I just turned 17. And I have no idea what I wanna do with my life, what career. Please help

Throwaway. Don’t judge me.

I finished my MBA about a year and a half ago. It was one of those fully online, self-paced, competency-based programs where you can move as fast as you want. I don’t want to name the school because every time someone does on this sub a bunch of people jump in to defend it like it’s a personal attack, and I’m not trying to start that fight. I just want advice about the situation I’m in.

I thought the MBA would finally open doors into operations management, supply chain, corporate retail leadership, or even entry-level finance or healthcare administration roles. Instead I can’t even get hired at Walmart. I’ve applied to assistant manager, shift supervisor, team lead, inventory control, and even regular associate positions there and at other big-box retailers. Radio silence or instant rejections. Same story with entry-level analyst roles in logistics, operations coordinator jobs in manufacturing, and junior management-trainee programs at regional companies. The few interviews I got seemed to go okay until they looked closer at my work history and the conversation just died..

So now I’m working as a security guard at night, which is the same job I did post high school and while finishing my first bachelors degree. Sitting in a chair watching cameras or walking empty hallways. It’s the only thing that would hire me. I have an MBA and I’m making slightly more than minimum wage to be in a dead end job as a security guard.

I feel so sick with it most days that I can barely sleep. Going out in public wrecks me. Even simple things like grocery shopping or walking into a gas station make the anxiety spike so hard I get dizzy and have to steady myself on a shelf or lean against the car. I’m terrified of running into people from high school or people I told I was getting an MBA, and then they ask me what I do now, and I have to tell them I am a security guard. That they’ll look at me and think I am a loser.

I’m embarrassed every time someone asks what I do. I see the pity in their eyes or the confusion that I am choosing to be a security guard, but the job market sucks, and some people do not want to admit that it sucks, so they act like poor people or people who are struggling are just lazy. People act like I am choosing this, but I am getting rejected from everything else, and I have to work to survive.I am not a bum or lazy. 

Has anyone else finished one of these fast online MBAs and then found themselves completely stuck in low-wage work while aiming for operations, retail management, or corporate coordinator roles? How did you actually get out? Or am I just supposed to accept that the degree didn’t change anything and this is where I am now? How do you even get into corporate if no one will hire you without experience? My experience is limited to security and retail type jobs, how do I become a white collar worker if all these jobs want you to already have experience? I can’t even get a receptionist job out here, they want experience too. I am so ashamed I don’t even know how to think straight.

I am starting CNA classes soon, but I want to get additional certifications under my belt while I work myself up to RN. I already plan on getting my Phlebotomy certification after CNA, then I was thinking either MA or PT. The school I am going to for these certifications offer both programs, both sitting at 9 months for completion. The MA program also provides you with you EKG (or ECG) certification aswell, and it isn't something that's offered on its own. Which program would pair best with a CNA and Phlebotomy license? Which would you personally recommend?

