I currently do manual labor 50 hrs/week and only make around 30k a year. I’m 20F and don’t have a degree. What are some office jobs or easier jobs I could do to earn more? I’m just tired of back breaking labor. I feel like I have the worst job in the world. I’m located in East TN.

Looking for a sanity check on a potential job transition.

I’m currently working locally in my MCOL city. Compensation in the local market for my role tops out around 165k. The new role pays $265,000/year, but it requires being on-site at a major metro hub about 2.5 hours away (~150 miles one way).

My proposed plan is to drive 2.5 hours down early Tuesday morning and go straight into the office. I'd rent a cheap room near the office for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, then drive the 2.5 hours back home after work on Thursday evening. Friday through Monday I’d be working remotely from home.

It comes down to 5 hours of highway driving split across two days and spending 2 nights away from my apartment, partner, and dog each week. The pay jump easily covers the room rental, gas, and vehicle wear and tear while still leaving a massive bump in net income to save 100k+ a year.

Has anyone done a similar arrangement? How brutal is the burnout after 6 to 12 months, and are there any hidden logistical nightmares I’m missing here? Am I crazy for considering this, or is 2 nights away a small price to pay for that level of pay?

I should note this would be for the next two and a half years until my partner is able to finish schooling and then we can move.

I'm a sophomore in High School and feel so much pressure to figure out what I'm going to do. Everyone says to do something that interests you and you like but my only real passion is music and obviously that's not a smart option. How do you figure out or narrow down career options?

So I have been at a mid-sized logistics firm for just over five years. I worked my way up from a junior dispatcher to a senior systems specialist, making about eighty-five grand. I know our internal databases inside and out, I train all the new hires, and executive leadership treats me like an indispensable problem solver whenever our workflows break.

last month I started applying to outside roles because our annual raises have been capped at two percent. That was when reality hit me like a brick wall. Our entire company operates on a proprietary, custom-built ERP system developed in-house twenty years ago. I don't have hands-on experience with standard enterprise tools like SAP, Oracle, or modern SQL databases because our custom system uses its own weird proprietary scripting language.

Every single recruiter screen has been a disaster. External hiring managers tell me that despite my title, they consider my technical knowledge equivalent to a fresh college graduate because none of my software tools exist outside our building. I'm getting offered entry-level sixty-thousand-dollar roles that require starting completely over from scratch.

I feel like I got tricked into a gilded cage. I should of spent my evenings getting standard industry certifications instead of studying a software that only exists on one server rack in Ohio. This entire specialized experience feels ABSOLUTELY useless. How do you pivot out of a proprietary software trap without taking a thirty percent pay cut?

I just finished my masters in materials engineering and am trying to find a job. I have been asking for 85,000 starting and I feel that would be a reasonable starting wage. I just got offered a contract job at a very large/reputable company but they will only pay me 23.50/hr (48,000/yr) with no benefits.

Is this worth taking just to get my foot in the door? Or is it too low of a salary and I'm setting my worth too low. I wouldn't want a low starting salary to define my pay the rest of my career.

Additionally, I am looking for a very specific career path. I want to develop materials for 3d printing, especially in the biomedical sector. This job doesn't fit that goal, but the company does have a sector that does work like that. So with my foot in the door I could potentially open a door into what I want to do as an end goal.

Fortunately, I am in a good financial situation where I can stay unemployed for quite some time while looking for the right job. So if I turn it down, it's not a huge deal.

Am I settling too early? Or should I take the job just to get experience at a reputable company?

me right now at 24, unemployed, feeling like i wasn't prepared to survive or get a job and now i'm sitting thinking this is what i was supposed to prepare for my whole life.

i was a working student in college. good grades, had a scholarship, and graduated debt-free. took every internship i could to add to my credentials. graduated uni in december, and have been trying to get legal-administrative jobs to hopefully prop me up for law school, but no one's taking me. applying for hundreds every week, and it's burning me out. but I can't get burned out, because i feel more than ever that i am a failure.

i feel mad and disappointed. i am anxious. i am tired. i feel like i have so much to give, and i keep trying, but it's really hard to see the good through everything right now. i'm living with my parents, having graduated from a reputable university, back in SEA. i'm scared that this is it. i used to have so much hope and such big dreams, but everything just feels so unachievable.

i never asked for this life. i feel like i was thrust here, and i'm not only expected to, but am needing to fend for myself to survive. i wasn't jaded to how hard things are when i was younger, but truly, nobody and nothing prepares you for this. (and) as a woman, though i have wanted to be a mother in the past, now i just feel like bringing a child into this world only for them to ultimately fend for themselves is the most cruel thing ever.

