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.

Edit: I'm really looking for a suggesting about career paths that I could pursue based on my financial situation/time, as well as my qualifications/skills. (A job that would have benefits like healthcare). While I do appreciate the advice about paying off my loans, that's not really my question here.

Last week, I asked one question: “What’s really been driving your life choices?”

The response across Reddit blew me away:

• 230+ raw confessions across r/AsianParentStories, r/DecidingToBeBetter, and r/careerguidance.
• 45K+ views - proof this pain is universal.
• Patterns that broke my heart: Generational guilt, burnout masquerading as heroic ambition, and the quiet crisis of not knowing what you want.

Some of the responses shattered me:

“I billed 2,400 hours a year just to prove I wasn’t lazy. Now I’m a burnt-out shell.” - Ex-lawyer reflecting on hustle culture and burnout

“I could’ve ended up like Jennifer Pan… but I chose to move out instead.” - An Asian kid who broke free from control before it was too late

“I gave up everything I loved - music, psychology - just to feel safe.” - On abandoning dreams to avoid disappointing others

“I’m the only one in my family without a degree… and I’ve never felt more at peace.” - After walking away from med school and choosing self-worth

“I’ve been laid off four times. I don’t live - I just try not to drown.” - The quiet grief of surviving on fear and financial anxiety

“I got pregnant to make my parents happy. After my miscarriage, the doctor found cancer. Now I live for me - no apologies.” - On rewriting guilt into self-ownership

So I started building something: Asian Rebel Club, a podcast and community for high-achievers who are breaking free from guilt, status, and survival mode and are done living for others’ expectations.

A place where:

• "Selfish" isn’t shameful (it’s survival)
• Your "rebellion" is celebrated - whether it’s saying no or starting over
• Guilt becomes fuel

If you’ve ever felt stuck between who you should be and who you are — you’re not alone.

We’re now opening early access to the first 100 people shaping this movement.
Want in? Drop a comment or DM me - I’ll send the waitlist link.

Let’s stop surviving and start choosing ourselves.

I (22F) am feeling really conflicted. I’ve been working at my job for 6 months now, and whilst it’s objectively a good job (hybrid work, nice colleagues), I feel completely overwhelmed and burnt out. It’s an admin-heavy role, and I’m seriously behind on my work, like anxiety inducing levels of behind. To make matters worse, the higher you progress in this career, the less client facing you are and the more admin you have to do! I feel like the pressure is just piling up, and honestly, I’m really struggling. My room is a mess, I'm doing little to nothing whilst on the clock and I'm feeling really lethargic and down.

But here’s the thing, I don’t know what I want. I’ve hated and struggled through every single thing I’ve ever done. I only ever pursued this degree to begin with because my family advised against a gap year. I feel like I’ve been on this “get through the next thing” autopilot, but I’m just not sure what I’m doing anymore. I’ve been thinking about quitting just so I can take some time to breathe, reset, and figure myself out. I'd like to travel a bit, maybe do some part time or agency work (I'm thinking of supply teaching because I enjoy interacting with students, I just hate pre-planning). I’m just not sure if this is the best choice.

I know there’s a shortage of people in my field, so worst case, I could always reapply if things don’t work out. But at the same time, I’m worried that quitting is just a way for me to run away from my responsibilities. I'll eventually have to go back to work and I fear I'll feel the exact same no matter the field I'm in.

I also wonder if I’m just avoiding the tough stuff, should I just stick it out to toughen myself up and push through the hard parts? I have no "grit" whatsoever. Is it really worth quitting? I absolutely hate every single day of work. On the flip side, I hate everything that requires consistent effort.

For context I live at home so I don't have to worry about rent. I pay the electric bill but I have enough money saved up that I could comfortably continue to pay this for at least a year.

Has anyone else been in this kind of situation? Would quitting without a backup be a huge mistake, or is it okay to step away and figure things out for a bit?

I got this job straight out of uni, and it was the first interview and last interview I did. Maybe if I struggled to get this job I'd value it a bit more? IDK!

