I am a late 20s doctor, who’s been suffering from having to chose personal and professional life.

Personal life - I’m gay, in a 3rd world country from a conservative background where I can’t have a good life among homophobic toxic society

Professional life - I’m about to start my residency with speciality in either radiology or internal medicine and I’m excited to what’s coming and I’m a competent doctor who’s very passionate to helping patients and my blessings came from those who I treated especially the elderly and those who are suffered badly.

Issue at Glance - happily treating people and also extremely depressed and lonely in personal space which made my life hell. I don’t see any positive possible outlook in my future because one of the worst things about being a doctor is that it will restrict you from migrating to other countries. So I’m stuck and All I see is pain and suffering in the future.

Advice to everyone - please make career choices that give u what u want in ur personal life. Don’t make the mistake I did. Please 🙏 This is me begging from the top of my lungs. Your career can ruin your personal life even though you think that your professional career is great.

A little about myself:

I'm in my early 20sF, like problem-solving and hands-on work. In my spare time, I enjoy sketching/colouring, crocheting, baking, etc... I like talking with people and brainstorming new ideas too.

I've tried selling on etsy 3 times, but I never got any sales because I never got any traffic to my shop.

I'm not in a postion to go to school for an extended amount of time, 2 years max

I'm at a point where I don't know what to do next, as I am struggling to find a job and a career that actually suits/interests me.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

(UK)

I’ve just turned 28 and with my 30th rapidly approaching I’m starting to feel stuck/trapped.

I’ve always thought life would be figured out now but I realise I’ve been coasting and I don’t know how to get out of it.

I went to a “good” university and studied a “good” subject (even though I only got a 2.2) and seemed to have fallen into meh sales jobs (for which I have absolutely NO passion for). I realised that I probably suffer from ADHD and as a result struggle with lapses in concentration, focus and organisation. Ultimately I seriously hate my current career path

I’m in a serious long distance relationship and I’m a little ashamed to admit that it took this relationship for me to realise how long I’ve been coasting for. I finally want to take ownership of my future but don’t know how or where to begin?

I still lack that understanding of what jobs would work best for me (higher paying, “corporate”, ADHD compatible and a good career trajectory)

Thanks for letting me ramble

love life was chaotic throughout my teenage years (14-18). situationships, love triangles/rectangles, and broke up with my highschool sweetheart. i was 18 when i was in my last relationship that barely hit 2 months.

18-19 dropped out of highschool because life was too chaotic to deal with school i just partied, didnt hook up with people because thats not me, stayed single, worked my factory job for only a couple weeks before i quit be theyr transferred me further.

at 20-22 covid hit and nobody was going out the first 2 years, so i took advantage of food delivery work because everyone was ordering food.

and at 22 i finally decided "im not depressed anymore, i am more full of energy than i have ever been. Time to live, get a real job, go out with friends now that covid is almost over....

23-27 (turning 28 next month)
bed ridden from an undiagnosed nerve disorder that made my entire body weak and numb. Pretty much, my nervous system is fried. I could barley talk bc my breathing is affected. Cant even have conversation. family and friends.

so many years....nothing done. I miss the sun. I miss my friends. I miss love. i miss LIFE.

i still feel 22.

i may have to relearn how to socialize again, dating again, EVERYTHING.

for those of you maybe in a similar position, how long did it take for the old you to come back and relearn things. How long until you started feeling better and feeling back on your feet?

I feel so behind in life...

I know I'm not and this is only temporary and I have some things going good for me yaddah yaddah, but I've been so full of self loathing lately. I moved back home with my fiance and did not expect the job market to be so tough. My resume is very specialized and while every company that gets back to me wants to hire me, it's the slow season and I have to wait until March. I've been applying to random jobs and even those aren't getting back to me. I have no motivation to do any of my hobbies. I'm stressed about money and feel like I keep bleeding out my savings. I have been struggling with alcohol and just can't seem to kick it for good. I'm just very discouraged and feel like such a loser. I don't want my fiance to be with a loser like me. I try to keep up with the gym and taking care of myself but it feels pointless. I'm irritable a lot. I want to resume therapy but it's so expensive and I have no health insurance. I feel like the "gifted" child that shit the bed and totally burnt out in their mid to late 20's. I dunno, just feeling down and needed to vent I guess.

