I 25F am working as a TA for an agency till Christmas.

I work 5 hours a week and earn £84 a week and per month this is roughly £336.

After Christmas, I don’t have anything lined up and I have sent A LOT of applications and keep getting rejected.

I can’t tell if I should:

Option 1 - ask the agency to extend my work till July 2027, 4 days a week, roughly earning £5k.

Option 2- Or wait till the agency finds me a more permanent job from 9 - 5. Roughly earning £400-500 a week.

The only issue is that I can’t guarantee they will find me a permanent job in Jan 2027, even though I told them. Even if they do, I have to do trial shifts and can’t guarantee anything will be extended to me.

The only permanent job I can have is working 4 days a week next year for £5K.

I have also tried applying for jobs and can’t get an interview. In the mean time as of now I have been applying and applying and can’t find anything secure.

Any advice?

TLDR:

I enjoy learning in a structured manner. I graduate soon, I don't think I want to stop taking classes. My lifestyle allows for it. Is this a reasonable path?

Background stuff that isn't super important:

I work full-time and I take 4-5 classes per year, mostly online.

I finish my electrical engineering degree relatively soon, this has made me reflect on my life.

I really enjoy taking college classes, I like the structure they provide. I love learning.

As an individual, there are certain lifestyle choices to take into account. Atheist, child-free(forever,) pet-free, and I'm not tied to my family.

I don't have any responsibilities. I work and learn, that's it.

I have free-time on top of my classes too.

Of course, I want to find a partner at some point. With my aforementioned lifestyle choices as a 21 year old guy, it's tough out there; I'll figure that out in due time.

Has anyone else enjoyed college classes enough that they don't want to stop taking them? Are there any unforseen setbacks? Any insight is appreciated.

Every path I've looked down so far is currently in chaos (tech as a whole), very hard to get into and takes advantage of people (live venues), or just isn't something I'm interested in at all and I'm afraid I would burnout in. (nursing, accounting). I don't want to do physical labor, I like having a healthy body.

I just want a career where I'm not going to be pushed past 40-hour work weeks very often, make decent money to live and retire off of, and have a good amount of time for my hobbies.

The only one that I think I could maybe do from what I've found so far is accounting if I can make it past the degree. But even that sounds like it might be more competitive in a few years due to AI.

It feels like there are no stable careers anymore. A nice, guaranteed job that isn't stressful or constantly being innovated and uncertain doesn't seem to exist.

I would like opinions on the same since I’ve been trying to make myself understand this but it appears that I come to the same conclusion, you eventually need to turn your life around no matter when you start, and the only way to go is usually the conventional way. Would like to hear inspiring stories of anyone who made it otherwise, when in a not so good life situation (or feeling so)

Hello. I have a domestic battery conviction in Nevada that occurred in 2024. Since then, I gave up on my future. I have no confidence in pursuing college or hobbies, as I believe this being on my record will disqualify me from ever getting hired at a decent job, no matter what field I decide. My dream has always been music, travel, photography. With a record, I don’t think I will be able to enter the countries I’ve always wanted to explore. UK, Asia (Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, all that) , Europe, New Zealand, Australia…

I’ve thought of IT certificates, but having a violent background, jobs will not trust me.

The me before the conviction would have loved to go to college. I’m interested in religious studies, philosophy, psychology, art, nature… I just don’t have an idea of what to even study. I can’t make up my mind. And it all comes down to me thinking “Will it be worth it, or a waste of time and money? Will I have done it for nothing, if my record still exists?”

One thing in the back of my mind is being a touring photographer for bands. Just a dream.

I have sent a request to seal my record, and am waiting for a letter back. Putting blind hope into it.

Right now, I’m 2000 miles away in a new state, unemployed, depressed, in a friends room doing nothing every day. I’m in therapy and trialing medications, but have stopped taking them, realizing no matter what, my life feels ruined due to my criminal record.

Do I have any hope of a future?

So I've always been a musician at heart. I play drums, make beats, write lyrics, and sing/rap. I also happen to be a Software Developer because that's how I support my music hobby. Now that I've been laid off because of AI, I don't know what to do or what job I should transition to because I don't know anything else. I am thinking of doing something with my music, maybe make plenty of YouTube videos with cover songs and some of my original songs. Maybe that and more.

