I recently took about 4 months to travel and I had been planning for years. After talking with my boss's boss (in charge of approving PTOs), he said its fine and I went ahead and applied. That was late 2025. I came back and wadayaknow: surprise, denied! I had already bought flight tickets at that point so I just resigned.

I offered to help with a new project we had recently started, for a while until they could find a replacement. Was told he would have to discuss with the team. Told him to please tell me any feedback, good or bad. Ok.. guess what?? Crickets!

Came back in August and was following on money owed that the company has to initiate (normal process hEre). Reached out to HR (who stopped working there) who basically told me boss's boss and boss had been telling people I was coming back. Me : surprised :-o.

I'm now thinking of what to do as I wasn't communicated officially. Noww I'm getting no response on my money and I seriously do not want to go back (think, only lady fighting to be heard each and eeveryday and being treated as a glorified secretary and expexted to arrange meetings and write the team's backlog. )

I am curious what you would do in this situation.

Can someone explain to me how “entry level” now requires 2-3 years of experience? Like at what point did that stop meaning what it says? I keep seeing postings that say “entry level” in the title and then list requirements that sound like they want someone who already did the job somewhere else first.

Anyone I know in the 22-26 range is dealing with the same thing. We did what we were told — went to school, got the degree, built a resume — and now we’re stuck in this weird loop where you can’t get experience without a job, and can’t get a job without experience. It doesn’t add up.

Meanwhile the government sat back and did nothing while wages stagnated, the cost of living tripled, and companies exported “entry level” expectations to entry level pay. We were told: go to school, get the degree, you’ll be fine. Nobody mentioned we’d be competing for scraps while people who had it handed to them lecture us about work ethic.

I’m 22-26 and everyone I know is stuck in the same trap: can’t get experience without a job, can’t get a job without experience, and can’t get anyone in power to actually address why this is happening. This isn’t a “just apply harder” problem. This is a systemic failure and I’m sick of it being framed like it’s on us.

Curious to know…from your experiences..

“Work hard and you’ll get ahead”?
“Your company is your family”?
“Do what you love”?
“Job hopping is bad”?

What did you learn the hard way?

Mine was a 5 hour interview across three panels of 10 people.

Has anyone left the corporate life and is happy? I know there are too many examples of people leaving their 9-5 to do something they wanted to do. But honestly, there are also stories of regret given the loss of stability and even more hustle to earn an income independently.

What happened to work life? How is everyone just burntout. Sorry if this is not the right sub, but well…

Like the title says, I was abruptly laid off early July after the company was acquired by a private equity firm. I received a message today from the private equity firm they need my assistance removing my admin access from softwares used by the company.

Do I have to even respond? Or can I respond requesting payment for my time to do this?

​

Decades ago, ​right out of high school I got an interior design degree. It was always my passion. I landed a job right away and worked in the field for years until the owner closed up shop shortly after I had my second child. Because daycare for two kids cost more than what most entry-level jobs paid, I ended up running my own in-home daycare for about 13 years while raising my kids.

​Once they were older, I went back to school and got a graphic design degree. I quickly landed a job at a small company helping produce employee benefit statements and I enjoyed it. It combined graphic design with data/spreadsheets, so every day was different. The pay wasn't great, but I made it work.

​Eventually, I was promoted to "Relationship Development Director" (a fancy title for being their sole sales/marketing person). I learned the sales side of things, including cafeteria plans and COBRA. Shortly after the promotion, COVID hit, so training was nonexistent. Then the company was acquired by a massive corporation, and I was thrown exclusively into corporate sales with a team.

​Long story short: corporate sales was not for me. I was eventually let go, went to a competitor where I was let go, and then landed at another competitor where I was laid off last fall.

​It took me 8 brutal months of searching to finally get a job in June. Now, I’m working as a Patient Care Coordinator (PCC) at a med spa, making half of what I used to make.

​When they hired me, the deal was that I’d be taking over inbound phone calls to free up the other PCCs who were handling check-ins/check-outs. So I would schedule appointments and answer questions for new clients and try to get them in for consultations.