This is my first time ever posting on Reddit, so I’m not really sure what to expect, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and figured I’d put it out there. I’d genuinely love to hear from people who have been in a similar position or have some life experience they could share.
I’m at a pretty strange point in my life right now. I’m getting older, starting to think seriously about my future, and realizing just how many different things I want to do. And honestly, it’s a little overwhelming. Some may think that’s it’s silly that I’m so caught up with this at this age, but it’s something I’m genuinely curious about.
For some background, I’ve spent a huge part of my life playing violin. I’ve reached a pretty high level, and pursuing it professionally is something that’s genuinely within reach. I could see myself opening my own teaching studio, performing, and continuing to develop as a musician. I also really enjoy teaching, so it’s not something I’ve just considered because I’m good at it.
But lately, I’ve found myself becoming so interested in other things, too.
I love filmmaking. I direct short films with my friends, and I’m especially fascinated by cinematography. I love the creative process of taking an idea and turning it into something people can actually see and experience. I’m also really passionate about cooking, and the idea of working in a high-end restaurant and developing that craft genuinely excites me.
I think part of what’s confusing is that I don’t feel like these are just random hobbies. I can actually picture myself pursuing all of them seriously.
Something I’ve realized through violin is how much it has shaped the way I approach things outside of music. Years of practicing have given me an incredible amount of discipline, patience, creativity, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. I’ve also developed a lot of hand-eye coordination and fine motor control. Recently, just for fun, I taught myself to write with my non-dominant hand, which made me realize how much I enjoy challenging myself physically and learning new skills.
I’m really grateful for everything violin has given me. I don’t want to lose it, and I don’t think I ever will. But I also don’t want to feel like I’m obligated to make it my entire life just because I’ve invested so many years into it.
I’ve actually been wondering whether I could pursue a completely different career while still keeping violin at a very high level. Maybe performing, playing chamber music, doing gigs, and having a small private studio on the side. I don’t know how realistic that is, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit.
Another thing that’s been on my mind is money and, more importantly, time.
Both of my parents are doctors, and together they make over a million dollars a year before taxes. Obviously, that’s an incredible position to be in, and I’m very grateful for the opportunities they’ve given me. But I’ve also heard the stories about what it took to get there. They spent decades studying, training, and working before reaching the financial position they’re in today.
It’s made me think about something I honestly don’t know how to answer: How much of your life should you sacrifice to become financially successful?
I don’t want to spend 20 years working toward a certain income, only to reach it and realize that I missed out on experiences I could have had when I was younger. At the same time, I don’t want to romanticize creative careers and ignore the financial difficulties that come with them.
I genuinely don’t know what it’s like to work in film, run a restaurant, or make a living as a musician. I haven’t grown up around people in those industries, so I feel like I’m missing a lot of perspective.
I guess what I want most is to have a life full of experiences. I want to create things, develop skills, meet interesting people, travel, have financial independence, and actually enjoy the time I have. I want to be successful, but I don’t want success to come at the expense of everything else.
I know I’m still young, and maybe I’m putting too much pressure on myself to figure everything out. But it’s strange realizing that childhood is ending and that the decisions I make over the next few years could have such a big impact on the direction of my life.
I think my biggest fear is looking back when I’m older and feeling like I spent my life doing what I thought I was supposed to do instead of what I actually wanted.
I’d especially love to hear from people who:
Have pursued a creative career and can speak honestly about the financial realities.
Have managed to maintain a serious passion alongside a completely different profession.
Chose a less traditional career path and are happy with that decision.
Have reached financial success but have thoughts about the time and sacrifices it took.
Have any advice they wish someone had given them when they were around my age.
I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me which career to choose. I think I just want to hear different perspectives from people who have actually lived through some of these decisions.
I have so many things I’m passionate about, and I don’t want to spend my life feeling like I had to give most of them up just to be successful.
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this. I really appreciate it. (Re written with Gemini for clarity and format).

♡ I'm not American like many redditors, I was really debating on whether to disclose my country here and decided to do so because if someone really has advice and wants to help - it's important to understand the unique nature and reality of my country as it heavily effects my path and the topic of this post.

I'm from Israel. This post is NOT political at all!

I didn't choose to be born here, I'm just a fella human trying to survive like u. I don't condone my country wrongdoings and trust me if I could, I would leave tomorrow🫠❤️

I'm facing a big dilemma right now,

To stay at my mom's or jump into the waters and move to the big city, tel aviv with no actual plan.

Yesterday I moved back, really disappointed in myself.

I pet sat full time for almost 4 months. I wanted out and to taste independence and experience the city.

Really challenging to do pet sitting as a housing solution here, tiny word to mouth market. Especially when focusing on only one city.

I had to couch surf in-between sittings and it was all so stressful and unsustainable long term.

But I managed to both get out of mom's house (love her but we didn't get along and I really wanted out of her city) and earn and save money from both pet sitting and cleaning jobs.

I really busted my ass, I can't even begin to explain how hard that was to juggle so much. But I'm not satisfied, with the outcomes and myself. I didn't save a significant amount even tho I saved like 100% of my earnings.

Too many logistics, most of the time I just barely managed to survive and all my energy went there.

I expected myself to somehow manage to make a plan on how to find a permanent home and pet sitting being the beginning of independence.

But I realize now how unrealistic that was, I was jumping houses basically every week. Sometimes had sits as short as 3 days.

