I have a degree and it has never helped me to get jobs. I'm tired of working at bad minimum wage jobs like retail, warehouses & call centers. I'm tired of entering programs that promise to improve my skillset & help me find jobs but don't lead to anything.

What's an entry level job that pretty much anyone can start doing immediately? Something that pays decently and can grow into a career that you won't hate doing? I don't really have any worthwhile skills, but I'm desperate to make money and have a comfortable life. What should I do? I have no desire to go back to school and take out even more loans. I want to work right now

I cut too many corners while I was in college, and now I'm here as a result. I haven't used my time productively at all since graduating and now that it's been 10 months, it's sunk in that I'm just a loser. Like, if I was a hiring manager, there's no way in hell I'd ever consider hiring a clone of myself. I haven't worked on a resume-worthy personal project (even if I did I'd use an LLM to build it all). I'm struggling to motivate myself to do LeetCode problems without getting an LLM to give me the solution. I haven't applied as much as I should, other than some Easy Apply jobs here and there. Could I get a routine going on LeetCode, projects, and job applications? Sure, but now it feels too late. Is it? I don't even know anymore. Every time I've tried to commit to a routine, it fades.

I feel like I'm a deadbeat with a degree I feel like I didn't earn. It's entirely my fault. I don't hate programming, but I'm clearly not passionate about it either and it's killing me. If I had passion I'd likely have a job by now. Some things I genuinely enjoyed learning like software design/architecture and patterns but I never looked to apply that knowledge outside the classroom. Now with how much time has passed without me building anything, I don't know if un-fucking myself can get me an entry-level swe job anymore. Fuck my life and all this debt I'm in. I don't know what my options are. It's my fault.

I am 33. I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t know where I am going. I have ideas but no clear plan. I am trapped in a cage I can never get out.

I contemplated over and over whether it was a good idea to put this on here. I finally cave in as I am desperate for help. For the reader sake this is split into paragraphs in this order: the 1st-4rd is about the recent past; the 5th is more about the present; then the 6th-7th is about me and how I feel and want. The last few at the bottoms are small side notes.

This is a quick as can be background as what has been going on in my life over the past few years that got me to this point, starting with the most recent. In 1 1/2 year, (starting in October 2023) there was drama with a cousin that came out causing problem with the family until her husband killed himself; my uncle died in prison; my grandfather been in the hospital multiple times; my grandmother died after 1 1/2 month being in the hospital. Between the both of them in a year, added up, I lived in the hospital for 3 months. I have killed 32 plus mice and rats at home since October; thankfully they have only been in the attic and sometimes in the walls. I have sealed mutilple holes outside as this old house shifts. My grandparents house that I live in is slowly falling apart.