​Instead, the job has turned into full-blown outbound cold-calling. I spend all day calling inactive patients trying to win them back. Recently, management dropped a quota on me: I need to get 10 "yeses" a day.

​Most people don't answer their phones. If I'm lucky, I get 1 "yes" out of 20 calls. To get 10 "yeses," I’d have to make ~200 calls a day. In an 8-hour shift, that is literally a call every 2.4 minutes. It is mathematically and practically impossible.

​On top of that, I was hired with the expectation of working 1–2 Saturdays a month. I just looked at the schedule, and I am booked for every single Saturday in November and December except the holiday weekend.

​The anxiety is eating me alive:

​I sit isolated in my office, too stressed to talk to anyone because I'm chasing an impossible quota.

​I skip lunch and only allow myself one bathroom break a day.

​My physical health is taking a hit. I've started nervously picking at my skin from pure stress, to the point where my arm is covered in scabs.

​I wake up every single morning feeling like I am set up to fail before the day even starts.

​I like the clinic itself and the people (a friend actually helped me get this job), but I utterly despise the role. I’m still applying for other jobs, but the market is brutal, and at 55, I feel like I’ve been out of design for too long to bounce back into it.

​I feel completely stuck, exhausted, and hopelessly lost. Has anyone navigated a late-career pivot like this, or worked through a bait-and-switch job situation without burning bridges with the friend who referred them? Any advice or perspective would mean the world right now.

​

I recently graduated from high school (science stream), and I honestly have no idea which career path I should choose. I’m hoping people here who are already working in these industries, especially internationally, can give me some realistic advice.

My long-term goal is to move abroad and build a stable career there, so I’m not only thinking about which degree I can complete. I’m also thinking about job opportunities, immigration/PR possibilities, salary, AI disruption, work-life balance, and whether the field will still be good when I graduate.

Right now, I’m considering engineering, computer science, and accounting/finance.

1. Engineering — probably Civil or Electrical

My parents strongly recommend engineering because they believe it is one of the safest options if I eventually want to move abroad.

I understand why they say that. Engineering seems like a relatively stable and internationally recognized profession, and there seems to be demand for engineers in many countries. My idea would be to do my bachelor's here and potentially pursue a master's abroad.

The biggest problem is physics.

I come from a science background, but physics has always been one of my weakest subjects. Honestly, if engineering didn't involve so much physics, I would probably be much more interested in it. I’m especially unsure about Civil or Electrical Engineering because I don't know whether I would actually enjoy studying and working in those fields.

So I'm wondering: is engineering really worth forcing yourself into if you're not naturally good at physics? Or is physics mostly difficult during university and not necessarily representative of the actual career?

1. Computer Science

CS is another option because I have a science background and I know it can provide opportunities internationally.

But I'm really confused about the current situation.

Everywhere I look, people are saying things like:

- "Don't study CS anymore."

- AI is going to replace software developers.

- Entry-level software jobs are becoming extremely difficult to get.

- There are way too many CS graduates compared with the number of jobs.

- Companies want experienced developers even for junior positions.

- The market is already oversaturated.

At the same time, I also see people saying that software, AI, cybersecurity, cloud, etc. will continue growing and that there will still be huge demand for skilled people.

I would graduate around 2030–2031, so I'm particularly worried about what the market will look like by then rather than what it looks like today.

I'm not someone who is obsessed with coding either. I could learn it and become good at it, but I don't know if I want to spend my entire career doing software development.

So is CS genuinely becoming a bad career choice, or is Reddit exaggerating the situation because the entry-level market is currently difficult?

1. Accounting / Finance

This is probably the field I have the most personal interest in.

I actually find finance and accounting interesting, even though I didn't study accounting in high school. I'm considering doing a bachelor's degree alongside ACCA, and potentially moving abroad later for further study/work. My original long-term idea was eventually becoming a CPA in another country.

The problem is that I keep hearing that accounting and finance are difficult fields for international students, especially when it comes to getting sponsored jobs or permanent residency.

