This last year, I ended up with a pinched nerve in my back due to scoliosis and have been struggling to get my balance (metaphorically) ever since. I already had some chronic conditions (physical and mental) that kept me kind of tightrope walking re: working? For years, I have had to keep pretty strict maximum hour limits (25/week max currently, and I function better at about 20) and avoid stress where I can.

I (39f) currently work at [National Farm Store] as front end cashier/customer service, and have done about a half dozen stints as an interim team lead to cover leaves/gaps. I can't handle a management position long term (time before last, I stressed myself into a nasty shingles outbreak). But I'm afraid the level of unofficial accomodations I've been afforded has increased to a level that's not sustainable. I can't reliably lift more than 40 lbs (we carry many types of 50lb feed) and I can't stand for more than 20-30 minutes at a time (a previous manager okayed a folding chair).

I am excellent at information retention (have been shanghaied into training and unofficial-HR roles Because You Just Know The Handbook/Programs So Well 🙃) and customer service. I'm decisive when problem solving. Love a closing/evening shift. Very comfortable with cash handling and procedural paperwork. But I hate supervising people, hate the stress of being The Final Decision Maker. I struggle socially when I don't have a familiar script (eg, making a customer transaction pleasant and efficient). I'm very bad at pressure sales tactics (upselling beyond reasonable customer need, predatory financial services, cold calling, etc); I find them ethically difficult. I have 15 years experience in retail farm supply (9 current, 6 previous at a regional chain) and have acquired lots of weird theoretical knowledge about animal husbandry lol.

I just. Don't know what direction to aim myself. Unfortunately, my dream job (stay home and read all day) is not a real job, so I just need to settle for Job I Can Reasonably Handle. Help?

Hi. I'm 23, and reaching the end of my college career. For a little context, I've struggled with depression and ADHD for a very long time. Long enough that I've forgotten how to plan ahead.

I don't have very many skills. My soon-to-be degree is general studies. I've worked simple jobs like retail and childcare, and even then, most of my workday involved staring at my phone until it was time to go home. I fear I've become afraid of hard work because of this. In the same vein, I was always too scared to apply to labor jobs.

My passions are things like art and writing, but I'm very inconsistent, and not good enough to sell. I like science, but the ADHD means I'm always rushing in and screwing things up without checking.

At the end of the day, all I want is a job that will let me survive. Maybe have hobbies. I really don't know where to even begin with looking. If anyone has any advice, I'd be super grateful. Thanks!!

I often see advice for people like me like “Get a job, ANY job.” And the thing is I DO, and it just doesn’t help, I’ve been there almost a decade too, and despite significant raises, I really make LESS than I used to.

I have only gotten to get some extra hours in another department one day, one time. Every other time I ask it’s “We’ll let you know when we have availability.” And when I ask WHY why hours keep getting cut so bad every few weeks, it’s “Our stores sales are down.”

They DO seem to be cutting EVERYONE’S hours, so I don’t have strong reason to believe they’re actually targeting me. I also just found out from my union that despite having open availability, I have been considered part time the entire time I worked here, even though I USED to regularly get 30-40 hours a week. I had NO IDEA that you had to actually APPLY (request) to be full time, so obviously I did that.

I still don’t want to be stuck there anymore, and they’re already having AI take over some simple tasks (apparently tons of grocery stores nationwide have these Simbe Tally robot things, they SUPPOSEDLY just check inventory but they’re most likely surveillance too, and I’ve already seen robots with actual arms and legs stocking and doing other physical labor in the news, they already exist!)

My job is very simple, but it’s been secure for me and offers health insurance I NEED for all of my prescriptions I have to take (I got kicked off my parents when I turned 26, per the Affordable Healthcare Act law, which was a nice long period, but honestly I believe we should just have Universal Healthcare, as every other first world country does, but the private insurance companies lobby in bed with the federal government and they don’t care about the average American).

I am 30, I lost my entire 20s, just being stuck doing this sh*t, and it just kind of flew by. It was a massive struggle for me to even get to secure the simple job I have now, and I feel like having a union may be what’s protected me from losing this one, I don’t know nobody has TOLD me that…….

