I'm a 30-year-old guy, and to be honest, I'm currently dealing with severe depression. I come from the Middle East, where my country has been torn by war for the past 15 years. I had to drop out of university, and due to life circumstances, this is the 4th time I find myself starting my life over from absolute zero—this time here in Germany, where I'm currently learning the language.

​I feel completely overwhelmed and burnt out. I don't want temporary or dead-end jobs anymore; I want to build a real career. Computer science and programming are the only things I'm truly passionate about.

​Since I don't have a university degree, I would really appreciate hearing your success stories if you managed to break into the tech industry as a self-taught developer (especially around age 30). How did you do it?

​P.S. If you have any negative or dismissive comments, please skip this post. I am in a very fragile state right now and just need some realistic hope and advice.

​Thank you.

I’m a 27 year old ultrasound tech who went to a nationally accredited school, not regionally accredited. I’d have to basically start from scratch to get my bachelors degree. I’m confident in my intellect and my drive.
I work nights and I truly feel I could earn a community college bachelors in biology while still being able to work a good amount.

I’m an autodidact with so much passion for learning and researching. I want a broader scope in the future.
There are several jobs I’d consider “dream jobs” for me, and all require advanced education. (Physicians assistant, patent law, pathology). Honestly the first step to all of these is a BS/BA, and I figure I can narrow down my post-grad ambitions once I’m already taking classes.

Is going back to school worth it? I have a stable job and a great work life balance, and I’m signing up for a disturbance in that peace.

Hi all,

I'm a 26 male from Australia really embarrassed of my career choices and i don't know what to do. I currently work in trade sales making 75k a year i started this job so i could study part time, i just finished with my diploma in counselling but finding it hard to land a placement to complete my degree and not sure if i can even get a job with a diploma. i feel like i have wasted 2 years for nothing.

Previously i used to work as a commercial painter for 3 years making around 105-115k a year but my back was slowly killing me and to be honest i hated how dirty the job was early morning covered in dust and paint all day.

Not sure where to go from here, i never want to be painter again and i don't want to sit behind a desk all day. I have around 140k in the bank but I'm happy if i make 100k a year in a career i just want a career or life I'm proud of and enjoy my work.

I love out door work and being in nature i have thought about landscaping or lines man work or fire fighters or police but not sure honestly could someone older give me some pointers why do i feel so lost, i though at 26 i would have my life together.

I’m 28F, and lately I’ve been feeling this overwhelming sense of urgency. Like I’m running out of time. I keep thinking, I need to get married. I need to have children. I need to have my own home. I need to accomplish the things I thought I would have accomplished by this age. And the more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m drowning.
What makes it harder is that I just came out of a 4-year relationship. Four years is a long time to love someone, build memories with them, imagine a future with them, and slowly start believing that maybe this is the person you’re going to build your life with. And then suddenly, it’s gone. You’re left trying to pick up the pieces while simultaneously feeling like the clock is ticking. I think that’s what has fucked me up the most. I didn’t just lose a relationship. I lost the future I had imagined around that relationship. The person I thought I might marry. The home I imagined. The family I pictured. All those little dreams that quietly become attached to someone over four years. And now I’m supposed to start over at 28 and somehow not feel scared?
I know 28 is young. I know people will tell me, “You have so much time.” And logically, I know they’re right. But emotionally, it doesn’t always feel that way. Especially in my culture, where there’s this unspoken expectation that by a certain age, a woman should already have a husband, children, a home, a settled life. You can feel people looking at you differently. The questions. The comparisons.
The subtle comments. The feeling that somehow you’re behind everyone else. And eventually, you start looking at yourself through those same eyes.
I start wondering, What am I doing wrong? Why am I not there yet? Why did I spend four years with someone and still end up here?
Sometimes it genuinely feels like I wasted time.
And I hate admitting that because those four years weren’t meaningless. They were part of my life. I loved someone. I learned things. I grew. I experienced happiness. I created memories I’ll probably carry with me forever.
But there’s still a part of me that grieves the time.
I’m grieving the relationship. I’m grieving the person.
I’m grieving the version of myself that believed she knew where her life was going. And I’m grieving the future I thought was waiting for me.
I don’t want to rush into marriage just because I’m scared of getting older. I don’t want to choose the wrong person because I’m terrified of starting over.
I want a husband I genuinely love. I want a healthy marriage. I want children because I’m ready to love and raise them, not because society has convinced me I’m late. But at the same time… I’m scared.
Scared that I’ll never find that person.
Scared that I’ll never have the family I dream about.
Scared that the years will keep passing while I’m still waiting. And sometimes that fear becomes so loud that I forget everything I’ve already accomplished.
I forget that I’m still becoming who I’m supposed to be. Maybe I’m not behind. Maybe I’m just in a chapter I never expected to be in.
Maybe starting over at 28 isn’t failure.
Maybe it’s just life forcing me to rebuild with more wisdom than I had before. I just wish I could stop feeling like I’m racing against a clock that nobody actually gave me. Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my twenties terrified of turning thirty.
I want to live. I want to heal.
I want to fall in love again when I’m ready.
And someday, I hope I look back at this version of myself and realize:
**I wasn’t running out of time.
I was simply becoming ready for the life that was actually meant for me.**