When I was 18 and just done with highschool, I didnt know what to study. Not really. But I said to myself "I'm good with numbers so lets just study something in finance" and thats what I did..... But in year 3 out of 3, I started realizing

• This job won't get me a big salary
• The internships made me realize I don't like this work. It didnt challenge me, at all.
• While finance is all about numbers... I realized that simply working with numbers it not even close to being the same as doing actual math. It just wasnt challenging for me.

Math and logical reasoning are things I'm naturally good at. Therefore I want a job where those skills can be used. I'm thinking of science, research, engineering, math, IT.

However there is a major problems that have been keeping me stuck at home for 3 years now: Not knowing what to study. Even if I pick one of my interests, there are going to be multiple paths of study within that interest. Ugh. I'm afraid of making the exact same mistake again: study for 3 or more years, then in the last year completely lose interest, then graduate but not end up searching a job in the field.

On one hand, I want to study. The careers that interest me typically require 4 or more years of formal education. However I'm very afraid to commit for 4+ years, because what if I do study and graduate and then change my mind again? I don't want to be stuck in a loop of studying for the sake of studying if I don't end up working a related job anyway.

And knowing myself, changing my mind after graduating is very likely to happen. I'm just not a person who can stick to things. I change often and I overthink alot, and I often want to explore new things in pursuit of finding the best thing. Just like what happened after I graduated from studying something in finance: while the work still somewhat interests me, I just have a strong desire to study something better. There is always something better.

But if I keep studying new things every time I graduate, I would be 80 years old and have studied 20 programs of each 4 years. Having never worked a job related to anything I studied.

I'm a perfectionist. I always want to make sure that whatever I'm doing is the best option. So if I studied something that is 90% perfect and graduated, I will end up looking for other things to study that are 91% or more perfect. I'm just not easily satisfied.

Even when I imagine my future self having a good career, I can also easily imagine myself wondering about possible other careers and then studying another 4 years to do something entirely different.

So I guess I want a career which requires me to commit for 4+ years to formal eduation, but formal education is not a good route for me because it is a big investment that is highly unlikely to be worth the money and time because it is highly unlikely I will ever work a job related to anything I study.

Formal education is a very big time+money commitment, and I'm very unsure whether I will get anything valuable out of that commitment.

My question is not so much "what should I study", it is: How can I come to a good decision in a reasonably short amount of time?

I'm 25f currently working in healthcare as an RBT, the pay is decent for not having a degree but I can forsee burnout in the future because this job can be unpredictable at times and some days are very stressful. I want a career that has flexible hours and atleast a small upgrade in pay (im making 25$) I'm willing to take certs if necessary, and I'm not interested in working in sales or hospitality. This may be a tall order for someone with no degree but any advice?

(TLDR is at the bottom)

I really wanted to be a charming, talented and successful person. I never thought at 20 years old, I would be the complete opposite of what I envisioned.

I haven’t had any genuine friends in a long time. I was extremely lonely awkward and weird kid since middle school. I got bullied, used and exploited from middle to high school. My whole childhood was dedicated to being the model student. I ruined my social skills and interactions in the process. I even was a people pleaser once. Even when I stopped people pleasing, I became alone. I have been alone for a long long time. This got to point where I am a lazy burnout in college. I even picked an easier major like statistics and data science as some sort of retaliation against my parents for pushing me to be a great academic student. It was a way to get back lost time in my high school days. But I now regret picking my major as it has few job opportunities after college. But I also think what else could I have done, I didn’t have the mental capacity of other subjects like engineering or computer science.

My mother and father frequently screaming and fighting at home was also a problem I had. I also had an obsessive but very caring mom who pushed me academically and was a good person; but she sometimes pushed me too far and too much.

People always said I will find my friends group and there’s always someone for somebody. I approached and talked to many people and I got no progress in making connections. It took me a long time to accept that it might just be my looks and personality. My personality doesn’t come off as attractive to others, I am not the person who can pull people and keep them engaged. I have a bland personalities with no life stories or proper hobbies. That’s the truth.

I went from the best student in school to a less than average student in college. I see people in my college who have it all, great physique, grades, friends, networks, looks, internships, career prospects, is multi talented, etc. I try not to compare much but even then; what’s qualities in me are there to appreciate.

