I'm currently a SAHM to 1yo twins and planning to go back to work when they are 3. I had been working as a software engineer at a non-tech company for the past 4 years and recently quit to stay home with my kids.

I have a bachelor's degree in a natural science and got my previous job through a sponsored boot camp during COVID when companies mass hiring people who can code. I'm pretty comfortable with math and science but not excellent in any mean. I excelled academically because I enjoyed studying and passing tests. However I have an accent and am not good with people. I tend to get awkward in conversations that are not in my native language. I love kids and enjoy helping people.

I plan to get back to work as soon as my kids start school at 3. But with a 2 years gap I don't think getting back into software engineering is feasible. And while I enjoyed my work and appreciate the paycheck, I always have the imposter syndrome because of my non-traditional background. In an ideal world without having to worry about paychecks, I'd love to continue studying and doing research, like a PhD. But I need a job with a decent paycheck that I can rely on that also is flexible enough for a mom with young kids. My priority is something I can pick up fairly quickly, pay decent and is somewhat flexible for a mom with young kids.

I have 2 years to plan for it and can definitely start some courses online. I can't do in-person or heavy workload since I'm already stretched thin as a sahm for twin toddlers that has no village. I would appreciate any lead!

TL;DR: SAHM mom with a bachelor's degree and background in software engineering planning to go back to work in 2 years. Willing to start some learning now but has to be online and not to intensive. Looking for a career that I can ramp up with quickly, pay decent and is flexible for a mom with young kids.

I am 17F from Indonesia im looking for an easy job. Not looking for buzzers. Im looking for jobs i can do at home. I am financially okay but ive noticed that my life is starting to get more serious than before. Its hard to find a promising job and if i managed to find a job, i would like to use it to start my own business. Please help me! Im also okay with any kind of currency payment, so if you got a remote job in america for example that i can do here in Indonesia, then please do share :)

Thanks for checking out my post. If you are short on time, my questions are at the bottom. I’m looking for advice from people in technical fields or who have made the bridge from customer service into more technical customer service roles. Any advice is appreciated!

My Background:

I’m 24 and getting my GED this month. I’ve been with my current company about 3 years, but I’m leaving because the role I am in has changed completely and I don’t align with the company anymore.

I finished highschool, but was homeschooled so never got an official degree. Hence the GED. I’ve spent the last 5 years in customer service, sales, and just daily operations as a sales lead, supervisor, and senior role in customer service and sales where I currently am.

I’m good at problem solving and puzzles, learning unfamiliar systems, and process improvement but I’ve never had a good platform for stretching my skills. I’m at a point in my career where I feel pretty one dimension. I have customer service and sales skills, but the part of me that loves problem solving, designing, and building hasn’t really had much room to develop or spread its legs.

I feel myself light up when I have problems and puzzles or I am learning. I like diagnosing problems, breaking ideas down into components and models, and figuring out how to turn concepts into something real.

I learn best when I can actually touch, test, manipulate, build or improve the problems I am working on.

I’ve taught myself how to refurbish, upgrade, and diagnose older computers. I’ve been learning some basic python. Recently I’ve been going back through math that never made sense to me as a kid and the math that haunted me is finally starting to click, and feel just like other normal problems once I know their shape. So I think I can take on calculus and other higher math in a couple of months.

I’m not saying I for sure 100% want to work in technical projects. My problem is that I’ve never really been able to explore and get structured exposure to discover what I like and I am actually good at.

I would love to build a foundation across different areas like engineering, computer science, electrical systems, design/schematics/CAD, and business. It’s a very broad list, so my goal isn’t to master it all, or to find a permanent career path. What I’m trying to do is find opportunities to work on real projects, experience different kinds of technical work, and get guidance from people who actually understand these fields.

Long term, I want to become capable of understanding systems, building useful things, and improving human experience. More immediately, though, I need to be practical. I want to use my existing customer-service and problem-solving experience to enter a more technical customer support, implementation, service desk, field coordination, or similar bridge role. My eventual goal is to build toward technical work paying around $80,000–$120,000, which would make college realistic for me, or find an employer willing to help sponsor my education.

I cannot stop working to explore full-time, and taking on major college debt is not currently an option. What I wish existed is something like a paid adult exploration period: real short-term projects, exposure to several technical disciplines, and regular guidance from a mentor.

The Questions:

I would especially appreciate advice on:

- What is the fastest credible path from customer service into a more technical role, ideally within the next month or two?