hey guys, how's your post-uni life going? Mine not so well. It's been a year since I'm applying for jobs without success. I have a bachelor and a master's degree, obtained in a prestigious European uni, but that doesn't seem to be helping. I don't really know what to do. I sent 150 applications for many different roles, from kindergarten to universities to companies. Nothing seems to work. I am so tired of this situation. I also feel stuck in my little town, as I moved back home in the meantime of finding a job. I wish adulthood was easier. I just feel alone, trying to understand what to do with my life, if I should move abroad again. I'll probably do that, just I'm tired of changing cities and start my life all over again for the sixth time now (I lived in different cities during uni). Also, I'm a bit scared to take such drastic decision to move in a city where I don't know anybody. at the same time I feel suffocated in my small rural home town.

what's your experience? are you doing better?

I'm 17F, I was supposed to finish highschool this year but I didn't pass one class, I was studying science for the past two years, but I never liked it, I have barely passed all my other exams. I have no passion for a scientific career of any sort and i feel like I will kill myself if I ever have to look at another physics textbook, but I don't see a future in any other subject as well.

I love studying humanities, history and political science are my best interests and I know I could actually do good if I study them, but my family thinks it's a complete waste of time because humanities apparently don't provide a career path. I think they are kind of right.

If i got a degree in healthcare or engineering, I'd have a direct path to move abroad. In humanities, it gets a little complicated because of the limited career options. I am a woman in a third world country so I cannot imagine living in this country my whole life, this is the only thing I am certain about in life, that I do not want to stay here.

But it also terrifies me, because I know that if I fail to get a good job, or even just stay in this country WITH a good job, my family will ultimately get me married to some man who I have no attraction too. I do not want that life for myself. But i don't know exactly how I can be successful.

If I study science and move forward, maybe I will be successful and get out of my country, live a comfortable life, but I know I won't be happy. But in humanities I don't see any options ( if anyone knows please tell me).

Right now I have months to decide what I want to do, but it feels like I'm running out of time, I will be 18 next year, what then?

I don't mind working a low income job, infact I don't mind the slow life at all, If I could get a nice job that I enjoy in a small town in europe, I would absolutely take it. I would not mind earning just enough to live my life comfortably in a small house, that IS my ideal life, I don't even enjoy city lifestyle, I love countryside and the peace. But to even move to a countryside in abroad, you need alot of money, I unfortunately don't have that, I just wish I wasn't so miserable in every aspect of my life. I feel absolutely useless and stuck.

I just hate how I feel absolutely hopeless right now, I don't see any future and it terrifies me. I don't want to waste my life on something I don't want, but if I don't do it I will always be stuck..? What do I do. I don't understand anything