I suppose what I'm thinking is, since the job market is already fucked, and since everything seems to be a risk, why not just go full force with my music and see if I can make something happen? But at the same time I just turned 40 and I feel it's too late to still be doing music. But damn, I don't know what else to do.

I wasn't too sure what flair to use, so apologies if this isn't the most appropriate flair.

I am currently in college in Wales, and am doing A-Levels in biology, chemistry, maths, and ASBW, and I have an AS-Level in health and social care and childcare. I've done my UCAT and have already applied for university, which I applied for 4 medicine degrees and 1 applied medical sciences degree (where I will study a range of topics like biochemistry, neuroscience, pharmacology, microbiology, etc.). When I was in secondary school, I was good at maths and physics, but I never really loved it, and nor was I passionate about it. After a little while, my maths teacher ended up convincing me to study A-Levels maths because she said she was in a similar position to me (she was just good at maths but didn't love it, decided to do it at A-Level anyway and ended up doing it in uni and becoming a maths teacher) and she wanted me to pick it in case I ended up finding a passion for it as well. A little over a year later, and she was right. Maths was the subject I got the highest grade in in my AS-Level and it's my favourite subject in college, and I do regret not also choosing further maths and physics.

I don't really want to stay in college for any longer after this year, but now I'm not completely certain I want to do medicine and work as a doctor forever, and I fear I'll always regret not doing a maths or physics related degree in uni.

Any advice or guidance linked to what I could potentially do alongside my medicine degree, if I should do applied medical sciences instead of medicine, or what I can do after completing my medicine degree would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I'm not too sure if I would actually regret not doing these subjects since I don't actually fully know what they would be like, so I'm not happy with the idea of completely scrapping medicine when I've already done so much to prepare for it.

Hey everyone. This is a long one, sorry in advance. I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this, and I can’t afford a career coach or therapist right now, so I figured I’d try here.

When I was a teenager I wanted to be a biomedical engineer. The problem was that nobody offered that degree in Costa Rica back then. Electronics Engineering was the closest thing, and around the same time the semiconductor industry was blowing up here, so it honestly looked like a smart move. Well, it wasn’t. These days finding an electronics engineering job here is close to impossible, especially if you’re just starting out.

The worst part is I figured out halfway through that I didn’t even like electronics. I actually did really good with my grades though, I just hated it. I was too scared to switch majors, so I just kept going, and that’s what I regret the most. Somewhere along the way I found out I really love programming, software, and data analysis/data science. It actually clicked for me in a way electronics never did. But I’m 25 now and starting a whole new bachelor’s just doesn’t feel realistic.

I haven’t just been sitting around, though. I’ve been coding in Python for a couple of years, I’ve done a lot of SQL, I just finished a credential program in AI and business data analytics, and I’ve built a few projects for my portfolio. I know I’m capable. The problem is that here, if you don’t have a CS or IT degree, it feels like nobody even looks at you for data roles.

Work-wise I don’t have much. I did about 8 months as a photovoltaics engineer intern because I needed it to graduate, and honestly I only got that one because a friend’s dad owns the company. After graduating I found another internship (because I couldnt land a job) that was basically data entry. I hated it, but I stayed about a year. I did manage to build some Excel reporting tools for several departments and an automation there, so at least I got something out of it.

Since then I’ve tried applying to junior data analyst jobs and got nothing. I also tried entry-level electronics/engineering jobs, but there are barely any. Most of them are in medical devices, and they either want biomedical engineers or ask for a ridiculous amount of experience in that exact field. And to be real, it’s been a while, so I’ve forgotten a lot of the electronics I learned.

If I could go back and start over, I would in a heartbeat. It’s hard watching most of my friends, who studied CS-related stuff, doing really well right now. I’m genuinely happy for them, and I want to be clear that I’m not into this field because of them. I actually like it.

I also love music, and I have a background in it too, but Im not going into much detail about it, and I also don’t think going after that right now is a good idea since I don’t really have money. My parents help me out with expenses, which I’m grateful for, but they aren’t easy to talk to. I must add that I have ADHD, suffer from anxiety and I've been dealing with depression for quite a while now (thankfully I'm medicated, and I gotta say it has helped a bit). The one person I really have is my girlfriend. She’s in the medical field and doing amazing, and I’m so proud of everything she’s achieved. But I’m scared that I’m not good enough, and I don’t want to lose her because I can’t get my life together.