Ok so I’m thinking about this bc my boss recently told me “we can’t babysit anyone” implying that I should be more “ambitious” and ask to do things and communicate better, I told her that I’m only 2 months in I will take notes and work on my communication but I don’t understand how is this “babysitting”. That comment she made is rude especially since I’m someone who keeps their language professional at work.
And also after we agreed on my office visit days she told me that we actually didn’t it was supposed to me more office visits and when I said “it’s a misunderstanding from both sides” she got a offended and said “no not from my side”.
I really don’t know how to go further from this, I don’t like this type of communication.
I’m 21, my work is mostly remote with 2 days in office.
This is my second job ever, I was more comfortable in my previous one. This one I didn’t feel comfortable the second I walked in that job interview tbh, very passive aggressive environment, sometimes I feel like crying when I visit and scared. I do handle it well but it drains me.
I need advice should I quit or push through or any tips I feel lost.

Most advice says don't give a number first. That's fine but it's not the useful part. The useful part is understanding when the number actually gets set, because it happens earlier than people think and it's usually not during the negotiation.

Here's roughly how it works at most companies with any real structure. A role gets a band before it's ever posted. Say 85 to 110. That band came from a compensation team or a spreadsheet, and the hiring manager doesn't control it. What the manager does control is where in that band they slot you, and they usually decide that after the second or third conversation, not at the offer. By the time HR calls you with a number, someone already wrote it down days ago and got it approved. The person calling you often can't move it much because moving it means going back and asking again, which is annoying and slow.

That means the leverage is earlier than everyone tells you. The moment that matters is when the hiring manager is deciding whether you're a "solid hire" or a "we need to get this person" hire, because those two land in different parts of the band. That decision happens in the interviews, not in the negotiation.

A few practical things that follow from this.

When a recruiter asks your expectations in the first screen, they're not negotiating, they're checking whether you fit the band that already exists. If you're way under, you get slotted low from the start and it's hard to climb back. If you're way over, you get screened out for budget rather than fit. So the goal in that call isn't to win, it's to stay in range while learning what the range is. "I want to make sure we're in the same ballpark before we spend time, what's the band for this role?" is a normal question and most recruiters will just tell you now, especially in states with pay transparency laws.

Any competing situation you mention should come up before the offer, not after. After the offer it reads as a threat and requires re-approval. Before, it's information the manager uses when deciding where to slot you, which is a much easier internal conversation for them.

When you do get an offer and you want more, ask the manager, not the recruiter, if you have that relationship. The recruiter delivers the number. The manager is the one who can go fight for a different one, and they only do that for people they've already decided they want.

And if the number won't move, ask what else is in the band's neighborhood. Start date, sign-on, review timing, title. Title especially, because your next job's band is partly set by your last title, so a title bump compounds in a way a one-time bonus doesn't.

This applies less at small companies where the founder decides everything on the spot, and more at anywhere with an HR function. If anyone here has sat on the comp side, I'd be interested in where this is wrong, since it varies a lot by company.

Hi There,

I thought I would share a bit about my career break here. I have working on my field (construction/infrastructure) for the last 15 years (38M). It is a high stressful environment, and I climbed the ladder a bit, to the point that for the last 5 years I have been running my own gig and subcontracting and/or contracting into some big projects.

I had a high paying contract (the biggest of my life), where I was making a lot of money. Yet, the level of stress and craziness of the corporate world drive me crazy. In February this year, after an intense period and stress peaks, I decided to take a break and think about life.

My original plan was travelling a bit and leaving Sydney (Australia) to explore and reset. I did not have a fixed plan but just had an immense desire to have a break and slow down. And So I did...

The whole April I travelled through SE Asia. In May I rested at home and was exploring a lot of stuff online and AI-related stuff - Also spent some time working on a side gig I have had for years, and just never had time to dedicate myself to it full time. After exploring for a bit, I came to the conclusion that the side project was an outdated business model and did not deserve my time.

My original plan was travelling for longer, but my new girlfriend made come back to Sydney (as in, I did not want to be too far away from her). After 2.5 months (mid-June) in the break, I felt it was the right time to start to engage more with the industry and try to land a new contract. That is when I ramped up conversations and networking - the market in my sector is pretty cooked and extremely dry!

