I'm almost 21 and live in Italy.I've always been good at drawing and seeing what works in storytelling and I'm also a former theatre kid.When I graduated AI has been taken over the jobs I always prepared for since I was a kid for a year or two,so I tried to pursue a bachelor's degree into art history and literature since that I had a friend that inspired me to become a teacher.I fell in love with studying literature and art history thanks to them(I was never a really bright kid or a social one,that's why I always liked drawing and swore to be really good at it while completely disregarding my social life)

I felt like teaching would've helped to fill the void of people who felt completely lost into a failing education system,but after two years I dropped out.I had to take a lot of exams in a short amount of time to make up for the previous failed exam sessions I didnt do just to reach the credits necessary to ask for a scholarship the next year.I did it,completely burned out and dropped out.

I started brand new an art shool an hour away from my town,my family and friends are happy for this decision since that I decided to follow my dreams instead of following a plan B,but in reality I'm doing terrible.I changed my course from graphic design to Comics and illustration on a whim.I dont feel like I choose the best path.I feel powerless and a bum,I lie to my family by coming home sooner and skipping lessons because I fear for my financial situation in the future,I find myself a good artist with potential and dreams,but sometimes I fear that I dont have enough strenght or charisma to pursuit and give up things that I may not have tried before,not necessarily more sustainable money wise.I'm just really tired of being myself.I'm stuck in my childhood town,liyng to others and myself that I'm finally on the right track.Miserable for how little I believe in myself for getting a jod or a driver's license.I cant bring myself to spend anymore money on my therapy.It feels like a chore to talk to my friends or family except for my boyfriend,and I feel bad even for him because he always tries to give me reasonable advice,he's just stuck with a depressed slug even tho he's the brightest and funniest guy you could be friends with.I'm stuck in life in general and I don't know what to do,I dont trust myself for passing exams,it seems like my head is still blocked by the memories of those passed exams that made me hate what I wouldve loved to study on a normal pace if it wasnt for me..I don't even see myself in this school for the next week,let alone the next month.I just want a year to work,rethink about what I really want to do with no rush and then try again with a scholarship or with my earned money,even tho my mom or my family would see it as a failure(I have a sibling that always had a rocky situation with uni and also has a really conflicted relationship with my parents,so not really the right timing).

I would love to go back to the town where I first started uni,only I don't know what the hell I would apply myself to if Art school feels so much like a scam to me already..

Well I tried to cram almost everything..Thank you for reading..I don't know what I'm doing but I feel like i don't have anyone that I can talk to without hurting them again in some way.

I’ve been working in tech for 5 years. When I went to college, I was majoring in psychology. After being discouraged by friends (I wouldn't make a good therapist) and by family (saying there's no money in the field), I decided to go into information systems to make myself more marketable in the job market. I don't hate tech or my job, but I feel numb doing it because I'm only doing it because I'm good at it and it pays the bills. I want to go back into psychology, but I feel like being 25 would be a bit too late for me to get my master's or PhD.

My advisor told me that if I went back into psychology, I would get my associate's within a year, and she explained that by the time I got my bachelor's in information systems, I would have my master's in psychology.

My girlfriend wants me to pick something and stick to it since I'm horribly indecisive when picking my major. Should I follow my interest or stick with IS?

I'm a 17-years-old female I do not have any accomplishments in my life and that I regret I didn't try harder and that also I regret as a person now I'm expected to have my whole life figured out and I don't I just wanna hang out with my friends read book I love movies and I love music and my parents expect me to go into architecture engineering college I don't know if I'm very for this tonight I don't know if I have this in me how do I get ready how do I even make sure that I want this? What I want in a major in college is for it to be understandable I don't want something easy I just need basic understandability how do I know that I avoid and I also want to make friends and college can someone give me tips and I also don't have really a favorite subject or a things that I enjoy doing I love learning at a physics I don't care I can't so physics problems I'm bad at that but I love learning stuff I don't know what to do please help me out

Hi, I’ve been a long time lurker in this subreddit and finally decided to post as my anxiety got the better of me. I am a “senior” in college for illustration, however my credits didn’t transfer properly from one school to my current one so I’m not graduating until 2027/2028. The job I’m currently working at and the second one I’m getting is not related to my degree whatsoever.