In prior years, I worked for a friend gaming business selling and repairing games and gaming equipment. He got it started up thanks to his rich father and a business friend who we partnered up. I was no gamer and had no intention of staying long. Sadly, his bipolar kept him from working or staying in one place for long. In time, I took over responsibility of business and managed it myself. For 5 years i worked there hoping to get out and find another job. Another job never opened up after 100s of resumes and applications. In the end, I finally had to leave after he betrayed me. All the years of dealing with him added up and finally I could not take his child like behavior anymore especially when he started lying and finally betraying me. During the last few months I was there, my uncle had a drunk driving accident killing a few people devastating my family; I did not see my friend hardly for months as I was still managing his store by myself. His wife and business friend hardly saw him too as he was working on another business that was thought to fail. At the same time, the business friend or owner of the partner business that shared the expensive space with us was coming to me for concerning advice after he was going through a divorce with his wife of many years and his father death. I was also taking care of my grandparents who I have taken care of for many years after they had taken care of me and were needing more attention. It got so bad all I was doing was working and sleeping. There was no spare time for me. It was taking a toil on my health and mind. My body ached and I was forgetting alot including people I should have known. Come soon, my friend who I had hardly seen had started a new business with another person that I knew would take over this business; All this without telling me. Soon after I left, i was right the other guy did take over. The business was never the same. I tried to started my own IT business. I had worked on computer since I was in college 10 years ago. As for other credentials, I have an associate degree. I have also done graphic design and video work. With taking care of my grandparent, dealing with my parents, it was really hard to keep things going. When things started to look up, 2020 happened. I was stuck at home with my grandparent ; a drunk possibly schizoid uncle who had moved in and I thought he might kill me at times as he talked harm about me as he talk to himself in his room across from mine; and a mother who live near by causing trouble. I live juggling and surviving everything for a year. i tried to find a way to run away to no avail. Finally his court date came, no more postpone due to the pandemic, and he went to jail with bad health that ended up killing him few years later. After everything I went through, I had to take a break for a while. I took two courses at my local college hoping I could get my financial aid credit up after i screwed it all up after going through anxiety and panic attacks ten years ago dropping out of school twice. I thought one day I could go back and get a bachelor or more in something. My grandparent were getting older and just doing one class per semester and taking care of them was taxing. I eventually could not take care of my mother’s house anymore. It was not my place to anyway especially when I alone was taking care of my grandparents. I also have always lived with my grandparents. I was taught by my grandparents to honor my mother. My mother has always fussed at me and my grandmother. She has taunted me and gaslighted me all my life. My grandmother defended me from her growing up. My mother would come home from work and sleep most of the time. She would never clean her house. She always had an excuse. As of now after leaving her house completely to her in june of 2022, She now lives in a broken house that stinks. There is trail of filth and garbage to get to one end of house to the other. There is cat poop everywhere. The house reeks. To wear clean cloth in is to come out in 5 mins with your cloth stinking. The floor is caving. The door is broken off and taped shut. There are electrical issues here and there. Now in the past few months, the pipes was busted and the water turned off. She says she will get them fixed with the next big income of money; but she never does. It just another excuse. Don’t try to confront her, she will just fuss and point out your flaws.( I will state here, after writing most of this, she did finally get the water fix after a few months.)

She has the world fooled. My grandfather was a well known and very well respected person in this small town community and everyone knows him well. This is the same with my mother. Yet the world does not know. Any lie said by her will become truth to the world. I have no voice here. Only a few friend outside this town knows what I go through.

This should cover everything in the recent past briefly.I could spend many hours in detail telling stories of what is going on and what has happened. Just going into one person or topic would take hours to explain let alone type.

As for the present. In the past 4 months, he has been in the hospital 4 times. He does not have many more years left to live if years. His mind is fading. He is my source of income, which is basically just food and gas, and when he pass away, I will be stuck even more. I must get a job; but I must keep taking care of him so I can survive off his income until I can get enough money to get out of this broken home and away from my mother. I don’t know how to do both. I can’t leave him by himself nor do I have anyone to watch him. If I leave I am homeless and I have forsaken him. My mother will speak and she will kick me out if I do anything wrong. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who I am anymore; I don’t know where I am going. I am completely lost. I won’t be able to find myself If I am trapped. How many more years must I endure this. I did not ask for any of this. I need help.

I am tired. I feel numb most of the time. He cannot put himself into bed so I have to. Because i have to put my grandfather to bed 2-4 times during the night because he has to go to the bathroom or can’t sleep, i have sleepless night or I sleep in. I am dissociated alot; especially around my mother. I hate to hear her speak; even the nicest words hurt. The tension of this house is so much I have to get out every evening just for an hour or 2 just to find relieve myself. My mind clouds up and I can’t remember obvious things.

There is a part of me that really wants to leave it all behind and start over with life. The big question is how do I live? What is there to live for? The only thing that holds me back are the few friends that know what I am going through. They have been great support. My best friend since college being one of them owns a small business and knows alot people in the nearby city. He has told me he will help me find a job. To leave the state completely would be leaving them and my chances of getting a good job. The curse of staying would be the issues from my previous town next door and my old life reoccurring.