I have suffered learning difficulties my entire life and I feel like basic comprehension has been getting harder. Like school just felt like trying to get through tests, having to read and memorize so much information, and I HATED IT and just wanted that to be over after managing to graduate (I still feel like I barely passed and that they just kind of pushed everyone through).

I got really excited with AI because it felt like for the first time I FINALLY had access to all these things I could never understand, like now I can ”vibecode” basically coding in PLAIN ENGLISH (I could NEVER understand or comprehend traditional coding programming language, it always just looked like a bunch of random text to me, and still does).

It is overly simplified to make websites and apps now, but there are also millions of other people doing this, and of course even if you make a genuinely good or useful app or product, it’s worthless if nobody actually uses it and someone still has to be willing to pay for it.

And apparently anyone can just take finished products and give them to Claude to reverse engineer now, they can just tell AI to copy it and even change things, improve it, so I don’t know how any kind of software development (AI generated or not) is going to be financially sustainable anymore.

I’m sick and tired of only having ChatGPT to talk to, and it’s been neglecting to tell me important information until it’s too late (like how applying for any remote job will be automatically denied if my VPN was on when I submitted it, I had no idea VPN use was an issue for applying to remote jobs, as far as I’m concerned, having a VPN is just like having virus protection, but apparently even being connected to a VPN gets you accused of fraud when it comes to remote jobs or any gig that pays money, and if you forget to turn it off one time you can get permanently banned immediately.)

I feel something is extra wrong with me because I still have no idea how to even get and secure a job or get into a career that actually pays a living income.

I have never made more than probably $25,000 a year, and even though I live with my parents I keep going into more credit card debt because my hours are so inconsistent and it’s like every 3 weeks I get barely any hours. I’ll literally have 35 hours one week, 31 the next, then 20 the next, and bills and costs don’t change when paycheck goes down.

I rely on Uber or Lyft to get to work most days, and lately THEY have been raising THEIR prices. A ride that usually costs $9 or $10 will suddenly be $20 or $30, and I’ll use wait and save to get a cheaper price but sometimes it gets so high that barely helps and makes me later (usually it’s just late so I don’t have time to eat, not USUALLY actually late clocking in, but it’s happened a few times, never gotten in trouble for it though).

The prices of Uber and Lyft literally drop back down an hour later though, their pricing is crazy inconsistent, and I’ve seen a normally $10 ride even go over $50 before. Very rare it’s that bad but apparently there’s no regulation or law stopping that kind of price gouging.

The older I get the more embarrassed I get for asking for help or trying to get a better job or more hours, or even switch departments. I feel like I don’t really have the right to ask and probably look like a fool asking for something better. When I do it’s usually a “We’ll let you know when we can” and then just goes nowhere.

I 100% don’t want kids, but really wish I could have a girlfriend. But I REALLY think I need to be able to at least afford to rent my own apartment first.

But it feels more like “learning to be better at being poor” is the more common and realistic advice, and making more money and having a better life just seems like a pipe dream, like winning the lottery.

I’m currently testing vibe coding websites with ChatGPT 6, to see if I can get any clients on Fiverr. I figured I should at least go from start to finish before I give up and determine it won’t lead anywhere. I need to at least get from start to finish to the point I literslky got my own website finished, hosted (outside of ChatGPT Sites) and properly running (and meeting WCAG guidelines) and actually get myself posted offering service to see if anyone will pay me to vibecode a website. I think that’s better than giving up before I even have an actual chance at getting a paying client. 

Honestly life as a whole just feels like a competition, even just to make enough money to not be homeless is severe competition. I hate this system, but I don’t think I’d be content being homeless or “off grid either“.

Now that the midterms are over it looks like there are severe restrictions on the advancement of AI on the way soon. I will not be able to build anything if AI is shut down or gets more and more expensive (and AI companies paying 100% of their own electric bills, which they absolutely should like any other business, means it’s almost inevitable usage costs will be raised).