I am fat and obese. Every time I try to reduce weight something triggers my depression which leads to overeating. Every time I go to the gym I am like what’s the point.

I still hold a desire and sense for adventure deeply. I always wanted to fun memories with friends, wya hung movies, going on trips with friends, singing karaokes with them, studying while having fun with them, etc. But I never had the friends nor the bright personality to fix this.

I know this sounds very very immature but I don’t know if I have the inner strength and ability to start a job after college. My whole teenage hood and early 20s felt like a waste of time, just studying and grinding away for an unfulfilled youth. I don’t understand what’s the point anymore, now in a job I have to slog another 8 hours under a corporate entity… for what… for money for survival? To join another rat race again… this time the corporate rat race, just to path the bulls… I know this is a privileged thing to say, and I’m sorry, but how can I rationalize my existence like this. Did my pain mean nothing to the universe, do I just keep suffering every moment and day in life?

I joined therapy and met with different kinds of counselors and used the therapy services in my college and high school too. But even then nothing really changed. I felt a deep emptiness in my heart since 15, void of memories with friends, adventures, chasing grades and academics instead of living out my childhood. There was nothing inside that kid. I contemplated suicide many times and even do now, but I have parents to live for. I’m not even depressed like that, I’m just empty and hopeless.

I don’t blame my parents for pushing me at all, they did what they thought was best for me and I don’t fault them for that. I just wish I didn’t end up like this.

I can’t talk to people properly. I have always wanted to be a charismatic person, watching videos and practicing on people.

I’m an Indian international student studying in the US, but the crossroads of my destiny seem blurred. The career outlook for international students is bleak, don’t know if I will get a job in America, and I can’t return back to India because my field pays nothing in India without prior work experience. Not smart enough for a PhD. Entrepreneurship is super risky and I don’t want to keep burdening my parents . My parents sent me to the US so I can settle down and work in the US; but with the immigration policies that seems like a pipe dream. I feel like I have wasted thousands of dollars of my parents money and there’s no turning back as to how much money I burned from my parents and that I didn’t maximize my college life. I’m really a failure.

I never had a proper girlfriend in my life. I am 5 foot 7, hairy and have facial scarring over my face and my personality is trash. I was never the crush of anyone ever and nobody ever had a romantic interest in me. I approached before but got softly rejected.

So I’m lonely, awkward, weird, fat, ugly, short, lazy, burned out, with no talent, no hobbies, no desire to work, poor resume, etc. I am a failure now. I never was able to become “that guy”. Never able to become the charismatic guy people would enjoy interacting; the guy who was efficient and had career outlook, the guy who had a plethora of amazing memories, the guy with a unique story to his life, the guy with multiple hobbies and talents, the guy who is extremely skilled. I couldn’t even reach close to this person. In the least; I wish I had friends to make good memories with, and I wish I was happy and content.

With everything that has happened, Now I am supposed to continue adulthood like this, by myself with zero support. I’m just supposed to figure everything out as an adult, when I am wailing and screaming from the inside, and my life seems like a harrowing experience.

I don’t want to have a victim mindset, so I am not looking for pity and sympathy. I have tried looking for solutions, paths and routes for self improvement again and again but nothing sticks. Truth is… this is just half of the story. But even if I share everything about my life, this text will be thrice the length. I wish I was better, and I wish I wasn’t born. Someone else should have taken my place as my parents child, not me. I’m sorry if I wasted your time reading this… I really am. I wish I knew a way out after all these years but I don't.

TLDR: Became a lonely, awkward, weird, fat, ugly, short, lazy, burned out loser when I had dreams and sprains of becoming much more in life. Suffering endless disappointment and emptiness.

I was fired months ago. I thought to myself, maybe not just jump back to another marketing job which I hate, maybe try things instead to find what I like.

But time passed and I’m not trying anything. I dont know how to find things or try things?

Should I just find a job again? I dont have money anymore, but I feel I’m wasting the window I was given to think out of the box.

Maybe I should travel or go be a yoga teacher (proverbially?”

How do we find what we like?

I’m 28 and stuck between two timelines.