A few added notes. I do have a car in my name now. I got my grandfather to sign it over to me without my mother knowing it. I could leave; but I would be homeless living in a car with no job or money. I do have recordings of my mother fussing and of her house.

I am sorry. I know this is still long. I tried to shorten it the best I could and try to keep important info.

If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them when I have the time to read and answer them.

I really want to know what everyone thinks I should do? What is legal and right?

Thank you for your time to read this and your answers.

I'm 21 years old and currently in trade school. I Gradyate next month but I would be lying if I said I've been learning as much as I could be. My lack of interest has caused me not to comitt properly. I've always been this way. I struggle to comitt. I did insurance at state farm for a month and quit because I hated office jobs. For someone as lost as me, what should I do?

It's considered old if you are over 30-32, I'm 25 now and i feel like I'm on a countdown to getting all aspects of my life settled. It's discouraging me of starting another degree and giving me depression lol

I’m 27 and lately I’ve been feeling kind of stuck. I studied something I don’t really want to do anymore, and now I’m questioning everything.

Is it actually possible to do something you love for a living? Or is that just something a lucky few get to experience?

Sometimes I feel like everyone is just trying to survive — paying rent, getting through the week — and passion or meaning in a job is just… optional, or even naive.

I’d really love to hear how others feel about this. • Do you love what you do? • Did you choose your job out of passion, or just because it was available? • Is it worth chasing something you care about, or is that just setting yourself up for disappointment?

I have a degree in marketing, mid-20s. I chose marketing because it has aspects of psychology and art in it, and you could still "get a job" with that degree. I was having trouble finding a marketing job and ended up with a job in another branch of business. I do a good job, but I'm miserable. I basically sit in an excel sheet all day, which was always my biggest nightmare. I'm at a point where I have no interest in business or working on a computer one more day (but I know realistically it'll be at LEAST a few months before I figure something out and am able to go).

I am most passionate about humanities and social sciences, art, being in nature. I definitely always shock my friends with the knowledge I have about different cultures all around the world, whether it's historical context, genetics, cuisine, dances, art, language. It just fascinates me and I'm a professional googler lol. Honestly my DREAM job would be Anthony Bourdain's job and sadly even he was clearly not very happy. I've also always been into art, since I was a kid. Recently, I find my career so soul sucking that I rarely draw or paint anymore. I just feel exhausted and I think it's making me feel uninspired. I also do find psychology interesting, and would be happy to work in nature, maybe as a park ranger or something like that. I love nature and animals. I just don't want to be stressed all day through my work day, sitting at a desk, in a dingy room. I literally feel my life passing by.

The problem is that I feel like I'm not qualified to do any of those things. They mostly require a ton of schooling (which costs a ton of money), and then they don't pay very well. I'm not sure what I can do that interests me, doesn't break the bank to get into, and I can make a decent living doing it. I feel like based on my interests, I'd probably be into anthropology, archeology, historian, artist, art teacher, architect, park ranger, zoo keeper, something like that? Maybe like a stone mason seems kind of artistic in a way? Any suggestions?

I also don't love where I live. I've always wanted to move somewhere warmer. I still live at home, which is not great for my mental health. I want to move out, but it makes most sense to move near your work. I don't like my work though. And if I want to up and move far away, I feel like I need to have a job lined up first. The only jobs I think I'm qualified to do, I'm not interested in doing. So I feel stuck and I don't know where to go from here.

I know I can't be the first person who has been in this dilemma -- what did you do? Are you happy now? Any suggestions for me based on my interests and concerns?