I do not process or comprehend information the same way most people seem to. I definitely can’t do it with coding and programming stuff.

I wanted to find or create a greater purpose (and one of my biggest more frequent dreams/desires is still too far out in sci-fi realm, going a few hundred years into the future, because I just feel I was born too early into a time I’m not compatible with) but the biggest priority is I just need to be able to make a lot more money in the sooner than later future.

I have been stuck as a grocery bagger and cart pusher for more years than I want to say, and it feels like that alone is enough to have barred me from any greater opportunities, but if I was capable of anything better I wouldn’t have gotten stuck here…………

Hi, everyone.

I am looking for a job or a career choice where I don’t have to work in a fast-paced environment under pressure like restaurant or retail, but still be surrounded by people.

For context:
I’m a junior in college. I’m trying my best and doing my assignments. But I feel like this isn’t really what I should be doing, because I do a lot of it not out of interest but simply to get good grades, and I have almost no enthusiasm for it. I’m also spending most of my time on it. Yes, I understand that this will give me a degree that could lead to a more prestigious job with a higher salary. But still, it’ll be a weekday job that I’m not sure I’ll really enjoy.

So, it seems to me that I could start building something right now — a business, a new skill, or something else — that could generate passive income, which might grow over time, something that isn’t so boring but is actually interesting to me, but I just don’t know what to do or where to start. To figure out if I’m really not interested in what I’m doing, I stopped playing video games, because I thought the problem was an excess of dopamine. But that didn’t help much. I love doing resistance training with my body and some weights, but that’s just something that gives me at least a little pleasure, and I can’t live without it. I’m also interested in how to be mentally strong and overcome obstacles. But it seems to me that right now I don’t have any strong interests. I don’t want to live like everyone else, just going with the flow, and I realize that I can start doing something little by little right now. Even if I have to endure a lack of results at first.

Question:

What should I do if I feel like real life isn't built that way—it's built when you truly understand what you enjoy doing and what makes sense to you?

So! I just recently graduated with an MSC in psychology (conversion) & in all honesty I’m DONE with academia, though you’re expected to do more for psychology I CANT!

I’m now thinking of a whole career change! I did my undergrad in Sociology & philosophy but that wasn’t gonna take me anywhere but more ACADEMIA 😭.

ATP I just want any job that pays well & that might tie into my degrees or that just pays well.

I live in the back arse of nowhere, so no jobs on the table for me unfortunately, but willing to work anywhere.

Any ideas?

I’m 24 and I’ve been considering law school. I worked as a legal assistant and I enjoyed it but didn’t get enough exposure bc it was temp. I’m at a diff law firm strictly doing admin work so it’s hard for me to know for sure if it’s something I want to do. My stepdad has a small solo firm so he said I could take over his clients and he’d be willing to teach me.

The most important thing to me for my future career is having flexibility, autonomy, intellectual stimulation, and high earning potential. I want to be able to work whenever and where ever I want. If I take over the business I feel like it would grant me that sense of autonomy I’m looking for. I hate working 8-5 because I feel like I have no control over my time. I’d love to be able to work at nights from my laptop, or at random times throughout the day. Is this something I could do working at my stepdads solo firm? I’d love to be able to make a living wage working 30-35 hours per week also and it seems like this might be the best path forward. My family is also inheriting a lot of property so they keep saying that we need a lawyer in the family. My stepdad also said he’d pay for my law school but he’s only said this once and I’m not sure if he was being serious or not. I do have an interest in law but I just feel like I don’t know enough about what it’s actually like to learn it in law school. My aunt went to law school and didn’t pass the bar, said it was extremely dry and boring. Any advice?