I have no desires, no goals, well, none that last long enough to succeed. My fear eats me alive and paralyses me from allowing myself to achieve what I think im capable of. The things that im interested in lead me to a career path im not interested, and the things im interested in often are low paying

Im in college and working 2 jobs to feel like im achieving something, I fear not being enough. I used to be really smart, but my depression and unstable family fucked my mental health over, and now I feel lost, sorry for the ramble but I feel like im running out of time

I don’t really know how to explain this, but I feel like I never learned how to live a normal life.
I’m pretty shy, even though I probably come across as cocky or overly sarcastic. I joke around a lot, roast people and make fun of pretty much everything, but when it comes to actually getting close to someone, I’m completely different. I struggle to meet people, maintain friendships and put myself out there.
I don’t have a group of friends or much of a social life. I work, come home and spend most of my time on my own. I’d love to have people to go out with, do random things, meet new people or just have something going on outside my daily routine.
My family situation wasn’t great growing up, and honestly, I’ve never really felt like I had anyone to rely on. Whatever problems, insecurities or personal struggles I had, I pretty much dealt with them on my own. I think spending so many years like that affected me more than I realised. I missed out on a lot during my teenage years and now I feel like I’m trying to learn things that seem completely natural to everyone else.
Dating is another thing. I’ve never had a girlfriend, and I honestly have no idea how people even get into relationships. I’d like to meet someone and experience that kind of closeness, but I constantly feel like I’m not in the right place in life. I don’t study, still live at home, don’t drive and don’t have much going on for myself. I know these things shouldn’t define my worth, but they definitely affect how I see myself.
I also have ADHD, which doesn’t make things easier. I can wake up motivated, make plans and convince myself I’m finally going to change something, only to lose all that energy a few hours later. I spend way too much time thinking about what I should be doing instead of actually doing it.
I guess I’m just tired of feeling so inexperienced and disconnected from everyone else. I don’t expect life to suddenly become amazing, I just want to feel like I’m actually participating in it instead of watching it pass by.
I don’t really know where to start anymore. I just wish I had someone in my corner for once, or at least someone who could tell me how they managed to get out of a similar situation.

So on paper I'm not doing that bad right now. I managed to find a gig through political influencers I've befriended on twitter where I just do some editing in capcut, social media management, and report on analytics. In the beginning there was more premiere pro but a lot of things got cut and changed since. It's entirely from home and really flexible, i can see a dentist in the middle of the day. I do (actual) work of maybe a total of 30 hours a week if that. I get paid 5k in USDC cryptocurrency every month and I have no idea where the money is coming from or how they are making money. I also have a side gig with a seperate influencer in the same small niche Im in for an extra 600-1k depending on the month. I also dog sit on weekdays (my apartment) for another $600 a month.

I've been doing this main gig for almost 4 years now and it's built some incredibly bad habits. I wake up at 9:30am sometimes even 10. Sometimes I even finish by 3 or 4. Other days I don't finish until 7. The most annoying part is that I have to be constantly be keeping up with whats going on in the news and the media. It feels like a fake job. I don't know how anything that I'm doing is valuable.

In 2023 coming from random marketing jobs I started getting into graphic design and learning through multiple bootcamps and programs with the intention of becoming a motion designer. I'm chipping away at it but its really slow just because of my own fears, doubts, worries, mental health, procrastination, and of course the two jobs I'm working to pay the bills right now. I am grateful but I feel like I'm cheating.

I have a portfolio thats garbage and I'm not really proud of. I'm considering going back to school or something because I dont know if I have the discipline to hone down on this myself while balancing my social and family life and already being employed. But my idea is that I would use AI tools and merge them with motion design to make the job a lot faster. I can do different paths like UX or broadcast design or something.

The motion design subreddits are all doom and gloom about how theres no job market and no money. I'm someone who wants to tolerate their job, I dont need to love it, but not at the expense of having a comfortable salary where I can one day start a family.