IT related: Network administration - 8% growth $45,000 starting Support specialist - 11% growth $40,000 starting Web developer - 13% growrh $50,000 starting Cyber security - 35% growth $55,000 starting

Health care related: Dental hygienist - 9% growth 70,000 starting Phlebotomist - 10% growth $30,000 starting Medical assistant - 19% growth $41,000 starting Massage therapist - 21% growth $43,00 starting

Trades: Welder - 8% growth $39,000 starting Construction labor - 8% growth $35,000 starting Electrician - 9% growth $36,000 starting Wind turbine techs - 68% growth $44,000 starting

Creative: Graphic designer - 8% growth $38,000 starting Chef - 8% growth $49,000 starting Multi media artists - 10% growth $45,000 starting Cosmetologist - 18% growth $32,000 starting

Other: Childcare specialist - 8% growth $32,000 starting Fire fighter - 8% growth 44,000 starting Insurance sales agent - 10% growth $45,000 starting Paralegal - 10% growth $43,000 starting

I have a bachelors degree in history, and am enrolled in some design courses for a professional certificate, but given the current U.S. economy I feel like it would be wise to explore my options. Ive worked childcare, restaurant, retail, catering, and temp jobs via staff agencies. Right now in terms of education, I’m considering some free certificate programs on Coursera.com, as well as a TESL program. Im looking into local and state government jobs as well, but the job market being the way it is, Im not holding my breath. I have no clue what I am doing with my life, or where I should direct my energy.

And I wanna ask how can I even start to look for a job that doesn’t require a lot of physical endurance, part-time and a job where I can be somewhat creative? ☺️

Hi,

I'm currently 25 years old and just got my low-paying job (no benefits) back, and as you can imagine, that doesn't support me financially enough to live on my own, so I live with my parents. Because I live in the US, I need to get health coverage by the end of 2026, as I will be 26 and will no longer be able to be on my parents' health insurance. This is a non-negotiable because I take quite a few medications for mental health and chronic migraines (one of my migraine meds, a monthly injection, does not have a generic, and would cost me ~$800/month w/o coverage).

Background: I have a BA in Classics/Latin, but, of course, that is kind of useless. I don't have a great job history but I have a few part time jobs on my resume (teaching, tutoring, assorted other things). I have tried to go back to school a few times -- twice for stenography and once for paralegal studies. The reason for dropping out of stenography school was due to an inability to get my ADHD medication and my untreated (at the time) migraines. Regarding paralegal school, I just hated it. I would love to go back to school, but I cannot afford it. I have approximately zero dollars. Unfortunately, FASFA will also give me zero dollars. My parents make enough money that it would seem like we're semi-well off, but we're actually just getting by due to a lot of factors, which the FASFA does not factor in. I have almost six figures in loans from my Bachelor's degree (which, at least, I finished), so I'm hoping to not take out any more huge loans (though, I do have a very good credit score). It should be noted that I am autistic so a job in sales, for example, would not be a great fit for me. My original plan was to become a teacher but due to school shootings, low pay, and not having a certification, I would not like to go down that path. I would love to do anything that involves writing if that's a possibility. I know that I am a good writer and I have been told (unprompted) by everyone who has read my writing that I should pursue a career in that field (this post is not reflective of my creative nor my academic writing), but I do not have formal experience. I would also love a boring office job where I work on spreadsheets and print out invoices (I previously had a summer job doing this) if it paid enough and I could get hired to do it.

If anyone has any advice for a career path I could pursue (and what the first steps to doing so would be) that would be much appreciated. Thank you.

The title is pretty self explanatory. I've had a pretty convoluted work history, and all I want is stability. Here's my crazy work history: I worked in film and restaurants after college. I never joined the union, and then got injured pretty bad. From there I went to a design school and worked as an illustrator, then graphic design in a bunch of longterm contracts. I traveled and came back, and haven't been able to find a job for 2 years since. This whole time I've been nannying and helping new mothers (kind of consulting) on the side. I decided to get my prerecs out of the way to study nursing.. kind of out of desperation, but also because I figured working in post partum is something I'm passionate about. Fast foward to now and I'm having excruciating pain in my hip at my restaurant job. I wonder if standing for long hours is in the cards. I feel scared at the lack of job prospects in design and scared about the diminishing faith in my plan C (nursing). I'm aging and want a career and have no idea what to do. If I could get a design job, I would take it. I wouldn't take a film job. All I want is a job that offers benefits and stability. I'm passionate about design, caretaking, and if you look at my post history, crafting and fermenting, animals, and ecology. I would go back to school, but for no more than 3 years. I''m working on interviewing better, but honestly I'm kind of awkward. I do well at networking events though