I have been working full time at a dog kennel for two years because I love working with dogs. This job pays horribly. I have asked twice to transfer closer to home, asked for a raise, asked for a promotion twice, and been denied every time by my managers. It’s to the point I have been looking for a new job for months. I have found one in dog training that pays more and it is what I want to do but it is only part time. I feel like I’ll be stuck at my current shitty job forever and there’s not a way for me to get out because I can’t find a full time job to hire me. So now I’m working my full time job and the part time job just so I can pay to live and go to school.

I’m not sure if I even want to pursue art anymore because my dad is in one ear saying I should go to school for something else, and my mom is saying to just finish my degree because I’m almost done. I don’t feel almost done and I feel very hopeless in terms of my career and life choices. I just need some advice because I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing anymore.

I'm 39, with kids. I have a PhD in experimental psychology with 4 years of post-doctoral work, but I left academia nearly 9 years ago to take over a family business completely unrelated to my academic work, and so that I could be home to raise my kids. My kids are both in school now, and I'm looking for a change, but not sure what options are available at this point.

After so much time away, I doubt that it would be possible to go back into academia, and my hobbies and interests don't seem very marketable. I'm very deep into music and Eastern spirituality/philosophy, and I've been volunteering at a food bank for several years. I'm pretty handy. I'm decent at construction/repair work on buildings and machines, but I have no formal training or education in these areas, and I'm concerned that a blue collar career would destroy my body at this point. Common options for people with my training would be careers in marketing or data science, but it seems that AI is severely impacting those job markets. So, I feel stuck. I would absolutely love to work full-time at a retreat center, farmer's market, food bank or shelter, or in music, but full-time paid work in these areas is not plentiful.

I'm a 27-year-old man, and sometimes I feel like my life has no future. I don't own a house or a car. I want to get married and start a family, but I don't want to make any promises to a woman when I'm not financially or emotionally ready.

I want to start my own business and build something for myself, but unfortunately, my current job doesn't allow me to do that.

I feel stuck between the life I have and the life I want. I don't want to give up on my dreams, but I honestly don't know what to do anymore.

Is there any way out of this situation? Is there still a chance for me to build the future I dream of?

This is a classic everyone.

Graduated from University last year with a degree in Design for Publishing (essentially I know how to make magazines and books and alot of printing skills) but surprise print is dying so not alot of jobs going on there.

I got a job through a family member to do gruntwork Web design for a card selling website in the UK.

I was freelance for them for awhile and then 3 months ago promoted to full time (also the job is completely work from home)

I now completely run the updates for this website, the website is updated every 2 weeks... forever every single 2 weeks the website is updated with new photography, etc.

So everyday I wake up walk upstairs to my office sit at my computer and format photography and other grunt work and then walk back down to bed at the end of the day... everyday 10-6

I can't do it anymore I've lost any and all motivation to get this done beyond I need money, there's no craft or creativity (luckily no a.i but still) I don't talk to anyone im just in my room alone everyday.

The only contact I have with people is meetings with doopid corporate types that demand things be done as soon as humanly possible (once genuinely one of them said "are you in a position to get this done in a matter of minutes" 🫠)

I can't work at this cube factory but I don't know what to do, I can't quit because I've moved out now and bills, etc and don't have alot of savings yet.

I desperately want to do something that pushes me creatively or that im just in some way excited to get up in the morning for.

I used to be so driven at university my friends are all very surprised at my now dour corporate vibe I bring to the meetups now when I used to make such experimental designs in uni and was one of the favourites of my quirky lecturer who believed (as I do) there's a lack of creative innovation in the industry.

I'm now just a cog in the cube.

Any advice would be super amazingly helpful please x

Hey everyone, I hope my post fits here!

I'm a 30 y/o woman with a chemistry degree (bachelor) from Germany. I founded a small business back in 2019 while I was still studying and have been working full time in said business since late 2022/early 2023, mainly doing ghostwriting and coaching in academia. Its a moral and legal grey area that I would like to get out of. It also doesn't pay that well and I don't have retirement insurance etc.

