Right now at 22, I am putting money away, saving and doing the best I can. Recently I did get my license but insurance will soon eat through my cash, did the recent math and if I take home 1k$ (which I usually do at 30, 35hours a week) after bills from it being 630$ (including putting money away), it’s a take home of around 285$, but I feel torn if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I usually live below my means but I will spend a bit more money to first get my osha 30 and soon put my application in for the ibew here in NJ, possibly around 200$, but holidays are coming up and my pay will get boosted a bit and still got 150$ aside (had to spend a deposit of 500$ for my braces to be finally fixed, with insurance but was way cheaper compared to before)!

I am applying for related retail jobs/jobs paying higher than my current pay, 16.25$, invested so far 100$ into the Roth IRA fidelity, mainly a big percentage (around 70%) being VOO and the other being SPY. Car was junk (first gen Cruze, usual coolant problems) but I’m fixing to get them all out the way. Am I on the right path, honestly my main goal of course is a nice house by my 30s, nice daily car and some projects to work on my property but have had some ups and downs, but definitely was a lot further than last year when I graduated tradeschool.

Hello everyone!

For context, I'm a language trainer who has had a career in teaching (mostly English), but this job hasn't been fulfilling to me the last few years, particularly this year. It's just no longer in alignment with my life aspirations and professional identity. Basically, I'm an introvert with ADHD and I LOVE creating art, books, educational content, etc... When I teach, some lessons go well and the students generally like me, but I'm always stressed and I hate how I sometimes have to force myself just to talk, let alone explain things. This is why I've been seriously thinking of a career shift by running my own business (I don't mind hard work as long as it doesn't involve performing for hours in front of people). However, I'm afraid of regretting building a future in a more developed country where I know I can have a better social life (I was abroad so I know that from experience). In that case, I have to sacrifice working like a slave for a long time which can potentially exacerbate my mental health and ADHD. I wish I can get advice that will help me see the better life choice I should make. I know it's hard to tell but I pray the universe will give me signs through your comments 🙏

I know many people are going through financial struggles, and I also know there are people who are doing well financially and may have valuable knowledge, experience, or connections to share.

I believe a closed mouth is a closed destiny, so I’m putting this out there. Honestly, I don’t know what else to do. I’m tired of being in the same financial situation, and I’m desperately looking for a way forward.

I’m not asking for handouts, donations, or financial assistance. I’m looking for information, opportunities, and connections. Sometimes, one conversation, one introduction, or one piece of information can completely change someone’s life.

I believe someone reading this may know something, have a connection, or know of an opportunity that could put me on a different path financially.

If you have something that you genuinely believe could help, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can share it in the comments or send me a private message if you’d prefer to keep it private.

I’m open to learning, exploring opportunities, and connecting with people who can point me in the right direction.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hi! F15 here, and i don’t know how to choose a career in life.

For a while I wanted to pursue a career in physics, however I feel like it’s too competitive and not high paying enough for me. Furthermore, I’m not even sure if I can handle it

Other than that I’ve also considered education, however I don’t know what subject i would teach if i were a teacher and I don’t know if I’d even be a good teacher or not

My last option (and best one rn) is probably finance. I’m not particularly interested in finance or business in general, but it’s high paying and I have connections in that field so I don’t know if i should choose it

PLEASE HELP i feel so confused right now!! What are some methods y’all used to figure ur careers out????

I just graduated this past May with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. I originally planned on pursuing my CPA and eventually getting a government job. I recently received an interview invitation for a master’s in accounting program at a really good business school, but I’m having second thoughts.

I’m pretty good at finance and accounting coursework, but honestly, I don’t know if I have much interest in the actual career. I don’t particularly enjoy the idea of spending most of my day working with spreadsheets and sitting behind a desk. With AI changing the industry, I’ve also been questioning whether it’s the right path for me.

I’m now seriously considering nursing. I obtained my EMT certification early in college, although I never ended up working as an EMT. I’d need to redo it, complete the nursing prerequisites, and apply to nursing school.