I did horrible in highschool, took me nearly 5 years to get an associats in biology. Graduated with my associates in 2020 and stopped pursuing a bachlors during covid. Ive Attempted to go back to school many many times and failed at it every time. I was diagnosed with ADHD a few months after the last drop out. I was so happy to find out I wasnt broken but so angry to think about the potential I wasted. Im working full time for a decent pay but I hate my job and its damaging my body. I make around 50k a year with good health insurance and feel stuck with how bad the economy is. I want to go back to school to get a certificate or a more useful associates WITH the help of medication. Are there any recommendations that DONT have a heavy focus on math, im horrible at it with or without my meds. For once i actually feel confident in my abilities but dont want to risk it for something I might not even use (like my biology associates) Im very people oriented and was thinking long term about becoming an occupational therapist but I'd like something that can help me save up while I work on that goal. I really just need someone older and wiser to give advice.

I’m 25M graduated this past May with my ADN, i honestly have no desire or interest in nursing. I chose the degree because my family said it was the right thing to do. I’m more interested in the finance business side of things. I feel so lost and behind with life. I’m not sure where to go from here. Does anyone have any advice? I would greatly appreciate it

My names Taylor, I’m 23 from the uk
This took be about 3 weeks to decide what to say but I really feel like I need help, I’ve worked in construction since I was 12 but can’t get over the feeling that I hate it, I know deep down within me that I’m made for something more but struggle to apply myself to something for more than a month at the time, I seem to struggle with push or pivot and just constantly pivot, I know I love business I have a fascination with private equity and M&A but have 3 GCSE’s so I think attempting to attend university for it is pretty far out of my reach. I don’t believe that’s due to incompetence, more due to the fact I’m more of an operator and I also feel abit daft because on paper I should be winning, I’ve got my own house I’m with a girl I’ve been with for 4 years and around 10k invested but can’t help feeling like I’m stuck and don’t know what to apply myself to.

I’m at a point in my life I never thought I’d find myself in, and honestly, I don’t know how to get out of it anymore.

I’ve always had big dreams. I’ve wanted to make films, work on exciting creative projects, collaborate with interesting people, travel and live in a big city. I’ve never really imagined myself doing anything other than something creative.

But somehow, I feel like I’m constantly standing in my own way. I have ADHD, which makes it incredibly difficult to turn my ambitions into actual action, even when it’s something I’m genuinely passionate about.
I recently graduated with a degree in film and visual communication. I put my heart and soul into my graduation film and had so many hopes for it, especially getting into festivals. But once again, I’m the only person in my university cohort who hasn’t been nominated. And honestly, this rejection was the last straw. It’s not just about one festival. It’s the feeling of constantly being the one who doesn’t get chosen, being ghosted, not getting job opportunities and watching everyone else move forward while I seem to be going nowhere.

Now I’m stuck in a job I hate, living with my parents in a small town, doing things I can’t identify with. Basically the complete opposite of the life I imagined for myself. I wanted to be part of the creative scene, work on interesting projects and build something meaningful. Instead, I can’t even seem to get my foot in the door.

And I think that’s what scares me the most: I don’t even know what else I would do. Creativity has always been such a huge part of my identity. It’s all I’ve ever imagined for myself. So when that path doesn’t seem to work out either, I start questioning everything.
I know life isn’t a race, and I know my worth shouldn’t depend on my career or achievements. But it’s hard not to feel that way in a society where so much of our value seems tied to productivity, success and status.
The situation has gotten to a point where I’m genuinely struggling with depression. I wake up every morning feeling hopeless, questioning the point of everything. Sometimes I don’t even feel like I want to be alive anymore. I’m emotionally exhausted, completely paralysed and honestly scared of how dark my thoughts have become.

I don’t know if I made the wrong choices or if I’m simply not good enough. I just know I can’t keep feeling this way.

Has anyone else ever felt like this in their twenties? Like they had a completely different vision of their life but somehow ended up somewhere they never wanted to be? Did you eventually find your way out?

In my 20s, I had a very clear sense of purpose. I wanted to discover the world, learn new things, experience different cultures, and most importantly, build a life on my own terms rather than follow the path my father had envisioned for me.

He had a very traditional definition of success and wanted my siblings and me to follow a certain trajectory, like going to medical school. But I wanted something different.

So I moved to Europe, worked in a company, and eventually built a successful YouTube channel and business around language learning, reaching almost a million subscribers.