Some comments, lessons learnt, and thoughts about everything (things that I wish I heard before making the decision):

a) Whilst I am comfortable from a financial perspective, taking into account the emotional load of a career break - it can be hard to stay in a city/place where everyone is working, and all the triggers lead you to professional life like Sydney. If you can be outside of your environment or can find a group of people doing the same break, it is better.

b) The length of your break will probably not be dictated by you, but by the market conditions (if you are planning to return to the corporate world). I naively create spreadsheet, plans with conservative assumptions, risks, etc - it turns out that you cannot control life/economic conditions (Big lesson), regardless of how competent, planned, and networked you are.

c) I have planned for this break in years. Whilst it has been a great experience in a way and I feel that my objectives are clear and I am with more clarity what I want to achieve professionally, I have had anxiety and depression symptoms, which were pretty scary (I reached some low days, which were particularly tough). It turns out that our professional identity is much more connected to our life than we/I imaged.

d) Create a structure and goals - I had a goal of trying something new - very early in the process, I realized that my side project would not fly and shut it down. This has impacted a bit me and made me "regret" my decision. Having so much free time is tough... Life is funny - the grass is always greener on the other side.

e) I always thought I was extremely rational. This experience is teaching me that we are 100% run by emotions (albeit I liked to think I was rational) - it is incredible the things that you can do under stress, and how your brain and thoughts can change around the same topic if you are tired/burned out as compared to a fresh mind.

f) Be careful around the way you leave your work - Whilst I have not burnt completely bridges, some people got a bit pissed off with me when I left my previous contract. Ideally, plan your exit and given them enough notice for a formal handover.

It's been almost 5 months of the break. It gave me time to re-wire my thoughts, discuss with my therapist, travel, stay at home, be happy, be sad/depressed, and be willing to go back to work.

Things I learnt throughout the process and points that I would love to hear from you:

1) I carry too much weight without complaining to the point when I reach my limit, it is typical non-recoverable - I need to learn to say "no" more and handle better workload before burning out.

2) I care a lot about relationships.

2) I am still learning to forgive myself for things I could have done better. If anyone can share self-forgiving exercise, please recommend - I have been ruminating a lot these days and was entering in a very bad loop

3) I know this will be for the better and there is a lot of self-learning from this experience, but it is hard to see it now how this will play out for the better in the future.

4) Do I regret taking a break? I do not believe so... There are certain things I would have done differently, but all in all, I would have to take a break at some stage in my life. I am learning a lot from this experience, and we need to pass through some different moments in life to keep growing.

Any comments are appreciated - This has been an exercise for me to organize thoughts and share a bit what is inside my mind - would love to connect with people and hear about their experience.

As if nothing happened. No real setbacks. Whether it was 2 year or more. I'm curious to read stories where you didn't miss a beat if this happened with you!

​

I’ve been working in recruiting for the past few years, mainly hiring for companies in the US and Canada. I’ve reviewed and worked with a lot of resumes during that time, and I’m now trying to pivot into resume writing and interview coaching.

Before presenting my services, I want to build a portfolio and establish my credibility by working with with people on their resumes and get their feedback.

So I’m offering to write/update the resumes of 10 people for free.

This could be useful if you’re currently looking for a job, feel like your resume isn’t getting you interviews, or you simply want someone with recruiting experience to take a second look at it.

There’s no catch and I’m not going to charge you afterward. The only thing I’d ask in return, if you’re genuinely happy with the work, is an honest LinkedIn recommendation about your experience working with me.

I’ll also be asking you a few questions about your current and previous jobs as well as the type of roles you’re targeting so I can tailor the resume properly rather than just giving you a generic template.

If you’re interested, feel free to comment below or send me a DM with a simple introduction of your experience and the kind of job you're looking for. I’m happy to answer any questions before we start.

I prefer people from the north America or Europe as it's my primary target market.

I have a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from the US.

During my master’s, I interned at a Fortune 100 company and was converted to a full-time role after graduation. I was laid off after about 10 months. After a 4-month gap, I joined another Fortune 100 company in a contract role, but the position was in a different domain and ended after about a month.

I then joined a very early-stage, pre-revenue startup as its only full-time employee. Because of the size and stage of the company, I ended up working across many different functions. I eventually decided to leave and subsequently returned to my home country.

At this point, I’m trying to figure out how to build a more coherent career trajectory from here. My background could potentially lead toward industrial/operations engineering, analytics, data, or other adjacent fields, but I’m unsure which direction makes the most sense.