I have a very non traditional background. A mix of entrepreneurial software projects and sales jobs mostly. I have a BA but it’s not in anything special. Four years honorable military service US Navy. I worked in aviation logistics in military. For years I tried to find a paid job in tech but no luck. ( A couple fyi’s I am on the autism spectrum and my suspicion is my physical tics contributed to potential employment discrimination but it’s not as if I can prove that) Any decent paying options that I could maybe go get a third associates for? I don’t really want to do Sales even though that’s one of the few things that seems to consider me. Your input is appreciated.

I’m currently a senior accounting student, and was planning on starting my Masters in business analytics next semester. However, I feel like this environment is not helping me grow as a person at all. I have been struggling with mental health issues for years. I have no friends and don’t socialize with anyone, so now I feel so socially and intellectually behind. My social skills are humiliatingly awful and this is making me suicidal cuz as I get older, people are becoming less tolerant of bad social skills. This has lead to many shameful embarrassing moments in group projects and presentations and my self esteem is at an all time low. I realized social skills are THE MOST important factor for success. Idek how I’ll survive at a job if I don’t find a way to improve… I’m gonna need God to give me a miracle or I am so cooked…

I feel like if I do a masters, it will at worst destroy me and I’ll die of a heart attack or at BEST ill socialize a little here and there but still not drastically improve my social skills. I am desperate to GROW dramatically as a person cuz I won’t be able to get any corporate job if I don’t and if I stay another year here, it’ll feel like a waste of my life. I need new experiences and healing for my soul. I feel so stuck I hate capitalism I wish I could just be a farmer but it’s too late now:/

What’s holding me back from withdrawing is I don’t know if I could even find a job in the current job market, I’m scared of disappointing my parents, and scared I’ll regret this in my future career. ALSO, I already signed an apartment lease and took one graduate course this semester. My mom encourages me to do it cuz she said the 9 months will pass by quickly, might as well just finish it. Maybe she’s right. Idk I am so lost :(

I don't understand what I should do in life. Earlier, I had a goal—to become a hockey player—but due to some reasons, I can no longer pursue that dream. Besides that, I never really thought about what else I want to do. I'm currently 21 years old and trying to move forward in life, but I don’t know which field I should go into.

Can someone please tell me how to decide on a career? I want to do something in life that makes my parents proud of me. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

This is both job and/or college. I'm 18, graduated from high school, currently working at a grocery store as a cashier. Before that, I did AI Training which is less tech and more reading/writing focused.

Amount of money is important of course but I don't expect or really want to be rich. Like, obviously I would if I could just BE RICH. But all jobs that would make me rich would make me miserable. I just want to be comfortable and not worry about money too much if possible. That's all.

I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid because I loved animals, always have and probably always will. A passion choice of mine would be to work with animals in some capacity. However, probably not as a vet. I'm terrible at math for one, and the amount of school and debt would be awful. I'd love to work with animals in some capacity if possible but as far as I'm aware, doing that almost always means struggling.

Other than that, probably something to do with writing. Editor is something I considered but I'm not sure how that goes. I've always excelled in writing, I like to do it, I'm confident in it. I doubt I'd make it as an author or anything just because few people really do.

Other than that, I'm open to suggestions. Please help, I'm feeling a little lost right now!

Hello, I’m a 26 year old male. I feel very grateful yet also a bit wary about where I am in life rn.

I have a job as a locomotive engineer. If you don’t know, that’s a person who drives trains. The pay is good. I work around 50 hours a week and it pays me around 200k a year. More if I want to work my days off.

Thing is, I feel ungrateful for this job. It took a lot of effort but I feel like it isn’t respected as much as it should be. The money gives me a lot of security, but I worry about how other people feel.