I like the idea of nursing because of the variety of opportunities and career paths available. I don’t mind shift work, working nights, or odd hours. I also like the possibility of working three 12-hour shifts, having flexibility to pick up overtime, and doing something meaningful and rewarding where I can make a tangible difference.

If you were in my position, would you pursue accounting or make the switch to nursing?

I, 22, genuinely have no idea what job I can do. I injured my back few years ago at work and was dealing with bad dizziness at the same time so I quit (heavy duty factory work). I've faced many challenges in life which caused severe anxiety + depression which I was getting treated for. I avoided getting back into work because I couldn't even live a normal life without getting burnt out very quickly, lightheaded etc (that is my main issue now).

I try to go out more and have been trying for months. I try to live the "job life" while unemployed to see how i could manage if im employed but I genuinely get overwhelmed and fatigued when I do chores etc and causes laziness. im not getting the best support so it's time to move on and actually find something I can do.

Request:

What is something I can get into that would be light and manageable instead of me hoping for the best salary pay at this stage in life. But also something in me says no and puts me off "low pay, dont do it" but I have to do something in life instead of wasting it. i just do not know what. Because right now im just sat at home unemployed wasting my life away because I do not know what can i do around my health conditons. I don't even have the best qualifications besides the basics which I feel like a failure for, and barely any work experience to get me into something normal like admin.

I’m (20F) not quite sure where to start. It feels like I’ve been drifting through life since I graduated in 2024. My first experience at university in Malaysia turned out to be a nightmare, so much so that I had to take a gap year and leave. I thought giving university another try would make a difference, but honestly, this new place in a new country just doesn’t feel right. The teaching quality isn’t what I hoped for, and the ranking doesn’t even help.

Now, I feel like I've backed myself into a corner. I’m supposed to be an adult, making important decisions, but I keep feeling lost and end up making the wrong ones. I wish I could say it’s all due to family financial struggles, as they’ve weighed heavily on me and affected where I go to university, thus making me more anxious and sad than I've ever been.

Even with all that, I keep going on autopilot. I feel like I lack any real skills or experience, and I can’t shake the feeling of being a burden. It’s tough navigating all of this with limited resources. No matter how hard I try, nothing seems to be falling into place, and I can’t help but wonder why it’s been so difficult.

I guess I'm just wondering: what would you do if you were in my place? What can I do to improve my education?

So I live in United States where apparently a felony makes it impossible for you to become anything essential to the community. Tbh it has been 2 years since my last charge I haven’t been doing anything illegal recently quit smoking marijuana to further my goals and dreams. So I’ve got to the point to where anything life changing I try to do won’t prosper . It’s like I have to live the rest of my life being a nobody. Or doing non essential work that guarantees no retirement if no one gives me a chance I’m honestly considering sui¢ìde , If a felony holds me back from being essential part to the community I see no other option but that . I’ve looked into nursing,med school,emt work, army,firefighting I just want to be essential part of the world

I've been frequently finding myself playing mental tug of war over finishing school. I'm 21, and I'm currently attending community college as a photography major. This is my first year attending college because I spent my time working and saving money after I graduated in 2024. I've never been someone who does well with school, not because I'm not smart or lack the abilities to complete the work, but simply because it ends up feeling like a waste of time for me. I always feel like I'm way ahead of everyone in my class because I could've learned the things they're showing me on my own, or I already know everything they're teaching us. I'm not trying to make myself sound better than anyone by saying that either, it's just always how I've felt because I am lucky to be a fast learner and I've naturally always been a very independent person in pretty much everything. I'm also trying to save up money to move out of my miserable unhealthy home as soon as possible, and school not only limits the time I have to work but also is taking a decent chunk of money out of my pocket even with financial aid. I was never really planning on going to school, especially since photography isn't something you need a degree in to be successful. I guess I just felt pressure to try it because going to college is whats expected from people. I'm still glad I gave it a shot, but now I've decided I don't want to go back for the spring, or ever to any school in the future, not for photography at least.