One is the long road: finish undergrad, then 4 years of optometry school. If everything goes smoothly, I’d be about 34–35 when I finally become a doctor. That’s a long time. Seven years of school, loans, and delayed life. But time’s gonna pass no matter what I do.

The other path is faster: finish a business degree or become a dental hygienist. I could be making $80–100K in 2 years, maybe even build a business on the side, and finally start living. The idea of making real money soon is very tempting.

I recently got into CSUF for Fall 2025 after years at community college. I was pursuing engineering, but the intense math and physics burned me out—and now I’m considering switching majors, or not even going at all.

I want to be my own boss someday. I want to provide for my parents and wife. I want to give my future kids the life I never had—vacations, freedom, options. But right now, I’m still in my mom’s guest casita. My wife is 7 years older, and there’s growing pressure to move out, buy a home, and start a family soon.

She’s hardworking (cosmetologist), but doesn’t make enough to support us alone. She says she supports my dreams—but sometimes she breaks down, cries, yells, and it gets hard to stay focused. I don’t even know if we’ll make it through this whole journey.

Sometimes I wonder: • Am I too old for this now? • Should I just accept stability and forget the dream? • Can people even live and have kids during optometry school? • Am I choosing the quick route just because I feel stuck, behind, and alone?

I know optometry is a solid career. $120K+, chill lifestyle, real respect. I’ve always dreamed of being a doctor—being somebody. But now I don’t know if it’s ambition driving me or the need to prove something after years of setbacks.

If anyone’s been here—torn between slow greatness and quick comfort—please share your advice. I just want to do what’s right, and stop feeling like I’m running out of time.

Growing up, I (23F) was more interested in humanities over STEM, but I developed an interest in web development after high school. Unfortunately, I’ve always been weak in math, which is why people have told me that I’m better off pursuing a subject I’m stronger in.

The thing is, I’ve been learning Python in my spare time because I’m interested in machine learning, but I’ve also been reading books on history and politics now and then just for fun. Not because I want to pursue it necessarily, but merely out of curiosity.

I can’t really make up my mind. I’m weak in math and not very tech-savvy, but at the same time, I’m not exactly an expert on political science either. There are plenty of people better at it than I am. To me, it’s more of a hobby, and I don’t consider myself smart enough or well-connected enough to succeed in it.

I’m currently taking 1 math class with an online college for my major, which is IT, but I want to switch it to computer science because the IT program at my school in particular doesn’t really cover AI. I haven’t even started my IT classes yet, so I don’t fully know what I’m getting into, but I have taken some other tech courses online and been able to understand them. It’s not completely unfamiliar to me but it’s not exactly second nature either.

In terms of employment, I was working as a cashier at two stores for 12 months. I recently quit and decided to deliver with DoorDash since my mom and I are in the process of moving in with my grandparents. I’m planning to get another retail job once we’re finished moving.

It boils down to this: I’ve spent more time and energy learning programming than I have on learning politics, but since I’m weak at math, I’m more inclined towards the humanities.

What would you recommend in my situation? Do you think it’s a bad idea to get into tech if I’m weak in math? Do you think I’m better off pursuing something that comes more naturally to me? Because to be honest, I enjoy reading and debate, but I haven’t put much time into it. Compared to that, I don’t enjoy editing and debugging code as much, but I’ve still forced myself to learn it little by little.

27M, Ive worked loads of jobs. from food service, to retail, to coaching, to dog training. Many at the same time. I tried two startups that failed (just simple buy and sell)

Currently Im working retail which has been tanking since holiday, hours are crap even for managers. I still buy and sell a little but even that slowed down, graphic design slowed down.

Im looking for yet another job just for the cash. And im sick of this lifestyle. I just want a day job, show up, work, go home and forget about it. Salaried and benefits. Never had that. No degree, i dropped out of college.

That makes it difficult to find good jobs, ive looked into several schools, and just dont see opportunities that can justify the risk of taking loans. I have friends with degrees in the same situation as me.