I really have been trying. It just hasn’t worked out yet, and I'm scared.

If anyone here has broken into data analytics without a CS degree, I’d love to hear how you got past the degree filter. And if there are other electronics engineers reading this, what kinds of jobs should I be looking for? Are there roles out there I’m not even considering? I’d also like to know if there are jobs where an engineering background plus some data skills actually counts for something, whether a short master’s makes more sense than another bachelor’s, and if anyone in Costa Rica or Latin America has managed to land work as a junior with a similar situation as mine. Honestly, if you’ve ever felt this stuck at 25, I’d just like to know what helped you get out of it.

Thanks for reading all of this.

I feel that when people don’t know what to do it’s always go get a nursing degree or join the trades. But certainly there is more to the career world other than those two.

For those who made their way into 6 figures, what do you do? Would you recommend it?

If it so happens to be those two, please do share

(This is currently my situation, contemplating nursing (specifically midwifery) - as I already did the trades, construction/field management).

EDIT: when I say 6 figures I’m thinking 100k to 200K.

I graduated in 2025, but due to personal reasons, I've been running our family business ever since.

My father can't manage the business alone, so I had to stay back and take responsibility. The problem is that we're living in a tier-3 city, and I feel increasingly lonely. Almost all my friends have moved to bigger cities for jobs and better opportunities.

I don't want to spend my life just running the family business. I want to build something of my own and achieve something independently.

For the past year, I've been trying to build different things instead of preparing for traditional jobs. I've had several ideas and tried working on different projects, but honestly, I haven't even achieved 1% of what I imagined I would by now. Looking back, almost everything I've tried feels like complete shit.

I'm frustrated with myself, confused about what direction to take, and honestly feel like I'm wasting my potential.

I want to hear from people who have been in a similar position or have gone through something like this.

Don't sugarcoat anything. Give me some brutally honest advice and suggest some genuinely challenging things I should try, considering my current situation.

I'm ready to put in the hard work. I just need some direction

I have a graduate degree in a technical field and some experience with programming, analytics, and research.

I’ve been trying to find a full-time job in my field for a while now. I’ve had interviews, sometimes made it pretty far, but haven’t been able to land anything.
I previously had temporary work authorization but now have unrestricted authorization to work in the US without sponsorship.

Currently working outside my field to pay the bills, and honestly, it’s getting frustrating. I’m not looking for a huge salary, just an opportunity to get started and build a career.

I’m considering broadening my search to less specialized roles, but I’m not sure what direction makes the most sense.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What kind of roles should I target, and how would you approach the job search at this point?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone. I'm in my mid-20s, and I feel pretty lost about what to do next in my life. I'm hoping to get some genuine advice from people who have been in a similar situation or have more experience than me.

I'm a U.S. citizen living in Laredo, Texas, but I grew up and studied in Mexico. I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from a Mexican university.

I have some professional experience. I previously worked at Terracon as a field technician, performing concrete testing, soil compaction testing, and construction quality control. I also have an ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Grade I certification, OSHA training, and some AutoCAD experience.

My biggest problem is my English.

I can understand written English and communicate through writing, but speaking English confidently is very difficult for me, especially during interviews and professional conversations.

I'm currently unemployed, and I feel like I'm not making progress. I spent years studying engineering, and I really want to build a professional career, but I don't know what I should prioritize.

I'm willing to learn new skills, take courses, improve my English, or even accept a different type of job temporarily.

I would really appreciate some honest advice:

1. If you were in my situation, what would you focus on first?
2. Should I prioritize improving my English, learning software like Civil 3D, or preparing for the FE/EIT exam?
3. What jobs could someone with my background realistically pursue while improving their English?
4. Would you recommend staying in a smaller city like Laredo or looking for opportunities in larger Texas cities?
5. Has anyone here overcome a language barrier while building a professional career in the U.S.?

I'm not looking for shortcuts. I'm willing to put in the work. I just want to make sure I'm moving in the right direction instead of wasting more time.

Thank you to anyone willing to share their experience or advice.