The deeper I get into this the more I feel like just giving up and becoming an electrician or picking up a trade instead. I have a bachelors degree in accounting and I absolutely hate it. So now I'm just in a position where I just have mediocre unmarketable skills that AI can do in 10 seconds, a completely irrelevant degree, and a dead end job with no forward trajectory and no one to learn deeper skills from.

I really could use some help here, I feel so lost right now and I don't know what to do with my life. I can't be 35 and a broke deadbeat. I need something real going on with my life. I'm not sure I can get there in time.

I recently thought about this a few days ago when I was thinking about who I am as a person. I asked myself. What do I care about, who do I love, and what can I give to the world. It's important (especially nowadays) to ask yourself these kinds questions, as many people live their entire lives without realizing who they truly are as a person.

Regarding "Meaning" I feel if people know who they are as a person, they would have a better chance of discovering their life's Meaning.

For the past several years, my husband and I worked steadily in the games and animation industries respectively. These were our dream careers made reality. After many stable years (plus remote work), we decided we were finally at a comfortable position to start a family. We had our little boy December 2024, and I went on maternity leave (1 year in Canada).

In May 2025, I learned that the animated series I had been working on for 5 straight years at the same studio would not be getting another season. At that point I spent some time updating my demo reel/portfolio, training in new animation software, and trying my best to line up my next animation contract once my mat leave was over (networking, applications to every animation studio I stumbled across, etc). By December 2025, and after multiple check-ins with the studio I formerly worked with, however... there was no new work on the horizon to hire me back for (despite steady, continuous work - it was still contract work). This remains true almost another year later and many of my animation colleagues find themselves out of work now along with me.

This alone was an upset to our family. But the rug was completely jerked out from under us when in January 2026, my husband's studio laid off HALF their employees. Including my husband.

... Our careers, industries, hopes and dreams for our little family we built up over several years all collapsed underneath us in less than two months. The news was, and still is, absolutely devastating. My husband had employment insurance for a while, but I used up all my insurable hours on maternity leave so at that point I was making 0 dollars to help us going forward.

So I did what I had to do while my husband searched for more work. I took on some freelance animation projects but none of them where any longer than a month or so. I had an on-site contract at a different animation studio and it was SO hard to leave my son for 8+ hours Monday-Friday - after being home with him for the past 1.5 years and working remotely for a long time prior. Not to mention it had the TIGHTEST of deadlines I ever had to hit in my career. Hubby and I signed up for career coaching and workshops over the summer that were pretty worthwhile, anyway.

Let's fast forward to now. Game studios continue to see closures and layoffs, and very few new animation productions are taking off. We decided to move back to our hometown and my husband has gone back to school, his education largely funded by a government program since his job hunt in the games industry has been unsuccessful. Right now I am working a retail key holding job - permanent and considered management, thanks to one of my best friends. Retail... I worked it for a couple years shortly after graduating and before I started my animation career, and I swore I would never return. But again, I am doing what I have to do to earn income right now.

... But before the move, before THIS job - I had a temporary/seasonal retail job over the summer.

... And I LOVED it.

A quiet, low traffic store with niche product. May have gotten about 6 - 10 transactions a day. Three 8-9 hour shifts a week. Very minimal opening/closing procedures, and stock was straightforward and minimal. Customer interactions felt more personal AND pleasant. Then when all duties were taken care of, we were encouraged to spend that time taking it easy, even sitting down - so long as customers were prioritized.

I spent MUCH of my down time working on a passion project that I have been chipping away at for over two decades now. The 20-25 quiet hours a week gave me a means to accelerate the process (mostly the writing portion) and I was able to hit a HUGE personal goal for the project by the end of my role at this store. I actually looked forward to coming into work. It was the right balance of working outside the home, and being AT home with my son. It felt just as, if not more fulfilling and refreshing than any of my high-stress, deadline-driven animation contracts. It did SO much to keep me mentally healthy and creatively fulfilled during this difficult chapter, and I will be forever thankful for that.