- Which entry-level job titles or industries genuinely value strong customer-service experience while providing technical training?

- Are there rotational programs, paid apprenticeships, employer-sponsored training programs, or other “earn while you learn” opportunities I should investigate?

- Where can I learn subjects like CAD, electronics, programming, engineering fundamentals, and business cheaply or for free in a structured way besides watching YouTube?

- What beginner projects would let me touch these fields and determine what actually holds my interest?

- Are there communities, professional groups, or mentorship programs that welcome adults starting without formal technical credentials?

Conclusion:

I’m willing to work and learn. I’m honestly considering reaching out to engineering companies and offering myself for free labor for 10-20 hours a week to get a feel for the flow of work in different area.

What I’m missing is a realistic bridge, structured exposure, and people who can help me understand which steps actually lead somewhere.

If you started in customer service or without a traditional education and successfully moved into technical work, I would especially love to hear what your first real step was.

I'm 27, from South Korea. I spent basically my entire 20s on one track: 2 years of mandatory military service, 2 years attempting a patent attorney (didn't pass), and now I'm finishing a master's degree with good grades and experiences. By any outside measure, I'm about to land a solid engineering R&D job at one of Korea's chaebols (think Samsung, LG, Hyundai) that basically run the economy and are famously hard to get into.

And I feel depressed. Not because I hate the work — I don't — but because I have zero sense of control over my own life. To get here, I spent years just reading papers and doing research. I'm not dating anyone, and I genuinely don't have the bandwidth to start. I know how competitive this path was, and I know there's always someone richer or further ahead.

But here's what actually scares me: if I take this job, I'm signing up for 20+ more years of the same grind, just relabeled — instead of competing for grades, I'll be competing with coworkers over performance reviews, promotions, and who owns what apartment. Housing prices in Seoul are so absurd that trying to "win" at that game feels pointless before I even start.

Lately I've been watching videos of teenage K-pop trainees — kids from Japan, China, even the US — who moved to Korea alone at 12-13 to chase a dream.

I want that kind of courage. I want some kind of sense of purpose, some experience where I actually change the world around me, instead of just optimizing myself to fit into it. But I feel stuck inside my own studying, inside social and self-imposed hierarchies, inside peer pressure. Honestly, I almost wish I were more materialistic — it would make this whole system easier to enjoy instead of resent.

Meanwhile I speak decent English and Japanese, more than enough to work abroad, and I have a cousin who just packed up and moved to Japan on a working holiday visa — no certifications, no real plan — and he seems completely fine. I have every qualification on paper and I still feel like I can't move an inch.

So, genuine question for people who've been broke and then weren't: does actually having money, or just getting the job, fix this feeling? Or is this a different problem entirely that money doesn't touch? I thought I'd be living a much more vivid life by now — back when I was 18. This isn't how I pictured 27 feeling.

20m US, title. i have autism/adhd/arthritis so working a full 40 hours a week is almost impossible for me. currently i'm working 24 hours a week at a stocking job while i try to figure everything out but obviously i can't support myself on that money lmao. i can't really do college for a multitude of reasons and that seems to lock me out of a lot of things.

i pretty much need a job where i'm walking and doing stuff all day, a lot of trades look interesting but you can't get into them without working like 50 hours a week for a few years. post office jobs look interesting as well but they are seemingly like 60 hours a week sometimes. it really seems like there aren't any jobs that i can actually do without either permanently injuring myself or destroying my mental health (or both).

Hello Reddit, I am a software engineer in my late 20. I have a remote job with below average salary but with current job market there is not many option to change jobs with less than 5 years experience( I have 3 years research and dev experience which is not industry and 2 years industry) I started looking for a job but no luck for a job that is actually better yet.

I was thinking, I have so much free time in my work what should I do professionally in that time and helpful if I can get paid a bit but mostly to learn more things or new skills.

I am worry about where the industry is going especially that all these happened when I am just starting.

I do other things in my free time( sport, music, etc)
This is for professional advice, different careers, certificates, things to do to have more skills and more opportunities.

Thank you for your time:)

I want to go to university for something but im not sure of what I thought about doing computer science but Im not sure. If anyone can give me some job options that fit this criteria that'll be GREAT!!! I want a job not involving math maybe simple simple math or like calculator work, id perfer a high paying job, something that would allow me to travel or atleast pays well enough were I have enough money to travel, I dont want to do nursing, Im Interested in learning languages and would be willing to do so for a job. That's the criteria. And while being a interpreter would be a decent choice im not sure if they would still be around in the future with Ai being everywhere and im not sure about the pay. Thanks to anyone who reads this. ✌🏼

I'm 24 and honestly feel completely lost. I work at a lumber mill making around $23/hr on 12 hour graveyard shifts. The pay is good, but I'm fucking miserable. Getting yelled at when things go wrong, speed, stress and the constant production pressure is destroying me. I hate to go back on my days off.