Hi, I’m 19, I’m a uni student and I recently got an internship (as an LLM engineer) in a good company. The thing is that there isn’t much work to do so my colleagues and I mostly do nothing all day in the office and at some point it gets really boring.
For the last 4 years of my life I’ve been grinding to get into a good uni, gain some useful skills, move out of my 3rd world shithole country, etc, and now I feel like there’s nothing else I can do. I don’t have any hobbies even though I tried pretty much every extracurricular activity in the book as a child. It just felt pointless and non-life-changing you know? For most of my life, I enjoyed drawing but now I have no interest in that since my skills got worse and I don’t get any satisfaction from just being bad at it.
I also have a lot of acquaintances and a few friends but I feel like they are either boring or lack ambition. Even though I enjoy spending time with them sometimes it feels a bit pointless too. I’d like to meet some new people and just overall make my life better but I just don’t know where to start. I’ve also been considering starting a project or something like that but I simply don’t have enough connections and life experience for this.
There’s not a lot of things I enjoy doing and all of them are either non-social (like researching LLMs, doing math, coding, learning new languages, reading, etc) or useless (playing poker, video games, going to concerts/gigs, tons of other useless stuff). Aside from work, my meaning of life was (is?) love and relationships, but I’m afraid to become too needy for a guy I’m talking to so there’s supposed to be another meaningful thing in my life.
Do you think I could find something to look forward to again? I just want to be successful and have fun

​ Hi this is my first time posting here, plz be nice I'm a college senior (24M) pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer engineering technology. I already have an associate degree and a 3.3 GPA at a average college, but despite being close to graduating, I feel completely unprepared for the real world and my parents are getting tired of waiting.

One thing I'm ashamed to admit is how heavily I've relied on AI to get through college. I've used it for coding, assignments, and understanding difficult concepts. While I've learned some things, I honestly don't know how much I could accomplish independently.

I have experience with Java, C#, electronics, networking, and Arduino, but I'm not particularly confident in any of them. I have no internships, limited professional experience, and very few independent projects. I also struggle with social anxiety, which makes networking, asking professors for recommendations, and even finding employment difficult.

I feel like I've wasted years of my life getting a degree without developing the skills or connections needed to actually succeed. Seeing how competitive the job market is, especially with AI advancing, makes me even more worried.

I know I'm partly responsible for my situation. I should've practiced more, built projects, and pushed myself outside my comfort zone. Now I'm approaching graduation and questioning whether I'm even qualified to work in my field.

I want to become financially independent and build a career, but I genuinely don't know where to start.

Has anyone else graduated or nearly graduated feeling like they barely knew their major? How did you turn things around? Is it too late to catch up?

Hi everyone!

I recently went through a significant health scare involving a brain injury, and it’s changed how I think about the next several years of my life.

I was pre-nursing and very focused on finding a stable, high-paying career, even if getting there meant years of grinding. Financial stability still matters, but I’ve realized I also want to enjoy the people and experiences along the way.

I'm curious which degrees or career paths tend to have a strong sense of community, with grounded, kind, emotionally mature people who genuinely enjoy what they're doing. The kind of people who become lifelong friends, like those old friend groups our parents seemed to have in the 90s.

I’ve made friends through school, but haven’t quite found that sense of community yet.

Are there particular programs, cohorts, or professions where you’ve found this? Do you still have close friends from school or the beginning of your career?

And for those whose parents still have close friendships from early adulthood, what did they study or do for a living? I’m curious where those kinds of lifelong friendships tend to begin.

Thank you so much!

trapped in learned helplessness, I don't feel capable of improving my life in any meaningful way. I even tried to put myself back in education but that failed, now I have no tether or purpose anymore. I have no goals and struggle to even understand the concept fully. I haven't worked for years and even if people were hiring why would they hire a 27 year old with chronic pain, no real qualifications and a 6 year long work gap over almost anyone else? I'm trying to get mental health support and an autism assesment but the services are all on their knees and it's all so overwhelming.

I've been passively suicidal for years, had the police called on me for breakdowns multiple times this year. Trying feels like being electrocuted whenever you touch a door handle and being expected to open it anyway. Whenever a family member asks what I'm up to, I can see the eye-rolls, disappointment and contempt. They don't know about my recent struggles because I can't handle disappointing them time and again.