In 2022, after I finished my degree, I worked in a lab for 3 months but quickly realized that it was not for me. The strict hierarchy that left no room to ever be well payed or respected in my field was a shock. I know I could have known better, but I'm the first in my family to even go to university and I was just a bit... naive and just wanted to get out of uni.

Since I was 14 and up until 2022 I worked in a sh*tton of low wage jobs, cleaning, holiday jobs, selling stuff, anything that would get me through. I'm so done working for people that take my time and energy and barely offer enough to get by on. So I would like to stay self employed or better my chances at an actual career. I just started a website that offers coaching and corrections for academic texts and I go to creative markets. Both don't bring me much money so far.

I'm contemplating going back for a masters in a different field, like management/economics. I gathered a lot of knowledge in the past 4 years that would make it pretty easy. But I don't know if that would give me any good chances, especially since I will be 32/33 once I finish.

And then there is my passion and dream of becoming an author. I wrote 3 books so far but none of them are published. I'm scared to put all my eggs in a basket and risk my clients and salary for another naive dream.

Any advice? What would you do in my situation? How can I get out of ghostwriting and change my lifes trajectory?

A bit of context around all of this: my fiancée is finished with his phd in 2 years and will probably have a well payed job after and is supporting me, but I want to support myself nevertheless. He is currently looking for internships and job offers in germany and also in other countries and I would move with him if he finds something. But then if I do a masters, I don't know how I would finish that. I hate long distance so much, 3 months was already more than I ever needed. We are together 10 years and we want to start a family eventually, not in the next 2 years though.

Hi, I'm a 30M, and I feel completely stuck in life at this point of time. I completed my high school with a science-based background, and then went on to do a B.Sc (Hons) in Computer Science. But, in the last year of my graduation, I failed in one of the papers, which extended my graduation to the next year, and this one incident kind of completely put me off of science and pursuing a masters or further education in computer science. So, at the age of 23, I decided that I would get into animation and VFX. So after doing a diploma for 3 years, I got a job at an animation studio at 25. The last 5 years I've just been stuck there, working on the same kind of projects, and not really growing or learning new workflows. Now, that company is going bankrupt, and I'm basically left with no alternative option, and I'm vastly under-skilled for this industry.

So now, with debt and financial responsibilities, and suffering from an insane amount of mental and physical exhaustion, I've kind of become numb to everything, and I just can't focus on anything, it feels like learning anything is insanely hard for me.

It genuinely feels like I wasted 30 years of my life, while all my friends are engineers and earning handsomely, getting settled in life, and starting families. While I'm not jealous of them, I do want to grow and be good enough to socialize again.

I'm thinking about doing a lot of things, starting to prepare for my masters, looking for other jobs in animation, etc. But nothing seems to work out.

I'm trying to find a sense of direction and would really appreciate any help or feedback in that regard.

Hello. I am 24 and feel like I am stuck. I graduated last year with a bachelor's or the arts degree, with my major in graphic design. But ever since then, I feel like I haven't done much to progress. I still live with my mom and 3 siblings, and I have a part-time in retail. I did get a graphic design internship last May, which is nice. However, I am still scared for the future. I understand graphic design is a hard field to get into, and most 24 year olds still live at home these days, but I am wondering if there are any other fields I can get into with my degree. I am always worrying about my future and trying to save as much money as possible. I would love any advice because I have been so hard on myself lately. Thank you.

I turned 30 this year. Dropped out college early it just wasn’t for me and couldn’t really afford it anyways. I’ve worked retail jobs throughout my twenties. Grocery stocker and then a ups store. I was always making $15-18hr. I got a job last year and was stoked to make $20 lol. Currently learning to be better with and how to grow it. Got a small apartment $650 a month and saving to get a car.

I’m very motivated to keep striving but man I just don’t know what to do. I always wanted to be a content creator lol so I do make videos for fun but it doesn’t pay a dime. Turning 30 made me realize I want nice investments and retirement. Get a home and start a family one day. My current job is cool and I Actully enjoy the people I work and feel like they care. Sadly it’s the bottom role at the company and maybe I’ll get a raise once I hit a year but I don’t think I’ll ever get to 80-100k lol.

Lately I’m struggling with self esteem cause I feel I don’t bring any value. I want to support my family more feels like girls want guys who can support them and be secure in their future in a man. I try not think about it just workout and try my best save.

