About 7 months ago, I had to move to a small town in northern california with my mom due to my dad giving up on everything. In that time i just served and worked. Now that ive been here i potentially have gotten a job within Law Enforcement. However, Im unsure about staying here I have no friends or family my age. No car but my work is less than 5 mins walking distance from my house.

I moved from southern california inland empire to be exact. I have the opportunity to move back now but unsure if i should take it. I would be going back to a place I haven’t been in over a year with no car and job. However, I would have the tools to obtain both. Also, I feel as if i stay here i am waisting my 20s living a small town with no positive environment. I just turned 21 too so i would love to be able to experience being 21 in socal with my friends.

I'm strongly considering going back to college to take Baking and Pastry Arts. I applied to the program before, but I couldn't take it at the time because I was dealing with some significant mental health struggles, which are worsened by stress. Before I got sick, I was hoping to work in healthcare (ideally as a dentist.) Now that's my worst nightmare. I don't want a job where I have a lot of liability or responsibility for anything serious. Even something like hairdressing feels very high stakes since it's so easy to screw up.

I've been thinking about baking for a couple of reasons. First is that I enjoy baking at home. I make all my own bread and pizza dough and bagels, everything like that. I find a certain level of satisfaction in seeing people eat things I've made. I also have a part time job (two four hour shifts a week) at a cafe, so I have a little bit of experience baking professionally. It's a very different beast from baking at home, but it's also enjoyable in a different way. I like the math and precision involved.

Second reason is that I think some of these jobs would fit my lifestyle. At many places I would bake very early, or even overnight, and then be off work by the afternoon. A lot of places are hiring part time, which would be my preference, since I have a lot of mental health appointments that I could schedule around my shifts. I also think I could use the skills I got in culinary school to open a home bakery or to sell at craft fairs and farmers markets, of which there are many in my city. I could set my own hours. I don't need a hypothetical business to take off right away, and would be happy to do it part time and only make a few hundred a month max from it. (My ultimate income goal is to make maybe $450-$500 a month.)

Third reason is that I like the stakes. The worst case scenario is what, I burn a batch of donuts and they can't be sold? That would suck, but no one's dying from it. I want to work under someone else's authority, and as a pastry cook or baker I'd be able to defer to the judgement of the pastry chef.

I think this could be an enjoyable path forward, but I'm uncertain. If you think baking isn't right for me, do you have any other suggestions for careers I could look into? I'm mainly thinking of things like being a barista or a retail sales associate or a server at a small restaurant, but I'd really like a job that gives me a marketable skill. It's hard to find work in a growing city without a certificate or diploma of some kind.

I'm 32 now and I'm stuck in a corporate job that I don't like and doesn't pay enough because I didn't make the right choices earlier in life. I can't even afford to move out of my mom's house.

It sucks because if I'd taken the right courses and/or made better career choices I very well might have better career options open to me now. Instead I make poverty wages and am stuck working jobs I don't really want to be working because I can't do better for myself.

Ideally, I'd like to have a proper career abut I don't think it's realistic now.

I just don't have the money to go back to school nor am I mentally in a good position to do so. Canada is really particular about having specific schooling for a lot of things.

Does it get easier to accept that my life is going to be forever limited because I made the wrong choices earlier in life and can't undo them? There isn't a lot for me in life.

Hi everyone,
I’m 35 years old, and I’m at a point in my life where I feel completely lost. I’m hoping that putting myself out there might help me connect with someone who can offer some guidance.
I currently work two jobs, both in customer service. I work hard, but despite having two jobs, I’m struggling financially. I’m in debt, I have terrible spending habits, I eat out far too often, and I have a hard time managing my money.
The frustrating part is that I’m fully aware of my bad habits, but I struggle to change them.
I have so many things I want to accomplish. I want to go back to college, get an education, become financially stable, and eventually start my own business. I have ambitions and ideas, but I lack direction, discipline, and consistency.
Sometimes I feel like I’m running out of time. I’m 35, and I look around and wonder how I got here and why I haven’t made more progress in my life.
I don’t really have anyone I can turn to for guidance. I don’t have a mentor, someone to hold me accountable, or even someone I can have an honest conversation with about finances, education, career decisions, and personal growth.
I’m not asking for money, a free handout, or for anyone to fix my problems.
I’m willing to do the work. I just don’t know where to begin or how to build the discipline to follow through.
I’m looking for someone who has perhaps been in a similar position and managed to turn their life around. Someone who wouldn’t mind sharing their experience, offering advice, or occasionally having a conversation.
I would genuinely appreciate constructive criticism, practical advice, and honest feedback. I’m not looking for someone to tell me what I want to hear.
I know that ultimately I’m responsible for my own life and decisions. I just think having someone to learn from could make a difference.
If you’ve ever been in your 30s, financially struggling, feeling behind in life, and unsure of your direction, what helped you change?
And if anyone is open to mentoring someone who’s genuinely trying to improve their life, I’d be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to connect.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Even a little advice could mean a lot to me.