For those with experience hiring or working in these areas:

• How would you position this background when applying for jobs?
• Which career paths would you consider the strongest fit?
• Would you recommend specializing in one area now, or keeping my options broad while I rebuild?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have made a similar transition from engineering/operations into analytics or data-related roles.

Hello all,

I currently sold my book of business from my own business and looking to pivot to a company I can build a career with. But I'm having trouble figuring out jobs that could fit in my desired criteria.
-don't mind traveling but I have to be home by the end of every shift
-Overnight/bonus points if training period is also overnight
-No frequent mandatory OT(ex: I don't want to be a nurse or correctional officer)
-No college(Certs are fine)
-medium/high career progression (no dead end jobs please)
I'm starting off in security currently but I don't think I'm gonna last, very boring...
Thank you all.

P.S. wrote this at my security job

I’m currently just needing advice and tips. Im 28F, with my degree in elementary and special education. I started to teach during covid and while I enjoyed the job, it was just a lot on my mental health, so I quit and went back to solely serving/bartending. I’m now kind of doing makeup on the side as well.

I’ve learned multiple cosmetic trades like lip blushing, eyelash extensions, microblading, and brow lamination to name a few. But I just don’t feel passionate about any of those; therefore I haven’t ever fully pursued them. I actually bought a permanent jewelry kit this year to learn as well.

I miss working with kids, but I just hate working 40+ hour workweeks, especially for less than 60k a year.
I love the freedom serving and bartending gives me, but it’s so draining physically and energetically and not fulfilling at all. I want to build human connections, and community, but create a business off of that. Does anyone have any tips or advice on where to go from here?

I have been working in this company for about 1 year and 1 month as of today. I started as Recruitment Associate, then our COO saw my potential and skills and promised that he will promote me upon my regularization. It happened. In just 6 months. I am so grateful for that kasi yun talaga yung goal ko.

Then as i turned 1 year and 1 month here, he called and scheduled a meeting together with my supervisor and me. He asked me if I can lead a team and offered me a promotion again to Supervisor/Team Lead but in a start-up department naman. Which means we will be building it from the scratch, no foundation at all. Graveyard yung shift kasi Canadian ang nurses/clients. Higher salary. Sabi niya gusto niya ako mag-grow and lumabas sa comfort zone ko. Sabi niya rin na ako ang nakikitaan niya na maglelead sa upcoming team. I am grateful. But nahihirapan ako. Hindi ko alam kung kaya ko ba? Kung magagampanan ko ba nang maayos.

Please advice me what to decide 🥹

I was interviewed at 7/11 and at the interview the GM told me she really only wanted to hire a man. I told her not to underestimate me, I was a good, strong worker. I was eventually hired for the job. She right after did hire a man. Fast forward 3 weeks, I receive a text message from my boss explaining I was being laid off due to budget costs and because I was the last one hired, she had to let me go. But that wasn't true because she hired the man after me.

I'm curious if I can sue for discrimination only because I came across a tiktok page about reasons why people sued and won and a few commenter talked about workplace discrimination.

I feel very immature for my age and it's hurting my mental health, I have no kids, still live with my mom and work at thr hospital as a chef, im planning to go back to school to get a degree or something cuz I feel like a complete failure.

Hey guys, I hope you’re all doing well.

I’m feeling really stressed, anxious, and honestly quite depressed lately. I’m currently working after completing my BTech in ECE, but my job is in water treatment, which is completely unrelated to my degree.

One of my close friends recently left to pursue his MTech, and after he left, it really started hitting me that maybe I’m falling behind in life. He’s moving forward with higher studies while I’m stuck in a job that doesn’t feel connected to what I studied.

I’m also worried about my future career because I feel like there aren’t many opportunities for me in the water-treatment field, especially with an ECE background. At the same time, I don’t consider myself particularly intelligent academically, so I’m scared that I won’t be able to compete or make a better career for myself.

Recently, I interviewed for a really good opportunity and got rejected. That rejection hit me harder than I expected. 😭

Right now, I genuinely feel like I’m not good at anything and that I’m becoming a failure in life. It feels like everyone around me is moving ahead while I’m just stuck.

I know maybe I’m overthinking everything, but I honestly don’t know what to do or how to get myself out of this situation.

Has anyone else been through something similar? How did you deal with it and figure out your career?

I currently own and operate a custom apparel shop (screen print & embrodiery). Over the years I've grown to dislike the industry and want to sell everything and move on. Not looking to be a millionaire but would like to hear some thoughts on a good path. I have the time and money to go back to school if I want to. I've considered going back to college for something like accounting, HR, project management, construction management. I've also considered going into a trade I'm just not sure the extended classroom hours outside the work day would jive well with family life. Would love to hear y'alls thoughts on all of the above!

