For those who have a hobby, passion, pursuit, or life goal that they want to make a living out of, but don't know how they can get there. We provide paths to all who request, so you can say "I found a way!" Wanderers and contributors alike are welcome, but be kind and supportive - no hate or judgement allowed here.
Be curious, not judgemental. -Walt Whitman
The thing that is really hard, and really
amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
--Anna Quindlen
A place for figuring out what you want to do and helping others find it.
If you have something you like to do, there is almost definitely a job out there that will pay you for it. A google search won't always be enough to find it, so get advice, relevant majors, and job suggestions from other redditors here.
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When you do not know your path forward or when you feel lost depression and anxiety is a natural response. Unemployment or feeling listless can be a temporary state, suicide and self harm is permanent. There are resources to help if you find yourself feeling like there is no way out, /r/suicidewatch has many users who have been right where you are and can help. If you need immediate help please call the National Suicide Hotline, 1-800-273-8255.
/r/findapath
I'm not ambitious or driven or anything like that. If goals are all about getting what you want, then what do you do when you don't want anything?
I mean, I guess there are some things I want, but they're all small time, small picture things, like a new phone or some work boots. I have no big picture, life goals, like building a business or having a successful career or mastering a skill. I don't know why this is.
I don't care about anything enough to work hard to achieve it. I basically only work just to survive and like buy a new record to add to my small collection.
All of this would be okay I guess, if only I didn't have the constant nagging feeling that I'm just wasting my life. Will I get to 60 and be filled with regret? I'm young-ish and I have the energy and health, but I'm not using for anything.
What do?
My end of December I was broken up with a few days after my birthday, Then my abusive dad had a heart attack and a few days later I ended up in the ER for 3 days with food poisoning . I got let go in July from my job most likely due to my disability and have since Been denied food stamps and govorment housing aid even though I need it bc I “make too much” . Am currently working a job my friend got me for $19 an hour which is nothing and am struggling greatly. Trying to get a career based job bc I need the security so badly and then my health has just been up and down since getting fired in July and losing some of my mobility. I really need to sue my old job but that’s the last thing on my mind right now. I’ve been trying to break things down into smaller pieces but it’s just too hard right now to do that when all my energy is going into staying alive and I feel like a failure and also so angry bc I wonder if I was more able bodied if things would be different but then I get really depressed knowing I’ll never be able bodied again and I just don’t know what to do. I feel SO lost in life rn
so i will quicly resume my story cause i don't really want to focus on that but i'm a shut in since 10 years , i'm 26 now pretty much mean that i didn't spend much time outside my room or where i was living those years. Never had any relation during that time or friendship even online.
I was happy in part during the first years , i really lived from daydreams where i spend hours a day in other worlds living truly beautiful thing. I had a breakdown four years ago and it was pretty much a nightmare that i couldn't escape but here i'm i think the worst passed.
So i'm here cause i can't find solution with my life right now. I don't find mean in it, and i'm really tired. I wish i could dream again , i'm still mesmerise time to time seeing little thing from my gardens or the clouds that break a bit that for exemple but that's pretty much it. The rest is fade, i always saw life adding some colors to forgot the rest but i struggle to do it , also internet being the only view to the external world scare me now i really felt left aside by the anger everyone have agaisnt each other now , erasing kinda the hope to be happy to come back in. How did you find reason to be passionate about things again , how did you make your heart beat again like a kid that choosed to find the time he spent in this world beautiful. I struggle to do that again, the weight of the years is too hard to allow me to do that , its like if i was struggeling so hard to keep my head outside the water for some second when my true place was down the abyss. I don't really get my place in that world anymore , i'm scared when for the first time few month ago i accepted that i was in that weird reality in that bubble where every meaning was so different from the outside. It was like putting all the weight of the hope i had to get out , i was kinda happy to be that little soul controlling those arm in my chair for the rest of my life and doing nothing more i even dreamed again for a bit. Everything will seems weird but i don't know how to explain all of this non sense that i had to build to keep a reason of living.