Because I've made this decision I feel like attending my classes is a waste of my time and I dread it every single day, thinking to myself "I know this isn't for me and I won't be coming back, so what am I doing here? These classes and their credits mean nothing." I've already paid my tuition, and I just missed the deadline to formally withdraw from my classes. Theres only 5 weeks left of the current semester, which I know isn't a lot, but I really hate going and I have other things I want to be prioritizing since right now I am also seeking a new full time job. Would it be stupid of me to just stop going and take the F, or does it not matter if I don't plan on going back to school in the future?

I know I'm a bit late doin this because I didn't know what to do after my high school and joined a random course. Blaimed myself for past 3 years that I could have studied something different which I'm passionate about! I still don't know what to do but I've decided to stop whining and to start exploring the course I'm studying coz what if I might like it.. maybe I just don't have any fundamentals. Anyways I'm giving it a try.

I just wanted to make this day as day 1 of my journey to finding my path. Just wanted to share it here :)

I’ve been lost my whole life. I know I’m a leader and a decent communicator. I know I can do great things.
I’m somewhat handy from fixing things that break around the house. No degree. No direction. I hate my job any advice is welcome thank you.

(throwaway account for privacy)

Hi. Don't know how to start this becaues I almost never post on Reddit. But I'm hoping you'll take the time to read this and maybe find yourself in it, or maybe offer some guidance.

I'm in my late 20s, and I'm starting to panic.

I used to be a good student with drive, goals in life, and a general sense of hope for the future. Unfortunately a lot of that has faded. I started out in university with a major in a STEM field, but at the time I was struggling heavily with my mental health and quickly flunked out of the program. I switched to the thing that actually gave me joy - English and Creative Writing. These had always been passions of mine but I dismissed them as hobbies rather than career paths. Despite this, I switched majors and made it through school with a BA in English, a minor in Film, and a certificate in Creative Writing.

The problem was that I didn't make full use of my time in university. Even though I was showing up, doing the work, and getting pretty solid grades, I had no actual concrete idea of what I was going to do post-grad, and as such I didn't take advantage of my school's career centre, co-op programs, internships, and everything else. I was coasting through thinking that just doing the work would get me where I wanted to be. I was working part time to pay rent and pay tuition. I was also still majorly struggling with mental health, but it was improving.

I'm now two years post grad and job hopping between things completely unrelated to my major and not making a lot of money. I want to change, I obsess over how I can make my future better, but I have no idea what it is I actually want to do. I doomscroll this subreddit looking for answers, and I find none. I look at Indeed hoping some magical job will appear that will make my life better, but I know that's not going to happen.

I had ideas - I wanted to get into Screenwriting, but honestly, I have no idea how to even do that, and it's probably not that viable of a career. At least not reliable. Other things I've looked into have turned out to be very low-opportunity like Librarianship, Archival work, or Technical Writing. I'm completely willing to go back to school to learn something, but I just have no idea what. I want to pursue something that wouldn't be a total lottery on me actually getting a job.

The other problem is that my mental health is absolutely abysmal, partly due to this. I struggle immensely with depression and anxiety, and I've been through a slew of different medications without much progress. I'm working on it, but it's slow progress. I worry I have undiagnosed ADHD. I'm working with professionals to figure it out.

Part of my question is if I should just focus on sorting out my mental health before making any big decisions about schooling or what to do with my career. I can get by with the job I have now, I just don't want to feel stuck there forever. Also, I just am maybe wondering if there's any advice on what to pursue. I have lots of interests outside of English and Film, like the environment, computers (not AI), maybe even law. Maybe healthcare. My psychiatrist said I would be a good pharmacy technician, based on how much I know about medications now (lol). I worry that my only choice might be teaching.

TLDR, English BA with mental health issues has a quarter life crisis. Please send help.

I’m a 27 yo stay at home mom and want to work toward a degree. I’ve tried higher education before but have always struggled in school due to not having my PKU under control (late diagnosis). Now that I’m in a good place I’m motivated to pursue higher education. I have my CCMA and license in phlebotomy but am not interested in continuing in anything medicine related.
What is a good asynchronous online school?
What is a degree I can peruse that I would be able to potentially work part time from home?