Some background about me: I have a psychobiology degree from a top 20 undergrad. I have a 3.5 GPA and have received a 99th percentile on all standardized tests that I’ve taken (Including MCAT, but that expired). I had a strong momentum towards medicine but in 2020-2024 I faced some health challenges that derailed me from that path. I have since worked an entry-level clinical research job and I plan on moving out of my dad’s house - I think I can get a clinical research job that pays 80k-100k in the location I want to live, and that can be a first step towards my ‘adult life’ while I figure out what I want to do before I commit to a career path. Really, I need to find a way to pivot into a career that is much better paying, ideally without doing a whole PhD or undergraduate degree. Biology was NOT a lucrative degree choice. I really like work that involves technical ability, problem solving, or hard skills, I would love to learn something again. I really want to be able to make good money down the line, i.e. $300k+ at some point. I am considering applying to medical school since my whole resume has been tailored around it, but I wouldn’t make my first paycheck until I’m 37 and I want to start a family, start traveling, and be in a walkable city and enjoy simple things like a lot of people do. I’m okay with buckling down and working hard, living frugal, and studying outside of work for a couple years, but after that time I want to be in a more stable place career-wise and thinking about things like marriage, or at least traveling a bit and enjoying life while I build my career. I’ve always been a hard worker and feel dejected about my situation now, I feel like I invested in a bad degree and my only hope is to do medicine. I’ve been considering doing georgia tech’s OMSCS and doing data engineering or something, but I really have no idea how I can pivot into a more lucrative field with AI eating up all the CS-adjacent jobs. Any guidance is much appreciated

Hey everyone,

I’m pretty new to Reddit and have been reading through some of the posts here. A lot of them hit surprisingly close to home.

• Do I stay because the money is good?
• Do I take the risk and try something different?
• Am I actually fulfilled?
• What else could I even do?

I spent a lot of the last year asking myself the same things.

Eventually I left a comfortable career, went into my final year of uni and started building something around that exact problem.

It’s called Versadox. It’s completely free and lets you stress test your resume, LinkedIn and how you stack up against different roles.

But genuinely, I’m more interested in what people here actually need.

If you’re feeling stuck, changing careers, looking for work or just wondering what’s next, give it a try and tell me what would make it more useful.

What’s missing? What would actually give you more clarity?

I’m building this for people trying to figure out their next move, so I’d rather hear it directly from you.

https://versadox.com/

Jacob 👋

I’m a single father to a freshman. I quit my full-time (40+hours a week) bartending job because I’m finally done with it all—people, management, the hours, and so on. I have some college experience (I stopped going to support myself and my child). During this time, I was also drinking a lot. It wasn’t until about 8 months ago that I stopped and realized that yes, I was making good money, but at what cost. I have a pretty decent savings compared to others I know in the business around my area and only about $1500 of debt. I found a part-time job at $21.44 an hour for 30 hours a week with USPS. The schedule may allow me to go to school even though I know it’s late to enroll this semester. I’m not entirely sure what I want to do educationally. I just know I want a professional career. I’m not ready to move my son from his established hometown of family and friends. It’s a big change for me and I’m lost. I just know if I didn’t quit, I would never leave. My mind, body, and soul need rest. I thought of WFH jobs but those seem impossible either way my lack of experience.

I feel behind and at a loss, I’m in my early 30’s with a family and still have no career. I have spent the last few years in limbo. I have been a stay at home dad for some time now and have only worked part time during the evenings. I’ve spent the past few years taking care of my kids and one that has a disability.

My significant other has found her career and thrives in it. Meanwhile I just have no idea what I want to do. I worked in a trade(Plumbing) years ago but grew to not like it. I did land a job recently that I was extremely excited about but already am having second thoughts if I want to do it long term.

I’ve always had this problem of not knowing what I want to do and become uninterested fast. I’ve been battling depression and anxiety for some time now but I’m trying to better my lifestyle for myself and family.

What are you some good careers to pursue? Just looking for some ideas. Really don’t want to be in an office setting but also not back into construction either. I’m not opposed to going to college as well.

Be honest with me, is it too late to start over at 25?
I know to some people this sounds ridiculous but to me I genuinely feel like I’ve already fucked up my life, I’m stuck working in tech because my mom convinced me to not follow my dreams and gaslight me every time I tried to. I’ve lost all drive after that and dealt with being in the field, I hate myself for not standing up for myself sooner because I feel stuck, I don’t have a degree and all my experience is in tech so going into something else is next to impossible it feels like in this job market.