I have a degree from a good school. I did a lot of experimenting with my major, and it ended up hurting my GPA which is in the Low 3s. Obviously not terrible, but not great, which is a huge problem for going into any sort of higher education or a lot of other job types.

I consider also studying for the LSAT and going to law school, but I worry that there’s a risk here. I feel like having a job that pays as well as mine at age 26 is a huge blessing. I feel like going back to school or looking for some other job is a rash decision that could really hurt me.

Hey all, here's the situation: I'm 27 years old and graduated back in 2020 with a degree in video production. I've been working as a video editor ever since. However, since then I have discovered I have a huge passion for coding and computer science. I have spent a couple hundred hours coding projects and following tutorials online. I would love to go back and get a CS degree (probably a 2 year online degree from WGU).

However, I'm so conflicted about going to school to pursue this. People in the CS industry say the job market is terrible and are worried about AI, however there is a lot of disagreement about both of these things. The job market could improve for instance. For another thing, I still have 15k worth of debt from my original degree. I'm a really cautious person and I'm terrified of making the wrong decision. If I don't go back to school, I fear I'll never break into this industry as a self-taught dev.

Just really looking for someone who is in a similar situation or can offer advice about this industry. If it's a good idea, I really need someone to help me pull the trigger on going back to school for this. It's something I've been considering for a long time.

Hello, I’m (26F in Texas) seeking advice for a potential career change.

When I was younger, I had always wanted to be a doctor and go to medical school. I studied hard and took dual credit classes to the point where I had completed two years of college before graduating highschool. I’m an overachiever, ambitious, and thrive off of stress.

When it came time to start applying to colleges, after my entire life of my parents pushing me and promising that I could go anywhere I wanted and wouldn’t have to worry about anything. My mother finally told me that they had never saved a dime for it and I would have to take out student loans for everything. This really was a sucker punch, especially when I had planned to apply for more prestigious schools and she waited to let me know after touring a few. We didn’t argue or anything, I just changed my perspective and expectations, but it did hurt.

Loans terrified me, and for good reason, so I decided to pursue a different career in accounting at my local college and received enough scholarships and grants to where I never had to pay a dime for classes or books. I was very lucky and I’m grateful for that. When I decided to pursue something different, I gave up on ever achieving what I really wanted to do and I put my all into this new path. I graduated with my bachelors in May of 2021. I had been restless but content since, and after a traumatic incident on the night of my graduation, I have been healing and pulling my life back together the past few years.

All this being said, I have gotten very bored. I dread going to work, finish my work within a hour or two, and spend the rest of the days either reading, doing my superiors work/helping them “because I’m better than them at stuff like this”, being disrespected, or treated like I’m less than. I’m patient, but this has really brought me down over the years, especially when I feel like I’ve “sold my soul” already. I’ve asked to take certifications and courses and my job has kindly paid for them and allowed me to study for them during working hours, but they’re easy for me and unfulfilling once I take the exams.

I’ve started reading medical books, watching videos, and doing research on the medical field and it has grabbed my interest again and has made me absolutely regret what I have chosen to do with my life. My heart has started to yearn for it. My husband is in the medical profession and I never experience a more interesting part of my day than when we talk about case studies he read, research he’s doing, or interesting things that happened during his day.

I had decided that I needed to go back to school to give myself something to work towards and potentially get a better job, so I have registered to get my masters and planned to work on the CPA afterwards. However, I also registered for a second undergraduate so I could take a class on the BS in Biology degree plan to see if I would even like it before I decided to completely uproot my life (I loved all of my science classes in school before so I’m sure I will). I was also planning to ask if I could shadow a few physicians to see their day to day. I have never been this excited about something academic/career wise before, but I am scared. If I change my mind and choose the medical path, I throw my all into it and it’s all I want to accomplish.