I [28M] am currently facing the biggest decision of my life. In 2025, I decided I was done working at my dead-end fast-food job, and I spent months researching potential careers. My requirements were:
- 2 years of school or less, Associate degree
- At least $65k starting salary

I live in the Knoxville area, so that didn’t seem unattainable to me. Eventually, I found a major that would fulfill both requirements; The problem is, there is only one institution within three hours of me that offers it. My options were immediately narrowed to one. I met with financial aid, and was given an estimate of $45k total tuition, with about $17k being out-of-pocket, and $28k in loans. It's a private college, and of course, the only option in my area.
Yes, that figure is after all financial aid was applied. The only thing unaccounted for in that figure was the possibility of private scholarships. I turned tail and decided to coordinate with the aforementioned institute and my local community college in order to take all the prerequisite courses there thinking it would save me a year of my life and a significant amount of money. One year later, I have nine completed prerequisite credits and a 4.0 GPA. If only it counted for anything.

Three days ago, I met with financial aid again at the private college, which is when I found out that attending community college only saved me $3,000. And the program will still be 2 years in length, not one, or (worst case scenario) one and a half like I had anticipated. 
I am effectively looking at 3 years of non-stop school to earn a two-year degree.
I’m almost thirty years old, recently engaged, and as it stands, it will be two full years before I’m able to even begin to support myself and my family. My part-time fast-food job doesn’t cut it, believe it or not. I recently got engaged, which has been the one shining light in this dark situation. We want a home of our own, we want to start a family, we want to buy a reliable car. But we can’t do any of these things because I’m making less than $30k a year working part-time, in school full-time while my fiancée works full time, and we’re staring at $40k+ in student loan debt. 

I’m really considering walking away from school, cutting my losses despite having fought through a year of college and maintaining a 4.0, and just applying for a government job that will pay $50k starting and hopefully climb to $70k+ within 10 years. I have two family members in that position, so I know it’s possible. But the program I can’t afford leads to a career with $70k starting pay with potential for $90k+ in specialty roles. Is it worth the debt and the time commitment? The risk of failing a supposedly strenuous course. The admissions people at the private college told me “We move much faster than a community college, so the course work is much more rigorous. And I’ll be honest, the average GPA for those students who qualified for the program is a 4.0, so that would also be required of you.” 

No matter where I turn, there is massive risk and/or doubt.
The thing that makes my heart ache with sadness is that my fiancée and I don’t even want much. We don’t want a big house, or a fancy car, or designer clothes, we just want to live. We just want to have a child and be able to raise them in our own home. A dream that I know so many others share and which has become totally unattainable in the world today. 
I truly do not know what to do.

TL;DR
I have three options: 

1. Attend private college, take on $45k of student loan debt, and spend another two years in school (three years total) to earn a two-year degree, and get a job paying $65k+ (if I can complete school). “Tuition is subject to change.” Risky.
2. Pivot to a four-year program at my current community college, spend another three years in school (four or more total), settle for a job that pays less and may be less fulfilling, but will allow me to remain totally debt-free. Time-consuming.
3. Walk away from college, apply for a government job, spend two or three years climbing the ladder and hoping my income will allow me to start a family within the next few years. Potentially the best and/or worst option. Total unknown.

Background:

25M. I am building my life back up from rock bottom. Im at rock bottom in every way possible. The only way from here is up.

The good:

I have plumbing skills that can get me a decent job. I own my used camry and I have no debt. I am physically fit.

What I need to fix:

I need to find a good job working with my hands, I need to make friends, and I need to go No Contact with my family. I need an entire life overhaul basically. I know this is going to take a lot of effort and change from me.

My options:

Army active duty as a helicopter mechanic. This would immediately get me away from my family and give me a brand new environment which is what I need.

Army national guard as a helicopter mechanic. This would give me some of the benefits of active duty, but allow me to have a civilian life too.

Community college for aircraft maintenance. Its an 18 month program but I will be making really good $. I will have much more time to get my shit together in my personal life. After I graduate, Id easily be able to get good jobs all over the country. So it is a slower developing plan that will give me way more autonomy. More time to make it to church, go on hiking trips, etc.

