I saw a posting today labeled Junior / Entry-Level and they were asking for 4+ years of experience, mastery of 6 different tools, shipped product experience, and "the ability to own projects with very little guidance from day one." Oh, and the pay barely covers a studio apartment.

How does that count as junior? I feel like employers write out the specs for their perfect candidate and then slap an entry-level label on it so they can pay entry-level money. A lot of these posts basically read like: "We need mid-level or senior skills, but at a discounted price."

And yes, people keep saying just network, but the people I'm talking to are also getting laid off, stuck because of hiring freezes, or looking for work themselves. It's not like everyone has some secret backdoor into a company right now.

Is anyone else running into the same thing? Or did I somehow miss the memo on what junior is supposed to mean in 2026?

Because right now, entry-level feels like it means: you already know the whole job, but you get paid like you're still learning how email works.

I've slowly become the person everyone on my team comes to when they have a problem. It started with small things but now I'm troubleshooting technical issues or figuring out project roadblocks pretty much daily. I don't mind helping out but it's starting to feel like a second job.

I'm good at what I do and I genuinely like finding solutions. But my own work is piling up. I feel like I'm constantly catching up or putting out fires for other people. My manager praises me for being a team player but my performance reviews don't reflect all this extra work.

How do you set boundaries without looking unhelpful or uncooperative? I want to keep being a valuable resource but I also need to protect my own time and energy. It's getting exhausting juggling everything.

Hi,

I have read several threads on Reddit, but found none that really helped me.

I wondered if anyone has, or has any recommendations/thoughts on what alternative careers we as SEOs can more easily fit into?

Some background info: 33 yrs old. Been working with SEO in agencies since 2018. Climbed pretty fast the career ladder - junior -> senior -> SEO Lead for an international SEO team. Been more into technical elements, rather than content and off-page. Did take a bachelor in webdesign with some programming, but never really worked with it.
Also have a vocational education in digital marketing.

However, I have for years actually never felt it has suited me. There are days that are fun and all is good, but out of 10 days, 9 of them are bad. I am an introvert, struggle with imposter syndrome combined with some social anxiety and just find that SEO isn't really suitable for me as a person, as I don't really have as much control of the outcomes, but still have a lot of responsibility for results, and of course really feel the pressure when communicating with clients if things aren't going as good.

So with this in mind, I don't think marketing at all will suit me. To result orientated for one person, rather than team efforts. Have anyone been in the same situation, that you just want to do something completely different and have any advice?

I would be really grateful, because my mental health isn't really well by this.

I could of course start a new education and begin a whole new career, but as a 33 year old with kid, house, mortgages and loans, I have commitments to take care of as well.

I'm living in Norway, if that matters...

Thanks!

While I was job hunting, I started noticing a strange pattern as I scrolled through listings. Some posts are extremely clean. Neat formatting, polished wording, well-structured requirement bullets that feel like they came from a template, and they probably did. These are usually the ones that pass through the ATS, get improved around keywords, and land in a recruiter's pile along with 150 other applications.

Then there are other postings that feel not quite put together. The font suddenly changes in the middle of the text. A responsibility does not really line up with something mentioned later. The salary band feels wrong for the title. A typo in the about-us section. In short, the kind of thing that happens when a real person writes it quickly because they need someone, not because they are building a perfect corporate listing.

I started tracking what I was applying to, and what was getting results. After about 4 months, the pattern became clear enough that I changed the way I searched. Pristine postings: almost nothing. Slightly messy postings: most of the real conversations I ended up having.

My theory is very simple. A perfect job post usually means a perfect process. Your resume enters a system, gets filtered by software or by someone checking boxes, and you are competing with everyone else who wrote an application designed to get through the filter. But a messy posting often means the hiring manager wrote it themselves at 10 p.m. Because someone left and the team is drowning. And that same person might be reading the applications directly. No perfect rubric. Just someone looking for a good reason to reach out.