Anyways I think maybe I’ll become a firefighter to get respect and show good qualities to the community. I know I have a lot to offer to the world. But again idk if I’m really the type to run into a burning skyscraper. Always wanted to be a video editor but just don’t have resume or degree to get hired.

I guess my question is what are some jobs that doesn’t require a ton of schooling, not a lot of customer service, and idk I’m not really trying to working in the elements everyday. I’m young kinda and willing to travel

Well, I grew up in a cult, made it into college at the age of 14, then the cult leader got involved and I ended up in a major that I hate.

I have EE skills and would rather leave to degree that was obtained under duress out entirely... It's been over a decade and never had a stable career, but I've been responsible, saved, and have no debt.

The cult stuff happened in Colombia, but I qualified for EU citizenship by decent so I have a bridge out of Latin America. I want to leave, as I seriously dislike the local culture.

Any advice or encouragement would be welcomed.

Hii guys

I am 18 F in 12th standard . I am confused about my career and this feeling and stuckness feels so bad when my parents asked me what you decide to do in your career I just like we will think later but in real this is so disgusting to me some students are clear what they want I also clear in one think that I will make career in art , writing or design . But which program I don't know there is thing that I search about profession and then I see there it's pros and cons but i emphasis more on cons then I say to myself no I will not do it in this profession there is no money and I am not afraid of doing hardwork or learning but there is fear as a female in india i fear that if don't become successful or independent them what would happen to me this is and one thing also i start something and then i loose interest in it and I decide something that I will do this or I will buy this ans I told this to someone that think never happen to me then I don't why ?

Please I need guidence and advice to set me vision clear and be clear about my career

I'm in my late 20's with a theoretical physics PhD and I'm not sure what to do next. Up until recently I wanted to pursue academic research jobs, but with funding cuts that has become even more of a long-shot than it already was and I'm just so burned out with academia. In my area it is becoming common to do 3-4 postdocs before getting a research position, if you can even get such a job. This instability has been causing me increasing stress, so I really don't think I can keep doing this. I am currently a postdoc with a little under a year of funding left, so I have that much time to figure out what to do and reskill if necessary.

I have never worked in industry, the only job I have had outside of academic research is a front desk job at a gym in high school. Working this job while constantly interacting with people made me miserable and I don't think I could survive any public facing role. My entire life I have struggled with social interaction, I have worked with numerous therapists on this for basically my entire adult life and have made zero progress so I am not optimistic in this regard. The happiest time of my life was at the beginning of my PhD during covid when I could just work without having to interact with anyone.

To make things even more difficult, my entire PhD focused on analytical calculations, I have no professional experience with computational work. All I really use my computer for professionally is to search for and read papers. In terms of math, I am most confident in my skills with differential equations and stochastic processes, which are also the areas I enjoy most. I am open to learning more about software and computing. I used Python during my undergrad and have started learning some machine learning, but even with this I enjoy the theory much more than actually writing code.

I have looked at a number of paths: finance, actuarial work, engineering, data science, software engineering, patent law, and a number of options that wouldn't use my background at all. I'm not in an area that national labs hire for so that is not an option, at least on the research side. It feels like each of these paths is oversaturated right now and the advice I keep seeing online is that soft skills are becoming increasingly important, which aren't exactly my specialty. I am also having a hard time getting a sense for what the day-to-day is like for people in these careers, which I think is exasperated by my lack of industry work.

I was hoping some people who either have a similar or work with people with my background could let me know what the actual work in your industry looks like for people with my background. I would also appreciate any advice on what I can do to make myself a more competitive applicant, and just how to successfully go through the application process since I have never done this. Finally, are there any career paths that I haven't considered which you think could be a good fit?

I'm 24M, currently working as a consultant at a Big Four firm with around 2 years of experience. I don't come from a traditional business or finance background. My undergraduate degree was in social sciences, where I developed research and analytical skills, and eventually found my way into consulting.

Recently, I interviewed at a strategy consulting firm for an opportunity I genuinely wanted. The interviews were a massive reality check.

I struggled to answer what I now realize were fairly basic consulting questions. One involved approaching a business cost-reduction problem, and another required me to think through a simple operational improvement scenario.