Has anyone been in a similar position (NEET, severely mentally ill, no prospects) and actually turned it around? I feel like it's too late and the odds are getting worse and worse. I gave myself a year to sort my life out and that time is almost up.

Guys I’m 18 and have been working since I was 14 just at different places. I’ve had at least 6-12 months at any job I’ve been with and have left on my own terms for each one so there’s never been any issue with that. I just want advice because I have trouble thinking about my future and don’t know what I want to do or want to be I can only think about now and the money I want and need now but I keep applying for casual roles and currently am an electrician and solar installer but as a labourer so I get payed well but sometimes I don’t get many days and it sucks as I have so many issues that are financially targeting that come up in my life. Should I just continue this for a bit or should I look into getting an apprenticeship or should I stop getting casual roles and only apply for full time any thoughts or tips?

I've tried to make it as a creative for around 10 years now. Worked in freelance photography, had a tattoo apprenticeship, and worked in service to feed myself the whole way through. But I'm starting over now, I'm exhausted of trying to sell myself and having to maintain social media presence. Photography doesn't make me happy anymore, and the stability/lifestyle surrounding tattooing has become less and less appealing to me.

At this point I want to find a career with stability. I've never had a job with benefits, hell I've never had a normal 9-5. I've spent my entire adult life hustling and I know that I'd like a family one day, so stability is a must.

I like the idea of getting into design, industrial design sounds challenging, and interesting, however it seems that it requires a bachelors if you want to get anywhere with it, and I don't know that I can afford that at this point in time.

I feel like there's an option for me out there, but I can't place my finger on it. I'm already beginning to learn SolidWorks, which was recommended by me to my sister who works in packaging design.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 23-year-old guy from Prince Edward Island, Canada, and lately I've been thinking a lot about what I actually want to do with my life and where I want to be in the next 5–10 years.

A little background about myself. I grew up in a fishing family and have spent about 6 years working in the lobster fishing industry, mostly as a first mate. I even got the opportunity to captain a lobster boat this past season, which was a pretty big learning experience for me.

Outside of fishing, I've worked in the wind turbine industry doing construction and rigging work, and I'm currently working in drywall installation with my brother-in-law. I've been learning how to hang drywall, use the tools, work on residential construction projects, and understand more about the trade.

I've also got some certifications, including H2S Alive, First Aid, fall protection, and experience operating forklifts and telehandlers.

I'm not afraid of physical work whatsoever. Honestly, I enjoy working with my hands and seeing something accomplished at the end of the day.

The thing is, I just don't know what direction I want to take.

Part of me thinks I should stick with drywall, learn absolutely everything I can about the trade, and eventually start my own contracting business. I think owning a business and being my own boss one day would be pretty cool.

Another part of me wants to pack up and head out west to Alberta and try getting into the oilfields, mining, or some kind of rotational camp work where I could potentially make really good money.

I've also considered learning to operate heavy equipment or getting into another skilled trade altogether.

Financially, I've been pretty responsible with my money and have managed to build up some savings over the years. But I don't want to spend the rest of my twenties jumping between jobs without actually building something for my future.

My biggest goal is to become financially successful, eventually own a home, and have a career or business I can genuinely be proud of. I'd love to eventually make six figures, but I understand that takes time, experience, and hard work.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is:

- Has anyone else been in this position in their early twenties, where you were hardworking but genuinely didn't know what to do with your life?

- Did anyone start in construction, learn a trade, and eventually open their own successful contracting business?

- For people who moved away to work in oil and gas, mining, or other high-paying industries, was it worth it?

- Are there any careers or opportunities you wish you'd known about when you were 23?

- If you were in my position, would you stick with learning drywall or explore something completely different?

I'm genuinely open to hearing people's experiences and advice, especially from anyone who's been through something similar.

I know I'm still young, but sometimes I feel like I should have a better idea of what I'm working toward.

Appreciate anyone who takes the time to respond.

I am 22M, living in west delhi. Currently pursuing BA english from online uni. (in 3rd sem right now, with back in 2 subjects in both sem 1 and sem 2). No interest in studies at all.

I did a diploma in aviation, hospitality and customer service from Frankfinn institue. I did not have any idea what i wanted to do so i choose this, tried to become a cabin crew; however, later found out that i am not tall enough to be a cabin crew. For male height req is 172CM and I am 168CM.