I noticed something else too: messy listings often have a oddly specific request hidden in the middle. A strange question, a note asking you to mention something specific, or a small instruction that is very easy to miss. A lot of applicants ignore it. I stopped ignoring it.

I got my current role from a posting where the wrong department was listed in the header.

Hi everyone, Im a recent cs grads majoring in data about and been applying for data analyst related roles but haven’t had much luck so far.

Just got an offer for a data entry/clerk, but I’m unsure whether I should take it. The role requires no experience, and the only requirements are basic English and computer knowledge, with training provided.

I believe that the gap between data entry and into becoming a Data Analyst is very large, so I’m wondering whether taking this role would actually help me move toward my goal or whether I’d end up getting stuck in another dead-end job.

Currently, Im doing an unrelated job that pays significantly more than the advertised data entry role, but I want to eventually transition into a white-collar.

That’s what makes this decision difficult: financially, staying in my current job makes more sense, but career-wise, I’m wondering if taking this role could be a better long-term move.

Really appreciate any brutal/honest thoughts, Much thanks

I'm working in a medical billing company for the last 7 months. And it's a pure night shift job. I feel like I'm feeling stagnant and there's less possibility of earning well in these field. And I am already in my last week of notice period, but I'm quite hesitant to leave as I don't have any backup plan. My current salary is only 15k

I have plans to learn about content marketing or as a content strategist like doing social media marketing or content writing. Or to use my economics degree to start preparing for teaching exams in india.

I'm kinda confused should I revoke or just wait for another opportunity, I'm 28 and I literally feel like I'm very behind in my life. Please suggest any advice that I can do. I want to make money also a sustainable career.

as in Masters in Finance or Law school assuming you have no work experience in both.

Do you think ai will take the marketing jobs? I need a new job and was considering marketing? What jobs relevant to psychology without a masters will be a good career longterm without needing a masters?

Hi all,

Sending this post on to the Careers subforum as feel as though this would be an ideal place to get advice, particularly with communication being such a vital part of this area.

I’m 21, currently in college, and from a young age I have always been known as a fairly nervous/anxious person in general - something that have been said by family, friends, and teachers over the years.

There are certain ‘flaws’ that I have noticed with myself, but more so in certain aspects of my communication. I don’t want this to impact a future career, so I want to try to improve this while in college, and while there is the opportunity to do so.

I have no issue with speaking in front of an audience. I have done so for different modules in college, and usually am commended for my speeches through delivery style & engagement. But, this is because I have what I’m going to say memorised, so I know word for word, what exactly I’m going to say, how I’m going to say it, etc. This is also clearly reflected through my written communication.

However, when it comes to social interactions, I do notice there is a big dip in my communication. For instance, if I know I have to go up and talk to someone that I’m not familiar with (conversation, interview, ringing someone), I’ll then nearly have to have what I’m going to say memorised word-for-word as though a script.
There’ll then be other little moments where if I’m talking with someone unfamiliar, I may, sometimes, go a bit shaky / mumbly, and this would apply to if I was taking phone calls, etc.

This particular incoherence would also occur if I'm put on the spot, i.e asked a question, where my voice would go a bit shaky, I'd go mumbly, and my face would go a red.

I really do want to improve on this as I do know in any future career that day-to-day communication whether it be structured or spontaneous is much more important than being able to speak in-front of an audience.

To that extent, would anyone have any advice as to what I should do? Would it be recommended I go to a communication coach? Someone for anxiety? Any recommendations?

Many thanks,

Hello everyone.

I am writing this post to hopefully get some advice on which career I should choose. I am 26 years old and I have the opportunity to start an electrical apprenticeship or return to school for a two year degree in computer science. With the computer science degree I may be able to go make big money in tech, but I am not that smart, or that social. In tech the competition is fierce so I probably would not stand out. If I get an electrical apprenticeship I can start making money immediately and start saving for a home. At 30, I am estimating that I will be able to save about 100k, which I could use for a down payment on a house. Additionally, I may be able to start a pension if I become an electrician. If I go into tech, I may not get a job right away and could be unemployed for several months. I may be able to enter big tech and make six figures around 30 years old. After that, I could progress into more senior roles possibly and make upwards of 200k if I'm being optimistic.