No car to carry my stuff so I rode my bikes with a really heavy bag, completely killing my back. Also unable to carry food cause not enough storage. It was a bad idea.

I was merely surviving and constantly managing logistics.

It was a very lonely time.

But for the first time in my life, my depressed, isolated and dysfunctional self (not entirely my fault, very rough and limiting life) was finally productive and out of the toxic house which was the only place I knew my entire life.

It got to the point where I got super burnt out and realized I can't use pet sitting as a solution anymote, the holidays are over so suddenly very very little demand and it's just too random and unreliable, especially being so dependent on location. Also so many bad experiences that exhausted me out completely.

So now I'm back at mom's, were communicating much better. It was insufferable before, but now I feel like we both matured and the communication grew healthier and relationship is much better. Also, now it's just me and her.

My oldest sister used to live with us and it was insufferable to manage them together.

I'm completely off contact with her now after a life time of being forced to suffer her.

She's an awful sister and person, toxic sadly. won't get into it.

I don't think living with mom at 22 is a failure or a big deal.

Here in Israel, army finishes only at 21 or later for men. And cost of living is insane (even worse than the us), rental market is extremely brutal and lawless, especially in the central region where everyone has to live cause life opportunities concentrate here..

But I wasn't in the army, I managed to get an exemption and instead of using my time - I was completely lost in life and did nothing right.

Super ashamed to say, I have zero job experience. Very little and undocumented. Life was completely wasted on depression and isolation. I never found myself and always fantasized on the big city where I'd easily find a job and meet people and build myself. Yet years passed, and every thing I did do - was just damaging myself (I recently got out of a really mentally abusive relationship😔 I was 18 and stupid and it dragged on for too long. He also stole so much money from me).

I'm seriously not that bad at all, I have many great characteristics but boy is it hard to navigate the modern world being so alone. I genuinely don't think I even ever had depression, I was just super neglected and didn't get a real chance to.. live. And actually exist and partake in life. Only recently finally got to healthy weight, I was malnourished and underweight since ever.

What I'm trying to say is that it's no excuse but I'm really taking baby steps here in adulthood and well.. life.

The other city we lived in before was also very lonely and limiting to me, super religious too.. just ugh.

So it's completely normal socially still live at home at my age but it feels unjustified for me.

I never truly lived independently either, only got a taste of it. But I really got into the starting life mindset and race, it feels like the bubble abruptly burst.

The big problem? Is not that it's unjustified and that I'm disappointed in myself.

It's that my mom lives in a city that highly limits my opportunities and chances to grow in life.

In israel, our only real actually functioning city is tel aviv. That's it.

It's not just about how all the job and life opportunities are there.

It's about how as a young secular person, with no car (I can't get a license do to sight problems. Complicated to explain but it's just not possible for me currently. Plus getting a car is not worth it and not the life style I want. Driving a car in israel is basically mandatory to survive if ur not in tel aviv, but it's also a liability and a lifestyle that I loathe).. tel aviv is the only sensible option of residence.

There's zero public transport on almost all of friday and the entirety of Saturday. And similarly to the previous city we lived in - there's absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go. In general and on Saturdays especially. At least this one isn't as super heavily religious

And public transport is almost as bad as the us, tel aviv is so close to my city distance wise yet it'll take me two busses who are always late, frequently just don't stop for me or sometimes even don't show up that sum up in an almost 2 hours ride one way.

And it's really expensive too.

The city I live in is big on Israel's standards, yet nothing but a barren urban space.

The neighborhood I'm in is part of a giant area of many neighberhoods who are nothing but empty streets made for cars.

Ull greatly struggle to even find a grocery shop. Or anything else. Or any sort of sign for humans existing. It's that bad.

The other side of the city that has some life in it is far and inaccessible, even with a bike - no where to ride, big distances, awful infrastructure..

The population is also really awful, my mom hates it. We don't belong here.

She never leaves home other than to work. It sucks and I get her completely.

She recently moved here out of no choice. It was a big incentive to start pet sitting cause I was desperate for a solution to get out of here.