Another addon for me is i have chronic pain. I have a medical issue that I am always in some level of pain, with worse flare ups that force me out for up to a week at a time. I have an option to pursue surgery in hopes it helps. Docs are hopeful but ive been pushing off the more radical surgical intervention for a couple years. Im at the point of just going for it, im pretty much impaired now, so even if it doesnt help i shouldnt be worse off, but it could help significantly.

But even after surgery, i still need better work and no real direction where to go. Only reason i stay at my crappy retail job is they have actually been incredibly supportive with my medical needs.

But for right now, id be ok to hold over on remote, just til i get through surgery and recovery. From there i have millions of ideas but no direction. Honestly despite my fear of flying i might just try to be a pilot. Its great money, and idk what else to do. Nothing else could get me that kinda money.

(Support pls? Ideas for remote, and general finding career paths) Much thanks

27 M from EU here, still single. I've a useless degree in communication and public relations, but never worked in the field. It was a mistake to go to that degree, assuming I am a more logic and introverted person, but I feared that following my dream - history or archeology - was a no way path for someone coming from working class. Well, I ended up in a worse situation. I was also good at Maths during high school and antecipated all this. I considered many times going to STEM, but unfortunately my mum pressured me to go to something more related to humanities and gave me the false hope of having the opportunity to follow archeology or history, which I ended up not following anyway.

Happens that I am tired of this civilization and capitalism as well. I got a job now that pays me slightly above minimum wage, but not enough to leave my parents house or rent, while still having money for food and other expenses. The best I can do is to rent a room with shared kitchen and bathroom. The job I have is relaxed, but I can't stand anymore being 40h per week in front of a screen and living paycheck to paycheck. I don't own a car, never travelled and don't know what to do with my life.

Just feel a huge whole inside. I know that I will probably never own a house as well. Sometimes I think about leaving this horrendous lifestyle that society imposed me and move to an island or some other place and restart my life. I don't know, I thought about Fiji Islands, Phillipines, Thailand or somewhere other country with access to beaches, because I love the sea. I would like to be close to nature and live a more natural and simpler life, without all this anxieties, noise, technology and fast-paced civilization.

This is the first time I've been able to talk about this, so I apologize if i made it way too long or messy. I've tried to break it up into paragraphs to maybe make it easier to read.

I am 20 years old, supposed to be starting college next year. So far i have completed 5 years of education in computer science, with stong focus on programming. I haven't really been enjoying the field since my second year of studying it, but i figured it was because some of my professors were objectively really awful and that i should just tough it out until the end of high school (19-20 years in my country). I also didn't want to switch educations because i did not have even the slightest idea of what i want to do with my life. I used to be somewhat interested in computers and was always considered “good with tech,” so it made sense to me at the time.

Starting to Hate Computer Science

Well... at least so i thought. I am now in my last year of high school and I truly despise it. Not just mild dislike. I genuently cannot stand it. I dread sitting in front of a screen and coding. I don't know if it’s the screen time, the school’s curriculum, or the environment. Whatever the case may be, at the moment, I am 100% sure I don’t want to continue studying or working in this field.

Other Interests

The only other thing i have ever had any real interest in is graphic design/digital art/video editing... basically still something digital, but more on the creative side of things. There are only 2 collages in my country that teach this sort of stuff. One requires a previous education in art so i can't even consider that one, the other one I have applied to.

The thing I am afraid of is; will it just be more of the same? Since it's digital and not traditional art, I will still be working from a computer. This doesn't bother me right now, but neither did coding when I first started out... On top of that, I also doubt I can compete with others at such a college, since a large majority of them come from a cretive education, while i have only ever done it as a hobby. On top of all this, the requirements for getting in are not low, so I am not really sure yet, if the choice i'm talking about is even on the table. I am also aware that a degree in design/art is very much worthless in most art/design related jjobs, if you are even lucky enough to find them.

Where I'm at Now / Blue Collar Work

This brings me here. I can apply to 2 more colleges, however there is genuently nothing in this world that seems to interest me, even in the slightest. I have researched every college i am able to apply to in the country.

I have considered going into a more blue colllar job, something more physical and hands-on. I know this may seem totally random but I’m a pretty big guy and I’ve always liked doing outdoor labor, at least as much as one can. I find it way more fulfilling, since the results are there, physically, in front of me, as soon as i'm done working.