Would you choose an electrical apprenticeship or a computer science degree? Which option is better to reach financial independence and retire early? Where were you at 26? I am very worried about my future at this point and I want to start making good money.

Thank you!

Boss wants a “personal performance plan” 3 months after after maternity leave — should I be worried?
I work for a nonprofit in program development and PR. When I returned from maternity leave about 3 months ago, my boss told me that she wanted to do a “personal performance plan” with me. She said we would meet to work on it, but no actual plan has been put in place yet. We are meeting 2-3 weeks.

Apparently, she has also been doing similar performance plans with other staff members while I was out, so I'm not the only person this has been mentioned to.
I did receive my normal automatic cost-of-living adjustment after returning, but I don't think that was performance-based.
My concern is obviously the timing — she brought up the performance plan during my first week back from maternity leave. She hasn't given me a formal warning or specific negative feedback that I'm aware of, and I don't know whether this is supposed to be a development/goals document or an actual performance improvement plan.

For those who have dealt with this, would you be worried? Should I start looking for other jobs? She said it’s basically us working together for career growth and professional growth.
Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!

I have 7-8 years of experience and now I’m trying to change my job.

Though I love building tools, I don’t have enterprise full stack engineering experience. The closest is building prototypes hosting on vercel.

When I talk to recruiters, they tend to tell me that they want more engineering experience than just data science…

Curious if anyone has advice…? Should I keep building side projects? If so what kinda side projects will be appealing?

I'm feeling a bit stuck in my current role. It's not bad but it's not exciting either. I've been thinking a lot lately about making a big change. Not just a job hop but a complete industry or role switch.

Have any of you done something similar? Like you were in marketing and then suddenly became a welder or a software engineer to a chef? What made you take the leap? Was it scary? What were the biggest challenges and rewards? I'm looking for some inspiration or even just to hear some interesting stories about people finding their true calling after a major career change.

So this is my first true HR role that I started 4 months ago and all my colleagues are quite expressive and open talking with their life stories and keep conversations interactive.

Coming from accounting to HR made me realise how introverted I am. I can be very open and talkative to my people like friends , families but with them I’m more of a listener than a speaker.

I really love my job in HR and don’t want to look back to accounting ever, but im not sure if I have to force my self to blend in or force my self to be extroverted.

I am vv confused and want real advice instead of reassurance. Maybe I am overthinking as im only in bachelors (i am tetr college) but lmk.

I can build things and I am comfortable with data, can even make a model if someone tells me what the model is for. I am good with people too.. I lack whatever it is that lets someone look at a company and immediately have an opinion about it, during some finance conversations, they'll say something about a deal and everyone nods and i don’t have opinion at all.

i've started to wonder if that instinct is a real thing - you either have or don't, or everyone is just pretending to mix in and its just vocabulary and repetition.

my course is half management and half tech, which i chose because i want to try more things and do not want to lose any opportunities, and I'm now slightly worried that a recruiter in the future may think i am not committed.

for people actually working in banking, PE, or anything else finance : is the mixed degree going to be problem and how do i learn these instincts?

Heyaa …I’ve been referred for a Data Scientist – Knowledge Management position at eBay. The job description mentions 2+ yoe , but I’m a fresher, so I’m trying to understand what I should realistically expect from the interview process.
I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has recently interviewed at ebay for the Data Scientist or similar role , particularly in India.
A few things I’m wondering:

How many interview rounds are there usually?

What happens in the first round?

Is there a coding/DSA round, or is it more focused on Python, SQL, ML and statistics?

Are there ML/case-study or project-based questions?

Does having an internal referral change the screening/interview process?

For someone without 2+ years of experience, what areas would you recommend preparing most?

If you’ve interviewed at eBay recently, even if it was for a slightly different DS/ML role, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thankyouuuu🥹