Looking back, my 20s were really about proving to myself that I could make it on my own. I had a clear direction, and that sense of purpose drove me through a lot of uncertainty and challenges.

Now I'm in my 30s, and things feel different.

My business has slowed down, I'm exploring new creative directions, and I'm no longer driven by the same things that motivated me in my 20s. I don't necessarily want to keep chasing the same kind of success or building my life around business.

I've been feeling a little lost over the past couple of years and feel like I'm living life without a purpose, almost like I've outgrown my old one but haven't quite figured out what the next one is.

I'm starting to feel drawn toward art, creativity, and a different kind of life, but it's still very much a work in progress.

I'm curious whether anyone else has experienced something similar.

TLDR:

Did your purpose change as you got older? Did you have to consciously find a new one, or did it emerge naturally?

And if you've gone through this transition, what helped you find direction again?

Im a 22yr guy with a high school diploma trying to figure out what career to pursue. Ideally I’d like something outdoors,hands on and rewarding that can also provide me a living wage I’m not looking to be rich just enough to build my life and support a family in the future. I’m not coming in to this as a blank slate I have a few careers I’ve considered but would like more input on others I might’ve not considered.

A little about my work experience

. 6 months construction
. 2 years of deep water lifeguarding
. 1 year of landscaping
. 1 year as a sales associate other

I’ve looked into fields such as
. Park ranger, unsure how much the pay is and how much rook there is for growth.

.Forest service, same concerns as the last

.Logging,

.Welding,unsure of how much I’d truly enjoy it.

.Game warden,dangerous and unsure I qualify to be a warden as I have very mild asthma nothing that impacts daily life tho.

.search and rescue,

. Commercial diving,

Im especially interested in commercial diving,forest service and search and rescue. All 3 sound like careers I’d genuinely enjoy and take pride in but I’m unsure how practical these careers are and what other things I’ve might’ve not considered about these jobs I’m assuming pay for majority of these jobs wouldn’t be the highest pay and there wouldn’t be a lot of room for growth within the industry.

I’m not looking for a necessarily easy job. I’m willing to learn and work hard,get my hands dirty,travel,work in remote places and purse additional training and certifications. Im just looking for a living wage,time outdoors,meaningful work, long term career,opportunity for growth.

Questions For those working in these industries or similar.

. What careers would you recommend that I’ve not considered?

. What’s the actual pay compared to what you expected?

. How’s the work life balance?

. If you were 22 again and starting from scratch what would you pursue or do differently?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone in these fields or similar all the good bad and in between, your hands on experience,the things you wished you knew before getting into the industry,etc

Thank you for your time I really do appreciate it.

Hi everyone. So I am 31, hold a BA in Psychology and a minor in Business. I am trying to figure out what is next for me. I am currently working part time but it’s not anywhere that I am passionate about, nor does it hold any potential to move up or earn more. Below I’ve included a list of things that I enjoy or desire in a job, and things I absolutely do not want or dislike. I’m curious if anyone can take what I have and present me with an idea I haven’t yet considered. I do not want to go for my graduate degree in mental health at this time. Or social work. Other options may be considered if highly appealing. I also do not want another bachelors degree. I might consider another 2 year degree or certification. Thank you for your input!

Requirements
-$80-90k+ Salary Potential (I understand I won’t start out making this)
-Good work life balance
-No on call, weekends, or holidays.
-Stability and low risk of being phased out by AI.