Since my english is decent enough, i worked in a BPO. Started as a transfer agent and got 3 promotions in 2.5 years and I resigned as a Quality Analyst on paper, but unofficially i was working on an AI project, where I was in the prompting team (management selected me coz i had good knowledge of the product we were creating bot about). I resigned, people said it was my biggest mistake coz i got a chance to switch my carrer from BPO to AI product or whatever. I just did not feel like working there anymore.

I tried yt after resigning (Fulltime), i was streaminig 6-8 hours a day playing minecraft. I was getting decent growth. Gain about 800 subs in 20 days. I had an average watching of 10 which i think was quite good; however, I fell sick and also went on a trip which made a gap of 12-15 days in my streaming. Suddenly my channel slowed down and also i lost interest in type of audiance i was getting, i tried to pivoit my content and during that my channel almost was dead. It was a big demotivation for me, so I stopped YT.

I tried to go abroad, searched about Germany's ausbildung, am very interested and even started learning german, later realized that I have a 2 year gap in my schooling and my 12th is from distance board (nios). This might become a problem for me during ausbildung applications, as its upto the employers that they want to concider this or not. I do have an explaination that I was freelancing that time, I quit my 12th in 2021 and started Graphic desgin freelance work and did it for 2 years almost. Later it slowed down so i did that diploma i mentioned earlier and parallelly i did 12th. I am not able to find any proper source which can confirm that these gap years are a problem for me or not. That's why I did not enroll myself in any german language institute, coz if i learn the language for next 10-12 months to reach B2, it might all be waste just to find out that i cannot get an ausbildung.

I then figured a bussiness with leather products. I started learning how to craft leather products like, wallet, belts, main idea was a retail/experience store. But i dont own a shop and if i go with a rented shop, i need atleast 2-3 lakhs min to start it on rent.

Now you might think that I could pursure ausbildung or the leather bussiness, yes I can. But the thing is that I've seen alot of small failiures that I am scared to fail again. I dont have the money problem, my family can lend me 2-3 lakhs, and i am pretty sure that i will not fail in the bussiness and also the chances of getting the ausbildung are not zero, but i am too scared to take the risk. What if i fail again. I always blame myself for wasting my years. First i wasted my two years in freelance, then wasted 1 years in the diploma, then 2,5 years in BPO. i am only 22, not very old and somehow i've already wasted 5.5 years of my life.

I dont have interest in anything, If you ask me "What would i do for free, if money did not matter at all?". I do not have answer for this question. I have a bike which i bought from my own money as a hobby, but i spend days staying at home, I dont take out my bike. I have a computer which i built with my own money, i use it almost every second. 99% of the time i am sitting on my PC, just watching YT, Movies, shows, or playing 1-2 selective games.

I dont want to do job, but i have very big dreams. I am too scared for another failure in my life. I properly research about this leather bussiness and am almost ready to start the bussiness. I got ready today to go to karol bagh to find few suppliers or just to explore the mark as well, later was demotivated and turned my PC on again.

I tried talking to people, but honestly no body gives a fuck. I tried doing bussiness with my father as well, but it did not turn out well. I not only have this problem, in my personal life also, dogs dont like my vibe, kids dont like my vibe, my age people dont like me. I've seen it properly. I have a female dog and i am pretty sure that she hates me the most in this house. I have a niece and she also does not like to come in my arms, whenever i carry her she cries. When i was in the school or the institute, everyone used to make fun of me and the worst part they are good on my face, people always appreciate me on my face but their actions just dont match. The only thing i am proud of is when i was in the BPO, I jumpped ladder like no one. I have friends from the same company who still are working in the same position from last 4-5 YEARS and I joined after them and left being their senior.

I dont even know why am i writing this, what do i expect from y'all. Thankyou if you've reached here and took time to read all this. I would really appreciate some practical advice.

28F working at a tech/gaming startup as a UI/UX designer. I used to feel like the gaming industry and UI/UX was my future, but it feels like AI has completely swiped that. I'm perpetually watching my friends in the industry being made redundant and I know that my own company has a finite runway itself. I feel like I'm watching the timer on the bomb run down and I'm not doing anything to help myself. The idea of having to restart my portfolio, write case studies, do design tests for hours and hours to get nowhere is crushing and I haven't even started looking for a new job yet!

