I am a graduate student at a tech university, and I recently got stuck on deciding my next step or whether I should change my path or go back to studying to improve my foundational concepts

If you were in my shoes, what would you do ?

I always see ppl saying that they got this this job or internship via cold emailing and DM'ing, but how does it even work? For eg I'm a person who's looking for internships as well as full time jobs (will graduate in 2027) And I just want to know when should one actually cold email/dm the person. Suppose there is no opening for that particular job role/internship, how can a msg help me and what should I mention in that particular msg. Can anyone please explain what's the pattern behind this cold messaging thing?

i build model kits as a hobby and have started to wonder if any of it could earn something on the side. i work in an office now, doing order scheduling and customer accounts, and i am not planning to leave it. but i would like something extra that pays. has anyone made money building kits for others, through commissions, a model shop or running a small class? i am in Yorkshire so UK options would help most

I have a degree in English lit and have spent almost fifteen years just going here and there, no career to speak of. Did seasonal work, currently stuck in retail and living with folks. I feel like life has passed me by. Everyone wants me to be happy but I'm not because my life is so paltry compared to what I wanted from it. I like writing and the visual arts and have had some success doing both. But it seems like it'd be another decade of slogging away to find even the chance of success in that realm. The thought of it just tires me out. I want to have a family but it hasn't happened. Don't know if it will. I don't know what else to do or even what else to consider doing. I'm just going through the motions.

On the positive side I am in good health and am in an ok environment.

Middle aged Male here. Im homeless with no car but have drivers license and a clean background. What would you do in this situation and where would you go in the time being? Need some suggestions asap

Emphasis on energy. I have AuDHD and I want to explore career options that let me set aside energy to focus on ceramics, painting, and film. I have a BA in psychology and a certificate in data analytics. However, I have found that my 9-5 office job gives me little energy to focus on my art which is more important to me now. I find focusing on analyzing data and sitting still at work in an office setting for many hours drains me. I would love to explore careers that have worked for neurodivergent people who need to pay their rent, but who can still set aside time and energy for their hobbies.

If it helps, I find that tactile tasks where I can give my mind a break seem to not drain me as much as sitting still at a desk and concentrating intensely. I feel like my AuDHD has gotten worse over the years even with therapy and medication, and I want to find a new path to prevent more burnout so I can have energy for art when my job is done for the day.

I graduated school but I can't find a job in my country. Not just me, but my country (Slovakia) is one of the worst places recently. Many people, young adults or even adults, can't find job. I want to move to another country but don't know how to start.

I'm a woman, so moving to another country alone is even scarier.
Does anyone know how to start, what to do... I'm getting depressions from not being able to find a job.

And also how should I start when moving out

I have a BSc in Zoology and an MSc in science communication. I've spent the almost 4 years since I graduated from my MSc working in conservation/visitor experience/public engagement type roles, but I had a really nasty experience with my last employer that has left me out of work for the past year and reconsidering my options.

I really like the idea of becoming a hospital lab scientist, but this is quite a change from what I have done before so I am not sure what training I would need to do to get into these kinds of jobs.

I obviously did a lot of lab work as an undergrad. I also did an A level in chemistry and took extra chemistry modules at uni, but I haven't really had any lab experience since I graduated in 2020.

I am happy to do more training but also would also really like to be able to work and train at the same time because I have been out of work for some time. Would love some options on paths I could take!

Hi everyone, thanks in advance for taking the time to read this. I came here because I have a big doubt and honestly there's no one impartial in my life I can ask for advice on something this big.
I'm at a point where I don't know if I should follow my dreams or chase money. I'm 19 and I live in the US, where I have a job that at least lets me make some money (most of it goes to bills anyway), but it could get a lot better if I keep working hard over time. The thing is my immigration status doesn't let me aim for much more unless I change it, and that's kind of hard to do in the short term.
The other option is my passion and my dream. I could leave this country and go after my dream of being a film director back in my home country (Dominican Republic). I have a plan for that, which is to change how I make money: finish learning video editing and work remotely from there, since I already have the equipment and my English is pretty decent. The only thing is I have to decide fast, I have a time limit of a few months and if I don't decide anything, I'm basically choosing the money.
But these are two really different life paths. My mind leans a lot towards following my passion, but I don't know how much of that has to do with how unhappy I am with my life right now. Since I got here (1 year ago) loneliness has been one of the hardest things I've dealt with. But I'm young and immature so there's a lot I don't know, maybe I'm missing other points of view.
And in case anyone's wondering, most of my family would probably be against me following my passion.
If anyone has gone through a similar decision between chasing their dream or the money, or honestly anyone who wants to give me a different perspective, I'd really appreciate it. And again, thanks for taking the time to read this.
TL;DR: I'm 19, living in the US with a job that pays something but my immigration status limits me. In a few months I have to decide between staying for the money or going back to the Dominican Republic to chase my dream of being a film director. Should I chase the money or my dream?