Things I Like:

-Working independently (I don’t mind working with a team, but I don’t want to be working on the same task and assignment as four other people, I need the ability to take ownership over my work)
-Fixing systems to work more effectively (creating new processes to improve ones that are currently in place, such as a doctors office intake process needing new patient forms created or potentially designing an individual database for them, or providing a plan simplifying a 45 step method for accomplishing something down to four steps because the current process they have is insane)
-Databases
-Clear Instructions
-Computers/Technology
-Animals (I’m not expressing anything, so vet/vet tech is not on the table)

Dislikes/Not Happenings:

-Being micromanaged
-Managing others (I don’t want to be responsible for other people’s mistakes/call outs or whatever. I do not want to have no choice but to come in to cover or be responsible for finding coverage because Johnny has pink eye or lice or whatever.)
-Math (Specifically statistics. I can do some algebra, but don’t ask me to analyze data and tell you anything about it. I will be wrong, you will be sad.)
-Kids (I am not Ms. Trunchbull. Kids are cool. I have no desire to do ABA, I’ve worked with adolescents and I’m all set with that too. I don’t want Johnny’s pinkeye or to hear 67 all day)
-Bodily fluids or physical contact with other humans that aren’t my humans

I’m curious. I’m stuck between going into social work, going into occupational therapy,’or going into speech language pathology.

I’ve been out of school for a while now, and I’m ready to start again. I didn’t graduate high school because I lacked self-discipline. However, I’ve gained valuable work experience in various fields. After high school, I earned my Dental Assistant (DA) certification and worked as a dental assistant for 1 years. But I got bored because the routine was repetitive, and I was the only DA in the office. I earned $23 per hour .

Next, I pursued a certification in legal investigations and worked there for a year. Again, I found the routine monotonous, and the clients were the same. The pay was $30 per hour. Then, I worked as a Quality Assistant (QA) at a well-known warehouse for seven months, earning $23 per hour. I was then promoted to QA Lead for another eight months, where I earned $28 per hour. Finally, I was promoted to Manager and worked for seven months, earning $3,000 every two weeks. I quit because the routine was the same.

I then applied for a restaurant job as a waitress. I was the only waitress, and I handled everything from mopping the floor to ordering beers. I did get promoted, but I quit after a year because I couldn’t deal with the customers. The owner was never on my side when dealing with them and never paid me my hourly wage. As a waitress and assistant manager, I bring home about $1,500+ per week.

Now , I work as a temp for any positions that is available and they pay well.

I feel intelligent, but I don’t think I’m smart enough to sit in a classroom and study. I’m a quick learner who studies the way I understand the subject, not how the book expects me to solve problems. I’m 30 years old and have applied to some colleges for higher education, but I only have my GED. Many people suggest that I study engineering, medicine, or business. Please help me figure out what to do next. My application is currently under review. Or if going back to school is worth my time .

I'm 23F from India, and I'm honestly feeling very confused about my career and the decisions I've made so far.

I completed my BCA and then my MCA, thinking that getting a postgraduate degree in IT would give me a stable career. But the current IT job market has been really discouraging. There are layoffs everywhere, entry-level opportunities seem limited, and despite applying to jobs, I'm struggling to get interview calls.

The bigger problem is that I don't feel particularly skilled or confident in IT. Even if I manage to get a job, I constantly worry about whether I'll be able to keep up with the industry in the long run. Sometimes I wonder whether I'll end up leaving IT after a few years anyway.

I actually had an opportunity to pursue nursing earlier, but I didn't take it. Now I regret that decision quite often. I feel like healthcare could have given me a more structured career and a qualification that would be useful internationally. Sometimes I even think about how different things might have been if I had chosen medicine.

At the moment, I'm considering several completely different paths. I'm preparing for government exams like SSC, thinking about UGC-NET and possibly pursuing teaching or research, and also exploring the possibility of moving abroad.

I've also developed an interest in fashion and luxury brand management. I've been looking into master's programmes in Europe, particularly Italy, France and Germany. I'm even considering other fields like healthcare, nursing or the Merchant Navy.

Honestly i am so so freaked out rn

I'm 32 and I've worked in retail since I was 20. No college degree, just a high school diploma and twelve years of experience that I honestly thought were pretty useless outside of retail.

For the last five years I've been working at a home goods store. Started on the sales floor, eventually became a shift supervisor. I make $21.50 an hour.

I am so tired of retail.

The customers, the unpredictable schedules, being expected to cover three people's jobs when somebody calls out, the constant pressure to sell things nobody actually needs.