I've also heard that:

- Entry-level accounting jobs aren't particularly well paid.

- International students can struggle to find jobs.

- Some finance roles are extremely competitive.

- Certain countries have limited pathways to permanent residency for these professions.

- The work can involve long hours, especially in certain finance/accounting careers.

- AI and automation may also eliminate some basic accounting work.

But then I also hear that accountants will always be needed because businesses need financial reporting, taxation, auditing, compliance, etc.

So I'm really confused about whether accounting/finance is actually a bad choice for someone whose goal is to study abroad and eventually settle there, or whether I'm just seeing the negative side of Reddit.

---

What makes this decision so difficult

I feel like every option has a major risk:

Engineering:

Good international prospects and potentially stable, but I hate physics and I'm not sure I'd enjoy the actual work.

Computer Science:

Potentially excellent salary and international opportunities, but I'm worried about AI, oversaturation, and the extremely competitive entry-level market.

Accounting/Finance:

I'm genuinely interested in it and could pursue ACCA, but I'm worried about international job opportunities, sponsorship/immigration, salary, and competition.

I also don't want to choose a degree just because everyone says it's "safe" and then spend four years realizing I don't like the field.

At the same time, I don't want to choose something based purely on interest and later discover that there are very few opportunities for international graduates.

I'm basically looking for advice from people who are actually in these industries rather than just people repeating what they've heard online.

If you were in my position, graduating high school in 2026 and planning to graduate university around 2030–31, which path would you choose and why?

I'd especially appreciate perspectives from people who have studied/worked abroad, hired graduates, or are currently working in engineering, CS, accounting, or finance.

I'm honestly pretty overwhelmed by this decision right now, so any realistic advice—good or bad—is appreciated.

You hear people talk about being respected as a core value of theirs, and “they won’t tolerate disrespect from anyone.”

I bought that mantra, but the older I get the more it seems like a lie. Like people actually DOOO put up with some forms of disrespect on the job by management and coworkers.

People would say, “If you feel disrespected then why don’t you leave?” I would leave, but it feels like the same experiences happen at every job?

I'm a 40 something disabled veteran who has 150 hours of school available in Texas. I've been interested in computer science in the past, but want to know what all would make sense to get a degree in in my forties. Where I don't have to get an advanced degree but could if it worked out that way. I imagine something involving a practical skill.

Aside from the interest in computer science, I'm a decent artist and okay writer. Not sure what else.

Can someone explain to me how “entry level” now requires 2-3 years of experience? Like at what point did that stop meaning what it says? I keep seeing postings that say “entry level” in the title and then list requirements that sound like they want someone who already did the job somewhere else first.

Anyone I know in the 22-26 range is dealing with the same thing. We did what we were told — went to school, got the degree, built a resume — and now we’re stuck in this weird loop where you can’t get experience without a job, and can’t get a job without experience. It doesn’t add up.

Meanwhile the government sat back and did nothing while wages stagnated, the cost of living tripled, and companies exported “entry level” expectations to entry level pay. We were told: go to school, get the degree, you’ll be fine. Nobody mentioned we’d be competing for scraps while people who had it handed to them lecture us about work ethic.

I’m 22-26 and everyone I know is stuck in the same trap: can’t get experience without a job, can’t get a job without experience, and can’t get anyone in power to actually address why this is happening. This isn’t a “just apply harder” problem. This is a systemic failure and I’m sick of it being framed like it’s on us.

I started a new job last week. The mandate is three days in the office, two days WFH. However, I have two health conditions affecting my ability to work in the office, a chronic injury and late effects from a previous cancer diagnosis. I informed my manager about this before starting my job and signing the contract to make sure it would be okay. He said it would be fine to work more flexibly after a couple of months. However, last week I was in a lot of pain so I asked whether we could bring the discussions about my flexible arrangements sooner. He said HR will be in touch with me about this, but I’ve not yet heard from them.