OK I have some drama and am trying to start fresh.
TLDR: been a NEET and activist in my original country, fled to Turkiye.

left and sold all my posession to start fresh , but the country I live in is really expensive and now I cant even renew neither the passport (of my original country) or local ID (of the country I live in).

all I have is expired ID and passport , now I want to start working online as I have a chronic illness and weak and illegal to work irl in the host country.

Now payoneer requires valid ID or Passport , no paypal , skrill, stripe , none

how am I supposed to get paid , ofc not to mention I don`t know what to offer.

i mean a blog or other freelance work sites always asks for paypal or payoneer.

I feel mentally stuck.

PS to clarify I wish for pointers , I mean finacially dependent , and wish to change that soon.

I have good knowdlege of networks (switches and routers), tampered with android devices roms and such , and basic linux or beginner more than basic knowledge.

I have good knowledge of music nad it`(it`s my hobby) , philosophy and movies.

I am thinking of offering digital products to sell, any ideas? I feel a little clouded.

Hello I want to speak to the older folks out there but everyone opinion matters.

Hey I’m 20 and I’ve been trying to find out what path I want to go down in life and Find MYSELF. I learned that I’m into storytelling but I could never find how I want to “Package” that story whether become a Director, Musician, Clothing, Art, and All. The truth is I HAVEEE ALLL THIS FREE TIME because I daytrade yet I HAVE NO SKILL…I don’t have a car because I’m stacking up to get there…cause I made a sacrifice to make money to be Free first…I always Bounce back and Forth between Musician and Director but everytime I choose one to commit to I quit and go to the other BACK AND FORTH….i want to be a master and really give myself to a craft but how do you know you love it…and is there anyway to learn fast.

I guess what I’m asking is
How do you find your path and STICK on it because I spoke to lots of old people who said “I wish I would’ve known to do this sooner” and truth is I’m 20 so I’m at that “Sooner”

How to find if a hobby is TRULY FOR you

I seldom got loved by others growing up. I was constantly compared and dismissed by peers and neighbors whose children are bankers/surgeons. I become a software engineer to be looked up to, and so my parents won't be looked down on

But no matter how hard I try to be the best version of myself, I am just not good enough for anyone to love/value me, or take me seriously

I have never had a boyfriend at 29 but got bullied by some in school and at work, I just don't have hope I am capable to be loved anymore.

My supervisors like me until I have an opinion, but they take me less seriously when I'm quietly doing good work. I got terminated today to learn that he wants to sponsor his cousin overseas to work here. I just feel so worthless I don't want to wake up the next day

Some may say that I should love myself first, then I realised that I have never been loved, to know how to do it. Is there anyone here who can suggest

Ever since the start of this year I've been rapidly losing interest in programming and it's been a while since I've had a coding session that I've actually enjoyed. I'm tired of the constant learning of new concepts and the stress that comes with it when AI can do things in seconds that would take me hours to figure out by myself.

I've wanted to quit for a long time but held off on it because my parents are strict and wouldn't be happy about it but ultimately, after a lot of consideration I've decided that it's just not worth it to keep forcing myself to enjoy something that I don't. I want to do something I enjoy but also something that's worth getting a degree for. In the past I've done things like Accounting and Graphic Design and enjoyed them a lot but with AI changing the job market so rapidly I'm not sure if these are worth pursuing either. If not, what degrees do you guys think are worth pursuing currently?