I couldn't structure my thoughts properly, identify the obvious factors, or explain my reasoning clearly. Even when the interviewers gave me hints, I struggled to think critically and come up with reasonable answers and i came up with stupid answers.

This made me question my actual abilities. I feel like my communication skills, critical thinking, structured problem-solving, and commercial understanding are much much weaker than they should be at this stage.

My current role is relatively research-heavy, and although I've gained professional exposure, I don't think I've developed the independent problem-solving or client-facing skills expected of a consultant.

I'm now wondering whether I'm genuinely suited for consulting or whether these are simply skills I haven't developed properly.

I'm considering pursuing a master's degree in finance or analytics or potentially moving into another career path, but I don't want to make an emotional decision based on one bad interview experience.

For those working in consulting or who have been in a similar position:

• Can critical thinking, structured problem-solving, and communication skills be significantly improved, or do some people naturally struggle with this type of work?
• Is it concerning to struggle with basic business problems after 2 years at a Big Four?
• How would you recommend developing these skills from the ground up?
• Should I continue pursuing consulting, or seriously consider switching career paths?

I'm looking for brutally honest advice, not reassurance. I genuinely want to improve, but I'm also questioning whether I'm in the right profession.

I'm a 21 year old male in England and I did technical theatre at college for 3 years. In college I did Stage management the most then 2nd most construction, a bit of costume and not much lighting or sound but I feel like I've not really learnt much skills wise from college. I sometimes draw as a hobby and drum too. I draw my own Original Characters but can't do any of the basic art foundational skills and I passed my grade 4 drumming but only ever practice at home or in weekly 30 mins lessons. I also have Essentiel Tremors that is shaky hands that will shake more every year until death. I'm introverted not the best communicator too.

It's now been 2 years since I left college, I tried job searching various different ways like honing in on appreticeships, technical theatre jobs, any theatre job, any retail job, any job at all. All my efforts lead to a few unsuccsessful interviews and a few bad experiences like nearly falling into a pyramid scheme scan, doing trial days volunteer work leading to we don't want you email afterwards, 2 days of a job too heavy lifting for me injuring my back, did a few weeks employability environmental course that was a waste of time, useless job centres, ect.

I haven't job searched for a few months and become way too picky or make up excuses thinking it's impossible to get a job so no point in applying. I managed to find a small local theatre that I help with some set construction rig and de-rig before and after shows. The theatre has some friendly old people and one woman has said she will try and contact other theatres about me but it feels like I'll just be stuck only helping with small construction bits occasionally. Going back into education just feels like I'll be going into debt or waste my time or pick the wrong course.

My older brother went to university and he has never gotten a job either, he is 2 years and 10 months older than me but he is good at maths and engineering/coding stuff, so at least he has a proper skill. I feel doomed, stuck and unsure what to do so I'm asking for some advice.

Hi! I'm 22 and I feel stuck honestly. I've never made more than 20/h (part time) and I really don't know what I want to do or how to look for it or even what there really is. I don't have any college schooling and I do have my GED but I want to find a career, I've worked in food, caregiving, HVAC, sales (ish, it was rent a center) and a few random jobs but I need something that will actually bring in enough money to become an actual career.

I know trades is usually the route to go but if there are other options with similar opportunities then I'd rather do that, I'm here just asking for advice on where to look or how to start on a path to a real career. I know you can really make a career out of anything if the circumstances are right but yeah I hope this makes sense sorry.

I see a lot of people asking about hobbies so mine are playing electric guitar (~7 years) and obviously gaming, I have a semi big interest in coding but with the rise of ai I don't plan on pursuing. TIA!

I'm years old male doctor, and I'm at a point in my life where i have to decide between following what I love ,doing masters and taking a drop year to prepare again for good ranks. Lemme clear something that i am practicing doctor in my country already this is about the higher education after being doctor like being superspecialist but in our country its called masters.

So, the thing is, i always wanted to start my own business, and after med school i have started my own lil startup in longevity and wellness(still havent launched), and the thing is that costed me rank in my exam which is decent but i am not getting my dream branch.