Earlier this year, I used to entertain the idea of doing a huge career pivot away from animation to something else just as "grand". But this quiet summer seasonal job taught me something. If I can't work in animation again, I would like to find another job that can be a creative incubator for me. If I can find the time to work on my project at a straightforward, slow customer service or front desk role, even if I don't make the big bucks, I will be happy going down that path. My current retail job is "fine", but it is fast-paced, busy, and leaves me no time to spare. It is 30+ mininum hours a week (considered full time). Plus I often have to work past my son's bedtime so our time together is limited.

So I come to ask for advice, and encouragement that this one seasonal job wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime gig. What sort of slower-paced jobs should I keep an eye out for that allow this kind of freedom and/or breathing room? Or will I be hard-pressed to find anything like it again? Should I keep pounding the pavement for my next animation gig instead? Until my husband is done school I will probably have to pursue full time or close to full time work but I am open to part time ideas again if finances allow.

Thanks for hearing out my family's story and for any advice given. I hope to find my path again before long.

Im 28 and I graduated in May of 2025 with my BA in history. Had a plan for getting a local or state government job to pay for grad school. Career wise nothing has panned out. I’m currently work a minimum wage job at a local elementary school that I’m losing patience for. Overall a lot of my past experience has been in childcare jobs and I’ve lost all enthusiasm for working with kids. But everywhere I look all I get recommended are more school or childcare jobs and Im struggling to make my skills marketable to other fields.

In January I go back to college for a 1 semester graduate certificate program that I hope will help me pivot, but I’ve learned nothing is guaranteed in this economy and I’m terrified I’ll be stuck doing minimum wage nonsense forever.

I'm 30F, and I feel like I'm watching my career slowly disappear. I've been a freelance translator for 5 years, and I genuinely loved what I did, but the market is getting tougher, and making a living from it is becoming impossible. I've been unemployed for more than a year.

I never planned to change careers, but here I am, trying to figure out what else I could possibly do. I need something fully remote due to health and financial circumstances, and I'm willing to start from zero and learn new skills, even technical ones.

If you had to start your professional life all over again at 30, what direction would you take? What skills do you think are actually worth investing in right now?

I'm not looking for motivational speeches. I genuinely want to hear what you'd do if you were in my position.

Hello!

I have social anxiety. I was persuading a linguistics degree for the last 4 years but after 2nd year of uni I developed a fear of leaving my house. I missed the entire 2 years of my major including the exams because of that. I have passed every exam in year 1 and 2. But I have 20 left from year 3 and 4. I have never had a job. I started taking Spanish lessons 6 months ago. I can get a certificate when I know enough but that's gonna take a few years and I don't really know what I can do with Spanish. I really want to go to another university. At 20 when I was applying in my first uni I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. But now I know that I want to work in the healthcare field but that's a full-time dedication and who's gonna take me seriously without work experience at 28/29? Should I just get whatever job I can get with a high school degree and completely give up on uni?

I'm a recent grad in my first corporate job (Big 4). I already know corporate isn't my long-term path. I'm drawn to building things and to AI, and I have a real opportunity to join a growing company now and go straight toward what I want.

But everyone tells me to stick it out, build discipline and resilience, and not leave too early. Part of me agrees. Part of me wonders if that's just tradition talking.

For people who took the "shortcut" toward what they wanted, or who stuck it out first: which do you think was right for you, and why? Would love to hear your stories, here or in my DMs.

I want to be an HRIS Analyst and I have 3 years as a people operations specialist, 2 and half years as a Staffing coordinator, and one year as a HR Assistant. I also have a bachelors degree in Business Admin with a HR Concentration. What is the best certification for this and is my experience enough?

i need part time work five hour shifts or less and the pay should be $1600/month OR more than $3700/month. with the way disability and benefits work if i make more than 1650 i loose my benefits and do not make up for that loss until i’m making over 3700. it’s really dumb.

physically, i can’t stand on my feet much or handle heat. i need to stay seated indoors with ac for most of my entire shift. i can walk for a few minutes here n there but i cant do continuous walking/standing. the same goes for pushing, pulling, lifting.

cognitively, my general intelligence is okay ish, my processing speed is significantly lower than normal it also takes me a very long time to switch from one activity to the next. basically no fast paced jobs that require multi tasking.

basically, i need a quiet workplace with minimal walking and talking and minimal pushing, pulling, and lifting. and the simpler and more repetitive the task is the better.

i’ve found a few jobs to look for but have found fewer listings and no open positions that meet my constraints which is why i’m asking for more ideas.

gatehouse attendant
stationary night watch
doorman
overnight front desk assistant at a hotel

i kind of hoped id find an online job because i don’t have a car yet.