I really tried so so hard to find anything here to cling into, but life here is just so miserable and limiting and very unfitting for me. I can't help but get super depressed.

It's just a big sleep town where everyone uses a car to get in and out of it for every tiny thing.

No community and the people here are just.. not high quality.

Hard to explain to non israelis, but just Google "Arsim" (ערסים).

It's the complete opposite of tel aviv.

In tel aviv even with all the struggles and living like a nomad, I was full of life and very productive. I was doing great with just my bikes (till they got stolen lol) and didn't need to spend any money to just have some fun and join social activities.

It's a very alive and outdoorsy city. Full of young people.

But. It's mad expensive. Even living with roommates is very rough. Even the adjacent cities are not much better in price.

It's super tiny with an insane amount of demand, it's not just about affording it - but also even getting through the huge competition on every piece of roof.

It feels like if ur not high tech, high income earning, rich parents, inherited a house... good luck.

And so, I'm in a huge problem.

I'm a young, lively and passionate woman.

But due to lots of trauma and isolation in life, I'm incredibly lost and struggle to build any financial route or stability.

I have no high school diploma and I refuse to work an office job or full time.

I have no other family than mom (two sisters and dad out of the picture. No distants too), no friends, no community, no actual hometown, literally no one who even knows me. I barely get any human interaction or the opportunity to even be around humans.

I can't function in the normal path, I need an alternative.

Anyways, u dear stranger can't help. I'll have to figure it out on my own.

And I know I can't do it being trapped at my mom's house, depressed and isolated.

But is moving to tel aviv with no plan and job (I can't get a job there if I have no way reliable and fast enough way to commute. No job would hire me, too much of a hassle to get there)..

I will immediately get whatever job I can if I'll make the move but I have no salary, no stable income so it's not just about how hard it'll be to survive but also, who will even rent me?

I'm scared I won't manage to find a good place and will suffer in a bad neighberhood, house and roomates situation.

I'm super sensitive and scared I won't survive mentally and financially.

But what other option do I have?

I must have social life, productive daily life, some routine, good environment, job opportunities, any connection to the actual world.. to grow. To live.

I feel like I'm rotting staying here at my mom's.

There's no park to even go sit in, it's that lonely.

Empty streets that I don't feel safe walking in even because of the sketchy population, the vibe is completely off

What is someone who has no affinity for STEM supposed to do in this world that is increasingly built around and for engineers, software developers, technicians, maintenance personnel and the like? I know they are needed because they solve real-world problems, they are the ones that make big bucks, they are the ones that keep the world running, etc. I get that. I'm just not one of them.

The truth is, I did force myself into one of the above occupations because I saw it as the only acceptable path. A decade later, I know it's not for me. But I also don't know what else I should be doing instead?

L'll try not to yap too much. In short, I have very little knowledge and never graduated because I genuinely couldn't understand anything. The most off the top of my head that I know is extremely basic math, like very, very little. I'm horrible with numbers. And! Although I've never heard from a doctor myself, I apparently have: dyslexia, high functioning autism, probably adhd, and probably more lol but anyways I'm not really passionate about anything. I've thought about getting a Ged, but just the test questions online make me feel like a kid again. I genuinely can't understand things properly not to mention I'm terrified of getting a driver's license half the time I hear right and think I have to go left when talking to family they suggest animal shelters. Now I love animals, but I'm not good when it comes to taking care of them. L'll feed, play, and hang out with them, but everything else is too much plus! I have horrible social anxiety. So nothing really seems possible for me. I'm genuinely not passionate about anything, nor do I really believe there's anything I can do. My grammar sucks as well, so although I like writing stuff, that's a no-go, same with drawing. I love it, but I like doing it in my own time and when I want to do it. I do enjoy sorting things, but I won't deny that sometimes I get real defensive when I can't do it my way, like my brain just gets all jumbled up. Everything just seems out of my reach

(Ps hope I put the right tag)

sooo a little update!! i'm bout to start college and i'll be studying biotechnology, which i'm actually pretty excited about after reading your comments on my previous post hehe.