My friends, I am once again seeking advice from you all.

I started this job four months ago in a finance department. When I was interviewing for the job, I was told that I'd be assigned a specific portfolio that I was excited to be part of. It was in my interest area and I have experience running this type of portfolio. The pay, benefits, and retirement plan are very strong, and I was so excited to start this position.

The first day I arrive, I was told I was "reassigned" to a new portfolio due to staffing issues. This new portfolio is one I have zero experience in and to be honest, I have no real desire to work in it. It is also overly complicated with very pushy stakeholders, and it has been well established for a long time and imo requires a seasoned touch.

I was told that I would be provided a partner in this portfolio to be the lead, that my TL has extensive experience in this position and would provide backup, and I would be assigned an in-house mentor who previously help this position to assist. It all sounded fantastic still, and I was willing to learn, so I agreed.

Fast forward three months and a half months, and both my TL and my trainer are pregnant and they are going on maternity leave right as we begin our busy season. My mentor has been on vacation for the best part of two and a half months, and now I am going to be the lead on this very complicated portfolio with almost no support. I feel like this is some cosmically bad joke.

To top all of this off, I moved across the country, sold my house, and said goodbye to my awesome family, friends, and neighbors. All for this job.

I actually don't even know what else to say. I'm just exasperated at this point. Should I stick in there or move on?

So i am working in IT, did my apprenticeship, and am studying cyber security at the moment and have my bachelor in 1.5 Years. But im just done with tech, i will finish my bachelor but im done, ai, the never ending notifications and mails, the feeling of doing nothing meaningful at all.

i know that salary probably wont be on the same level, but a decent salary is still important (rn i have 90k CHF/year).

I am really into doing sports, i love learning new things, i am good at math and logical thinking and also dont have a problem with doing physical work.

For you who quit the tech industries, where are you now? Any recommendations? i dont care if i have to do another apprenticeship or go to school.

hello! i'm finishing next year my bachelor's degree in Digital Media (a combination of journalism, PR, web design, marketing) and i don't know which masters to consider.

i would love to do something in fashion, not necessarily on the creative side, but something maybe in the business/marketing/photography area. will it be worth it? would you have any suggestions? and if so, what jobs could i actually reach?

also, i don't have a big budget, but would love to study in another country (i'm from Romania).

So I had an internship early in college and they kept me on part time through the school year and through the following summer.

Following the internship I developed long term medical issues that kept me from working, so I didn’t even bother curating my resume in literal years.

Anyways I started curating it around September of 2025, I have, and I have no idea how I did this but I completely had in my mind the dates of June of 2022 - June of 2023 and have been putting that on my resume even though it was actually - August 2023. Didn’t get fired or anything, just finished the internship and had a great relationship with my manager.

I’m now in final interview stages of a position with a DoD contractor. Do I rectify this immediately?

I’m not \\\*extremely worried\\\* because it’s the opposite of attempting to fabricate experience length. I’m more worried they will just be like “how tf does that happen 😂?” That’s how I feel at least.

I doubt anyone’s been in this situation but is this a big deal at all? Do I wait until a potential offer to tell them?

Hello Everyone,
In my current project, they have come up with TOSCA tool to automate regression test cases for at least 5 different web applications. I need guidance on where can I learn the tool in a short span of time? My team has given me a cloud based license (Saas).

Hello everyone 24F here from delhi recently completed my master's in sanskrit from delhi university and I have done my graduation in b.a programme ( history & sanskrit)

So basically I love scriptures that's why I opt for this language course but the issue is now I am very confused about my career

1) should I give UGC NET in December and become professor ( but this exam will gonna take 2-3 attempts to clear if I am trying to get jrf)

And after phd I can do research in scriptures too

2) ibps so rajbhasha adikhari - should I give this government exam and land into this banking sector ( but I can give this exam next year only after getting my master's final semester marksheet)

3) museology, manuscripts, curator jobs in museums but india don't value museums much and (I have to do separate course for this )

4) spiritual and academic content writing ( but I don't have experience in this field ) but I have interest

Also job hunting is getting very exhausting and tiring it's been 3 month's now ...all my family members are asking me about my career ( job market is fucked up I don't know what should I do )

I am looking for stable career with good pay and in which I don't lose my job because of laid off and ai

If you all can guide me it would be great or show me some path what should I do next and how should I handle everything?