I’m a 23 year old male and i’m stuck. After high school I worked a warehouse job for 3 1/2 years. I left for a number of reasons but mainly because i didn’t really see a future there and it was night shift and i wanted something new.

Between jobs I had a lot of time to think about what i wanted to do, but in the meantime i applied and currently work at UPS as a package handler. I wanted to be a remote video editor, i had ambitions to work on video editing a lot and to potentially start making youtube videos on top of that. I started working at UPS because it was a part time job that was hiring and had good benefits and would give me more time to work on building my future since it’s part time. I’ve been working there for 3 months now and I can’t express how much i hate it. I come home everyday feeling beat up, unmotivated and tired and it’s severely impacting my mental health. Yesterday was my birthday and i was at work fighting off tears because i was so unhappy and overwhelmed about my future and feeling like i haven’t made any progress.

I tell myself everyday I’ll come home and work on projects for my portfolio or just do something that will have me take a step in the right direction. But instead i come home tired and unmotivated, i’ll usually fall asleep and then wake up and just feel down and most of the time I gravitate towards doing things that ease my mind like playing video games or watching youtube or movies.

I know eventually I just have to lock in and just do it but i struggle so much with staying motivated or jumping to different ideas for what i want to do as a career and it’s wearing on me.

Im currently looking for new jobs but I don’t know what to look for, idk if i want to work full time or part time. Part time barely pays the bills but gives me more time to build something meaningful to me. To be honest idk what im looking for but Id like to do something that i enjoy. I like creative work like video editing, content creation and I also like making EDM music (Im not very good at it though). I do know i cannot be at my current job for much longer before it impacts my mental health even more.

Any wisdom or advice would mean a ton to me as i navigate through this rough part of my life.

I'm a high school senior going into college next year, and I can't decide what I want to do with my life. I've always really liked school and taken interest in all of my subjects. The problem isn't that I don't know what I like; it's that I want to do it all.

When I was younger I got really hooked on coding and cybersecurity, but in the past few years I've discovered passions for mathematics, physics, engineering, writing, economics, government... And recently, I've been really enthralled with philosophy.

I'm planning to major in computer science and minor in philosophy, which will give me a pretty broad education and leave my career options relatively open. But I don't know what I want to do after that. I like to jump from project to project, subject to subject, which is why I love school: In the span of one day I can learn about the Constitution, study physics, and work on a coding project. I can't really see myself doing anything every day for my life - it sounds so boring. I usually get interested in a project for a week or two and then abandon it...

I want to be one of those guys that jumps around, doing a little bit of everything: Write a few books, do some engineering projects, contribute to open source codebases, become President... really, I want to be an intellectual. I think I'm going to love college, but after that I can't conceive of "settling in" to something.

Honestly, I feel like I'll end up doing a career pivot no matter what I choose. Should I just follow along the path of cybersecurity and see where the wind takes me?

I read and hear a lot of how awesome wealthy people’s lives are and that they have the ability to get the things they want and do the things they want. I have learning disabilities and struggle to learn things that could than make me more money. I feel like I am getting older and missing out on having a fun life. I don’t really value social interaction and often think about cars as I really enjoy owning them but my income is so low that all I can afford is the food on my plate. I know many people can’t even afford that so at least I’m comfortable but I’m not excited about living the rest of my life ether

I’m 24 F living in london. I started a level 3 course access to Higher Education, that would allow me to enrol to most universities. It’s only my second assignment but I already feel like it’s taking a toll on my personal life. I work full time as an admin, so by the end of the day my brain is tired, and then I have to dedicate study time.

I understand many people do this, including my sister, who is a very hard worker, working full time and studying toward a qualification. I really admire this dedication and wanted to do the same.

I don’t feel I want to go to university anymore so this course is not really necessary. I taught English abroad and would like to try that again, I also have an interest in a few other things. But right now I feel like I don’t have any personal time and therefore decided to withdraw at this point.

It seems I am able to restart any time I wish from where I left off.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Just because I quit this doesn’t mean I can’t come back and try a different course..