Hey because of my geography I’m really struggling to find a job. And I can’t really just pick up and go cuz I don’t have money either. I’m under qualified for entry level remote jobs and there’s very minimal available in my country if any. There’s a single gas station and a restaurant in town that Im gonna look into tomorrow? But all the positions might already be filled since the community is so small. And I’m going to try and get on EI. I also have to contact my step dad’s workplace cuz there might be an opportunity for me there too. It just sucks so bad. I wish I wasn’t born/raised here and I wish my last job just paid me enough to pay my rent so I could stay in my city. It’s so depressing. I’ve updated my resume multiple times and I have multiple versions of it for which job I’m looking at. I’m also thinking of going directly to company websites for camp cook jobs (my backgrounds in cooking) and yeah idk. I just hate not having money and I hate not having any support. Any practical advice is much appreciated.
The title about lays it out. I've spent my entire life focusing almost completely on academics and not much else. I graduated highschool with an associates, and now I'm about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice (with a minor in prelaw) this July. I genuinely don't know what I want to do with my life, because I never planned to live past highschool, and now I feel like I'm playing catch up when so many of my peers are older than me and ahead in their lives at this point.
I was planning on going into law school until a few months ago, when I realized that I hate that idea even though my parents have been pushing me into it since I was a kid. I thought about just going into it anyways, since it was a clear path, but I genuinely think that I would kill myself. I'm so burnt out on academics, but part of me wants to go get a masters just so I have more time to put off life.
I don't know. It's just really hard to make decisions when my whole life I've just been doing what my parents wanted me to do. I'm interested in some sort of job in an agency like the CIA, FBI, NSA, etc- but I don't have any qualifications or anything special since I didn't plan for this until a few weeks ago. I'm struggling to figure out what the best path to that would be, and if it's even something I could do. I need help
I’ll be 31 in March, wife is 26, we have a 1 year old little baby boy that means the absolute world to me and his mama…
I’m a Union Sprinkler Fitter (Fire protection) - Foreman making $37.90/hr. Great pay and even better retirement for South Georgia, Rural, extreme South Georgia.
I’m 11 years in, and my heart just isn’t in it - from leaving the house at 4:45am, to make it to an Airforce base where I’m currently working 2 hours away (on my own time), to work from 7-4, then 2 hours back home (on my own time), I have the option to stay out of town during the 5 days a week I work up there, but I don’t want to do that and miss what is going on at home with our baby boy. My career choice involves a ton of travel time (majority ends up being on my own time), we can’t keep apprentices, can’t keep quality fitters - so all the stress falls back on me - the foreman.
My wife wants to be a SAHM, but she works remote - from home medical coding ($19/hr), our baby boy is watched by my mother in law during the week, so child care isn’t an issue.
In 2017, I applied at a local Police department, my wife and I weren’t together then, so I had free rein, I wasn’t accepted for the job after the panel interview and it crushed me, I had no choice but to go back to work, so I did - that’s where I realized I fucked up. My heart is far from in this, if anything it’s given me depression, anxiety, and having ADHD, and that doesn’t help. I simply HATE what I do.
But I’ve settled, I provide a comfortable living for us, my bills are paid, - we’re almost stretched then - that’s the problem. Credit card debt that I need to take care of, but I just can’t shake the fact that I’m absolutely miserable.
I don’t know what to do, I have 40k sitting in a retirement account I can’t touch for another 3 years and must stay union, no telling what the economy holds in the future (lay offs, construction sector slowing way down), my dream has always been public service (firefighting/police) something of that nature.
Here’s another kicker - there’s zero support from my wife (we must have the insurance, she’s T1D. ), and I’ve provided this comfortable lifestyle for 5 years now.
Where do I go, what do I do?
Do I settle, man up and provide? Or do I follow my dream and do what I truly want to do?
Thanks for any advice
I’m 28F and I just can’t figure out what I want to do with my life. I can’t help but glamorize other people’s lives and wonder what it would be like to live in a big city like LA or NYC. I love my family and I have a big support system here. I know I’d miss them terribly if I were to move, and I don’t know how I would even support myself in a big city if I did. My dream is to have financial freedom so I could live in my hometown and a bigger city part time. I don’t know what I’m necessarily even asking, I guess just for some advice. I feel trapped and don’t know where to begin.
I’ve been feeling this way on and off for years and still have yet to make a big change. Part of me just wants to give up.