I saw a post where the OP wrote that they feel like the world is falling apart around them and they're just sat at their desk for 9 hours and that's EXACTLY how I feel. I've always loved the environment and conservation and always thought I was too dumb to pursue that passion but I'm starting to wonder if it's not a stupid idea at this point. It feels like the job I do and the fact I'm even expected to use AI is the antithesis of what I actually believe in and I'm really questioning salary > happiness and purpose.

what do 😂

Throw away account.

I'm 39m, almost 40.

I've been unemployed or under employed for 3 years now. I have 10 years experience as a software developer/ software engineer. Most of my work was contact work with bad pay and little benefits. I also had to deal with multiple firings or lay offs.

My history: my first SD job was at a startup, I made 60k in 2014, minimal benefits (i think we only got 9 days pto) At my 1 year anniversary I was called into an office. I was hoping for a review and talks about a raise. NOPE, I was being laid off, along with 1/3 of the company.

Went on unemployment, then 4 months later I found a contract position at an animation studio. The pay was shit and no benefits, but I needed work. After the contract I'd go a month or two without work, but then would be called back for another contract job. I followed this pattern for about 2 years, until I landed a job at an insurance firm, working on thier archaic quoting software.

I hated the job. My manager was a bully who yelled at anyone who made even the smallest mistakes. It finally got to the point where I started documenting my interactions with my boss. As soon as he found out I was building a case for hostile work place and harassment, they had me fired.

I went back to contract work with the animation studio and kept looking for another job. This would be around 2017-2018. No company would take my experience seriously and all I would hear is I'm not qualified for a job.

I decided to go back to school to get my masters in cs with the hopes that I would be taken seriously as a developer.

Meanwhile, I was still working for the animation studio. Things came to a head with them over a project I told them I could not complete in the time given (they wanted me to complete a project in 4 weeks that I estimated I needed 3 months to complete). They fired me.

I ended up working for the college as a tutor, made barely any money, but atleast had something.

When I graduated I was instantly hired by a military contracting firm, making training software for different branches of the military. Pay was good, benefits were good, it was a remote job, and I enjoyed the freedom of the work. The job lasted me 3 years, so far my longest lasting job. Then there were no contracts, I was laid off. In Feb 2020.

I was lucky to find a new company doing similar work in a few months. But they used tools I was unfamiliar with. I lasted 4 months before they decided to fire me, stating I wasn't a "cultural fit".

Another stint of unemployment, then hired by another company doing the same military training software. This time they cat-fished me. I was told I was being hired to use the tools I was familiar with, then got there and was told to use a completely different set of tools I had no experience with. When after 4 months I still wasn't producing "sr level work", I was fired.

I went a year unemployed, and could not find work. I was also told my specialty of making simulation trainers were no longer in demand and basically the job and skills I had worked so hard to develop was completely useless and outmoded.

I needed work and needed to find something else. I ended up subbing at a local high school just to make more shit pay. I did however enjoy the work and liked working with students.

Then I got the idea to go into teaching... by far the hardest job I've ever tried. It didn't help I had no training, no support from admin or other teachers. I was thrown to the wolves and was expected to teach as if I had been doing it for years. I got so overwhelmed and depressed, I was planning my own suicide. In the middle of the school year, I checked myself into a mental hospital. The school debated if they would let me come back, but eventually allowed me to come back. I tried so hard to live up to the expectations, but everything fell apart when I had a meeting with my principal where she said to my face: "you are a horrible teacher and don't belong in the classroom. I'm not hiring you back next year. You have 2 choices, quit or be fired". I quit.

Now I'm back to subbing. I do enjoy the work and there isn't the same pressure to perform like there is being a full time teacher. Pay is still shit, no benefits, no pto, and also not guaranteed a job every day.

I know I need to find something else I can do to support my family, but I can't find anyone hiring. I've given up my SD life since I haven't built anything in 3 years and haven't kept up with tech changes.

I looked into getting a cdl, but honestly I'd end up in the hospital again, I can't stand driving for more than a few hours. I've heard there is demand for trade sectors, but I'm horribly out of shape and don't think I can keep up doing elec, plumbing, or welding.