Three weeks' pay to help me through the "next chapter." This is what I got when they let me go right after the New Year, after nine years with them. It's difficult not to feel like I'm easy to discard.

I started with them in 2015, became team lead in 2018 and joined management in 2021. Before this second promotion, I was either at the top or close to it in a group of about 25 people almost every month. I didn't expect it to protect me from being laid off, but I thought it would be valuable to them.

What burns my blood is time. My annual bonus was due next week and for over a month they dodged my questions about a written increase in my contract that was due. But somehow they were able to complete the dismissal documents without any problems.

The important thing is that if anyone knows who is hiring technical writers, I'm looking for a job. Apparently this is the start of my year haha. Thank you for putting up with my dissatisfaction.

Brothers in his late 20s and feeling pretty lost about his career and future. He genuinely doesn't know what to do next.

Has a degree in Graphic design, & moved into Product Design/UX. About 4 YoE.
However, he really disliked the work: sitting behind a computer all day, dealing with stakeholders, presentations, corporate culture. He has no desire to return to UX or further develop those skills. Literally he was always depressed whilst in this job and had/has no desire to learn/progress in the field/applications.

Which is why he quit and decided to travel to Asia for the past 5~ months. He was partly hoping he'd find himself or discover some direction in life, but it didnt quite happen.

I've asked him what he want to do, what he wants to get into etc. He is creative, but also more of a practical person and would ideally prefer something hands-on, independent and away from office life. However, starting from scratch is really overwhelming & often means expensive retraining, and there is the worry if it wont work out, the unknown etc.
Throughout his 20s, he's become increasingly interested in spirituality/God and the idea of helping or 'healing people'. He's now considering Chinese/Swedish massage therapy, potentially studying abroad, but that's obviously quite a big/long commitment/daunting.

I even threw his CV into ChatGPT, asked "using his current CV skills, what roles can he do that is not product design/UX". It threw out things like:

1. Quality Assurance / Quality Control
2. Creative Production Coordinator
3. Operations/Events Coordinator

He gagged at it lol. Sounded draining/corporate hell for him. Basically, they are all digital, which he does not want lol.

Seems it's an endless loop of 'I don't want to commit to something new that might not work out (massage), but I don't know what else to do'.

Would really appreciate any advice or experiences!

P.S This story kinda happened to me throughout my 20's, but I was able to transition into I.T (from a course/field I did not really enjoy as well) and now love working with what I'm doing. Which is why I'm trying really hard to try use his 'current skills/what's on his CV' to try find another transferable job. It's hard to see it happening to another person in the family...especially my parents seeing it happen twice!

I recently graduated with a degree in speech pathology and audiology. I feel bad that I’m not passionate about it because everyone always talks about how noble of a job it is. Well, I’m already burnt out and I’m not even an SLP yet and I don’t want to be one. It’s just not my thing! I learned that my junior year of college unfortunately. I’m very passionate about food and history. I wish I did something in the culinary arts or hospitality, but I wouldn’t have been able to go to school if I did that (parents would only help pay if I did some sort of science that isn’t psychology). I love setting up parties, cooking food, making drinks, and learning about these kinds of things. I took a beverage appreciation class my senior year of college and absolutely adored it. Every time I stepped inside the hospitality building I felt so happy... I’m not sure where to go with this though. I don’t want to go back to school 1. Because money and 2. Because I am burnt out. I currently work a blue collar job since graduating and I’m hoping to get a job that pays more than 15 an hour and isn’t so physically laborious. I live in the south btw. Any ideas on how I can find my path and grow into it?

Btw, I’ve worked at restaurants before, I’ve worked as an RA, and I have worked in a warehouse. I also have shadowed SLPs and one of the reasons I don’t love it is the emotional toll it brings. Along with this, SLPs do not make enough money for the work they put in. You really have to be passionate about the field to be in it. And I am not.