Hi all,
I have worked in the Hollywood entertainment industry for 8 years. I’m turning 32 this year and I’ve got to the point where I am no longer feeling fulfillment or any type of joy going to my 9-5. I thought this was my dream job. And, I’m making $28/hr but the amount of stress I’m put through on a daily basis ain’t worth it. I’m so tired after a days work and I don’t have the motivation to do anything. I just want to turn off my brain, and do nothing. I wish I made more money for the amount of bull I deal with everyday, maybe that would at least give me some sort of reason why I’m treated the way I am. Im especially jealous of how much others on the design side make with lower stakes. I am grateful I’ve been able to be employed for this long with all of the recent budget cuts and cancelled shows and for the projects I worked on but upwards mobility in this industry is REALLY hard especially right now with all the strikes. I had plans to go to the design side but have been stuck on the production side since I’ve entered the work force, I didn’t get my first promotion until 3 1/2 years in and had to leave my company for another company to get it. THEN I got put onto a project where the management was so bad I had to jump to another company and take a significant pay cut to not be treated poorly and I haven’t even gotten back to how much I’ve been making at that other place. I get a 3% raise every year and haven’t been able to negotiate because HR is in charge of them and have heavily dictated no more then 3%. And now, I’m being treated poorly with less money, but luckily still employee. I worked a little here and there on the design side but always freelance and never anything full time. Also all of that design work seems to be dried up, as well. But figured I’d throw that in here. I did have the idea of creating a patreon but unsure how much money I’d get for people paying for my art or if it would even cover my rent. (Don’t wanna be starving artist haha)
Full transparency: To move up in this industry, basically you gotta get real lucky in a startup like company to accrue the title then move over to a big company, or hope the person above you on the same show leaves, or somebody loves the shit out of you and takes you under their wing taking a huge chance on you, or finally, nepotism. What really gets me is that I entered this industry with 2 of my best friends and they skyrocketed up the ladder at their respective companies and when I’ve chatted with them it seems like they were just at the right place at the right time.
My role throughout the years can be categorized as a supervisor role (without the title). I manage a team of about 15-20 freelancers, where I consistently assign them tasks with due dates to remain on schedule, present our work for review to our executives, send our final assets to our oversea vendors, input data into our tracking software and give upper management data/ forecasted due dates for our work. I have trained multiple people underneath me and I always end up being the point person to answer questions be that in house or with our oversea vendors.
So my skills in a nutshell is supervising, projecting completion dates based off previous models, and of course, data entry.
In the past I’ve tried reselling stuff on eBay, and it wasn’t that bad. I had some fun going to thrift stores and I made about $1500 in like 2 months which isn’t alot but was a bit surprised by how much I made at all just selling random video games and junk from thrift stores. But I don’t wanna be a reseller or scalper.
I’m just looking for some advice to help me be happier, I feel so lost and just unsure what my next steps should be. I feel like I’ve wasted so much time. I feel like a failure and like I’m not where I’m supposed to be. Ive had an existential crisis the last week, not sure what to do. In the end I’d like to maybe make more money as I feel like I’m constantly having to stretch out my paychecks living out in LA, but honestly just be happier. Maybe I have to get out of LA? Sorry if this isn’t the place to post this type of question.
Any help is much appreciated.
I'm 23 and I just have no drive and focus. I just lost it. I was pre med in college but made no attempt to figure out what I want from life and see if thats what I wanted. I took all the needed pre reqs and even took the MCAT. I did so bad on the MCAT that I just decided to drop pre med all together. I feel as if I wanted to be a doctor I would have made much for of an effort to succeed and gain more experience as well as do well on my MCAT. I am now a graduate with no job, a psych degree and no idea what I want. I'm unemployed but I'm hoping to find some healthcare/patient care job. I am going to be taking classes at my community college because I am thinking about PA school since its similar to medicine but idk if I want that. I know I can get my masters in psych and maybe my PhD as well. I feel like everything is just a I dont know with my life right now. I just dont fucking know. I just want to know what I want and how I can achieve without worrying so much.
Im lazy, unmotivated, lost and weak. I just don't know.