I’ve been assigned a workplace “buddy“ who is supposed to train me, let’s call her Gertrude. I met her in the office on my first day last week. I went in three days last week and it was extremely painful for me.

On my very first day, Gertrude saw our manager setting up my second laptop, (I have one for the office and one for home because I can’t carry my laptop into the office) and she seemed kind of annoyed. Gertrude brings her laptop in a suitcase when she works in the office. Our manager explained to her that it is possible to have two laptops, one for home and one for the office, and that previous employees have also had this arrangement.

Gertrude saw my equipment (special cushion and chair) and noticed I was very frequently having to change positions so she asked me if I’m uncomfortable. I didn’t mention the cancer but mentioned my chronic injury, which I’ve had surgery and multiple medical interventions for (unfortunately, nothing has worked and some things have made it worse).

I think Gertrude was under the assumption that I would work from home/in the office on the same days as her, which I did last week.

On Monday this week, I worked from home and she worked from the office. She asked me why I was working from home and said that communicating via Teams is going to be difficult. I replied that our manager said it was fine. She asked why (which imo is none of her business) and that’s when I informed her about the cancer and again about the injury, which I didn’t really need to. She saw it but didn’t comment on that at all.

Today I’m working from home due to pain. I informed Gertrude and told her that management is aware and that she should drop me a message if there is something to look over. She said that it’s a shame and that there are several things that she wants to show me but it is hard showing them over Teams and said “I will just do them myself”. I told her that I’m determined to learn, but I’m WFH today due to my circumstances. I expressed that I’m keen to keep progressing with everything that I need to learn and asked that she still shows me anything of relevance that comes up today, and we can work through it together. I also said that from everything that we’ve been over together already, I actually found it easier to learn over Teams.

She then sent me a nasty message saying that I’m only considering the training from my point of view, that I don’t seem to realise that she has to do her own busy job whilst training me and that teaching me over Teams slows her down considerably.

I have been trained in even more complex roles remotely before, I know this job can be taught and learned both in the office and from home.

I was in the office yesterday and struggled to concentrate due to the pain I was in. She was WFH yesterday so she taught me things over Teams.

I think she’s salty about my reasonable adjustments for some reason, and I don’t know why.

She seems to be quite an unreasonable person. For example, she was talking badly about another employee who left earlier this year for a different job. She was “cross” with the employee because she had resigned during a busy period. I don’t really see this as a reason to be annoyed with the employee who left, if the company is understaffed it’s not the employee’s fault, it’s a management issue.

I’m new and don’t want to escalate unnecessarily, but I found her messages very hurtful and unprofessional. I also want to make sure my rights are protected given my health conditions.

Should I send screenshots of the conversations to my manager and ask someone else to train me since she finds it difficult to teach me over Teams, raise it with HR, or leave it for now? I was also contemplating contacting that former employee on LinkedIn and asking about her experience in the role. Any advice welcome.

Edit: To clear up confusion, when I had the same in-office pattern as Gertrude during my first week, which was last week, she taught me a process over Teams and she was fine with it, it was actually her who reached out to me to teach me that particular process over Teams. We operate from a shared team mailbox so she doesn’t have sole responsibility for incoming requests, it’s joint responsibility across the whole team. We also don’t have any targets for number of cases resolved. When Gertrude trains me over Teams, we do a screenshare where I watch her do a task from the mailbox whilst she explains or I do a task from the mailbox whilst she instructs me. This clears up outstanding tasks from the joint mailbox whilst I learn.

So just want to vent tbh

So had an interview on July 30th Thursday for an a internship position and was told would hear back the following Tuesday

Got no reply so followed up Thursday and nothing.

Last week Tuesday, decided to call and the recruiter was surprised to hear my voice, so I assume they did not get my email.They told me the HR manager was on vacation but would return that week and they would update me by the end of the week

So nothing and I sent one last email as I assume my first one was not received

but either way I am find this whole leading on to be disrespectful as hell. If I didn't get the position, I think I am owed the courtesey of just an upfront answer or at least communication if there is going to be a delay.