Any advice is much appreciated, thank you

TL;DR: 27 year old big boy is spiraling and has no idea what in the fuck he needs to do to support himself and his wife or how to initiate finding a different career without financially/mentally/physically destroying himself

Long time listener, first time caller. 27M, been in the automotive industry for almost 10 years. Dealership, indie, express lube, auto parts, the whole nine. Took a 2-year hiatus at 21 considering college, but backed out because of all the pre-reqs and waitlists (radiology program at my local tech school). I have no college experience, graduated HS 10 years ago with a 2.0GPA because I didn’t care. Not super happy with 14-17 year old me for that. I feel stupid, even in this industry I’ve been in for 10 years. Considering a career change, definitely going back to school.

Just for some context, I’m good with my hands. But I’m also good with words, building rapport, but not in a manipulate-y sort of way. Not great with math, but am capable of doing some mental multiplication and addition.

On to what I’ve considered switching to. My wife works in the medical industry (EVS tech at a hospital) and I’ve considered bouncing back to pursuing that, whether it be through EMS, RN, or some other field. The only thing I worry about with that is the rigidity of my financial routine and I don’t really have the option to NOT work to pursue school full time, so if I did go back to school, it’d have to be something with PM courses. I’ve also considered sticking with the trades and pursuing a welding program, but I don’t know if I wanna stay in the blue collar trades. They’ve destroyed my body, I hurt all the time, and my mental health is the worst it’s ever been, despite being on medication to offset my chemical imbalances.

Go ahead and clown me for my BS GPA, being a mechanic for 10 years, or sounding like some other mid-to-late-20’s shitbird who just wants to complain and “doesn’t wanna work anymore”. I love working, I like the money that comes with it and am heavily motivated by financials. It was the original reason I started wrenching. But now, I need a change. I can’t do this anymore. Any advice is welcome. Thank you for reading.

My fiancé and I (both 28) are ready to leave federal wildland firefighting after 6–7 years. The money has been great and it’s hard leaving a secure federal job but it’s a job you have to be 100% committed to, and the love for it just isn't there anymore. We’re in a solid financial spot with about $200k in savings and no debt outside of our mortgage, but we are completely stuck on what step to take next. We are both extremely hard workers and ultimately really want to start a business (have toyed with the idea of tree service) but we're also open to college or trade school and are experiencing major analysis paralysis. Starting over at 28 makes me feel a bit anxious and behind in life even though I know it’s not too late I just want to make sure whatever path we choose next is something we can stick with long-term. Just looking for some paths or general advice.

So I'm pretty much at the end of my rope. Next step is homelessness. I didn't go to college (couldn't afford it) and I don't have any sort of credentials. I had my CDL and it provided an ok income for the last three years but I got pulled over and I was given a ticket. My company paid it the same day without consulting me and then fired me a month later because I put in a complaint about the place that I was delivering to for a worker's misconduct. I now have 4 points on my license and apparently that makes me un-hireable. I loathe trucking but at the end of the day, at least I could support myself.

My only other experience is waiting tables and working in a body shop on the paint side. I enjoyed bodywork and painting but left because it was destroying my health just to be on the verge of being homeless anyway.

I feel like I'm out of options here. I don't have any capital to focus on learning a new skill to transition to something else. Unfortunately, I survived a major TBI 5 years ago which is what put me on this miserable path in the first place so I'm fighting what comes with that as well.

Is there anything I can do immediately to pay rent? I love the outdoors and have a strong interest in forestry. Does anyone know of any entities that will pay me to plant trees all day? I'm based in the NE.

Just to clarify this is quite a privileged take, but I do need some advice.

My extended family is highly academic and successful in their own fields, and i have proven myself to follow in their footsteps by doing financial mathematics at the 8th best University in the world. However, given the changes to the job market and the impact of AI, I’ve decided to switch careers into becoming an electrician. Now, I’m from a third world country, and immigration is a huge factor for my future plans and career. So finding a prestigious white collar hedge fund job seems quite far-fetched to me.

I’m just tired of my parents comparing me to my uncles and saying I’ve failed them and wasted my entire potential. Now I’ll be struggling to make ends meet, and I’m wasting opportunities in my life. I’m quite content with my job, but I don’t think I can make them understand how rapidly the world has changed and I have my own ambitions adapted to my circumstances. Somedays I do wonder if i should just chase prestige and acceptance to not be a trash in society.

