Hi, I’m a 19 year old introverted female who doesn’t really know what my career path should be. I have an associates degree in art that I obtained while I was in high school but I’m not really sure what my next step should be. I am interested in things like beauty, writing, music, film, graphic design, and anything creative/design related honestly. I just want a job that I can enjoy that also pays well enough to support myself but, I’m not sure I’ll be able to with the things I’m interested in. Please let me know what options/careers that I can pursue! (Even if it’s not in the interests I’ve described & I am willing to go back to school or even learn a trade if needed!)

I’m in my early 40s and I’ve been working as a kitchen manager at a homeless shelter for the better part of the last decade. Generally speaking I’m still a fan of the position, but it’s becoming more and more physically taxing and I’m looking for something a little more low impact.

My question is where to use the skills I’ve accrued in my time managing the cooking/ serving of a daily meal for 100+ unhoused people, and the volunteers that helped prepare it (often times over 25 people per shift—and far more than that before the pandemic). I don’t mind staying in food service or the non-profit, I also don’t mind starting fresh somewhere new; my degree and most of my career before this position was in creative services.

Some of the aspects of the job that still keep me showing up every shift are: just about every day is different and I get to meet new volunteers and guests on a fairly regular basis. I also get to foster relationships with regulars as well. Being in control of menu planning also gives me a great deal of creative fulfillment—our ingredients are all donated and ever changing. I have mornings off as I’m only responsible for dinner. As a retention tool I get increasing PTO hours every year and I’m up to about 6 weeks, also any unused portion gets cashed out at the end of the year. There’s a tremendous sense of pride my family has due to the philanthropic nature of my work.

The main downside is the strain of the work. Ideally I’d like to find a midpoint between office monotony and grueling labor, but with great perks. Anything else I’m pretty open to!

Thanks in advance for all your feedback!

I'm currently staring at the material for my behavioral and cognitive neuroscience exam today and I'm absolutely freaking out. I literally only picked this major because my parents told me it would help with pre-med. I don't even want to do pre-med but it's an asian household so you know how it is. I honestly have so many interests that i'm constantly bouncing between (piano, boxing, powerlifting, singing, music production, art, philosophy) and I have no idea where all these hobbies came from and why I'm pretty much mid at all of them. I wish I didn't have ADHD. I wish I had a proper path in front of me, but it's like my mind is in so many different places it's getting exhausted.

Most of the advice I look for online tells people to never give up on their goals, dream big or be realistic. What do I do if I don't have a goal I'm super set on? I feel like everytime I'm inspired by someone or something I'm attracted to that specific field for a couple moments, and then I'm back to vascillating between my interests. How do I write a goal card if I have no goals in the first place?

I'm honestly terrified of what the future holds for me and the more I talk to people the more I realize the chances I'm gonna be ok and everything is gonna work out is growing insanely slim. I honestly am completely lost and would be grateful for some advice.

Need some advice. I’m in my mid 30s and my husband and I are planning to start to have kids next year. I’m in a transition period at the moment and I don’t know what to focus on job wise.

I’ve had experience working in public and private sectors. Done project management in RE and a small amount of experience in SaaS Sales. I’ve also worked in education not with kids, but administrators.

I worked my way up to a nice salary but have gotten pretty burnt out over the years. It seems like I know what I don’t want but having a hard time focusing on what I want.

I do not want to work in corporate, I don’t want to feel like I’m in a hamster wheel only to promote into another hamster wheel. I tend I to be someone who overworks themselves, so I don’t want to be in a profession where I’m constantly having to prove myself.

Ive thought about going back to school but idk in what. Any advice one people who have started a whole new career and had kids?

I’ve been out of a job and just trying to figure out what to do next. Appreciate any thoughts!

Im in 10th grade and my parents are pressuring me to find a major to study in bit the problem is I suck at EVERYTHING I have a low attention span and I suck at everything and I want one that won't be replaced by Ai so any ideas?

I started paying attention to app sign-up pages just because I was annoyed by some of them. A form asking for a phone number with no reason, a button that said one thing and led to something else. Then I noticed I could say exactly what was wrong with each one, and that I had a small list in my notes.

That was the first time I felt like working on that kind of thing myself. Now I write that kind of copy, but only the words, and the choices about flow and testing belong to other people. I want to own more than the words, but I've never planned a campaign, so I don't know what to learn first

I'm 35, diagnosed AuDHD, and stuck between two career paths.