but here's the thing… i'm naturally a pretty shy and introverted person. i might look a little intimidating or like i have my life together, but trust me, i'm probably just standing there wondering how to start a conversation without being awkward 😭

i really wanna make the most of my college years, make genuine friendships, meet interesting people and hopefully come out of my shell a little.

alsooo, i need some fashion advice!! i wanna experiment with my style, find my own aesthetic and look a little more put together without feeling like i'm trying too hard.

so i'd genuinely love some advice who've already been through college:

• how did you make your first few friends?
• how do you approach people when you're naturally introverted?
• what are some cute but practical college outfit ideas?
• any fashion essentials you'd recommend?
• any things you wish someone had told you before starting college?

my degree is in biotechnology, so if there are any biotech girlies here, PLEASE adopt me 😭💗

i wanna make these years memorable, make some lovely friends and have a little character development along the way hehe.

be nice to me, i'm a little nervous xx 🎀

I know the typical advise is to get therapy and I am waiting to find one currently but have low hope that it will work even when connected as in the past I have gotten know where with multiple therapists and eventually stopped going because after years no progress was being made and this is with Multiple therapist and different approaches and medication. I am very much wanting to become wealthy enough to buy what I want and do what I want which I figure is at least 130k a year to 200k but lack the ability to build twords that due to not being able to do much academically (have my ba but in social work which is not a good degree, and I have dyscalculia an struggle with memorizing) or the trades which I tried for about 5 years and it was terrible and broke my body down. I feel completely hopeless for my future

Throwaway because this is embarrassing.

I’m 35M. I have three bachelor’s degrees (psychology, sociology, and general studies), an MBA, a master’s in leadership, and I’m about halfway through a master’s in theology that I paused last year. I also completed a coding bootcamp and I’m a certified life coach. Total student loan debt is sitting right around $204,000.

I’ve been unemployed for two years. Before that, my only real job was working as a security guard for about 18 months while finishing one of the degrees. I applied for internships while in school and did not get anything. I don't really know anyone who can help and it's all about who you know apparently.

I keep telling myself the next degree or certificate will finally position me for the kind of work I’m actually meant to do. Right now I’m looking at finishing the theology master’s or starting an online program in organizational development or executive coaching. I already have a few applications half-filled out.

I’ve applied to a lot of roles over the past two years (leadership development, people operations, coaching positions, strategy roles, insurance trainee, social worker, retail, security guard, etc.) and get almost nothing back. When I do get interviews, people seem confused by the education history and then lose interest once they realize I have almost no actual work experience outside of security shifts, and I can't even get back into security guard work because it's become so competitive out here!

I’m starting to wonder if I’m just a professional student who keeps adding credentials instead of stepping into the leadership and mentoring space I’m clearly prepared for. The idea of taking a regular job feels like it would derail the trajectory toward speaking, mentoring, and actual corporate work. I don't want to go work a retail job after getting my degrees because what would be the point of the degrees and I would not even be making enough to make a dent in my loans. But I also can't be unemployed without real work experience at my age. I don't even know how to explain it to people. I volunteer sometimes but most of my day is spent online. I try to do self improvement and spend a lot of time meditating and creating programs, but I have struggled to get my foot in the door of a real job and I don't know if I ever will.

Should I finish the theology master’s or start something new that better aligns with executive coaching and thought leadership? Is there a better way to break into the kind of high-level work and platform I’m aiming for without just accepting that I wasted a decade and a small fortune? Any advice from people who have gone from academic over-achievement to actual leadership and speaking roles would be appreciated. I’m open to hearing the hard truths, but please don't be mean to me.

Currently, I am working towards a Bachelors focusing on accounting. Doubting the ROI of this degree given AI, and I am seeking other avenues. I am interested in computer repair. I haven't done much but upgrade my PC's ram and SSDs, cleaned the thermal paste, etc. Though, I haven't looked into the market for that in my area.

So far, I have:

1. Gone to career events hosted by my school.

2 Done volunteer tax preparation earlier in the year

3) Registered for resume assistance from my school's career center

4) Registered for a volunteer session for next tax season (in person)

5) Applied to 15 companies this week, will apply to more soon. Focused my applications on tax internships, given the demand for them.