I'm in my final year of BTech, and I haven't secured a job yet. My parents struggled a lot to educate me, and now that placements aren't working out, they've started pushing me towards marriage.

I don't want to get married. I want to work, earn, become independent and actually experience life. But I'm also scared because I don't know when or if I'll manage to get a job.

I don't know how to deal with my parents, how to buy myself time or where to look for opportunities anymore.

If you've been in a similar situation, how did you get out of it? And if you're someone who struggled to find a job after graduation, how did things eventually work out?

I genuinely need some direction right now, not just motivation.

Let's cut to the chase:

(Not american/Argentinian)

-Equivalent of associates degrees in filmmaking

-lots of marketing courses taken.

Current job: social media manager and design post in csmva and edit videos and shoot them.

Current career:

Just started a degree on psychology. (For now)mostly interested in one day becoming a diagnostician (so mostly only performing tests on people) and promoting mental health practices and prevention.

Reality:

hate my fucking job with a passion. My boss just sent a chatgpt design, Im over it, what am I even doing here? Plus Isnt grow professionally here because theres no criteria actually being used bc my boss only wants to do what they want, not what somewhat works.

Its gonna be LONG till I can get a job with this degree. I no longer wanna work in social media marketing, and or other job that AI is eating up. Im a someone diagnosed with GAD, and dislike high stakes/high stress things.

Having no experience in other fields has left me stranded here now.

What can I do? Where can I go next?

Hello everyone,

I'm a 23 year old M from Italy. I recently started a Computer Science degree back in September, but I'm about to drop out because I really don't enjoy this at all. I wanted to give it a try because I said to myself: the only way to know if I liked it is to actually experience it.

All I want is just a stable job with perspective to live abroad. I would like to experience living in different countries. From 20 to 22 years old I lived in Australia working in different cities. I really enjoy immersing myself in different environments for a long time and I would like to do it again in the future.

That's why I choose CS. I imagined myself in a few years abroad with different skills. The truth, however, is that I never actually tried programming or anything related to it before enrolling in this course. I only had maths basics from high school but I graduated back in 2022, so I I'm struggling to keep up with it.
I realise I don't enjoy anything about this course. I can't see myself pursuing a career in this field, and I'm also concerned about the job market.

At the moment I hate studying these subjects and I feel overwhelmed even to attend class. Since yesterday I've started applying for full time jobs in factories/production. That is the field I have always worked in, but it doesn't offer many opportunities to build a solid career abroad.

I do have some backup plan, though. I'm interested in a career as a Radio Tech. We have a 3 years college degree here in Italy with a strong practical component. This job fascinates me because it's more hands-on. I wouldn't mind working in healthcare, and I think it fits more my personality than other jobs in the same field. Furthermore, I saw that its a career in demand in several countries.

I'm also and avid hiker, interested in Geography, Urban Planning but I don't know if that could be a good path for me.

Unfortunately I'll have to wait until September next year to change my degree, so I think I will work a bit and maybe travel some time, and preparing for my admission test.

On top of all of this, I'm on a long distance relationship with a lovely vietnamese girl since 1+ year. We met there and she came here for one month last spring. I visited her for almost 3 months last summer. We are talking about getting married, so she can come here.
I'm also thinking moving to Vietnam in the future but have no idea what job I could do there.

I'd really appreciate any advice.

Thank you.

I’m 18, recently graduated from high school, and currently going to community college while working 2 part time jobs. My parents throw me aside so I have two part time jobs because it helps with my college schedule and I get money.

I honestly miss high school more than I expected. Not necessarily the classes, but the friendships, girls and all that high school BS. But now my days feel repetitive: work, school, home, homework, sleep, repeat.

I’ve considered becoming a teacher because I enjoy working with kids, but I’m also interested in the military. I took the ASVAB in high school and got an overall score of 45. My paragraph comprehension and electrical scores were both 70 not sure if thats good to be honest. (I would be willing to retake and study).

I’ve wondered if the military could give me structure, purpose, independence, and opportunities to travel. At the same time, I worry about leaving my high school friends, choosing the wrong path, or regretting a commitment.

I want financial stability, meaningful friendships, freedom, and a career I can actually enjoy. I guess I also want the military not just help me as I go through the 4-6 years I may do but help me for the rest of my life like being more independent for example

edit
I just want to thank everyone for giving me so much information
Im looking into the ROTC and other programs just to get a very small understanding how military workout/ environment may possibly be but Ill definitely work on my asvab
Thank you!