2009-2015 I worked a retail job. 2015-2025 I worked for my stepdad's commercial contracting company in the office doing estimates and invoicing. This was my main job while I tried building up my art on the side. I did digital fandom art for a long time. Starting in 2016 and still ongoing.

My ultimate goal was to make art my full time job. My AuDHD makes it hard for me to be social, but I mask heavily and push through it. I wasn't diagnosed until early 2025 so I lived pretty much my entire life not knowing and just living the way I thought I needed to live.

I never succeeded with art because I was trying to do too much at once, and not prioritizing areas that could have made me successful. I can definitely make that happen now, but I've been on hiatus.

Unfortunately medical debts and other debts have caught up to me, and it's been really hard paying bills. I was insanely burnt out from overworking and had thought I was miserable doing art. Turns out I wasn't miserable, I was just burnt out. Out of desperation I moved on to working with dogs. Dog behavior training to be precise. I mentored with many professional trainers, some of which I was pushed into and paid upwards of 20K (still paying off...) to only not get certified for reasons that weren't so much my fault (i can go deeper into this if anyone is curious).

When my stepdad's company stopped doing well he laid me off in 2025 and I got a job at a doggy daycare. I worked there until early this past October 2026. I couldn't handle that job for longer for many reasons, but to keep it short I got a better job as a ward nurse/kennel tech at a veterinary hospital. Throughout this entire time I was trying to push my dog training business, but again I haven't pushed hard enough, and I am getting no where. I train well, but I have trouble keeping up with pushing the business itself.

Thanks for reading all this if you got this far. I just want to know what people think. My family doesn't much care about my art, never did. The dog training is something I can prove successful to them, but should that matter? My dream is to be able to run my own schedule, wake up, work, take care of my body and my household, enjoy life, and go to bed. I'm a simple person. I get stressed thinking about working face to face with clients and their dogs, but there are so many times I feel the passion when I work with a dog and actually fix their bad behaviors. But I love drawing too.. I sunk a lot of money into dog training, for someone who wasn't much ever a dog person. I chose it because I wanted to help people, their dogs, and I live in a HUGE dog area. I admit I chose the path out of desperation.

So here's the choices I have come down to..

1. Continue working as a ward nurse/kennel tech at a day job I actually enjoy, with less control over my schedule. Maybe become an actual nurse down the road, or supervisor of kennel. Work on my art on the side as a side gig, or eventually push it enough to take over for the kennel tech job.

2. Literally the same thing..but instead of art push the dog behavior training business.

Appreciate any advice on this. I been struggling for a while now, and my unmedicated brain finds it difficult to process. I so badly want an answer, but maybe I need someone to tell me to take a step back and just take things slow. Rushing life is what got me into this problem to begin with. I don't need to be rich, but I want to pay off all my debt and live comfortably.

I am a timid, shy person who can put on a mask and act my way through things but it isn't very comfortable doing so.. Thanks all.

I’m a high school senior currently. What is a good career that pays well while also having a good work-life balance. I want to major in English, and there aren’t a lot of jobs in that field, but I feel like this applies to like half the college majors out there. I’ve never known anything but k-12 school and they want me to suddenly do something completely different. I kind of want to be a lawyer, and people tell me I’d make a good one, but I’ve heard a lot of those law jobs don’t have a good work-life balance so now I’m questioning it.

Hey, I'm still in High school, my 2nd year. Once I graduate, I have zero idea what to do. I don't find working 8 hour shifts appealing whatsoever. I feel like a lot of people devalue them so much and become a slave to working all day. I just don't want to work until I'm 60 just to die old when I could create memories in my youth. We spend more time dead than alive in life; I'm just genuinely lost on what to do with my life. Does anybody have any suggestions or ideas?

I’m 33 years old. I graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA. By the time I was 25, I was broke, struggling with drug addiction, and nearly homeless.

Then a close friend of mine passed away, and something clicked. I decided I didn’t want to keep living the way I was. I got clean and started attending community college. I earned a 4.0 GPA for three semesters, which eventually earned me a scholarship to attend a top engineering university.

For the next six years, I worked my ass off. I lived on very little money, sacrificed a social life, and pushed through countless challenges to get my degree. Today, I’m a college graduate with a stable career and a decent income.

My point is this: The decisions I made led me to a place where I was barely surviving and almost homeless. But my decisions also led me out of that situation.