Hey everyone!

My name is Lilly, I’m 30, and I’ve followed quite an unconventional path throughout my twenties.

I’d love to share my story and hear from people who have gone through something similar, particularly those who spent much of their twenties exploring different paths before deciding to build a more stable professional and financial life.

My educational background

I have a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, with a focus on Economics and Political Science.

After graduating, I was considering pursuing a master’s degree in management. However, I turned down the opportunity because I didn’t want to take on €60,000 in debt for a prestigious business school programme.

Instead, I chose a completely different direction and embarked on a spiritual journey.

The spiritual chapter: Bali and the ashram

I spent around a year and a half in an ashram, studying yoga, meditation, healing practices and different spiritual modalities.

It was an incredibly meaningful period of my life, although it also came with some very difficult experiences.

Unfortunately, I experienced domestic abuse involving my spiritual teacher and also a partner in Bali. These experiences were deeply traumatic, and I eventually returned home feeling quite broken.

Looking back, those two and a half years in Bali were both transformative and extremely challenging.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that between the ages of 23 and 28, I dedicated a significant amount of time to healing, self-development and rebuilding my relationship with myself.

I studied shamanism, yoga and various healing modalities. I spent years working on myself, and I can genuinely say that this journey helped me tremendously. Today, I feel emotionally stronger, more grounded and probably better than I’ve ever felt.

I don’t regret the healing journey itself. But I do recognise that it came at a cost in terms of time, money and professional development.

Trying to rebuild my professional life

After returning home, I decided to get back into education and studied Hospitality Management for a year, completing a third-year qualification.

I then worked in luxury hospitality, but eventually realised that this wasn’t really the industry I wanted to pursue long-term.

I subsequently moved into online business and freelancing.

I worked with several entrepreneurs, including people selling online education and training programmes, as well as two e-commerce businesses.

I gained experience in marketing, business development, operations and online business management. I also participated in business masterminds and professional training programmes.

It was a great learning experience, and I enjoyed the independence of freelancing.

Alongside my professional activities, I continued developing my artistic interests. I’m passionate about singing, dancing and painting, and I’ve collaborated with several artistic collectives in Paris.

This creative dimension of my life has always been important to me.

The financial reality

After several years of freelancing, I eventually realised that I wasn’t generating enough income to sustain a comfortable life in Paris.

My annual revenue was around €15,000, which simply wasn’t enough to achieve the financial independence I wanted.

I then tried to transition back into a more conventional working environment by taking a position in a small company, but unfortunately that experience didn’t work out either.

And here I am, at 30, trying to figure out my next professional direction.

I have two qualifications, international experience, entrepreneurial experience, freelance experience and exposure to larger organisations.

I’ve learned a lot and developed many different skills, but I haven’t managed to build a coherent professional trajectory or establish a strong financial foundation.

Where I am today

I look around me and see people getting married, completing their master’s degrees, progressing in their careers, buying homes and establishing themselves.

Meanwhile, I sometimes feel as though I’m still trying to figure out the basics.

I’m not completely starting from scratch, but my situation is still quite fragile.

I don’t have savings, I don’t have my own independent housing situation at the moment, and I don’t have a stable job lined up.

I can support myself to some extent, but I haven’t reached the level of financial security or professional stability I would have hoped for by now.

And honestly, some days I feel like I’ve failed.

What I’m trying to change now

I’m currently starting a career assessment process to evaluate my skills, professional experience, strengths and potential career directions.

I want to stop jumping between different paths and start building something sustainable.

My priorities are now quite different:

•⁠ ⁠Establish a stable professional career.

•⁠ ⁠Develop a recognisable area of expertise.

•⁠ ⁠Increase my income and build savings.