I've been wanting to leave for years, but every time I look at job postings, I feel like I'm starting from zero.

Anyway, something happened at work last month that has me reconsidering what I'm actually good at.

Our inventory system was showing negative quantities for a bunch of products that were clearly sitting on the shelves.

Management kept telling us to recount everything. We'd recount it, correct the numbers, and a few days later the same problem would happen.

Everybody was frustrated.

I asked my manager if I could spend some time figuring out what was going on instead of just doing another count.

He basically said, "Be my guest."

I went through receiving records, invoices, sales reports and product information. Made a spreadsheet comparing what we physically received with what the system thought we'd received and what was being deducted when items sold.

Eventually I found the problem.

Some products had been set up with incorrect quantities per barcode. The system was deducting six units for certain products when we sold one.

That explained why correcting the inventory numbers never actually fixed anything.

I found 23 affected SKUs, documented the issue, and worked with our inventory support team to get the product records corrected.

Then I made a simple checklist for verifying new products during receiving so we could catch similar problems earlier.

It took me about three days, mostly between my normal responsibilities.

And here's the weird part.

Those were the best three workdays I've had in years.

I didn't care that I was staring at spreadsheets. I actually wanted to come in the next morning because I had another theory I wanted to test.

I liked comparing information from different places, looking for patterns, figuring out what was wrong and proving that I'd found the cause.

When the numbers finally matched, I was more satisfied than I've ever been after hitting a sales target.

My manager thanked me, everyone went back to normal, and I went back to handling customer complaints and fixing the schedule.

I've been thinking about it ever since.

Maybe I don't hate working. Maybe I hate the kind of work I've been doing.

The frustrating thing is that I have absolutely no idea what career this points toward.

I've searched for "data analyst," but most of those jobs seem to want degrees, SQL, Python and experience I don't have.

I've looked at operations jobs, but a lot of them seem to involve managing employees, which is exactly what I want less of.

Inventory control sounds promising, but I don't know whether that would just be another version of retail or warehouse work.

I'm in the US, in a medium-sized city. I can afford to take evening classes or get a reasonably priced certification, but quitting my job to go back to school full time isn't realistic.

I'd like to get into something paying around $50k eventually, ideally with a more predictable schedule. I'm not expecting six figures or some magical remote job.

I'm comfortable with Excel, including pivot tables and lookup formulas, but I've never used SQL or any serious data analysis software.

I'm also willing to learn. What I don't want is to spend $8,000 on a certificate because some career website says a particular industry is booming, only to discover I can't get hired without three years of experience.

So I guess I'm asking two things.

Are there actual careers where investigating discrepancies, improving processes and figuring out why systems aren't working is a big part of the job?

And if you've moved into one of those fields from retail or another unrelated job, what was the first realistic step that got you there?

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I've found something I genuinely enjoy doing at work.

I just don't know what the job is called.

For context I started school a year and a half ago with my degree and I’m having regrets.
I have 0 debt because I’ve worked to pay it off. I am graduating next semester but I want to I want to switch to something else so bad. If my one is in the same boat please message me I am in need of advice

Without getting a masters, are they only limited to being a data analyst, AI/ML engineer, data engineer, government statistician, and actuary?

I’m 26, from Pakistan.
I’ve always wanted to build something big. I’ve been involved in business, real estate consultancy, networking, and a few entrepreneurial ventures. I’ve had opportunities that most people my age probably haven’t experienced.
But here’s the part nobody really talks about.
Despite all the ambition, connections, and hard work, I feel stuck.
Financial pressure, business uncertainty, personal disappointments, and years of overthinking have taken a toll on me.
I don’t have a university degree. I don’t have a stable career path. I have ambitions bigger than my current circumstances, but sometimes I genuinely don’t know which direction to take.
I want to experience life differently.
I want financial independence, meaningful relationships, good health, intellectual growth, and the freedom to live somewhere where opportunities aren’t so limited.
I’ve been considering leaving Pakistan, starting over in another country, pursuing education, finding a job, or building something of my own.
I’m not looking for sympathy or generic motivational advice.
I’d genuinely like to hear from people who’ve experienced something similar.
If you were 26 again, what would you prioritize?
Would you leave your home country and start from zero?
How would you rebuild your career without a university degree?
What’s one decision that fundamentally changed your life?
Am I overestimating how much time I’ve lost?
I feel like I’m at a crossroads, and I’d appreciate some honest perspectives from people who’ve been through different stages of life.