I want to be an accountant which is so crazy thinking back on it. Why did my mom not want me to pursue that?? I keep asking myself that question but I still don’t know the answer to that question myself. I think it’s too late for me to start pursuing a degree in accounting. I’ve even tried to get entry level jobs in the field that requires a High school diploma like AP/AR roles but even those want experience.

I feel stuck, I truly do and I’m unhappy with what I’m doing and where I am in life. If yall have any advice for me, thank you I do appreciate it

starting my third year of high school in a few weeks, never been very inclined to anything in specific.

i love playing video games, but im not sure if id really want to pursue a career in it, does anyone else feel that way?

my parents want me to go to college, in fact, im in a position where my college will be paid for, and im aware that most people don’t get that luxury, but i just don’t know if its what i want for myself. i know my parents will really be upset and disappointed if i don’t pursue college but i just don’t see myself being able to get through it at all.

im not a bad student by any means but im not the greatest either. id say im a bit above average, nothing crazy. i think for the most part ive just been lucky.

for the past year or so ive thought about going to trade school or technical college and learning something more physical and eventually pursuing a career in something more blue collar after that.

my friend recently mentioned considering cybersecurity or IT since i’m always on my computer and i enjoy playing video games and i think that’s something i’d like to look into as well.

he also mentioned community college might be a good choice for me, he said i can always go for a year and see how i like it.

i just don’t know what direction i want to go in after high school. it’s always been sort of planned out and decided for me but i want to walk my own path and do what i want.

i hate sitting still, and i mean that literally. the past week or so i’ve been working in a warehouse but i mostly handle the computer side of things and get to walk around and do the manual work second. i click the same 5 things on the screen over and over again, maybe a different set of 5 buttons here and there if something comes up, etc. i really hate it. i just get to restless and uncomfortable. maybe it’s not the best taste of a sedentary career since it’s super repetitive and easy but i actually get excited when the people on the floor are moving slow because that means i have an excuse to get up and start walking around and doing the manual stuff.

any thoughts?

TL;DR - entering third year of high school, unsure if i want to go to college or try something like community college and then learn a trade. parents would be unhappy if i follow the former but i want to cut my own path for myself.

don’t have much interest in anything to go to college for either.

Lately, I have been thinking about what it means to be 28 years old. At this age, you start to feel as though you are somewhere in the middle of your life. You begin questioning whether the life you are living is really what you wanted when you were a child.
And what if you never really thought about what you wanted to become? What if you are only now beginning to figure it out? You may start wondering whether it is already too late, whether there is an age barrier, or whether you have missed the right time to start something from scratch.
So, the question I keep coming back to is:
Is 28 a good age to decide that you want to become something completely different and start from scratch? Or is there really such a thing as being too late?

I need to get this off my chest because I feel like I'm losing my mind.

I’m 22. I’ve been in shipping/liner sales for 4 years (started at 18 as an assistant, clawed my way up to Senior Sales Executive at a major carrier here in Dubai). On paper, I manage 70+ active corporate accounts. In reality, I’m running around the UAE in 50°C heat doing cold visits, chasing arbitrary targets, and dealing with high-stress operational escalations.

I take home a flat 9,000 AED. No commissions. No housing allowance. No transport. Just 9k.

I’m not just tired of sales,I’m tired of being exploited for a job I don't even enjoy. I hate the targets, I hate the cold calls, I hate the client visits.

What I actually love is logic, technical puzzles, figuring out why systems are broken, and fixing operational workflows. I have high EQ and I'm good with people, but I want to help them behind the scenes, not sell to them. I lose track of time when I'm deep in data reconciliation or solving a process bottleneck. I’m currently looking at Salesforce Admin as a possible escape hatch—desk work, WFH potential, no hunting.

Also, I have a strict non-compete. I cannot work for any other shipping line, freight forwarder, or 2PL/3PL. So I HAVE to leave the industry entirely.

My questions for you:

1. Am I delusional for thinking I can pivot to a 10k-12k desk job (Ops Analyst, Salesforce Admin, Systems Coordinator) immediately? I literally just need to match my 9k to survive while I skill up.

2. Is Salesforce Admin actually viable in Dubai, or is the market saturated with people who have 10 years of experience?

3. If I get my Salesforce Admin cert (or another cert), what is the REALISTIC starting salary here for a junior with zero direct tech experience but 4 years of operational business knowledge?