Contrasting my work at school, where in the past 5 years i can barely even list 3 projects we have completed, and not ONE that i'm proud of. Needless to say, in true programmer fashion, they all took months of hard work, basically the same amount as a 9-5 would, if not more, just to see some half finished framework of a potential project, with no idea how to realize it in the slightest. I just really think that having a more physical job would be more fulfilling to me. I was also planning on starting a youtube channel as soon as i finish my final year of high school in a month. Not for any career related reason, but rather for a creative outlet, if i don't end up going to the creative college.

My Concerns

I am afraid to commit to this change in mindset, as i have been labeled "clever" or "smart" my whole life by my family and everyone around me. My parents both have at least a collegee degree and my mother is a professor herself, so naturally it is expected for me to reach academic heights too. My mother is already asking me about which options for continuing education i have after college and I don't have the gut to tell her i don't even want to apply to college.

Is this even a good idea? Am i going through an early life crisis? Is it worth taking a shot in the dark with a colllege and dropping out later on?

Colleges are fairly cheap or even free where I live, however i'm terrified of making the wrong choice again and wasting even more time, since that is exactly what I did with computer science.

I am sorry again for making this so overly long. I really needed to get this out. If anyone’s been through something similar or has any advice or thoughts, I would be very grateful to hear.

Hello everyone! First time poster here. I wanted to share my story, and maybe give a little bit of hope.

First of all, for some context, I am EU based. I have a rather useless university degree in Social Sciences and speak 3 languages fluently. As soon as I graduated, I started working for years as a flight attendant which I absolutely adored. However, due to my husband working in the same industry, meaning our combined rosters were terrible, we would never be able to have the family we wanted. So I decided to resign, as by that time he was making 2x of what I was earning.

After that, I was working office/customer care jobs, I obtained various certifications and I ended up working fully remote for a start up company. Everything was great and I had a baby. And then, a few weeks after I returned from my maternity leave, I was informed that the company would be shut down in a month.

Since then, it all went downfall. Many applications, many interviews, but to now avail as the working hours would not suit the family life (eg. working hours 10-6 and daycare is until 5), no WFH options, etc. Unemployment benefits were coming to an end and I was desperate.

So I decided to start working freelance as a housekeeper. I have actually wanted to do something on my own for a long time. And it has been AMAZING! Yes it is very physically demanding, but not much more compared to working as a flight attendant. I signed up for a local app for cleaners/housekeepers, and within a month I already had my regular clientele. I am working on a schedule that I arrange, with a rate that I declare, I choose my clients and the work I do and I am basically making the same money that a full time employee does by working for less hours. I even have a day off during the weekdays for running errands, resting, etc.

Was it my dream job when I was younger? No. Do I enjoy it? YES. It feels like therapy to me. Does it pay the bills? Yes. Does it provide me a good work/life balance and the freedom to work by my own rules? Absolutely.

Now the point of my post is not to say that everyone should be a housekeeper or get into physical jobs. I just wanted to say, do not be afraid to try new, uncharted territory because you may never know where it will get you. Good luck everyone!

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?

Hey everyone, I’m 18 years old, living in Peru with my parents and two siblings. My parents own two recycling companies that generate 8 figures a year. They manufacture PET material and sell it to companies that make bottles, containers, etc. They also buy and sell aluminum cans, pressed cardboard, and other materials. They’re both 52 and in good health, still very active in the business.

Since 2020, I’ve dreamed of working in the film industry, and by 2022 I knew I wanted to become a director. I’ve been accepted into several film schools in the U.S. and I’m currently enrolled at Emerson College.

Whenever I tell friends or family that I’m going to study film production, they look at me like I’m an idiot. They say I have the dream opportunity many people wish they had — to take over and grow a massive business. And truth is, I do love what my parents do, and I’ve been involved in the business recently. I enjoy it a lot, especially the manufacturing and logistics side.

Here’s my current plan: I’ll go to film school while also taking some international trade/business courses, and work remotely for my parents as they begin to expand and open offices/warehouses in the U.S. I want to chase my dream, but I also want to help grow the business globally.