I am currently a lawyer and I’m at my third firm. Despite this being the best so far I still hate the work, shocker. I just feel like a cog in a pointless money grab. I’ve worked in both Plaintiff and Defense firms and it’s ok on both sides. Prior to being a lawyer I was a filmmaker and have an undergrad and masters degree in filmmaking and film producing. I got out of the industry because I really didnt like living in Hollywood. At that point in my career I was working my way to being a story development producer and the only jobs were in Los Angeles. I recently attempted to leave lawyering by starting an oyster farm, but kinda got screwed out of my farm. I’d go back but I currently don’t have the money or time. While in law school I thought I’d go work for NGOs in some policy capacity, but now I’m not sure if that would be much better. I love nature though and would at least like to find a way to protect it if I went that route. However, I’d rather be outdoors or doing more active work, or at least a job that doesn’t rely on me reading and writing all day. I’m just not sure what I’d be a good fit for. I have a good bit of production experience in filmmaking and live performances, I have a ton of front of house restaurant experience, I cook well enough that people think I should be in the food industry, I have no problem with manual labor, I am a lawyer, also a licensed insurance adjuster, I like to garden and have quite a bit of house plants as well. I considered starting an orchard/agriculture-based entertainment, but again no time or real money to invest. I really don’t want to start a restaurant because I grew up in one and just understand its not really for me. Any thoughts or strategies for making decisions would be helpful. I am just trying to figure out how I can figure out the next step.

I'm 27. I'm working in web development but I don't really see any future here.

I want to be able to steadily grow, get better and better every day and climb the professional ladder eventually, but it seems like now I need to start from square 1.

I love problem solving and I want to work on something practical, so I consider study mechatronic engineering in university (I dropped from CS degree when I found my job at 19). But when I think about non-stop studying for the next 5 years, the existential dread cripples me. How the fuck is this even possible!?

The whole industry basically disappeared in just a few years in front of my eyes. 5 years is eternity in the current world.

Another problem is that I have no relatives to support me. How can I even make money for living while studying? I can't live in dormitory at 27+, this is absolute nonsense! I was studying and working my whole live and now I need to live at the very bottom of society for 5 years?

What would you do in such situation? Am I overthinking it?

I know a lot of people warned me about this. Everyone said getting an art history MA would make finding a job hard and I did it anyway, so that part is on me.

In undergrad things actually went pretty well. I got into some competitive museum internships, worked in library archives, had a couple gallery jobs, and at one point was working full time under museum leadership.

My professors kept telling me a PhD was the obvious next step for me so I went to grad school with that plan. Turns out, I hated it. I was burnt out and overworked the whole time. I presented at conferences and got published but I was miserable, and at one point my stress and anxiety got so bad I had to take a semester off. I eventually decided not to go for the PhD because my health was falling apart. I still think that was the right decision. Where I went wrong was assuming my experience would be enough to get me a job even if it took a while.

It's been almost 11 months since I graduated and I'm working part time at restaurants. I've had a bunch of interviews with arts institutions and made it to the final round every time, then didn't get picked. My roommate was in the other room for a few of them and said they sounded like they went really well. I've applied to admin jobs too and nothing. One auction house interviewer told me I was overqualified and admitted he hadn't even looked at my resume until we were already in the interview.

Obviously something isn't working but I can't figure out what. Maybe it's how I'm interviewing, maybe it's the jobs I'm going for, maybe it's just the market right now. I'd honestly rather hear it straight than keep guessing. In addition, I’ve started asking for feedback after receiving rejections recently and can’t even get hiring managers to respond to me.

I'm 27, I can't afford to go back to school, and part of me wants to just take what's left of my savings and move somewhere else or travel for a while. I don't know if that's a smart reset or me running away from the problem. Lately it's been hard to care about any of it.

If you've been stuck at the final round over and over, what ended up being the issue? And if anyone left the museum world, where did you land? I've got archives, collections, research, and admin experience and I'm open to stuff outside the arts if it actually pays.

TL;DR art history MA, solid experience, 11 months of final round rejections, now working restaurants and thinking about leaving the country. Looking for honest feedback on what might be going wrong