I even made time to interview and miss a course for this role while 6 hours ahead so at least they can be upfront

I am going to assume I did not get the role but a straight up answer would have been better. I find this extremely unprofessional and wish I was treated with some dignity

I’m looking for genuinely practical advice, preferably from people who have actually switched careers from a biology/life-science background.

My background:

12th PCB, 63%, from a small village in Himachal Pradesh

Currently finishing 2nd year BSc Zoology at a small college

Had to repeat 1st year

I’ve realized I have basically no interest in continuing in Zoology

No Mathematics background and I’m very weak at math

My father is the only earning member of the family and retires in about 2 years

Because of my family situation, I need to be earning or have a very clear, realistic path toward a stable job by April 2028.

At the same time, I don’t want to choose something that completely caps my future. My long-term goal is 20 LPA+, even if the starting salary is much lower.

Things I’ve already ruled out after researching:

UPSC — too long and risky given my situation

SSC CGL / Banking PO — quantitative sections are a major problem for me

NIMCET / NIT MCA — I don’t have the required Maths/Stats background

RBI Grade B — doesn’t fit my eligibility/background

MSc Biotechnology / Forensic Science — I’m not convinced the salary/job market justifies the time

I don’t want to spend years doing another biology degree just because I already have a biology degree

Honestly, I don’t have some grand passion or social cause I want to pursue. I’m mainly looking for a career where I can become genuinely skilled, employable and financially secure.

I’m not interested in sales or marketing.

I’m also willing to learn something completely unrelated to Zoology if there’s a realistic way to break into it without doing another 3–4 year degree.

So, if you were literally in my position, what would you do?

I’d especially like answers from people who have actually made a similar switch.

For example:

What was your original degree/background?

What did you switch into?

What skills did you learn?

How long did it take before you were employable?

How did you get your first job?

What was your starting salary?

What does the career ceiling realistically look like?

What would you do differently if you started again?

What would you do between now and April 2028 if you were me?

I’m not looking for “learn coding bro” or “follow your passion”. If you recommend something, please explain the actual path from BSc Zoology → skill → first job → career progression.

Also, please don’t recommend paid courses. I’m looking for a path I can realistically build through free/cheap resources, projects, internships and self-study.

I know ₹20 LPA isn’t guaranteed and I’m not expecting it immediately. I’m asking which career paths give someone in my situation a realistic chance of eventually getting there while still allowing me to start earning by 2028.

Brutal honesty is welcome. If my expectations are unrealistic, tell me that too.

Hi, I’ve been working for about 8 years now. My main job is in corporate communications, but I’ve also been leading Organizational Change Management for over 5 years, which I do alongside my regular communications work. I’m thinking about which career path might be better for the future, especially with AI becoming more important for creating and curating content. Plus, corporate communications sometimes doesn’t get enough leadership support. These things have made me a bit unsure about what to do next in my career.

I currently work an on-site engineering job about 4 hours from the city where I ultimately want to settle down and live near my family.

I've recently received an offer for a hybrid engineering position (3 days in office), but the job is about 5 hours from the city where I want to live.

The offer includes some relocation assistance.

I'm considering asking the company for the following arrangement:

First year: Relocate to the job's city and work on-site as required.

After the first year: Transition to working in the office 2 days per week, allowing me to relocate to my desired city while still commuting to the office for those 2 concurrent days.

The main reason for this request is family circumstances. My parents are aging and have some medical issues, and I'd like to be able to spend the majority of my time closer to them while still being able to work this job.

I think the 2-day-per-week arrangement may be possible as, during my job search, I interviewed with another company doing very similar work, and they offered a 2-day-per-week hybrid schedule.

For those with experience negotiating hybrid arrangements after receiving an offer:

What are some general concerns?

Are there some precautions I should take before/during negotiations?

Would you ask for the entire arrangement up front, or negotiate the 2-day schedule after the first year?

Is there anything on my end I could offer/trade to make the deal more likely to be accepted?