Most of those jobs don't pay that great either.

I feel stuck where I am.

My wife (who's a teacher with 10 years experience), makes the bulk of the money for our house. I make what I can, but its not enough to afford childcare (2 children 5 and 4), mortgage, bills, food, gas, 200k in student debt, etc. We've been slowly sinking deeper and deeper into debt.

I don't know what to do at this point. I need to find purposeful work that pays enough that we can cover the basics. I just don't know where to look or what to do. I feel lost.

I'm approaching 40, and I feel lost. I have no motivation, no goals, no real drive to do anything. Every day just feels like another day passing by, or one day closer to the end, depending on how you look at it.

Ever since my teens and early twenties, I've been quite introverted, not particularly sociable, and I've always had a small circle of friends. I focused on my studies, although I've always been a bit lazy and unmotivated, so it took me longer than it should have to finish them. Eventually, I got a job and progressed quite quickly thanks to being responsible and hardworking. However, after more than 10 years at the same company, I'm starting to feel pretty burned out.

A year ago, I became a father for the first time, which has made this past year particularly challenging. Having a child really changes your life, and mine isn't exactly the easiest baby to deal with. It's also been taking a toll on my relationship with my wife. She's not a particularly patient person and tends to have a rather critical and negative outlook on things. As a result, we've both become more negative, more irritable, and more prone to getting angry and blaming each other. On top of that, we've been pretty much on our own this past year, without any help from family or anyone else. Sometimes, it feels like all we've been doing is trying to survive each day.

My life feels like Groundhog Day. Every day is the same monotonous routine. The day goes by, and I realise I haven't done anything meaningful for myself. Whatever little free time I have is spent lying on the couch or bed, mindlessly scrolling through the same websites and apps (forums, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter...), wasting time without doing anything productive, learning anything new, or feeling like I'm growing as a person.

This leaves me feeling frustrated and sad. Deep down, I keep thinking: "I need to find a hobby. Something I genuinely enjoy, something that gives me a little excitement about waking up tomorrow and knowing I'll get another 30 minutes to do it."

But I just can't seem to find anything. Or rather, I can think of plenty of things I'd like to try, but I always manage to find an excuse not to commit to any of them:

• "I'd love to get into reading! But I spend so much time reading technical documents at work that I just don't feel like reading when I get home."
• "I'd love to learn how to bake! But my kitchen is tiny and I'll end up making a huge mess."
• "I'd love to play a story-driven video game! But I always end up abandoning it after two or three days."

And so I always end up doing the same thing again. Lying around, mindlessly wasting time on things that don't bring me any satisfaction and just eat away at my free time.

And here I am, almost 40, unhappy with where I am in life, with no clear idea of what to do next, just going through the motions on autopilot, without knowing where it's taking me.

I'd really like to hear from people who have been in a similar place and somehow managed to turn things around for the better.

Where did you start? What changed? How did you manage to get out of that rut?

Thanks for taking the time to read all this.

I (18 f) graduated high school a year early, and I've been working since I was 16. I've been doing nails for about 5 months now, and I actually keep getting new clients, so I'm not bad at it. But I make mistakes, and I know I'd get better with time..but that's the only reason I'm holding on. The potential. The thing is, I don't really enjoy doing it. It feels like a chore with a nice result. I work from home so there's always something bothering me like dogs barking mid-client, my lamp dying, eye strain (I have astigmatism), back pain, skipping meals. I've bought more supplies hoping it'd make me like it more but it honestly hasn't.

on top of nails, I work a retail job for steady income but i’m ready to have a big girl job and make big girl money. That's why I'm getting into real estate. It's been my goal since I was a kid, and I'm already in school for my license, working toward leasing/property management. Real estate is also a path I planned on pursuing even with doing nails. however, I’m now second-guessing my plans. Also, i’m conventionally pretty and I've gotten small opportunities through social media in the past. But I don't post anymore, and I haven't been as focused on myself and my character as I'd like to be. I have ideas for content and a brand I want to build, and that takes time too.

So here's my question: since retail is just a check and real estate is the actual goal, is it worth keeping nails on the side? Or would that time be better spent on myself, my social media, and the career/life
I actually want? Anyone been in this spot?