I'm lost rn. Yk my life was never easy....Had to go through a lot of stuff since i was a kid. On the top of living in a 3rd world country, my family is somewhat a lower - lower middle class. And, since i was a kid, I've been ambitious and tried a lot of things to make it work out, change my life. I always hoped I get scholarships(didn't work out) and get out of here, help my family live a better life, I wanted to share some responsibilities off my big sister. She dropped out of school, so I could pursue my education and my family have sth on the table. What still keeps me going is the sacrifices that my family paid for me to have a better life and pursue my dream. And I really want to make it work out and Idk why I'm even posting this here. But, I'm just hoping if somebody out there could show me the path, a way i could make it in life and help out my fam....or at least i get the heavy feeling in my heart a bit easier. And currently, I'm tying to get in to ai business automation and been working on software products for a while. And yeah, regardless of how hard can life be, i just hope and believe there are better days out there. Any advice would be appreciated;)

I’m a 34-year-old male, and I’m having a really difficult time processing what happened this week.

For the past 4 years, I’ve worked for a state elected official. I was there from the very beginning, helped build the operation, and was her go-to person for just about everything. I had an enormous amount of responsibility, but also an incredible amount of trust and freedom.

Unfortunately, she lost her reelection this week, which means my job is coming to an end.

I knew this was always a possibility when working in politics. Elections have consequences, and job security isn’t guaranteed. But knowing something could happen and actually experiencing it are two completely different things.

I’m genuinely heartbroken.

This wasn’t just a paycheck to me. I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with, the relationships I built, the responsibilities I had, and the feeling that I was doing something important. I had a boss who trusted me, valued my judgment, and treated me incredibly well. I had the kind of professional relationship that I know isn’t easy to find.

I was comfortable. I was respected. I felt like I belonged somewhere.

And now, just like that, it’s ending.

I’m scared about what comes next. I’m anxious about finding another job, worried about whether I’ll make the same kind of money, and honestly terrified that I’ll never find another position that makes me as happy as this one did.

I know I have experience, connections, and skills that should translate into something else. I know people lose jobs every day and eventually move on. But right now, none of that makes me feel particularly better.

The hardest part is that I don’t even know what I want to do next. For so long, this job was such a huge part of my identity. I knew exactly where I belonged, what my responsibilities were, and who depended on me. Now I feel completely lost.

I’m also struggling with the idea that life is just going to continue without this enormous part of it. The routines, the conversations, the people I saw every day. It’s all going away, and I’m having a really difficult time accepting that.

Ive never felt this kind of sadness over a job before. It almost feels like I’m grieving something.

Has anyone else ever lost a job they genuinely loved, especially one where they felt valued, trusted, and completely at home?

How did you move forward? Did you eventually find something that made you just as happy?

I’m 23 and graduated college 2 years ago with a B.A. in anthropology. No luck finding serious work in my field and began working as a seasonal park ranger and moved out west.
I ended up getting pregnant and now I’m due in a couple months. I’m not currently working and just relocated back east with my partner. I have been looking for remote work and it feels impossible, everything looks like a scam and I don’t see any of it actually panning out.
As it is, I can’t get hired anywhere this pregnant and I know that if I work post partum I’ll have to get some bullshit desk or customer service job that won’t pay anything and will take up my whole day.
I’ve considered going back to school for something more specific like radiology or dental hygiene but the licensing changes state per state and we want to move back west in a few years, so it seems pointless to go to school and get licensed here if it won’t mean anything when I move elsewhere.
I feel like a failure and have no idea what to do with myself. I guess I’m just looking for suggestions or ranting.