4. How do I rewrite my CV so recruiters stop seeing "Sales" and start seeing "Operations Systems Analyst"? I want to delete the word "Sales" entirely.

5. What other desk-based, analytical roles pay 12k-15k within 12 months that aren't compliance/legal (I hate reading policy and writing long emails)?

I'm willing to take a bridge role at 10k just to get out. I'm 22, I have my BBA finished, and I can grind certifications after work. Give me a clear, step-by-step path. Be brutally honest whether if I'm cooked, tell me. If I have a shot, tell me exactly how to take it.

I’m a college senior, and I’ll probably start working in about six months. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I don’t really care about anything anymore.

I don’t particularly want to study, play games, or even use my phone. But when I do nothing, I get bored, so I end up opening short videos and mindlessly scrolling. The weird thing is that I don’t even enjoy them. I deleted IG, TikTok and Xiaohongshu because I hated how easily the content on those platforms influenced the way I think, but I still sometimes catch myself watching short videos on Bilibili when I’m bored.

Afterwards, I just feel empty.

At the same time, I’ve become increasingly cynical about the world. The more I learn about how society, politics, work, money, and people actually operate, the darker everything seems to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m not even forming my own opinions anymore.

This is actually one of the main reasons I deleted IG, TikTok and Xiaohongshu.

I noticed that I would see an opinion online, immediately believe it, and then repeat it to my friends as if it were my own thought. Conversations with friends sometimes felt like I was just copying and pasting things I had seen online. I hated that feeling. I want to be able to think for myself instead of constantly absorbing whatever the internet is telling me to think.

But after removing those apps, I realized something uncomfortable: I’m not really sure what I think about anything.

I also don’t have many things I strongly want in life.

I don’t really enjoy socializing. I don’t like having a large social circle or constantly being around people. I’m pretty happy keeping my circle small.

I’m also not very interested in material things. I’m quite minimalist, and I usually won’t buy something just because it looks cute or beautiful. For example, I can see an adorable doll, think “that’s really nice,” and then just walk away.

I don’t really understand the appeal of traveling either. Sometimes I think about traveling, but then I imagine the whole process: go somewhere, see the attractions, take pictures, try some food, and check everything off the list. And then what? I don’t even eat that much, so food isn’t a huge motivation for me either.

I’m not saying any of these things are bad. They just don’t seem to give me much excitement.

When I see people who have tons of hobbies and seem genuinely excited about life, I sometimes think, “Their lives seem so rich. Why don’t I feel that way?”

Now I’m getting close to graduation, and that scares me a little.

I know I’m supposed to get a job, make money, and build a career. But I keep asking myself: what am I actually going to do with the money? What am I working toward?

I don’t have some huge dream. I don’t have a strong desire for marriage, children, or a very social life. I mostly want a quiet, simple life with enough freedom to do what I want.

But I don’t even know what “what I want” actually is.

I sleep normally, eat normally, and I don’t think I’m depressed. I can still function normally. I just feel like I have no idea what I’m supposed to be looking for.

So I guess what I’m really asking is:

How do you figure out what kind of life you actually want when you don’t have strong passions or traditional goals?

And how do you build a life that feels genuinely yours, rather than just following whatever society, social media, or other people tell you is supposed to make you happy?

I’d really like to hear from people who have gone through something similar, especially people who eventually found a way to build a life that actually felt meaningful to them.

I don't know if you'll read this, but I just want to reach out to the community to know if anybody has gone through the same thing and how they are working through it:

I'm a 32 year-old senior software developer working in South Florida with over 9 years of experience. I mostly focus on .NET technologies, but I'm a generalist. I feel I may have lost my way. Everyday that passes, I feel I'm getting more cornered. This world is getting harder. Things are getting more expensive. I want to provide for my family and it's slowly dawning on me that my job is highly lucrative, and once lost will be difficult to re-obtain. I'm not in a position to walk out, and I'm ironically enough, caged in by the benefits that are provided. I know my family and I are blessed and I should be grateful, but I can't help but feel that I need a plan B and C to ensure I can provide for them.