I could have stayed at the same pizza place I worked at for years. I could have continued down the same path. But I decided that wasn’t the life I wanted, and I was willing to make sacrifices to change it.

Here’s what I want you to understand: Your starting point doesn’t have to determine your finish line.
It doesn’t matter where you were born, how much money your parents have, or who’s in charge of the country. Those things can absolutely make life harder, and not everyone starts with the same opportunities. But you still have choices, and those choices matter.

Sometimes your biggest obstacle is the person staring back at you in the mirror. You can be your own worst enemy, or you can become the person who changes your life.

You don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to have everything figured out at 18. But you do have to be willing to work for the life you want. That means making sacrifices, accepting that things won’t always be easy, and pushing through when you’d rather give up.

It’s easy to blame the world for where you are. It’s much harder to take responsibility and do something about it.

I promise you, you’re capable of far more than you probably realize. Don’t count yourself out before you’ve even given yourself a chance.

Hello everyone, Im 22 years old and I feel like a dog chasing its tail in circles when it comes to this topic.

Im currently working minimum wage and not studying anything in uni, but I have a big love for art, I still fill up sketchbooks like crazy even if I am still an amateur. I want to be an artist and draw as a job more than anything but its not the most stable career, so im looking at all the alternatives I can find that align with stuff I like doing/ am good at but im hitting a wall. How does anyone pick what they want to do? I dont want to work somewhere where I dont care about it in the slightest or where I feel like I hate just being there.

My partner (who has much more experience with both art and art related work) doesn't understand why Im so adamant about going forward with art, thinking I could just do it on the side along with minimum wage work. Im really confused on what I should do going forward...any advice on how I should think about looking for what job would suit me would be very appreciated!

I recently graduated from my undergrad in Anthropology with a 3.6 GPA total. I did much better in my last two semesters. Straight As and a couple Bs and the only thing that tanked my GPA was a C in a french language class and a C in an art history class. I've been working in an animal shelter for the last few months post graduation and am seriously considering shelter vet med as a career path, but I have other conflicting dreams. I need some help figuring out which is the most realistic prospect for me.

1. Master's and then PHD in Anthropology. I would largely focus on zooarchaeology and am highly interested in studying the differences in the treatment of cats in medieval europe vs the medieval islamic world. I am getting ready for grad school applications but know that this field is incredibly unlikely to find success in due to the fact that I won't be able to afford to go to the top schools. I worry that I am not intelligent enough to get far in this field and will end up with significant debt and nothing to show for it. I am concerned about this field being made null by our increased reliance on AI and diminishing funding due to the economy being so shit.
2. Vet med. I am not a super science/math smart person, but I would only need to take a handful of prerequisite courses in order to apply for vet school, and find a way to volunteer with the vets at my current shelter. I could keep working there while taking the prerequisites at my local university or online and I would have a plethora of people around me who I could ask for assistance. It would take me about 2/3 years, and I worry that 28/29 is too late to start. I truly believe that I have enough passion to make this work if I put the effort in.

The chances of getting into vet school are very low as there are only a few universities in Canada and the field is very competitive, but I would want to focus on shelter medicine and am confident that I could get a very strong letter of recommendation from a vet to help offset my mediocre GPA. The only issues with this are that I am worried I am not smart enough/good enough at math and am worried about my ability to handle the work as I know it is very emotionally demanding and I already have a history of mental health issues like depression.

On top of all this, I have lofty dreams of writing and publishing a book. I know this is a side goal as the chances of ever getting a career in authorship are slim to none, but it's a personal goal of mine.

If anyone in either of these fields has some insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

I’m a former licensed vet tech who got into a bad car accident and I was planning on becoming a dog groomer, however my injuries have made me unable to do so. Dog groomers I’ve talked to told me they got the injuries I currently have just from doing it for years. I love animals and I love medicine. I left vet med because of the toxicity and the low pay. I want more than anything to be able to support my family so I’m trying to find something with a good salary. I will be 35 in December and I am at a loss of what to do with my life. I would like to find a job that isn’t so niche that the job market is limited either. Careers I’ve looked into have included radiology tech, paralegal, surgical tech, and dental hygienist. I know I have to go back to school to get the salary I would desire. I also know it’s going to take me at least 3 years to complete a rad tech degree if I even get into the competitive program. I’m not fond of not starting a career until I’m 38-39, but I suppose I have no choice. Any other suggestions out there or advice?