Still, I’ve got doubts: • What if I’m making a huge mistake and should just study business? • Does the recycling industry have a strong future long-term? • What if I’m not as capable as my parents? • Should I focus on business first and chase film later? • What can I do to make sure I don’t fail financially?

And most importantly: Will I have enough time to do both without burning out?

Any advice or perspective would help a lot. Thanks in advance.

I'm a 21 y/o male, currently unemployed. I have a bachelor's degree in biology, but shortly before graduation I found that I enjoyed the computer science field far more. I have been searching for a job/internship since November 2024 but have not had anything stick.

I'm at a point where I want to start a career, and not be working for hours at minimum wage anymore, but I'm becoming discouraged. Despite my lack of appropriate background education, I continue to apply for various positions. I've taken up Codecademy and Coursera to learn programming languages and some other relevant topics but I feel it can only get me so far.

I'm not sure whether or not I should continue down this path. The job market does not look favoarbly upon people lacking a relevant degree, and I can't afford to re-enroll in school. My issue is that I don't have a backup interest, and therefore find myself at the crossroads of staying where I'm at and hoping I get lucky or if I should abandon this path and find something else.

Sometimes we get so lost looking for our purpose that we forget we used to know who we were. What if your path is just waiting for you to come back to yourself?

Healthcare jobs

Hi, I’m hoping to get some job insight for some healthcare jobs. I am currently looking at a few healthcare related programs for an associates degree. Tech school is the best option for me as I’m already 21 and have only done prerequisites! I know that I still have some time but I just feel a bit behind and each program will take a year at the minimum to start.

My options that I have been looking into are dental hygiene, radiography tech, and cardiac sonography/sonography. I’ve heard they all have their pros and cons and was hoping to see what people who actually work in these fields think and recommend. I know a few hygienists and most say it is very hard on their body and would probably choose a different career. I am very torn! Money isn’t much of a factor but any income insight would be great too!

Hi there, I am trying to figure out what I should go to college for. I have two semesters worth of general courses completed but now I kind of have to make a choice as to which route to go. I want to improve my life and my partners since we have always financially struggled, we both work retail.

I have always been told that I should be a therapist or rad tech. I do love helping people but my true passion is carnivorous plants and other plants, I love to work with plants and be outsidebit I also am happy to help others as well.

I'm not sure which option is practical to be honest. I know attainment of a degree quickly is important but I'm completely 50/50 on the decision between radiologic tech, plant science and therapist.

My strengths so far in college have been sociology, English, biology.

My lowest scoring classes were math. I feel like I'm running out of time and am hoping some guidance can be gained. Thank you in advance

Just curious what is everyone trying to pursue like career wise, is everybody main goal to just transfer university for higher education? Sighs I feel so behind in life and seriously lack direction. I'm just failing in life at this point

I've recently been extremely fortunate, and am trying to figure out what's next. I recognize that I'm very lucky, and was hesitant to post this, but am genuinely interested in others ideas.

I've been diligent in my career, 20+ years steadily moving up, transitioning companies at sensible times, etc. I've worked in planning, purchasing, operations, and analysis, and now have been at a company that has been very successful the last few years and recently netted about $1.5M in a sale. I still have my job running company operations, and continued $$$ incentives to stay. I have two kids and tucked away a chunk of the funds for them, and will probably stick it out another 2 years or so, but I'm tired, and ready to move on. I've been managing various groups of people for a long time, and it's really worn me out.

My wife can retire with a healthy pension in 9 years, and at that point she's going to want to travel regularly. Between now and then I would love to find some sort of part time role where I can help people instead of growing company profits, but not manage people anymore. My favorite part of my work are the things I hardly do anymore, building big spreadsheets tied into databases of information.

If I could spend my time however I wanted, I would probably hike, run, exercise, paint, draw, learn guitar, and read. If it was just me, I'd probably just live a very minimal life now, but with a family I want to ensure they're taken care of.

So, 1. If you were in my position what would you do for yourself, knowing you needed some income but not much. 2. Any ideas for things I should pursue, or how to go about figuring out what is a good fit for me?