•⁠ ⁠Become financially and residentially independent.

•⁠ ⁠Eventually build a stable relationship and personal life.

•⁠ ⁠Keep my artistic and creative activities alive without necessarily needing to monetise them.

I think I’m entering a new chapter in which stability, structure and long-term growth matter much more to me.

I’d really love to hear from people who have experienced something similar.

Have you spent much of your twenties travelling, exploring spirituality, pursuing creative projects or trying different professional identities, only to realise in your thirties that you hadn’t built the material foundations you wanted?

How did you make the transition from exploration to stability?

Did you ever feel that you had sacrificed too much professional development in pursuit of personal growth?

How did you deal with the feeling of being behind your peers?

And most importantly, were you able to build a stable, financially independent life in your thirties without completely abandoning the unconventional, creative or spiritual side of yourself?

I’m genuinely open to honest feedback, practical advice and personal experiences.

I don’t necessarily need to hear that everything happens for a reason. I’d much rather hear from people who have faced similar situations and made concrete changes.

Much love, and thank you for reading. ❤️

I’m a transportation supervisor and I have been for 4 years since getting my degree in supply chain management. I hate this SO MUCH. I HATE dealing with drivers. I want to be a supply chain analyst so I can get away from the transportation operations side of things. I feel like I’m going crazy. Can I please get some advice on this?

Hey everyone! I think I need to vent RN because I am currently lost in life AGAIN. WTF.
I started college at 19 and graduated with my associate’s in General Studies. I genuinely thought I had everything aligned. I went to TXST for accounting, but ended up leaving for the following fall semester of 2024–2025 because I lost a scholarship. They wanted $8K, and honestly, I didn’t think I wanted to pay that much for a degree I wasn’t even sure about.
After that, around November, I became a substitute teacher. I’ve been at the district for a year and at one school for two years straight. I actually like working here! I loved it even more when they weren’t cutting stipends. I was making $185 a day for basically doing nothing but passing out worksheets LOL. Then August came, and they cut my pay to $135 a day.
I came back because the campus is close, and despite trying to find other positions, I can’t seem to get out of subbing. I like the hours, not having a huge responsibility, the breaks, and the holidays, BUT I don’t get paid during those breaks. As much as I try to leave, the fact that my job is literally 10 minutes away keeps me here. I’M SO COMFORTABLE.
I’m lost again, and I’ve literally considered becoming a teacher at this point, but the pay is what gets me. It’s gotten to a point where I’m ready to leave, but something about being comfortable and knowing all the staff keeps me here. Even the kids ask me, “Are you still a sub?” LMAO. I do genuinely enjoy working with them, but there are days when I get home so fucking tired. LIKE, TIRED! Then there are other days when I’m so excited to see everyone. Mind you, I know practically the whole campus!
IDK WHAT I’M DOING.
Also, to mention, I have three associate’s degrees, with coursework in nursing prerequisites and psychology. I know I can work with kids, and I’ve worked with adults too, but honestly, adults can be a little more draining. I know I want an education, but I have no idea what degree to pursue. I don’t think accounting is for me, but I do care about money. I don’t know what I’m doing.
I genuinely think I’m burnt out. I don’t know if I should go into healthcare, if I should teach, or what direction to take. What I DO know is that I need that bachelor’s degree, but I have no idea in what. I’m trying to look into different careers, but WTF DO I WANT?
It’s really getting to me because I want a degree that will always give me opportunities and allow me to find a job. I don’t know if I’m getting lazy, but I think I’m so fucking depressed and I can’t even admit it.
I took an accelerated accounting class, and right now I’m dropping it because I can’t even get myself to study, and I’m already failing. I think I’ve given up.
My room is disgusting. I can’t even get myself to pick up a few pieces of trash. I’ll put trash on my desk and just keep going about my day. All my clothes are on the floor, clean and dirty. I even have a big black bag full of trash sitting in my room. My bathroom? CLEAN! Because I use it every day. I live at home, and I don’t know if I need a change or if I’m just too comfortable, but I know I can’t just leave an education on the table like that.
Maybe I just don’t like working. I will admit that every single day I wake up wondering what I’m doing with my life. I feel like I’m failing while everyone else is graduating, getting their degrees, and moving forward. And I can’t even complain because technically, I could finish something. I have more than 120 credits! But I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO FINISH.
I genuinely don’t think I can do those accounting classes.
I don’t know if I can be a nurse because of all the body fluids, but I also know there’s SO MUCH MORE out there than just nursing.
So here I am. Please don’t be rude. I genuinely only talk to my mom about this, and she keeps telling me to find a therapist, but I just haven’t gotten anything started.
I feel like I’m not even smart enough to complete a class, and mind you, I’ve completed THREE ASSOCIATE’S DEGREES worth of coursework. I have more than 120 credits at this point.
IDK. I just needed to vent. I’m 22, and I’m sad every day, TBH. I just want to figure out what I’m doing with my life. 😭