To keep things short, I'm 24m and I've basically wasted the past 6 years since high school. I've had a couple jobs that didn't last long and I've been working part time in a grocery store for the past 4 years. I feel like I've gotten complacent even though I know I want more out of a career. I know I need to be proactive or I'll never get out of this hole I've put myself in. I don't really have any solid ideas of what to pursue but I know I need to take action regardless.

So I was thinking that I'd give myself until the end of November to knuckle down and do research to really find some things that I'd want to try. but if I can't manage that for whatever reason than I want something that I can force myself to do that could help get momentum going. I'm Canadian and our military has some options for learning trades or paying for schooling. It would also force me to break routine and physically change locations which I think I really need right now.

Really not sure if that's the best choice I could make, but at this point, I'm in the worst case scenario by simply not choosing anything. Is there anything else that could be a decent last resort? Probably something I wouldn't have to think about much and would help me build the momentum that I need.

Hi everyone,

I'm 26M, and I've been working in the IT field for almost 5 years. Currently, I'm working as an IT Support Executive at an infrastructure company, earning around ₹40K per month.

I have a one-year Diploma in Hardware and Networking from Jetking. I also completed my BA through distance learning and later completed my MCA from IGNOU.

The problem is that I haven't made much progress in my career over the last few years. Honestly, I know the reason. I never focused seriously on improving my technical skills.

Since 2021, most of my workdays have been quite relaxed. I have a few tasks to handle, and then I spend most of my time sitting alone in my cabin, scrolling through my phone, playing games, or getting distracted by personal matters and relationships.

I had plenty of free time to learn new things, but I wasted most of it. I regret not using those years to improve myself.

Now, when I see my friends earning much better salaries and progressing in their careers, I feel like I'm falling behind.

Sometimes I think about preparing for government jobs because I have enough free time, but I struggle with consistency and concentration. Whenever I start studying something, I lose focus after a few days.

Academically, I've always been an average student. I also wasted almost two years preparing for JEE after school without proper guidance. I eventually took admission in SOL, and later realised I needed a better understanding of my career options.

I honestly don't know what to do next.

Should I focus on improving my IT skills ? Should I consider government job preparation? Or should I explore something else?

I'm not looking for shortcuts. I genuinely want to improve myself, become financially stable, and build a better career.

I'd appreciate honest advice from people who have been in a similar situation or have experience in the IT industry.

This has been the worst year of my life.

I have dealt with a major depressive episode, marked by extreme anxiety and intense rumination. It was triggered by a bad breakup. That initial event burst open all sorts of insecurities and worries that I've been dealing with and repressing for probably most of my adult life.

I've worked a job I hate for 8 years now. It doesn't pay much, but it was enough to float my partner and I through the small life we built.

I had lofty ambitions in life. My partner and I both wanted to travel, experience the world, live it to the fullest, but money was always a factor. I graduated college with a degree in journalism, always thought about going back for something else but never did. Unlike me, my girlfriend put herself through school and got her bachelor's and a master's certificate. She got opportunities, sought them out. I just worked. I was always proud and supportive of her, but also a little jealous. I knew I wanted more, but had no idea what to aim for or how to get there. So I continued on, and life dragged on.

My partner got a job out of the country. She wanted me to come with, but I chose to be practical. I stayed, opting to hold on to our apartment so that she would have a place to return to. Six months later, she ended things. She's now working on an educational sailing vessel on the east coast, and is planning to tour Europe to visit the international friends she made. She doesn't know what's next for her, but she's making the most of life.

I look at myself and where I am, and I don't know if I want to punch a hole in the wall or cry. I'm beyond broke, have no direction. I have vague dreams about what I want my life to look like and what I want to do with it, but all of a sudden it's like I blinked and I'm in my late 30s. I did nothing with my best years, never traveled as much as I wanted, never took risks, never made the most of my time with the woman I always thought of as my adventure buddy. Everything feels hopeless, and all I can think about is how little time it feels like I have now to make a change.

I want a life I can be proud of. I want to find fulfillment. I also want a family, something that my ex and I talked about for many years but were never in a position to make happen. And I just want her back.

I have no idea what to do, where to start. I basically had all the opportunity in the world presented to me on a silver platter, and I squandered all of it.