I have been a phlebotomist, a med student, upheld multiple roles at a pharma company, and now I am an ops manager for a dental practice. I need to get out of healthcare and need some advice. I just moved and transferred with my company which was nice but I thought I would have a better work life balance. The old office I managed was brand new and I was there 6 days a week up to 12 hrs a day. The office I am managing now is older and supposed to be fully staffed. Well I was setup then a bunch of people moved and got promoted in my first month so I am back to my old schedule. I have no life outside of work and being in a new city with no friends sucks. The only way to get a new job is to know someone and my current job occupies so much of my life that I can’t network. This job pretty much robbed me of my life in my old city and now it’s preventing me from starting one here.
I would love some advice or other career suggestions. I am burning out and need to get out of healthcare…
First time poster in this sub, I'm genuinely not sure where else to turn. I'm 24, just graduated with a Bachelor's in Political Science, even though it wasn't what I was truly interested in (I finished it out because I was too far ahead in my coursework to change majors).
Currently, I work at the university I attended for my bachelors. It's an easy role, but it doesn't make much money to sustain me nor was this supposed to be my forever job. The plan has always been to pursue a master's in the field I should've gotten my bachelors in, but for some reason I'm having second thoughts about the field in particular.
I have multiple different career interests: going to law school, working in HR, becoming a licensed therapist/counselor, working in career counseling/advising, the list goes on. I am gearing up to pursue a masters in Strategic Communications, as it's something I enjoy and think I could succeed in.
Long story short (kinda), I want to be sure that pursuing this field is the best decision for myself. Any advice on how I can reassure myself or at least narrow my choices down? I've taken career tests online, compared salaries for multiple fields, and just about anything else you can do online lol. Any help is much appreciated :)
Hi Redditland,
Starting off the new year right… I am doing some soul searching.
I have a degree of hotel administration from a prestigious university that went to waste that for most of my life I struggled with addiction and mental illness.
By early 30s, I began freelance writing and managing to turn that into a corporate gig doing content marketing and writing in tech space. I made good money but I don’t really see a fulfilled future in corporate America.
Now, due to health issues and disability I am quitting my content writing corporate job and figuring out my next step.
I can do freelance writing or learn how to freelance social media though I doubt that’s enough to live on
I can start a business, I am interested in entrepreneurship however due to limited skill set and job experience I do not have any immediate ideas for a business
I can start an entirely new career — my interests include psychology, communications, spirituality, and sales.
Due to disability, I can only work remote jobs or start a business that is digital. I’m open to taking courses or certifications but not going back to school full time. Any advice would be appreciated 🙏 thank you!
I will have a degree in hospitality management at the end of this year. This was a personal goal and also a fall back plan for me. I would like to start my own business or use my degree in a different field. I need to work on my credit first I feel like and I’m also lacking in inspiration
I'm 31 and for the past 13 years, I've been a waiter, bartender, and call center/customer support rep. I really don't have a solid plan on what I want to do in life. I can't see myself doing the same type of work for the rest of my life tbh. I'm pretty lost in life and seeing how the job market and how the whole workforce is like for everyone, this scares the crap out of me.
I'm 26 years old, attended a couple years worth of college but never graduated from any of the courses I tried. Worked at a call center for a year in 2019, then doing remote support at a web hosting company for another year in 2022, and lastly doing remote tech support for another year somewhere else in 2023.
I've moved out and back into my mom/stepfather's house twice already, and had been living on my own on saved up funds from this last job throughout 2024.
Money is running out, and so is time. I haven't been able to secure another job yet, and if I can't do that before february, I'll have to move back in with my mother. They don't even have space for me there anymore, since my youngest sibling moved into my former bedroom.
I have autism and suffer from chronic pain, so it's nearly impossible for me to work a non-remote 40hr week. Even remote is hard as hell, and I've never been able to keep a job for over a year.
I really hate working support, but it's all I've been applying for since it's the only thing I have in my resume.
I don't know where to go from here. I need a job that doesn't feel like death both physically and mentally and pays enough to live, but also, I don't have any formal secondary education, and only have vague experience in one field that I hate.
Thanks for reading this far. I don't expect anyone to have the answer for me, but I just feel really shitty and lost and like it might not even be worth all this trouble and maybe I should just give up.
IDK. Alt acc because I have IRLs on main.