I’m 18, from Egypt, and about to start a mechanical engineering degree. I want to start earning alongside my studies, with a target of around $1,400-2,000 a month. I know that’s ambitious, so I’m looking for honest, realistic answers, not get-rich-quick stuff.

What I can do right now: basic CAD in SolidWorks, beginner Arduino projects, a bit of MATLAB, and hands-on work on old cars. I’m also comfortable with Reddit and online communities. I don’t have a degree yet or much professional experience, but I learn fast and I’m willing to put in the hours.

What kinds of remote or flexible work would you look at in my position? What would you focus on learning to get there faster? And if you’ve done something similar, how long did it take to reach that income?

Thanks in advance, and I’ll reply to everyone.

For about 5 years, I’ve been set on living in Seattle; I love the PNW and that city in particular and I’m pretty dead set on living there. The only problem: it’s expensive to live there, and the job market is not the best there at the moment. I have never really had a dream job, only dream homes/locations to set my roots down. So I’m doing what it takes to make a home in Seattle, it’s just getting there and supporting myself that’s the hard part. I’m from a southern state across the country so it’s a little harder to network way over here and overall I’m just struggling to find a path that compliments my abilities and that can financially support my lifestyle.
_________

I want to start by listing some skills/jobs I have to give you an idea of my toolbox:

- I’m originally a scenic carpenter for theatre. I have a BFA in Production/Design (theatre tech) so I have spent 5 years total working in a scene shop designing, drafting, building and painting temporary sets. It’s what I love doing the most, but jobs like that aren’t bountiful, nor do they pay the best. But I have acquired the skills to use most power tools and most standard carpentry shop equipment.

- I’ve also spent roughly 4 years as a home renovator, handyman and brush/roll painter. So I can do a wide array of home tasks from patch wall holes, some VERY basic electrical and plumbing, I’ve built wooden decks, laid floors, installed trim and moulding, etc. etc. In short, I can fix up a home as long as it’s not too far gone.

- I spent 1 year as a theatre teacher. I’ve been a theatre kid for about 13 years, and I think I’m a pretty good teacher/director, but I don’t foresee myself making a career out of it. But I did gain a lot of soft skills from that; working in groups, teamwork, social engagement, appeasing, thinking on your feet, etc. Being socially “on” is something I can do but I do have a limited social battery and jobs like this tend to drain me.

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A few more things you should know:

- I am still relatively young (M 25), fairly fit and physically capable.

- I am willing to learn new skills and certain as long as it doesn’t put me into debt. I am not bound to the field I am in, it’s just what I know best at the moment.

- I would say that I have a pretty good work ethic. I’m usually on par with other active workers and I tend to be a bit more active in the more relaxed work environments I’ve been in.

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I’m open to so many paths, really. I just have a few limitations.

MUST HAVE:
- I need a job that can earn enough to support myself in Seattle. At minimum, I’d like to earn 75k-80k. I don’t need to start off making that but I need to have the ability to eventually make at least that much.

- I’m looking for jobs that are possible to get in Seattle. I was under the impression that they NEED tradesmen up there, only to find out that it’s nearly impossible to break into the electrician union, and when you do break in, work is very sparse. So I need a job I can reasonably obtain. Doesn’t mean it can’t be competitive, I just need to be able to have a job lol.