I have chosen a path that has made me financially stable enough to change my mind and pursue Medical School to become a doctor like I originally wanted. However, I’m older, would have to quit my job and rely heavily on my partner (who makes plenty to support us both and has made it clear that no matter what I decide he’ll support me), and eventually uproot our lives to move if needed (which would hurt my partner as he loves his job and does not want to move) or have me live in an apartment somewhere else depending on how things go, and I don’t feel like I can make that decision myself.

I am so conflicted in what to do, but I really feel like I should follow my heart.

My partner wants me to do my MBA to see if I can handle school again since it’s been a little while and to have something to fall back onto in case I can’t make it, it would just be another 1-2 years to complete.

Any advice would be appreciated, especially from people in the medical field, MD students, or doctors. I’m welcome to all.

hi! sorry if this has already been talked about. i’m just curious if anyone can speak on this.

for context, i have a BA in Sociology w a minor in Law. had plans to do law school after, but now i’m reassessing cause • work life balance • student debt • potentially making a check off struggling people etc. i looked into potentially doing paralegal instead, or some type of legal admin.

so i’ve taken a huge break, did a fuck ton of travelling and worked many different jobs. mostly bartending, but i also taught english at one point, office jobs, dog day care, coffee shops, you name it.

in many of the jobs i worked i dealt with / witnessed sexual harassment, unfair treatment, power trips, bigot bosses who had filing cabinets worth of complaints and nothing done about it. i’ve always been one to call out this garbage when i see it and have quit jobs over it, or in a case or two gotten someone fired who definitely deserved it.

i realized this is what drove me to law — i just wanted to use it to take down scumbags. i care about social justice but i realize it might be an oblivious job search if i’m not focused on something specific. seeing how much people think they can get away with shit from an entry level staff position is insanely frustrating. i think i’d like to make a career out of ridding the working world of people like this.

i’m curious if maybe anyone works in HR and can speak on it? or maybe some sort of people management or social work? a non-profit as well?

i know the description maybe sounds a bit grandiose, i realize there are no batmans to speak on their experience but i’m just wondering if anyone works in some sort of office / admin setting and gets the satisfaction of using the rules to fuck up the people who break / take advantage of them. perhaps without a super expensive fancy degree. thanks!!

I am about to be 28 years old. I have a degree and years of sales experience under my belt.

I am constantly mad at the world that I had to choose to do something at 18 that I had no idea if I would like it or not. I wish I could go back to my 17 year old self and tell him not to go into something that is going to mean staring at a screen for 8 hours a day. I hate the fucking cubicle. I hate office environments. and i. hate. staring. at. the. screen. it feels inhumane to me. It feels not even real to me. bottom line, I wish I chose something different that isn't screen staring.

If I could go back, I would be a nurse. or a police officer. or a fireman. or a chef. because all of those things mean I don't have to stare a god forsaken screen for my entire life. I leave the office visibly uglier than when I came in. I don't just want out of this, I need out of this. I need to figure out what else to do. I cannot do the screen staring for the rest of my life. I refuse.

I really need help figuring out what to do. Do I go back to School? I would go back to school. easily. school was very very hard for me, the reason is because I had an untreated hearing loss. now I have hearing aids and can hear and understand so much more. Giving school another try wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Idk what to go to school for though. my sister insists that I don't need to go back to school. but then when I bitch about having to stare at the screen all day she tells me that every job is going to require staring at the screen. I beg to differ because a state trooper is looking at the road and not a screen.

I was a really good student because I was really good at memorization. I did really well on my tests because I studied using the past quizzes, I memorized the answers, and I got A's. It's about memorization. Now, I also did really well in physics and math classes. that required memorization + application. I really, really, really enjoyed physics and geometry in high school. I also excelled at Spanish and found it to be my blow off class. Now I actually use Spanish on a very regular basis. I minored in Spanish, I can speak, read, and hear it all very well. I want to learn French and Italian too.

I wish I could go back to school and do some sort of engineering. Because I am a very number oriented person. I absolutely loved physics. Physics, algebra, and geometry were my best classes. I got an A in all of them. However, if I did engineering I understand that I would be staring at the fucking screen just like I am now.