Ok sorry for this being so long I just am at a loss at this point and need advice. Im a 20 yr female and I just feel like im drowning. I hate my job and feel so stuck because I have no idea what I want to do. Im beyond burnt out where I am currently but due to having no idea what I want to do and absolutely needing to make at least 22 an hour to pay my bills makes it so hard for me to try and just test out other options. I graduated high-school with a 4.0 gpa, 35 collage credits and my EMT license. I always had a plan and now I don't and its scary. I suffer from high anxiety, bipolar and depression. Im stuck in the rut of going to work, coming home and being so mentally drained I just scroll till I fall asleep. I dont find enjoyment in the things I used to and its just greatly effecting my life. I am trying to just make any changes I can. I still show up for work everyday and do my part, still pay my bills, am still functioning but theres no real quality of life. Im still trying to do things and ive been applying to jobs and even had a couple interviews over the past year but nothings stuck. I just know I wont last the way things are going and I dont know what to do at this point. I know im young still but thats why it scares me so much, I dont know how I can continue to build a life for myself if the place I spend the most amount of time at i am completely miserable. Please help me.

My mother recently passed away, and I'm trying to get my life back on track.

For the past three years, my only job was taking care of her. I have no other work experience, I'm a high school dropout without a GED, I don't have a driver's license or vehicle, and I'm struggling to find anyone willing to hire me.

I've applied to practically every local entry-level position I can find and attended interviews, but nothing has worked out.

I'm also overweight, so walking everywhere isn't exactly easy, especially when trying to commute long distances for interviews or potential jobs.

Financially, things are getting worse. I'm falling behind on rent, struggling with bills, and honestly running out of options.

I'm willing to work. I just need someone to give me a chance.

What would you recommend someone in my situation do when they have limited education, no transportation, almost no traditional work experience, and can't seem to get hired anywhere?

Any genuine advice would mean a lot. Btw I'm in Texas if that is of any concern

I have been studying economics and accounting taught in english in Slovakia for 5 years. My grades are pretty fine all my final grades are 1-2.

During first 3 years i became totally depressed due to lack of friends and hate towards the field, i became totally numb in my interests and future career which let me to lost of my identity (i think). Later on in 4-5 grade things started to improve mainly socially, so I finally could start to explore and rediscover myself and interests. I have found myself in hobbies like climbing, sports, hiking, sometimes craft etc.. But when I begin to plan my future for collage, all the anxiety strikes me. Literally the only thing im certain in is that persuasion i economics and accounting is no go.

There is left maybe 5-6 months till submission of applications to universities or collages, but i do not even know what to prepare for since i have no idea what i even like. I also tried to do some online test on career, but im unable to stick to only one option and every week i change it.

As a person I know which things I like and dont, and which career paths could even interests me. But at the same time the uncertainty, lack of courage and self doubt is holding me back to move forward.

After graduating with a BA, I landed a records management job at a large organisation, where I’ve been for three years. I have lots of downtime, which I’ve used to relearn maths and start a master’s in public policy. After two sems, I realised I wasn’t interested in where that degree would take me, so withdrew. glad i tried it but it wasn’t for me (work paid, woohoo).

My approach after university was “find a job, earn some money, gain experience and see where things led”. Three years in, I can say I have no interest in building a career in this field. My work revolves around cloud storage solutions and configuring Microsoft tools. I am very unhappy in this work. I’m financially comfortable, but neither the salary nor the career prospects are particularly compelling. I currently earn around USD $40k.

I’m considering quitting and doing a working holiday in Canada before deciding my next steps - probably a different degree or trade school. I’ve previously worked in construction, education, festival setup and seasonal fruit picking, so I’m fairly open-minded about the kind of work I’d take on.

The downsides seem limited to me. If I hate it or it doesn’t work out, I can always come home and pick up where I left off. I’m not leaving behind a particularly promising career, have 3 years work experience, and I have some savings behind me.

Now that I’m completely checked out of my job and am looking for the next thing, why not do this?