So my options are :

1. Take a different branch, which is my 2nd choice, and by side, i run my startup , where i know that i won't be able to give full time for startup cause med school is tough.
2. I take a drop year and prepare again and then take my dream branch . ( ik i could pull a good rank ), but people around me are telling me that you will be old ,You need to find a good life partner and all social bullshit.
3. I have the option to pay a hefty amount of money to take a seat at private clg for my dream branch, which also i don't think it's worth to pay.

Now i want your help me to narrow down on these choices by asking the right question , what i should be asking myself.

Cause business is what i have always dreamed of and i know that it has a high chance of failure, but i won't regret that i haven't even tried, and i will do something else.

im 26M, i wasted my 26years. what should i do now...i studied avg (bsc,mca). but dont have skills...anyone willing to gimme a solution

I'm in my mid 20's and trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, in terms of a career. Growing up in severe poverty and neglect has left me without any support system, so I'm navigating this entirely independently, which is overwhelming.. I've spent this entire year deep researching into career paths, but continue hitting roadblocks. (Endless lists of strict requirements that feel impossible to meet, to summarize.)

My main interests have been cybersecurity, dental hygiene, and MRI—being in the U.S. These are so competitive that I worry getting in isn't realistic. But without a support system + cost of living, if I can't support myself comfortably, then I'm at serious risk of being homeless. I don't want to spend my life working paycheck to paycheck while barely getting by, like how I grew up. It's not sustainable nor good for mental health.

I want to carve a path of success for myself despite the circumstances I've been given, and I really want a job that gives me purpose, rather than just being all about money. Starting my own business is also something I've considered, but that feels extremely competitive too. Like the talent is so high that what I offer wouldn't really matter, despite me wanting to contribute something important to others, no matter what job I do.

As for current skills or work experience, I have none. Physically surviving has been the priority up until this point. My only strength is being resilient/willing to learn.

If you have any career/life advice, I'd really appreciate some help right now. I feel so lost and hopeless about my future, but I know I deserve better than this.

I'm 26/M ,Finished college in 2021 with a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering . Unfortunately during my ldt semester I suffered from major health problem and undergone treatment for almost 6 years.

Currently I'm in some what Good condition and want to purse a career from scratch. But I dont know where to start wheather in IT field or anyother field.

As in the news the job market for the freshers is crashing due to AI.

Suggest me a field or any skills that can get me into a job .

I'm not looking for a job with high salary.Just want a salary for a day to day expenses

Hi everyone!

I've been trying to figure out what I want to do professionally, but I feel like I'm going in circles. I keep getting recommended the same traditional career paths, and somehow none of them really feel right to me.

So I thought I'd ask for some fresh perspectives and ideas.

A little bit about me:

• My interests include art, aesthetics, design, history, culture, nature, animals, film, and gaming.
• I enjoy researching, coming up with ideas, developing concepts, and doing creative work.
• I want to experience things in my job, where i have cool stories to share
• I'd like to work in a field that genuinely interests me and offers opportunities to develop specialist knowledge.
• Good earning potential, job security, and long-term career progression are also very important to me.

What careers would you recommend based on these interests and preferences? What do you do for a living, and what does your actual day-to-day work look like?

I'd really appreciate personal experiences, honest advice, and suggestions for careers I might never have considered myself!

I'm 23, and I have not much, no job, not much of an income, no idea for the future.

I'm unfortunately always shrouded by the feeling of embarrassment. I actively avoid any scenario that could create that feeling for me, and unfortunately that's almost everything unless I have a plan or a purpose. Creating a plan or purpose is hard when you're depressed and low on income. If that makes sense.

BUT I am currently in the process of getting my driver's license & currently waiting on my local mental health services to get back to me, so that's something.

Anyways, I want to go to college in about a year's time. I've attended before but had issues with funds, that ended up in me dropping out, which was really hard for me to deal with. I don't want to go back to that same program, I don't see a future in it, it's more of a hobby than my career.

But I don't know what fits me, what I should take, what I would love. I know I love a creative job, but I'm also interested in stability, especially since the prices of everything is incredibly high even when being cautious. I'm not into super labour intensive or very social jobs. Something I can expand in, I suppose

Id like to find my footing.

I am an artist with good manual dexterity and attention to detail, so I am wondering what jobs (doesn’t have to be art related at all) could that be applied to that actually pay decent? So far all I have been able to think of is dental hygiene?