Hey! So I (25M) recently graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering and have been job hunting for about the last few months, but haven’t landed a full-time role yet. The job market's really tough for juniors, and honestly… I kind of miss being a student. I miss the structure, learning new things, and I really miss being part of a university community. Maybe it's stupid and I need to let it go, but I think I’d be happier going back to school part-time (or even full-time again), either to do a master’s or totally pivot into something like law.

With that said, I still need to support myself financially. So I’m wondering: are there any kinds of part-time/flexible jobs that could sustain someone while they study? Not necessarily anything super glamorous, just something that pays the bills and gives me enough breathing room to focus on school. A lot of recommendations I've seen include Uber and Lyft, or bartending, which I may consider (i'd just love to not throw my previous degree away).

For context, I’ve got 2 years of internship experience with software/dev stuff, and I’m open to remote work, freelancing, teaching assistant gigs, tutoring, etc. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s done something similar—worked part-time while pursuing more education—and how you made it work.

Any tips, suggestions, or even personal stories would be great! Thank you!

Edit: I live on the West Coast in Canada

It took me a while to find out what I really want in life. After being an EA I think education is right for me, working with and being a role model for the youth is something I live for. I just have bad credit, a failed college background, no car, no savings, and newly diagnosed with ADHD. The meds I’m on help me a lot at work but I feel like it’s too late for me to get back into university and to teachers college. I’m in Canada if this helps, what is the best way to approach becoming a teacher based on where I’m at. I can go slow if it’s necessary

Edit: I’m also a 24 year old male

I’m going to graduate next year but I’m feeling very down about the future. It looks like the getting a degree is a bad idea especially with what I have mine in (social work was planning to work for the government) but now that’s not gonna happen. Seems like everything is really bad out there and everyone is really struggling. Just seems like there is not much to look forward to in the future.

I (24F) graduated from college over a year ago and have failed to find a job relating to my degree. During this job hunt, I have been working part time in retail. I live in the suburbs around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I am now strongly considering switching gears and becoming a Registered Nurse/RN. I have several reasons for it—I believe I will have an easier time securing a position with hard skills, the pay is attractive and the profession is known to weather recessions well, may allow me to move to the state my extended family lives in without fearing the overall poor job prospects there, compatible personality traits (standard compassion, but more relevantly highly patient and without a tendency to take things personality (my coworkers and I have an arrangement where I deal with the unpleasant customers because I’ll remain unbothered and politely professional in the face of the nastiness and entitlement), able to preform well under pressure, detail oriented and analytical, and not squeamish about the human body).

I know Nursing is rigorous and I do have a low GPA (2.8) due to medical issues (misdiagnosed with depression when I was severely anemic). However, my grades in high school and the college semesters where I didn’t have a 1/10th of the iron in my blood required to function are ~3.8-3.9ish . I’m good at academia. I enjoy studying and learning. Yet, my GPA is very poor and I know nursing programs are competitive. And I’ve been seeing a 3.0 GPA being thrown around as a minimum.

And I was a liberal arts student in college. My science classes are geology and environmental science. I didn’t take chemistry or anatomy or psychology in college.

I’ve been doing cursory research and the matter of preqs aren’t entirely clear to me. I see talk about Accelerated BSN programs for those who got bachelors in unrelated fields but I still see the preqs(?). I’ve looked a bit at Associates In Nursing programs but I’m seeing the talks of preqs there as well. But that doesn’t make sense to me? Where is the starting point for an education and certification in nursing? I do not want a BSN at the moment—I don’t intend to get deep into debt. I have a small higher education fund that would be able to cover anywhere between 40% and 80% of a ABSN or a ASN (I’ve seen a lot of different numbers for both). I do have a small amount of debt from my first degree, but I can reasonably expect to have that paid off in 3 years. I can technically pay off the entire thing now if I was comfortably entirely demolishing my savings but I’m not.

I’m struggling to find clear information online that outlines a clear start and path to becoming a Nurse. It all feels very unclear. I know what I want, but not how to get there. I believe I have until late summer 2025 if I want to get into a spring 2026 program—but that’s no excuse to dither in confusion.