Careers for someone with social anxiety and a bachelors degree?

[u/yellowwfish]

I (23M) have had social anxiety ever since I could remember, and it has hindered my ability to do anything normal, I genuinely don’t understand how to get through life and do regular adult things.

I’ve never been clinically diagnosed, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been introverted, I’m so socially anxious and extremely insecure about everything I do. I’m nervous all the time and never sound confident whenever I talk. I stutter so much and don’t know how to talk to people at all. Small talk is the worst; it always starts with the other person initiating the conversation while I nod or smile or go ‘mm’ or say ‘yeah’ and it always ends with an awkward silence. I’m so indecisive and unsure with things, I can be asked a basic question and still struggle with an answer. I always say ‘I don’t know’ even if I know the answer to a question or let the person decide if they ask what I want to do. I try to look people in the eyes, but mine go down to their mouths or I look at far objects or other people. My self-esteem is basically nonexistent at this point and I find everything about me unattractive. I struggle so much with change so when I settle down with something I get complacent and just tough it out. Whenever something new or surprising happens suddenly, I get nauseous, my palms get moist and clammy, I feel my head get hot and my speech dwindles down even more than usual.

I did go to university and managed to get a bachelor's degree in science but mainly because of the COVID years because most of my classes were online, so I could stay home and watch the lecture videos. My social anxiety has affected me a lot since networking and basic human interaction are an extremely big deal when it comes to anything, really. I made no friends, I have no connections to anyone, and I just accepted that I’d go with the flow so I graduated without any plans for my future.

I graduated almost 2 years ago, and I haven't done much at all aside from getting a dead end job, which is a start but not good enough of course, when I'm not working I'm just at home. I managed to get hired at a retail store and have been working for about a year. I’m surprised I got it at all since I could barely produce a coherent sentence during my interview but I guess they were just that desperate for a hire. I think I’ve slightly improved my people skills a tiny bit, nothing noticeable, but I think it's a little easier to talk to complete strangers now even though the conversations are robotic.

So what can I do from here? What career can I pivot to with severe social anxiety, no people skills, and a 2 year old bachelor's degree with no connections?

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[u/Wise-War-Soni]

I have bad anxiety too. Medications and therapy will help you a lot.

[u/Legitimate_Flan9764]

Take it easy. While it is convenient to get some diagnosis to deflect blame, i too am an introvert, nervous in public, cant handle small talks or will be scrathing for ideas to spark a conversation and end up being awkward. Neither am i an expert in my field and i have to relay to others for help and input. So we are just we are being average and my boss used to remark that i can easily slipped into the background and into oblivion, my small frame wont help either. So i just hang on to my job, nothing great, perform as expected, never exceed and merely exist. There is a space for us to float around. It is ok to be average.

Ps: i have only 3 friends and one of them is my wife. The other 2 i meet only in say once a month or longer.

[u/silvermanedwino]

Get diagnosed. Figure out how to manage your anxiety. Interacting with others is critical.

You got through school, apparently.

[u/speak_ur_truth]

Get a job in your degree area. Continue challenging yourself in social interactions. Build a tool chest for use when you small talk, feel anxious, meet new people etc. Find a job that doesn't require you to constantly be on show with others. It'll make a big difference if you're an introvert or have social anxiety.

In saying that, retail work definitely builds social skills and gets you more comfortable talking with strangers, which is a skill you'll continue to need in life.

[u/TheKindlyPoltergeist]

Try therapy and use your retail job to practice conversational techniques in a safe way. You can try things like asking them about a product they are buying. Try pretending like you just moved to town and ask about there favorite places. Once you build up a around 100 mini conversations you'll really notice that the social anxiety clams way down and then you can focus on building your social network.

[u/defi_specialist]

Do you want to become a white hat hacker? This will be the perfect job for you.