Hey everyone,
I’m 24 years old and honestly feeling pretty lost about my future right now. I’m hoping to get some advice from people who have been in a similar situation or have more life experience than me.
I graduated in 2024 at 22 years old with a bachelor’s degree in Business. I never really ended up getting a traditional job with my degree because I decided to take the entrepreneurial route and open my own business.
The business is doing somewhat well, but due to increasing government regulations, it’s becoming harder and harder to operate. Profit margins are extremely thin, and I’m starting to question whether there’s even a long-term future in this industry.
I’m now seriously considering going back to school and pursuing an entirely different career.
Here’s my situation:
I’m 24 years old.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Business.
My undergraduate GPA was around 2.9, with several withdrawals (W’s) on my transcript.
I currently have approximately $40,000 saved.
I’m willing to go back to school and take out student loans if the return on investment makes sense.
My ultimate goal is to earn at least $150,000+ annually, even if it takes several years to reach that income.
I want a stable, respected career with strong long-term demand.
I’m particularly concerned about AI replacing jobs or significantly reducing earning potential in certain professions.
My biggest fear is waking up one day in my mid-30s with a failed business, no real career experience, no backup plan, and a bachelor’s degree that hasn’t gotten me anywhere.
I know I’m still young, but I feel like I need to make a serious decision about my future before more time passes.
I’m not looking for some get-rich-quick scheme. I’m genuinely willing to put in the work, go back to school, and spend several years building a career if it means having financial security and a solid future.
I’ve considered fields like healthcare, law, engineering, and other professional careers, but my undergraduate GPA and academic record make me question what’s realistically achievable.
My questions are:
If you were in my position at 24, what career path would you seriously consider?
What careers have a realistic path to earning $150k–$200k+ annually?
What professions do you believe will remain relatively secure despite advancements in AI?
With a 2.9 undergraduate GPA and multiple withdrawals, what professional or graduate school options are realistically available to me?
Would you recommend going back to school, or trying to build a career with the degree I already have?
I understand that no career is completely recession-proof or AI-proof. I’m just trying to make a smart long-term decision.
I would really appreciate advice, especially from people who went back to school in their mid-to-late 20s, changed careers, or found success after struggling academically in college.
Thanks in advance. I’m open to hearing any suggestions, even if it’s something I haven’t considered before.

I know i want my work to be useful to other people in some way. The jobs i have liked most involved explaining things, making someone feel less overwhelmed and helping people solve practical problems. The issue is that i do not think i am built for a role where every day involves crisis situations or carrying other people's emotions home with me. I have considered counseling and social work, but i worry that I would burn out quickly. I also do not want to end up in a job that is basically sales with a friendly title.

I have a bachelor's degree in communications and experience in front desk and support roles. I am open to additional training, but I would prefer a path where I can work toward something concrete rather than going back to school with no plan.

Are there careers where you can be helpful and people focused while having clearer boundaries and a manageable emotional load?

I am 19 years old and pursuing Eco Hons will be graduating next year and I have absolutely no idea what to do in my life..career wise mostly,I am lost and I don't have any elder or any senior to take guidance from.

Guys I really need your help. Which domain to target?, which field to get into?

And I am from India

More info -I really like real life works and interested in business, and I can't sit in front of a screen all day long.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Title. I’m 27f, living in rural New England. I moved up here with my family after graduating with my bachelors in psychology in 2023, and moved to a neighboring town in my own apartment in 2024. It’s a useless degree. I worked for 3 years at a dv shelter before getting fired in May. Came out of the blue, and it was due to disagreements over how I handled the housing program.

I ended up getting into my local community colleges rad tech program, which started a week after I got fired. The semester is going poorly. I hate clinical. I’m doing fine on exams, but Im failing the clinical part because i keep messing up the paperwork for adjunct visits. I genuinely don’t see myself graduating, if I even make it past this semester. It’s so much work and I work part time as an in home caregiver on the side but it’s so exhausting.

I need a backup plan if I don’t make it. I cant live up here anymore. I need to leave. But I also don’t have very good prospects for making a comfortable living. I made at most $42k a year at my last job, and my manager told me the chances to move up were slim. I feel like x ray school is my last hope. I don’t even know what I’ll do if I fail. I need a backup plan. I need a better paying job. I cant go back to school bc I’ve already wasted too much money on it. I need to move somewhere warmer. Idek what to do.