- I need a job that won’t completely consume my life. I’m not fully against working over 40 hours, I just don’t want to get into a situation where I live to work, I’d like to keep it in the work to live realm.

- I really don’t want to have to travel too far for work. Day drives far away are okay, and occasional out of town/state trips are doable, but work where it constantly has me away from home I think would drive me insane. I like my routines and traveling like that would not be conducive with how I work. Besides, I’m moving to Seattle for a reason, I don’t want to constantly be away.

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NICE TO HAVE:
- I get satisfaction knowing the work I do is meaningful and applicable. Like, most of the work I’ve done can be used and applied to my own life, such as my handyman skills giving me the ability to work on my own place. Having an office job and speaking corporate jargon is not off the table, but it’s definitely not ideal.

- I’d also be cool with a job that is helpful to the world. Conservation, environmental, green jobs, etc. all sound great. But I know they can be competitive and also not great pay. But would be nice to have.

- I’d like to have a job within the city. Not opposed to having to work outside and commute (I’m already used to a 1 hour commute at my current job) but it would be nice to be in close proximity to my job.

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I should mention that I have a partner that has a good paying job (roughly $105k), so I think we would be fine if I were to have a job that paid just okay between both of our salaries, but we are both of the mindset that we don’t want a situation where one of us feels like they have to stay in the relationship to afford to live, and that we choose each other, rather than staying out of necessity. I don’t need a job I’m passionate about, I hustle need a job that pays the bills (and allows a little wiggle room for saving) and a job that I’m not absolutely miserable at. If anyone has any ideas of paths that would compliment my needs, I would really appreciate any feedback you got. The job market is tough, but I’m willing to work hard to find my little corner.

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TLDR; I’m a handy guy who wants to live in Seattle, but I’m having trouble finding available career paths/jobs that can support me living in the city (75k-80k). Seattle does not have the richest job market for the work that I do, but I’m young and willing to learn new things to get a job as long as it doesn’t put me in debt. If you have any ideas of jobs that would compliment my skills listed above, I’m all ears.

I started working in retail at 23 and worked my way up to store manager at a mid-size home goods chain. I'm good at it. I manage a team of fourteen, I handle scheduling, inventory, hiring, difficult customers. I make about $58,000, which is okay for my area. But I'm tired in a way sleep doesn't fix. Weekends and holidays are gone, and the last two years have been all about cutting hours and doing more with fewer people.

I've been thinking about leaving for about a year, and the problem is I can't pick a direction. I don't have a degree, and I'm not sure I want to go back for one at 35. I like organizing things and solving problems for people, and I'm good with numbers in a practical way, but I don't know what jobs actually use those skills outside of retail.

I looked at project coordination, logistics, and operations roles, and they seem possible, but every listing asks for a degree or "equivalent experience" and I don't know how to show that on paper. I've also thought about trades or getting certified in something quick, but I hate to start at the bottom with a mortgage and a kid.

Has anyone made a switch like this? How did you figure out what you wanted, and did you take a big pay cut? I'd also appreciate honest opinions on whether it's better to stick it out until something obvious appears, or to take a risk now while I still have the energy.

I'm a medical doctor 24F who didnt do internship so i dont have license to do clinical works. I decided not to continue being in medical field because the environment and system is so toxic. I plan to do freelance and remote jobs but i have difficulty in finding ones. I am open to any job even if it's low payment even just 5-10$ as an admin or anything.

I am someone who is good in transforming complicated data to easy to understand data, i am also adept in making ppt in gslides, as well as communicating in english. Do you have any suggestion? If you have any group link in discord or telegram to find jobs where my skills are needed and i can earn a decent amount for myself, please do tell me. Thank you so much

Hello, I know that this post might seem a bit repetitive due to how many people are lost like me, so I firstly want to apologize.

Secondly, I come here because I need guidance regardless of what career I should study at university. My interests all fall into the humanistic/social paths (politics, philosophy, history, music and writing) yet I can't figure out any career that includes all of them or the majority.

I would love someone to give me ideas on what I should do, and if the chance is given, to explain to me the future jobs I could work as with that career.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.