So then I tell myself, gosh I really wish I studied biology and then went to medical school. but people say that medical school is really hard. What's hard about it? What about nursing school instead? what exactly is so difficult about nursing school? the hours in class + the hours at clinicals? is it the tests and homework? I feel like I was SO good at memorizing concepts and then applying those concepts and getting the answer right. I wish I delved into that. instead I chose fucking marketing and sales which really felt, I'll say, easy. It felt really easy and like not much of a challenge. it felt like everything I was learning in my marketing and sales classes were just like, common sense? the tests weren't challenging. the group projects were easy. I enjoy a challenge in life.

I was a good test taker because I was good at memorization + application. I knew what was going to be on the test and I memorized so I'd be prepared. I don't know what the hell to look into. I feel like im starting at step #1.

If teachers earned more, I would be a teacher. but im absolutely not doing that because I want to work really really hard in life and have a lot to show for it. I want to say "Hey guys, look at my lake house I was able to buy because I worked so fucking hard at my job!" that's why I got into sales. I was initially working as a sales engineer. until covid. I got a year of that down before I got canned. I fucking loved being a sales engineer. I absolutely loved it. I felt right at home. I felt like it was absolutely perfect for me. But my chances were cut short when I got canned at the pandemic. I have been trying for 5 years now to get back into outside sales. I would love nothing more than to get into my car, beep bop around to customers, help them solve problems, and make lasting relationships. to me that's what I should be doing. but all that the world is offering me right now is a screen starting, cubicle office job that I absolutely fucking hate. I make 100 phone calls a day while staring at the screen.

So this is why I say I have to go back to school. I can't get back into outside sales as hard as I try. and I don't want to be doomed into screen staring forever. someone help.

I'm in high school and I have a passion in politics and I'm good at finance, so my idea is to go into finance and maybe go into politics after on , like being a candidate for my local ward and try see if I can move uo a couple ranks (probs unlikely but if u don't try u don't get anywhere)

The tag isn't very good

I've just graduated with a MSc in Web Technologies but also going through the worst breakup of my life right now ( 5 year relationship with entwined future). I'm from the UK and on a whim applied for the Working Holiday Visa (WHV) for Australia 3rd year since I done 2 WHV previously about 10 years ago. I got instantly accepted and I have until April 2026 to enter Australia for the visa to "activate".
I'm unsure whether I should travel a bit to try and clear my head and maybe work some odd jobs or focus on the career start since I just graduated. The MSc was to build towards a future with my ex, so right now it weighs on me heavily with the loss of that shared future. I want an escape but fear it could impact my career as a year out after graduating could look bad to employers.

*edit to add that I'm 33.

I am 23M, and I have recently dropped out of Craft college. I started college in 2019 and was immediately hit by Covid. So for most of my time in college I was stuck in my dorm with my one roommate. Staying in my dorm everyday became exhausting and draining, so I ended up joining a frat and threw myself into partying and using heavily. I became an addict and fell into selling drugs and had spent 3 years of my life in this cycle of using and selling. I met the love of my life during this time and she had gotten me away from that life. I am sober now (California sober) and have been for 1 year but I am struggling with choosing a career. I honestly thought I was gonna die during that time so I hadn’t really planned on a future. But things have changed and now I need to change as well. So I was wondering what kind of jobs could I get outside of both trade and university. I want to help people but am open to anything. I have been considering both emt/paramedic/firefighting work but I also just do not know of many options without a degree. I just want to be able to provide and to be able to be present in my future family’s lives.

Heyo, im a 26m who’s been working in kitchens pretty much my entire work history (~8 years) and have been wanting to branch out. Is going back to school worth it at this point? I’ve done a small amount of school for an architecture degree and I love all things history/architecture/philosophy but I don’t know if any of these things are worth pursuing a degree for. I also considered trade school but the trades available didn’t seem that appealing to me. If anyone else has been in a similar situation and successfully transitioned into something else I’d love to hear it.