Hello all, I am here to share my story which is really quite self identifying when I include certain details. I don't want this post to be easily indexable by search engines so please excuse me being vague. But I need help I have been carrying these concerns for a long time.
Right now I am 28 years old and have been in recovery for almost 3 years after a several hospitalizations for bipolar/schizo-affective disorder. There is a significant genetic component to this disorder; it affected on of my parents and much of their family. I take a very strong anti-psychotic every day, along with a mood stabilizer. These pills allow me to sleep and function well on a day to day basis. It was a long and difficult journey to come to this place with respect to my disorder. I no longer feel that it is the major force inhibiting my progress in life.
Sobriety has been an essential part of my development and healing in the past 3 years and I intend to continue to practice it. I am physically active and making constant progress towards my fitness goals. I am proud to state that I have also overcome a crippling addiction to video games, although I do still sometimes enjoy playing some games with restraint.
I did not yet finish college, but am enrolled to finish my degree in this upcoming spring semester. If I get all A's and maybe a couple of B's, I will meet graduation requirements. The degree program, for narratives sake, we can just call a mix of Chemical + Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on power production. Think "splitting atoms to get electricity". It is a very small technical field and industry expectations are for high achievers with good GPAs and increasingly Master's degree requirements. My GPA is going to be inexcusably low upon graduation, most likely also barring any ability to go to Grad school. I don't want to use my mental condition as an 'excuse' for this poor performance, but suffice it to say my condition was not well managed when I was last in school. The good news is that this past year there have been widespread anticipations of growth in this industry.
I have been spending my time the last two years working in a few woodshops and fabrication shops in which my work product was mostly centered on live entertainment and the arts. Basically I have refined my ability to use hand tools, power tools, and larger format woodshop machinery to make real the designs of artists, or in the case of one part time job support the logistic needs of putting together fine arts gallery displays. Obviously this has nothing to do with splitting atoms. Also, it hasn't been very high paying, and my savings are not enough to fully cover the expenses to finish my degree outright because I have also myself had to climb out of credit card debt. Student loans to finish the program will not be outrageous, as it is only one semester.
Recently I had a discussion with my dad where I learned that due to a multiplicity of financial management mistakes, but also in large part my own costs for my undergrad degree, he and my mother are significantly behind on their retirement savings. They are not completely destitute but I don't think my mother is aware how much they will have to cut expenses and live differently in a few short years.
I want to be able to provide some financial assistance for my parents seeing as though they paid so much for an unfinished 4 year degree, over a much longer timespan than should have been necessary. I have been living with my parents for the last three years and owe them deeply for my ability to have any sort of future. My mental condition could easily have unravelled my life, if not for intensive medical treatments. I am deeply thankful for modern medicine.
Also, I genuinely want to have a family some day. I'm getting older and it's painful to see many of my peers beginning to start families when I am lacking in my career prospects. I'm the past I have had mostly positive romantic encounters, including some long term relationships, but am currently single as the girl I was dating most recently didn't want to have a long distance relationship, which is understandable and probably for the best.
I feel a tremendous amount of guilt over putting my parents in financial ruin to support my recovery, when I am a full grown adult. I am terribly uncertain about how to apply my degree, if I can manage to finish it, professionally. Before my condition was managed through intensive therapeutics and my current medications, I often had spirals of paranoia and obsession -- frequently related to climate change and the perils of both near and distant future for our petroleum dependent industrialized civilization. It is sometimes difficult to not feel the shadows of this paranoia still haunting me, but I have cultivated an attitude of perseverance.
I don't exactly know how to conclude this post. If you made it this far, I thank you for your attention. I am deeply troubled about the future of my finances and feel an obligation to pay my parents back for their support, but don't know how or where I will find improved future employment. I do well in work environments where I am engaged with tools and problem solving, but know that even if I can finish my degree program that it may be difficult to find employment because I lack direct industry internship experience during my enrollment, instead working at retail-level equipment repair shops for my favorite outdoor hobby.
As the beginning of the semester approaches, I feel the crushing weight of intersecting concerns. I often question my own competence to finish the program. Please feel free to give me any advice or tips. I need to find strength, as I cannot afford weakness any longer.
i’m drawn to americorps because of the volunteer opportunities, ability to travel, feel like i’m helping/doing something productive but i don’t want to drain a year of my life away being financially exploited. do any of you know any good alternatives? thanks!