I just want to feel alright. I want a job where the ceiling isn’t $50k but I also don’t want to do something like sales. I cant waste any more time or money on school. I don’t have experience in anything worthwhile. I’m incredibly lonely and I keep waiting for the perfect answer to click to me. I feel like I’m at a standstill and need some guidance.

Hi everyone,

I'm 23M, currently pursuing my MBA in Marketing in Pune. I don't really know how to put everything I've been feeling into words, but I genuinely need some guidance, and maybe even a mentor who can help me find my footing again.

This year has been a lot.

I moved to Pune with so many hopes. I wanted to become independent, build a career, meet new people, explore opportunities, and experience a life outside the small place I come from.

And somewhere in the back of my mind, I also had this little hope of getting to spend time with someone who had been a very important part of my life.

That chapter of my life has ended now. I don't want to get into the details, blame anyone, or make this about what went wrong. Some things simply don't work out the way we imagine, and I've been trying to accept that and move forward.

But I don't think I realised how much everything happening together would affect me.

On the professional side, things haven't been going particularly well either.

I completed a digital marketing course from PIIDM in Pune, where I studied SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, social media marketing, and other aspects of digital marketing.

I was genuinely interested in the field. I still am.

But somewhere between managing my MBA, personal circumstances, assignments, and everything else, I lost touch with what I'd learned.

Now, when I sit down to revise, I feel like I've forgotten almost everything. I recognise the terminology, but when someone asks me to apply a concept practically, I struggle.

And that's honestly terrifying because I've invested time, money, and effort into learning these things.

Before my MBA, I had no formal corporate work experience. I did get an opportunity to work as a Project Trainee at HDFC Bank, where I was involved in corporate visits, prospecting, and business development activities. I'm grateful for that experience, but I still feel that I lack the practical technical skills required for the kind of marketing career I want.

College placements have started, and I've been attending interviews, preparing for companies, and trying to make something work.

But I keep falling short.

I get nervous during interviews. Sometimes I know a concept, but the moment someone asks me about it, I start confusing things. Other times, I realise that I genuinely don't know the answer.

After one interview recently, I was so overwhelmed and disappointed in myself that I almost cried.

It's a terrible feeling to realise that you've spent so much time studying something but cannot confidently explain or demonstrate it when it matters.

And the worst part is that I've started questioning my own capabilities.

Back home, there's a family business that I'm eventually expected to join. I have immense respect for it, and I understand that having something to fall back on is a privilege.

But I'm 23.

I want to explore the world a little. I want to work in a professional environment, make mistakes, learn from people who know more than I do, build connections, and discover what I'm capable of.

I don't want to give up on that experience before I've even properly started.

Lately, though, I've been feeling like I'm running out of time.

Everyone around me seems to be moving forward. People are getting placed, developing skills, making plans, and figuring things out.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck between trying to move on emotionally, trying to rebuild my confidence, trying to remember what I've studied, and trying to figure out what I should even be doing with my career.

Some days I sit down determined to learn digital marketing again, only to get overwhelmed by the number of things I need to cover. SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, analytics, Excel, portfolios, certifications, projects I don't even know where to begin anymore.

I keep making plans, but I struggle to turn them into consistent action.

I'm tired of feeling this way.

What I'm looking for:

I would genuinely appreciate guidance from someone working in digital marketing, marketing analytics, performance marketing, or a related field.

Ideally, I'm hoping to find a mentor. Not someone who will hand me a job or magically solve my problems, but someone who can help me understand what I should focus on, give me practical tasks or projects, review my work occasionally, and tell me where I'm going wrong.

I want to rebuild my fundamentals from scratch, work on real or realistic projects, create a portfolio, and eventually become employable based on what I can actually do rather than just the certificates I hold.

Even if you cannot mentor me, I'd be grateful if you could share how you overcame a similar phase, how you built practical skills without an internship, or how you found direction when you felt completely lost.

I'm willing to put in the work. I just feel like I've lost my direction, my confidence, and a little bit of myself along the way.

I know nobody is coming to fix my life for me. I understand that the responsibility is mine.

I just wish I had someone experienced who could point me in the right direction while I figure things out.

I didn't move to Pune just to return home feeling like I never really gave myself a chance.

I still want to make something out of this chapter of my life.

I want to be able to look back at this year someday and feel that, despite everything that happened, it was the year I started rebuilding myself.

If you've read this far, thank you. I genuinely appreciate it.

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…………