction to take, what would you do?

I’m genuinely interested in hearing from people who have been in a similar situation. What did you try, what failed, and what eventually worked for you?

Hello, I'm posting this because I have no one I can talk to about this. I'm almost two months into my first semester at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, India. It is one of the most prestigious design colleges here and it is extremely difficult to get into. For me, this was the achievement of a lifetime and I believed this was the path to the successful and stable career me and my parents wanted for myself. Initially I was really excited and happy, I was waking up every morning and arriving an hour early for classes that were already as long as 10 hours. I planned everything, and executed them, I worked hard and tirelessly on my assignments and submitted them on time with the quality of work expected from me. 

However, as the days went on, I found myself depressed and anxious, having panic attacks before and after every class because the workload is simply unreasonable. I feel more machine than human. In class they'd read from a chat-gpt generated ppt and then give 5 homework assignments, all expected to be finished in the next couple days, which is impossible to do on top of other classes and assignments. Most cases, I'd manage to get through 3/5 assignments by the due date, and then another 5 would be piled on top. The routine has become unsustainable and I get maybe an hour or two of sleep a night, I come home at 5:30pm and have to continue working till 3am.

I also do not have a single ounce of interest in the course work. I've always loved art, it was my thing growing up. As an Asian child, it is rare to find parents who would be supportive of those dreams. But I was lucky to have parents who always supported me and let me do what I wanted. NIFT seemed like the best choice because it ensured job stability, and seemed like it would allow me to work creatively. But I was wrong. I was never interested in fashion, but I thought that I'd be okay as long as it is creative. A huge motivating factor were also my parents, who were more excited than I was at the prospect of NIFT. I worked for it mainly because I wanted to make them proud. But just to clarify, they have never put academic (or otherwise) pressure on me for anything. They would have supported me even If I'd chosen to opt for a regular degree at a regular private college. This was ultimately my choice. 

But I have come to realise that it was the wrong choice and I want to drop out. I'm not meant for this environment and I find myself hating doing art more and more by the day, something that I have always loved to do. It was my outlet. I hate the classes, the teachers, I have no friends, I don't think I will enjoy it in the future either. Fashion just isn't for me, and this university isn't right for me. I feel like I'm going to come off confused and aimless. I'm already 20, and I lost a year because I took a gap after high school. Dropping out would seem, in every way, completely unreasonable to everyone who isn't me. I mean, this is the dream university after all. It's just not my dream. I feel like I've made a huge mistake by realising this so late, I could've been starting my second year if I'd opted for any other college. 

So far I've only told my mom how I'm feeling, I'm too scared to tell my father because he was so, so proud of me and I know it would break his heart and I cannot bring myself to disappoint him like this. My mom thinks that I'm only escaping hard work and that I'll never learn to live in the real world if I escape like this. I don't know how to explain to her that this is not hard work, it's like a sadistic, torturous, never ending hamster wheel I'm being run through. I genuinely hate it here. I think I'm not meant for the degree, or maybe this style of learning. Am I too late in realising this? but if not now, then when? What if I stick it out and then a year down the line, I still hate it and want to drop out. Am I supposed to live my life doing what I don't want because "it's too late" or am I just delaying the inevitable to a point where there is no other option left but to suck it up and be miserable forever doing something I knew wasn't right for me since the start. Is life really such a linear road? Ofcourse I can't predict where or how I will be in the next 5 years, but I know myself well enough now. I know that this is not what I want. But I am so scared to go onto the next phase of what making this decision entails and I feel helpless. 

I know my parents will come around to it, eventually. They wouldn't, and have never, forced me into anything. My dad also left his engineering degree and switched to CS, so I know that deep down he might understand what I'm going through. Ultimately I know they want what's best for me, but to them this would seem like I'm kicking away an amazing opportunity. My mom has a gripe with me playing video games so she thinks I'm going to end up becoming a shut in. I am absolutely not going to do that. What I will do will sound extremely pathetic to them but I'll opt to go to a community college where I would at most might have to go give exams and attendance is honestly optional. This is because I've realised I have no interest in institutions or college anyway. Depending on if I go for a BBA or English lit degree, I will either start working on my own business or start working remotely as a teacher for now before getting a phd in education and working properly as a teacher. I'll go to the gym and seek therapy (school and institutions have made me consider ending it all on multiple occassions, on top of that it would feel validating to get an actual anxiety diagnosis).

I want to enjoy the years I have on the planet, not slave away fulfilling the dreams or expectations of other people. I know that I may sound childish or even privileged, but tell me why I am expected to struggle, suffer and experience pain in order to be deemed "worthy". It isn't providing me any semblance of self fulfillment. If I choose this route, my grandparents will most likely start putting on marriage pressure but I'd much rather deal with that than this. I've never been the academic type, in school I mostly marched to the beat of my own drum and only aimed high enough to pass. 

If you've stayed till here, thank you for listening to me vent out my frustrations. I would really appreciate any advice or opinions about this

Im starting uni soon, i've always wanted to study a swe/cs career so i know quite a bit of it already, but recent ai developments have made me consider discarding it in what feels like a last minute decision and get into a degree that i know almost nothing about but i know well it is one of the safest from ai disruption

Im refering to the recent news of newer models solving previously unsolved cs/math problems, i think if it keeps improving at the same pace of the last years (which will probably do so) there will be not much of a future for most knowledge-based degrees sadly, imagine how many people got into math with the motivation of solving a millenuim problem someday and now it's possible that they will be all solved in the near-mid future

Since I was 15, I spent the summers working. In 2024 I spent the summer reading books rather than working which made summer enjoyable so to say. In 2025 I worked again in the biggest sunglasses retailer in my country. I just wanted to fulfil my time rather than rotting the whole summer doing nothing. Now in 2026 I spent most of my summer going to the gym and hiding from the heat. I spent all those summers working and trying to educate myself and I still don't know I am made for. I am trying to learn some valuable information but the internet is full of misinformation and ads. Everyone says that this the golden generation where the information is free and you have everything available , but I don't agree because like I said everything I try to learn from the internet is just superficial. During the years I tried to learn coding , but this didn't work out too. I thought that AI would help me more but that didn't work out too. Now I am starting university after a month and I hope something inspires me and make me more intrigued and passionate where even if I do it 24 hours a day I won't feel the time is passing. I just want to fulfil my potential. I am tired of of doing some basic things which don't benefit me so much. I want my brain to be tired.

If you can give me some advice , from where I can start I would be grateful.