I’m interested in jobs where you largely work on your own - you don’t report to anyone, you’re not stuck in an office environment, and you’re responsible for your own work
Ideas that I’ve come up with include:
I just turned 22 last week. And had a sudden realization that all my high school peers have graduated or are soon graduating college. And I’m sitting here in my room with nothing done for myself. When I graduated, I started a community college for film production because that’s the only thing I was interested in at the time. However like 2 months in, I began to dread it and dropped out. And don’t really have anymore interest in it. Took about 4 months off and opted to try again for my basics and once again, I dropped out again. After that I worked at a retail store and started off as an associate, and got promoted to an assistant manager within 6 months. Did that for about a year and a half or so and made 50k. However, that job required working overnights and my body just couldn’t take it anymore. So I stepped down and I am back to a regular associate. And now I am here having no idea what I want to do as a career. Though, I have narrowed down to some things I want in a career; non-labor, desk/office job strongly preferred. I am okay working on a computer/cubicle/desk all day. I would strongly oppose pursuing a 4 year degree since I am looking to get a career going within this year. However I would be open to doing a short certificate type program that takes 3-12 months to compete. So I guess in summary, I am looking for a desk job that consists clerical/administrative work. And open to doing a short certification program that will land me a decent job and that also has a good outlook. Any advice would help tons. Tyia :)
I (21m) don't have much experience and the only jobs ive had are customer service. I only have a HS diploma and ive considered going to college or trade school but i haven't found anything that piqued my interest. I can't really work a regular 9-5 because my sleep schedule is usually 3am-11am, sometimes later (ive tried so many times to fix this but i just cant.). On top of that im also very introverted and have social anxiety, which i take meds for. Is there ANY job that is fitting for my description or do i just have to buck up and fall in line?
EDIT: I am still considering college/trade school so any suggestions that require a degree or training im open for
I just got really depressed when the year finally switched, another year, another failure for me. I just realised that time passes by and i don't get anywhere.
I'm 22 going for 23 and i currently have 0 qualifications. I didn't go to University because i failed the exams (I'm in Europe, there's no community college or military here like in the US). I tried getting into trades but i failed miserably. I was born with a heart condition that doesn't allow me to lift heavy weights and i also suffer from an autoimmune neurological disease.
Since i graduated I've worked a little bit in dead end jobs like warehouses etc. But I have nothing to currently put in my CV (I've unemployed for 1.5 year now). All of my friends left me, they think that im a loser so nobody hangs out with me anymore. I don't have anyone that i can call a friend today. I've spend the past 4 years mostly in my house playing video games and watching movies. I have no social life, it's very awkward and hard for me to talk to people irl. I think that everyone I talk to gets weirded out a little bit, but I've been alienated for a long time. It doesn't help that im incredibly ugly too and my face is malformed
I can't also do simple tasks like for example driving. I can't drive to save my life. Every time i sit behind the wheel i think that im gonna kill myself because I'm not "smart" enough. I'm very slowly compared to everyone else , i feel like everyone is moving too fast on the road and my reflexes are terrible. I also seem to not have a good sense of space.
I was never diagnosed with a mental or a learning disability but I'm genuinely incredibly bad and clumsy at everything i try. I used to have an incredible memory but now i forget everything i read after a few minutes. I find it hard understanding simple tasks and there are times when my 10 year old cousins beat me in games like jenga or puzzles.
Every one from my school has already graduate from university and is either working or doing their masters. And I'm still currently at the same place i was after i graduated. I don't see any way out of it. I have no prospects, talent or drive to do anything. There's nothing that really interests me in life and I'm generally very afraid of everything.
My family is also a mess. I don't want to go in depth, but the relationships between us are shattered. I feel like a leech because i still live with my parents and they still feed me, but I'm capable of standing on my own feet. (most people live their parents home after their 20s in my country)
2025 gave me a panic attack. I think that it's only going downhill from now on. Every year i get worse and worse. The only good thing is that i don't use any kind of drugs (weed, alcohol etc) and that I have a relatively normal weight.