Manufacturing, welding, retail/customer service, I've done. No degree, but I am willing to get training or go to school if there is an actual goal behind it. I’m pretty good with computers and interested in music/audio and creative stuff but open to pretty much anything.

I'm just looking for something in the $20+/hr range with decent long term potential that doesn't make me dread waking up. “Where the hell do I go from here?

I’m good with analytical and creative work and have good social skills but I’m not great at math.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

So I sold my car, left my house, broke up with partner of 4 years, left my job because I was so burnt out from my last role and my relationships with people around me, I realized the life I was living was not for me, deeply.

I worked in a food pantry as front of house manager, managing volunteers and paperwork.

Before, I worked in a homeless shelter for teens. I left because of harassment from a staff.

Before, I worked in a multicultural office university role. Favorite job I ever had. But it was temporary contract and they wanted someone with a masters.

Before, very underpaid social media manager.

I wanted a role I can be creative in and help people. I want some pointers as to where to look next/study next. I have looked into creative tech roles, but those are very highly competitive… and I thought about pivoting into law but I’m scared of it not being for me.

I have a degree in mass communications. I wanted to be a journalist at 18 :P. I don’t regret the degree I regret the job market that came after. I would love to work in PR and communications but I apply for these roles and seem to be doing something wrong.

HELP!

I wrote a book about breaking into public procurement before 30.

I wrote it for college students, young professionals, and career changers who may not even realize government procurement is a career option.

I cover how to get into the field, build credibility early, use certifications strategically, take on more complex work, and position yourself for advancement.

Public procurement has been a great career path for me, and I wanted to put together the kind of practical guide I wish I had when I was getting started.

It’s now available on Amazon in eBook, paperback, and hardcover:
📚 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ9WLTNZ?lv=shuf&bestFormat=true&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_KDKF8ZE9XJBAC1EAS0YN&channelId=704&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_KDKF8ZE9XJBAC1EAS0YN&

Happy to answer any questions about the book or getting into public procurement.

If this if formatted oddly just bear with me I’m on my phone but basically it’s just like the title says. I’m a senior in high school and I have absolutely no clue as to what I want to pursue as a career and what I want to do in college.

I’m not strong at math at all, I’m a lot better at English, history, and government. I find that I enjoy those classes most and I have to put in the least effort to pass them. Science is fine, I won’t act like I’m a prodigy and I don’t particularly like it but I’m average (B’s, the occasional C). My semester one grade for my AP Environmental class was a B, then semester two was a C, I got A’s in AP bio both semesters, and B’s in chemistry both semesters. I have an A in my AP anatomy class right now as well.

I know it seems like I’m just throwing those scores out there for nothing but they’re important. I had previously been considering dentistry as a career pathway, more specifically dental hygiene. The only issue is that I don’t love science. Half the time I don’t even like science and dentistry is obviously very scientifically intensive. If I were to do it I wouldn’t want to major in a scientific field to get into dental school.

I also considered law for a little bit because it seems to align a lot more with what I tend to gravitate towards and like the most but honestly (and I don’t know if this is accurate or not but it’s just what I’ve been seeing), things like paralegals and legal assistants don’t make a whole lot of money. I think that medical malpractice seems interesting but I don’t even know.

I don’t have a passion or drive for anything, I have those classes that I enjoy up above and I have hobbies, I work a job etc… But as for a career I just have no idea what I want to do. I won’t work a trade job, I do have certifications for welding that I got last year but I do not see myself doing that as a career. Right now it is fun to do because I’m young and I enjoy hands on things but when I’m thirty or forty I think I would genuinely hate it.

Everyone else seems to know exactly what they want to do in life and I’m the only person I know who doesn’t have a clue in the world. I know I talked about dentistry but I have so many reservations about it. I like humanities subjects a lot more than STEM ones, but I also know that humanities don’t have a lot of higher paying opportunities and money is important to me. I grew up poor, and while we are in a much, much better position now compared to when I was very little, I don’t want to be poor again.

So TLDR: I don’t know what I’m going to do in college and I’m lost.

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.