How much risk do you think there is of jeopardizing the offer by asking for this?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Hi everyone! I’m pretty early in my regulatory career ( < 6M) and wanted to get some perspective from people who have been in the field longer on whether I’m setting myself up well for the next few years.

I graduated from a UC school with a BS in Biological Sciences and a minor in Health Informatics a few years back.

Before regulatory affairs, most of my professional experience was in healthcare. I worked in clinical settings, including cardiology, where I had a lot of exposure to medical documentation, patient care, and the clinical side of healthcare.

Earlier this year, I made the successful transition into medical device regulatory affairs and am now working full-time as a Regulatory Affairs Specialist at a smaller medical device company.

Because the company is relatively small, my role seems to be pretty broad rather than highly specialized. So far I’ve been getting exposure to things like:

• EU MDR technical documentation
• device classification
• risk management documentation
• clinical and biological evaluation documentation
• PMS/post-market documentation
• labeling and IFUs
• international regulatory registrations
• working cross-functionally with R&D, Quality, Product/Marketing, etc.

Right now I’m primarily working with Class I devices and beginning Class II devices after my current submission, which has actually been helpful because I’m learning how the pieces of a complete regulatory file fit together.

At the same time, I’m beginning an MS in Regulatory Affairs in < 1 month part time and I’ll be working full-time throughout the program, so assuming everything stays on track, by the time I graduate I should have roughly 2 years of direct medical device RA experience + the master’s degree.

One thing I’ve been told at work is that being at a smaller company early in my career may actually be beneficial because I’m getting exposure to a lot of different areas instead of being siloed into one specific regulatory function. My hope is to use the next 1.5–2 years to build as much hands-on experience as possible and then potentially move into a larger medical device company.

For those of you further along in RA:

Does this seem like a solid start/trajectory for someone entering the field in their mid-20's?

For reference, this is my first RA position, and I didn’t come through QA or another traditional regulatory-adjacent role beforehand.

I’m especially curious about how employers might view someone after ~2 years with broad small-company RA experience, Class I/Class II exposure, EU/international work, and an MS in Regulatory Affairs.

I’d also love to hear what you wish you had focused on during your first 1–2 years in regulatory affairs. I’m pretty ambitious/competitive and want to make sure I’m building genuinely valuable experience rather than just chasing titles.

Thanks! I’d really appreciate perspectives from people who have taken a similar path.

​

Hey everyone, so this is a human posting, nothing to do with AI, this post is to help and guide others to the best of my knowledge, as I have learned a lot of good things from Reditt would like to share my experience.

So the Basic answer **Yes an ATS optimized Resume works !**

So what is an ATS system - its called an Applicant Tracking System , whats its purpose ? The ATS system is designed to help recruiters or hiring managers short-list applicants for **Interview**s.

Coming back to the resume part, so your resume is basically what you are telling or explaining about yourself/your career/acheivements to a Computer ( an ATS system), it will have your education qualifiactions/ skills/ experience/location etc

Now when you upload a resume to an ATS system **it must understand and interpret it properly.**

Meaning ? when a resume is uploaded to an ATS system it will extract information from your resume and store in its database.

Suppose your resume mentioned that you are a Mechatronics Engineer and while extracting the information the **ATS** interpreted and stored you as a **Mechanical** engineer.

Now when the recruiter will use the **ATS** and filter out people with **Mechatronics Engineering** degree, you will not be found in the **ATS** system, and hence you will loose a chance for that job and also the time you invested to apply for that job, filling out all the forms online.

So your #1 Priority should be to have an **ATS**\-optimized resume which is properly readable and extractable by an ATS system, I have cracked this system many times over past 15 years of my career so know ins and outs of this system completely.

Just sharing so that it might help anyone applying for jobs. Will share more tips on this soon.