Is there any way that i could improve? Unfortunately I see no light at the of tunnel and it's getting too late. This was honestly the worst new years eve ever for me. I spend the whole day panicking in my room...
F (19 y.o)
This might not be the ideal place, but since there are a lot of people here, maybe someone can offer suggestions or share their thoughts. To keep it brief, right now I'm at a point where I’ve finished school, and I know I’m not going to go to university, college, or any other similar institution. School was just so boring and felt like a waste of time. I also didn’t know where to go next, because I never understood people who can live in their own illusions, thinking everything is fine when we literally just randomly appeared here.
The thing is, I want to live, I want to see where things will go, but the problem is I don’t know what to do or where to work. Sure, there are things that aren’t completely awful, but that doesn’t mean I want to do them. I remember starting to learn 3D design, and I’m confident I’m talented at many things. It feels like whatever I try, it doesn’t look like I’m doing it for the first time. I know I’m smart in my own way, but even if I’m talented or intelligent, that doesn’t change the fact that I know what to do.
I met someone who told me, "If you really like something, go for it and you’ll make it," but when I replied that I wasn’t sure if I liked it, and that I just wanted money to live, they said, "Then don’t do it, because you won’t stick with it." And that got me thinking. But still, the fact remains: I don’t know what to do. Whenever I try something new, I give up after a couple of days. It’s not just because I’m lazy, but because I think, “What am I even doing?” I’ve tried several things—graphic design, video editing, 3D, motion graphics—but none of them lasted long.
People often say, "You won’t succeed if you’re not passionate about it." But if I’m not into anything, then what should I do? The only thing I know for sure is that I want to work on a computer.
There is one thing I do like about myself: even though I hated school and didn’t go to college or university, I’ll never stop learning new things. I remember working at a small restaurant for a day, and by the middle of the shift, I was thinking, "Maybe I shouldn’t continue with this job." The person training me said, "No, no, you should come back tomorrow." She also said - At first, I was scared too of the job, but I stayed. And now, I’ve been working in here for 8 years!
After she said that she smilled and i was thinking that i will never be in her place, not bcs i dont respect this kind of jobs or people which works in there but bcs the monotony and lack of growth is the worst for me.
I’ll always keep moving forward, because that’s what motivates me. But I still don’t know which direction to go.
The one thing I’m sure about is that I want to work on a computer. But beyond that, I’m lost.
I stayed at a job a hate instead of taking a new one...I don't even know why at this point. I regretted it almost immediately, but couldn't take it back. Now I feel stuck and like am not going to find something else. I've been crying for 3 days. I haven't ate or slept for 3 days. I just want to make it all stop. Quitting is not an option. I can't take time off since I only have 8 days that have to last me 8 months. It took 4 months to land the other job and the thought of having to be a this one for months fills me with dread. I moved to the middle of nowhere. I have so many regrets and am questioning all my decisions. I feel like a failure.
I'm looking into being an air traffic controller and I had some questions. What's the process and requirements for becoming an air traffic controller? Do you need to have any sort of degree? I know there are age limitations, what age range would you have to be in right now to be able to be one? I know being a pilot they are very strict when it comes to mental illness, is it the same for being an air traffic controller? Would being on ADHD medication and having a history of suicidal ideation disqualify you from being an air traffic controller? This is in the US
As title says. Went and graduated from a university with a bio degree in 2018 that I never used after deciding not to pursue pre-med once COVID hit.
Worked odd jobs until in 2021 decided to pursue programming after discovering it and realized it was something I really enjoyed. Started a second degree in community college only to halt after 2 years and went to a coding bootcamp in 2023 dropping 20k.
Havent been able to land a job…Now the job market is cooked. Im working a dead end office job making 50k a year, only 6k in savings. Everyone else I grew up with is wildly successful.
Only thing I like about my life is I discovered a hobbies I genuinely love out of pure luck (skydiving, scuba, snowboarding) and I can’t afford to pursue them to the level I want to due to my financial situation. I have a partner and family who love and support me but I can’t get over myself for making wrong decisions and not being as driven or emotionally mature earlier in my life to have made wiser choices that wouldve set me up for success today.
Somedays I wake up wishing I could off myself for a chance at a do-over but cant because of how it would affect my loved ones.