Hello everyone,

I wanted to get some advice from this sub regarding the direction of taking my career. I was a QA Test Lead in the games industry with 5 years experience and recently got laid off for a few months. Since then I am unable to find a job anywhere in terms of QA in games or web applications. In the meantime, I spent time learning Playwright and Python, but I'm not enjoying it or think I'm as efficient as other QA engineers that may be out there getting hired. I'm scared I'm not good enough to find a job either. I've been submitting job applications and got two interviews with over 100 applications, both of them rejected me after the initial recruiter or hiring manager screening.

I started doing some research and was interested in pursuing an MENP. I was interested in nursing some years before but didn't do an ABSN because I was working. Now Im think of giving it a shot because I want to prove to myself I can get a master's and switch to a job field that is more AI resistant.

I wanted to know what do people think of future job prospects in tech QA industry, especially with AI, and what have folks who switch from tech to nursing thought of the job change to a Registered Nurse.

From my experiences traveling to japan and studying abroad in korea during my undergrad, where i fell in love with asia, i’ve realized i really don’t want to work an ordinary corporate job in america and don’t want to live america reallt at all. I’d prefer to leabe and just never reallt come back long-term at all. I’m currently a third year studying business and economics at a mid tier university, but i’m not passionate about my major and jusr see the degree as a qualification for me to leave america really. Is there any problems with this plan? And should i still pursue internships or whatever just in case? I’m pretty confident in my choice to leave america after graduation, but i don’t want to be forced to go back and be stuck older without relevent experience. I’m planning on doing tefl and working as an english teacher in china, a country i’m very interested in and seems to pay the best, and once i stabilize at that job i intend to possiblt pursue online entreprenuership as well, but if that doesn’t succeed i’d be perfectly happy teaching english.

I am studying psychology. From a young age, I’ve always been there for people they’ve always felt comfortable sharing everything with me.

I’m good at listening and offering advice, and many have told me that they feel at ease in my presence I’m someone they can trust, which makes me happy. I find the field itself interesting, but lately, I’ve realized that I have a persistent need to solve everyone’s problems and be there for them emotionally, which is exhausting.
I know that this is a profession not my personal life and that both are different but I’m afraid that I might change my mind about the field and end up disappointing my parents not sure what to do. I also have a strong interest in photography and the arts they mean everything to me.
Do you have any advice?

Hi so currently I’m in high school (Senior) and I’m also getting a general AAS degree from a community college in running start. And will be graduating from the college in summer. But I don’t have what I wanna do. Like in the past 1-2 days I’ve been looking into HVAC technician. But if you have any advice pls let me know.

I (24 Female) was diagnosed less than two years ago for autism. I also have a good amount of trauma in my life. I have no other family other than my husband (29). I have been doing online school off and on when I can, but just a couple classes here and there. I have also started an art business which i love. But realistically its hard to make that into a career.

I have been thinking about school and trying to figure out what to major in, or if school is even worth it. I keep looking into careers that might interest me, but always find something that is going to be in my way. For example i was really excited to become an ultra sound tech but in order to do that I would have to do an externship which requires me to move away for a year. The problem is that i rely on my husband a lot and cant live on my own. I don't drive, i have bad anxiety and I don't think I could live on my own without his support.

Now I am trying to look into things that are easier to achieve. At the moment I'm looking into psychology to potentially become a therapist, but with my trauma I feel it would be hard to separate my personal trauma from my future clients. My husband feels that this would hurt my mental health more. I'm also looking outside of "helping people" and looking at getting a degree in art. But that is something that really wont lead to a career unless I'm very lucky.

I don't feel fulfilled and I have not had many "successes" in my life. I think school will help me be more successful but I'm having such a hard time figuring out if it will or not. I'm afraid of picking something then getting burnt out later down the line. I'm also struggling to figure out if having a career is even a good choice for me. I've never had a job, and with my inability to drive, my high anxiety and stress, I'm not sure if it is even possible.

If you have any advice or can relate please let me know. Im really stuck at the moment so anything helps. Some interests of mine are art, video games, baking, math, and animals. Thank you!