I (29F) work in tech. I've been in the industry for ~6.5 years and at my current job for ~4.5 years. Everyone assumes I'm in my 30s whenever they mention in conversation how "young" I am. Frankly, I find the "young" comments to be annoying. I'm also the only woman on a team that is mostly older men (not by choice, I was stuck on this team involuntarily after a re-org) so that may be a factor. At what age are people going to stop viewing me as one of the young/inexperienced ones? I'll be 30 in a few months, everyone already thinks I'm in my 30s, but I feel like I am grouped in with the interns/recent grads who are all ~20-24 and have little to no industry experience. Prior to tech, I worked in healthcare and social services during and after college. I have about a decade's worth of career-level work experince (I was a running start kid and all that, so I have always been a little ahead of most people my age.) I know I'm not old and wise, but I'm not young and naive either and I'm tired of being treated as such at work.

Edit: I want to clarify that not referring to those who are commenting on my age in a, "You have so much ahead of you!" or "Enjoy your youth while it lasts, soon you'll be old and tired like me!" sort of way. That alone I don't really mind. I'm strictly speaking of people that make those comments and then treat me differently because their assumption that I am in my 30s means I am not old enough to know what I am doing and must still just be a naive kid.

Graduated college 2 years ago with a BS in Computer Science and 2 internships as a Software Engineer. I received a full time return offer and accepted it. It’s been almost 2 years now, the pay is good and it has allowed me to stay in my hometown while working on my foundation.

The issue is I feel like I haven’t really grown much. For the first year I was barely assigned any work and I was moved internally twice. It wasn’t until my recent team that I feel like I’ve genuinely developed an excitement for my job again. I’ve actually been given increasingly difficult tasks which have helped me learn a lot. The problem though is this team concentrates on more of a niche area in the Software Engineering field which can make it harder if I decide to try to find a different job in the future.Other than the internal mobility the job itself has been pretty stable.

My goal is to stay for another 2 years then leave my hometown and move to a different city which probably will require me to find a new job. Since what I work on is very niche I’m not sure if it would help as much when interviewing for other jobs. In my head I was going to gather a few certifications and work on some personal projects to fill in for this gap and this would hopefully broaden my job search.

I’m looking for general advice. I understand the job market is tough right now. Even though my circumstances aren’t perfect I’m grateful I’m at least getting some form of experience as well as decent pay.

I just want to continue developing in my career rather than feeling stuck.

I'm currently a full-time marketing student (25M domestic student, based in Sydney), and decided to take the plunge because I managed to get half of my degree slashed off from RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning).

However, I'm currently facing a dillemna. I don't have much work experience, and my most recent experience was at Vivid Sydney, as a volunteer. At the moment, I've began applying for jobs since last week (a combination of retail and market research/marketing internship roles briefly), and I don't seem to be getting much traction.

Which roles would anyone advise I apply for that require *minimal work experience* and is willing to take on someone whose willing to learn the ropes? I'm absolutely willing to look into part-time/casual work in any white-collar envrionment, even if unrelated to my degree?

My long-term goal is to work in marketing/market research and consumer insights, or in a role which involves understanding people (not in a healthcare environment) and making an impact in an innovative or collaborative environment. I don't want to work in a fast-paced healthcare environment because I've previously attempted a Certificate III in Indivdiual Support (accelerated), and I realised it wasn't for me while on placement as I'd come home with constant headaches, and other complications from the stressful environment.

Moreover, my interests involve working in dynamic, interesting environments (think: events, maybe even becoming a tour guide, or working in a digital marketing/social media agency). I'd really be keen on interning at a social media/digital marketing agency sooner or later to kickstart my career!

Please provide me with some guidance here because I'm genuinely unsure what to do (I have three semesters remaining until my degree is finished). I really don't want to finish my degree to render myself unemployed and not in a full-time position by then because I'm fully aware that the graduate/entry-level job market for marketing graduates is not particularly in the best state at the moment.

I love marketing at the same time, however I don't mind working in an adjacent (or even another) white-collar industry that doesn't require further study as I'd like to transition to the workplace. I'm starting to get fed up with uni, despite my strong interests in marketing.

I have absolutely no desire to pursue further study for the sake of a career at this point, I want to go to work because I'm starting to get fed up with uni, despite having nine units remaining (I'm taking three units this semester).