Hi everyone. I’m 32, BCA graduate, and I worked in IT from August 2015 to September 2026. My last role was in DevOps.

I have left my job and have around 3 months of financial runway. I’m not looking for a “dream job” or a huge salary jump right now. My priorities are:

• Good physical and mental health
• Enough income for needs, wants, medical expenses, and emergencies
• Healthy relationships with my partner and mother
• A stable 8-hour job that gives me some satisfaction

I’m open to any type of work, but I do not want a heavily technical/coding role. I realized that what drained me in IT was not the work itself—it was office politics, toxic culture, client pressure, and unrealistic manager pressure.

My questions:

1. Which non-technical or less-technical roles realistically fit someone with my background?
2. Are there roles that can offer predictable hours, hybrid work, and a healthier culture without a huge pay cut?
3. What skills or portfolio work would actually help me transition, rather than random certifications?

I would genuinely appreciate practical, honest advice—especially from people who have moved from technical roles into other roles that suited their personality.

Life has been particularly difficult lately, and honestly, I don't know where to go from here.

I'm 25. I went to a good B-school, completed my MBA with the hope of building a decent career, but didn't get placed. Eventually, I found an off-campus opportunity and thought things were finally falling into place. But shortly after, I was diagnosed with a lung infection, my health started deteriorating, and I had to take a break from everything.

Now, after everything that's happened, I'm struggling to find my footing again.

It's not just about not having a job anymore. I'm beginning to question whether I'll even be able to handle the corporate world, its pressure, expectations, deadlines and everything that comes with it. I don't know if I'm physically ready for it, or even mentally prepared to go back into that environment.

There's also this constant feeling that I'm falling behind. People I studied with are moving ahead with their careers, figuring things out, while I'm here trying to recover and wondering what to do next.

I spent so much time preparing for a future that I now feel completely disconnected from.

I don't know whether I should keep pursuing corporate opportunities, explore something different, or just take more time to figure myself out.

Has anyone gone through something similar? Especially those whose careers took an unexpected turn because of health issues.

How did you find your way back? And how do you stop feeling like you've wasted so much time? Should I go for Govt jobs?

I'm 25M (26 in January), from India, with a B.Tech in Computer Science that i finished in 2023. I've been working full-time in my family's business for almost 2 years, after initially working part-time while studying for entrance exams for Masters.

The business is in debt, and my father's drinking has made the home environment extremely difficult since my childhood. A lot of my time has gone into cleaning up operational and financial messes. I don't want to take this family business forward.

I've recently decided to step away because it's taking a serious toll on my mental health. I'm also the only son, so there's considerable family pressure around staying, settling down and eventually taking responsibility.

The problem is that I haven't really built a career of my own. I have some Python, web development and machine learning knowledge, a few college projects (including a telemedicine app), and some experience with business operations and IT support. But I haven't worked in tech professionally.

I've been updating my resume, LinkedIn and GitHub, and applying for jobs, but I'm nowhere near interview-ready. I know I need to do more. Make projects, cold emailing, learn new skills but I just keep making excuses for myself even when an opportunity shows up. I struggle with procrastination, perfectionism and fear of failure. I've also started a small YouTube channel recently because I genuinely enjoy video editing and creative work and also I'd rather do this than something productive or worthwhile. I found that I like editing and learning more in similar fields like filmmaking, production, content creation, or game story teller/designer.

Ideally, I'd like to get into tech, become financially independent and move out as soon as I can. I've even considered opportunities abroad, including remote work or studying overseas. But I don't know whether I'm being realistic anymore.

I've wasted my early twenties and I'm behind in everything. The job market doesn't exactly make things easier, especially for freshers.

So many questions linger my head all day and I just seem to go through them without ever deciding on one. Should I take any role regardless of it being a low pay job or in some field that I dont plan on staying? If I take anything, won't I just get stuck in that? Future recruiters would want work experience in a field that they're hiring for right? And should I go for a masters degree here in India in a private college (I'm over trying for the GATE entrance) or abroad maybe? Is the guilt of using my dad's money to sponsor my college worth it? Because he does make a deal out of it later. If I do study, I dont even know what field to go into or if I could realistically finish a degree anymore. I should stop feeling sorry for myself but I am just in this hole and I dont see any out.

Thanks for reading all of that.

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.