Feel very unsure about myself and what I should do next career wise. Anyone else in the same boat or that could offer perspective?
i have no idea what degree to do, I have no skills and I have failed maths multiple times
I am somewhat good at english literature and writing , I love learning about social issues and different cultures and languges. I have no dream career or goal or career desire all I want out of life is to travel and see the world and I want a career that is able to fund that.
I was thinking about nursing my whole family does it everyone says it is secure and they want me to do it but I am very unsure , I work as a healthcare call handler , this the only experience I have if working in healthcare , I find the learning about different illnesses quite interesting but I find dealing with the mentally I’ll patients is very frustrating and I find that it id draining .
nursing is secure but I cannot travel abroad with my degree as they only allow placement in the uk I don’t know if I could handle it I don’t want to deal with old people and I idk if I can handle sickness and those terrible work hours
I did health and social care in school and it was terribly boring .
I cannot think of any other degree that I could get into that doesn’t require much skill academically I’m so stuck and I have 3 weeks to decide pls help
I'm a 26M turning 27 this month and I'm looking to improve my life and find fulfillment. I currently live with my parents and have been living with them since 2020 when pandemic began after living away for college to get a bachelor's. Graduating during the pandemic in 2020 with mathematics degree, I worked fast food & retail until landing my current role in 2022 working in a technical support call center full-time. I unfortunately didn't do any internships because I was a community college transfer student and struggled with academics and regret not putting myself out there. I currently make 49K before taxes and am fully remote. I want to go back to university for a part-time second bachelor's or master's in engineering and am currently taking community college classes online part-time to catch up on prerequisites with the intentions of applying for internships and hoping change my career.
I know it may sound normal for most but I feel like I'm not living up to my age and feel like I've wasted my 20s so far. I have no friends I can go hang out with around my age. Nor do I have a partner. I also live in a small town where there's not much to do for people around my age. I'm not into parties and going out to clubs / bars but I like going outside to explore and watching videos / playing video games as past times / hobbies. I hang out with my parents and still travel with them. I appreciate my parents but I'd like to have some trustworthy friends I can hang out with regularly that isn't family. I feel as I get older I find it harder to make friends. My old friends / classmates from high school have since moved on from living in my small town and are are in meaningful relationships already. I also don't have a car because I find them to be a financial burden and feel that having a remote job I don't need one right now.
The only highlights of my adult life are that I have a decent, stable job for my area (but I absolutely hate it and trying to get out of it), I have 50K saved up, and am college educated in a STEM field. I really want to move out but with my current income and being single it doesn't make sense if I want to live in any respectable town or city in the USA. I'm really scared of being "normal" when others around my age are able to live on their own terms while I'm struggling every day dealing with rude clients. I really want to work in something science or engineering related and I have the degree but not having the job makes me feel like a failure. I also envy those who are able to work in those fields in their 20's. After my 8-5 I feel burnt out and exhausted with no energy to do anything else. I feel like my out is to go back to university in-person and re-try the social scene even though I'm in my late 20's and try to land an internship. Either that or apply for jobs until I get a better role that will allow me to move out in this brutal job market. Or move to another city / town that is less desirable and try to meet people.
I would like some advice and help on what course of action is for a person my age. I feel stuck and am losing hope. Thank you for reading this.
my after-graduation plan
hi all. im 17 and currently a senior. this year, teachers and peers have been laying it on thick about going to college or finding a job after graduating. over the course of high school, i've considered going to college to be a cosmotologist, artist or cartoonist, interior designer, etc. these careers were all something that correlated with my personal interests, but i see no practicality in them among this economy.
something i've taken a recent interest in that also speaks to me personally is nursing. i'd like to help people out in the medical field and would also prefer not to be in school forever (looking at you, doctors). when i look into the logistics of becoming an RN, there's the choice of becoming an RN under a BSN or ADN. my immediate choice would be an associate's, but the job opportunities (more money) are much better under a BSN, but it would take longer to become one.
my plan is to become an ADN nurse under a program and later become a BSN nurse under an ADN-to-BSN program. i'm also looking into travel nursing as well.
i'd like some advice, suggestions, tips, whatever, on this plan to make sure this is the best path for me. i'd also be more than open to looking into other careers in the medical field or just in general.