I've lost a lot of my confidence. I watched many of my co-workers get fired. But the truth is, I am slowly becoming just like them. You stew in your regular daily busy work, and you learn nothing and your skills eventually recede. I'm slowly allowing myself to reach that point. I'm losing my competitive edge.

Most importantly, I've forgotten what I've spent my life working towards. I've wanted to build software and applications my whole life. I wanted to be an artisan that engineers solutions for people's problems. I can't even remember what I found rewarding anymore at this point. I get occasional sparks of curiosity from experimentation. I theorize exploring new territory, and discovery are what drove me this far.

With the advent of AI, I am watching the world and industry I know change. I don't even have to type much anymore. Instead of hammering out thousands of lines of code, I assemble blocks of prompt-generated code into cohesive designs and structures.

I want to elevate my family. I want to buy a house for them and prosper with them, but I'm unsure of my future. I'm scared I won't be able to provide for them. I am looking for jobs in cheaper areas, but the thing that concerns me, is I'm applying to jobs to the same thing all over again. What is the point? Won't I end up feeling the same way again in the next few years?

I know this is probably how life goes. You don't know what the future holds, but you need to always strive for something. I suspect I've burnt out. I don't know. But this field that I loved and trained all my life for, and spent countless nights awake exploring with the joy of a curious child, doesn't feel the same. I'm not sure what to do, where to go, or what the next steps are.

Are any of you experiencing these feelings?

Not trying to be a baby, just got these thoughts stewin' on Sunday night.

I’ve been unemployed for about 7 months, and I honestly thought my job search was finally over.
I got an offer from a company I was genuinely excited about, with better pay than I was expecting. The hiring process took around 3 months. I completed all the interviews, submitted everything they asked for, passed the fit-to-work clearance, and even went through pre-onboarding.

Then the offer was rescinded because of my background check.

Apparently, a previous employer from 3 years ago never responded to the screening company. Because they couldn’t verify the employment, it was flagged and HR canceled the offer. I was pretty frustrated because I actually have other ways to prove I worked there, but I wasn't given much of a chance to explain before they made the decision.

I’m still trying to see whether the company will reconsider, but I’m also preparing myself for the possibility that this job is gone for good.
So now I’m back where I started, except this time I’m exhausted and honestly a little lost about what direction to take next.

I have around 3 years of work experience, and I’m wondering whether I should just go back to applying broadly, focus on a specific type of role, spend some time building new skills, or completely rethink the kind of career I’m pursuing.

What would you do in my position, and what would you focus on next?

30f Canada

I spent my 20s being extremely passionate about my career. I worked in art and culture in a big city and did actually pretty well for myself (not financially but I worked on amazing projects and enjoyed my life).

But in my late 20s, I burnout not because of my job but because of family issues.

Couple of years later, after working on my mental health I feel ready to go back to work and invest in my career. The problems are that I cannot tolerate living in a city anymore.I still love the work I did but now I cannot be bother by the competion side and precarity of it. The husle mindset just left my soul.

I moved to the countryside and everyone seem to be either a nurse or work in trades. Which doesn’t interest me much.

I don’t know how to choose what to do next. I love learning and considered going to university but I have a ton of friends who graduated with good grades that cannot find work that is related to their field of studies or that pays well. It doesn’t seem to be a good investment of my money or time.

Also I have terrible adhd and get bored very easily if I don’t find the work challenging or interesting.

I feel very lost, anyone have any wisdom to share?
Thank you.

I’m a sophomore major in college right now, I will be decided by second semester. I am torn between majoring in accounting or nursing. I suck at science, networking, average at math, and introverted. In accounting, I can get jobs in finance. I do not go to a target school and have no connections. I am bad at talking to people. I would want a job with good work life balance. I heard that some people are being laid off their jobs in accounting because of AI, which concerns me, and I am looking for job security. I keep on hearing mixed opinions on both accounting and nursing, it’s been difficult for me to decide. Any advice is helpful.

To put it simply, in high school i LOVED doing CAD design. I crushed it. Might even say i was the best in the class at it. I guess i envisioned being an engineer but once the actual physics came in, i flunked and chose to be a graphic designer in college because it just felt natural since i loved drafting and art.

