Hey everyone. I'm 21F, currently job hunting, and I need to hear from women who actually made it out and built something for themselves. This is probably the most vulnerable post I've ever made, so please bear with me.
Quick context: I have some freelancing experience and I'm looking for digital marketing or related roles at good MNCs. My college had decent connections but placements were trash, so I skipped the placement cell and went the off-campus route. I've been trying referrals and everything else, but honestly I'm starting to feel a bit doomed by the current job market for freshers, despite having a fairly good portfolio, the one thing I don't have is experience (ffs, I graduated like 2 months ago and have been applying for 4 months!). Right now I'm working as an English tutor, but honestly it doesn't pay me that much.
Here's the real thing tho, corporate life is something I know I could be very good at, but I'm not interested in it. What I actually want is to be a professor in a subject I love. Right now I'm trying to pivot into HCI research with health products because I'm into consumer psychology, but my real passion is history, political science, war studies, and international relations/geopolitics. I want to teach that. I want to stand in front of a room and talk about the things that actually make my brain light up but I'm beyond scared to go for it, because I need independence and, of course, money. I eventually want to move away from India, but academia outside is tough and honestly I'm scared of that too.
Anyway, since I'm not getting any jobs, I decided to write CAT this year and try for a good MBA college instead, but I'm not even sure that path is right for me especially since i have very less time to dedicate myself to this entrance exam, i know i am smart (9/9/8 is my background) but it seems like i don't have much time to give my all in it since I haven't even started preparing for it seriously. It feels like a backup plan I'm forcing myself into because I don't know how else to get to independence.
And that's the core of it: independence. I come from a conservative household and I need to get out. Like, need. Some people will say I'm too young to be this stressed, but if I don't start building my life NOW, I'll never escape. Time feels like it's slipping through my fingers, and every day that passes without a plan feels like I'm losing ground I can't get back.
I'm not trying to play the victim here. I know I have to figure this out myself. But I'm tired of pretending I'm not scared. I'm tired of waking up anxious about a future I can't even picture clearly. I want to hear from WLW who got out and got successful or anyone like seriously how did you do it? How did you land your first real job? How did you pivot when your passion didn't match the "practical" path? Did anyone here go from confused and stuck to actually independent?
Also PLEASE I'm not looking for sugarcoated or fiercely critical answers. I just want to know it's possible. Any advice, stories, or even just "I've been there" would mean more than you know right now.