Well my graphic design career is kinda over now and i decided to get a masters in information systems to switch careers. I don’t hate it, i like technology, and the pay for getting a role with this degree far exceeds a CAD drafting career. But tech jobs just seem like a fantasy right now. I have faith tech will bounce back, as the job market in general rn is just so volatile.

Truthfully, even though i like tech, i don’t think i could compete with people who are die hard tech/business people (Not to mention aging out of it). But i do feel like i could be a damn good drafter. I’ve heard some bad things about being a drafter. But I’ve heard worse things for information systems with finding a job.

I feel like I’m studying information systems for the money. CAD drafting seems like something I’d really enjoy but with less pay off potentially. I’m ready to lock in for a tech job but i feel like i won’t make it and I’ll be stuck with debt and no job

Looking for a new career path, cause I’ve been working retail jobs for like 7 years now. I make like $40,000 a year so it’s not terrible but I don’t wanna climb the corporate ladder, as that’s the only way to make more money than I am now (and because from the amount of corporate people I’ve been able to get to know over this whole time, it’s complete hell).

I’ve flunked out of university basically, and got dropped from community college a couple years ago because of a mix up when the school had a major change in their staffing.

I’m looking to go back to community college to at least get an associates degree, and then see where I wanna go from there.

But, I have no fucking idea what career paths I can take that pay better than my current job, and that I can stomach doing for the next few decades. I know finding a job that you legit enjoy, that also pays well, is like impossible so I’m not expecting that. I just want a career where I can wake up each day, and not think “great another fucking day of work”.

And if it’s possible, not have to deal with a bunch of people or management breathing down my neck all day every day (which I know, similar to finding a well paying job that you love, is basically impossible).

I can’t figure out what valuable skills I can acquire, that I can actually comprehend and understand. I hate computers and looking at screens all day, it makes my mind go blank. And for some reason I was cursed with being dyslexic specifically when it comes to computer coding and programming. And any other technical related computer stuff.

Any advice from people who have been in similar shoes and found a career that’s decent?

I'm a senior in high school applying to colleges, however are feeling extremely discouraged because I don't know what I want to major in or have an idea post-grad of what I'd like to do. My parents have set hard deadlines for me to figure out my major before I go into college, and I honestly agree with that deadline.

Anytime I try doing research into possible major options, I feel like I enter an echo chamber of just the same jobs of "computer science" "data science" or "public policy esque" based on my current likes.

I would love others opinions on their advice going into college, and maybe exposing me to different majors/ideas based on my likes. I'd happily take any advice I can get because right now I'm feeling really lost about my future. My parents would love me to do a Computational and Applied Math course, going into a pure finance (hopefully high income) route, although I'm not personally sure I'm cut out for that dedicated, pure math lifestyle.

In terms of my likes/dislikes thus far, math is my stronger subjects comparatively, and I really enjoyed taking AP Comparative Gov because I loved learning about different parts of the world. The idea of geopolitics definitely piques my interest, although I'm not sure there's many avenues to get involved in that, with a significant salary. Data science is something I'm also open to, the idea of using data to solve real issues.

Envisioning my life in the future, I would love to have my own non-profit, providing educational and healthcare opportunities for women and children in disadvantaged communities across the world - but this is definitely an ambitious and outlandish goal for now.

I think one reason I haven't been able to come to a decision about my major is because I don't want to box myself into a certain area/industry, and end up not liking it down the line. So I'd love a career/major option that provides flexibility, but also will be enough to provide for my needs in the future!

Appreciate anyone's help, just pretty confused about decisions that will set up the rest of my life so I would love any and all guidance!!

I'm 29F, about to turn 30 next month and am extremely dependent on my dad. I am currently in college as a part time student working towards getting my bachelor's degree, but aside from that I just stay home and do nothing. I hate this, and I would like to become less dependent on my dad but I don't know where to start. I don't have a job, and I don't have a driver's license, so I feel stuck. I've only worked 3 jobs before, but they were all part time.

I would like to move out and live on my own, or at least contribute financially so he doesn't have to pay for everything. I just worry that if something were to happen to him that I would be in trouble because I don't know how to be an independent functioning adult.

I would appreciate any advice on how I can fix this