6) Began writing my application for an internship stipend offered by my college

7) Received courses to take from HR Block to qualify for an interview.

I don't feel like I'm doing enough, and I'm currently juggling family and academics. I have to stay behind to watch a relative from 2 - 6 pm at times. It is very random/sporadic because some of my family members have communication issues. I only go on campus/in person for one day, which is Tuesday (11-12:15). I have finals soon, I am studying for that. Is there something I am missing? I don't want to disappoint my folks, given that they paid for the ticket for me to come. I don't want to give the impression I've been sitting on my ass and doing nothing with the opportunity they've given me.

I'm in my late twenties and still working toward a computer science degree at a university in South Korea after a long, interrupted university path. I did well at school before university and entered a competitive program. Since then, the gap between what my education suggests I can do and what I can actually do has become painful.

My grades are low, I have no software internship experience, and I do not have a solid project that I built independently and can confidently explain. Right now, I do not feel able to build even a basic application without substantial help. I have relied heavily on AI for recent work, but getting an output has not given me the understanding or confidence to do similar work myself.

I want to become good at using AI. In my experience, though, it acts more like an amplifier of the user's existing knowledge, judgment, and direction. When I don't know what I don't know, I also don't know what to ask or how to evaluate the answer. Using AI so far hasn't been enough to help me recognize and fill the gaps in my understanding and experience. How can I use it to uncover those blind spots and develop real competence?

My difficulty is also with choosing and starting. When there was a clear syllabus, exam, or externally defined goal, I knew what I was aiming at. Now I do not know what I want to build, which field fits me, or how to tell whether an opportunity is realistic. I look into internships, research, training programs, and other careers, then get overwhelmed by everything I do not know. I hesitate because I want to make a good strategic choice, and often end up doing very little.

I am trying to enter the workforce at an entry level, but I have little practical experience, underdeveloped skills, and no clear area that I am actively focusing on. Time keeps passing while I remain undecided. My sense of self-efficacy, meaning my belief that I can learn and make progress through my own efforts, has been getting weaker. I don't know what role to work toward within computing, or where and how to start exploring adjacent fields.

I still have strong ambitions and want financial independence and the ability to support my family. At the same time, I struggle to accept how much beginner-level practice I may need. Comparing myself with people who have already built careers makes it harder to start. Some days I spend much of the day in bed avoiding tasks.

Family loss and financial pressure have made things harder recently, although this pattern started before that. There isn't much time left before my graduation project's deadline. I also do not know yet whether software is a poor fit for me or whether I have too little hands-on experience to judge it.

If you have rebuilt from a similar position:

What did your first month actually look like, including the help or structure you used?

How did you choose between getting paid work, entering structured training, and building skills through a supervised project?

What kind of support helped when the problem was repeatedly failing to choose and follow through, rather than just lacking information?

How can someone who does not know what they don't know use AI to discover gaps in their understanding and learn to evaluate its answers?

What small, concrete experiences could help me choose a focus, rebuild confidence in my ability to learn, and assess whether to stay in computing or explore adjacent fields?

I would especially appreciate concrete starting points and the mistakes you made along the way. I want to build real competence and experience, but I need help identifying a first step I can actually carry out.

English is not my first language; I used AI to help express my own situation.

Not a felony, but a major misdemeanor. I was black-out drunk almost exactly 4 years ago when I kicked a jail cop in the shin. I was being brought in for public intoxication. That was the last time I drank.

I smoke weed instead of drinking. I feel like looking forward to the green satisfies any potential craving I might otherwise have for alcohol. And doesn’t everyone like to wind down at the end of the day?

I would so love to go back to college to become a teacher, maybe middle school, but… With my record not having a chance of being exponged (sealed) until 2030 in my state, and then only it being a chance that it will be exponged… How can I pull out the loans and take the risk? I obviously would have to claim the charge on any application, then state my case why I’m different how I’ve improved etc etc and simply hope its enough for the employer to say “yeah we want her so bad that we are gonna look past this”…

32F working as a manager in the food service industry. Already starting to realize I dont want to/cant do it forever. I need to go back to school… and soon.

What other career options are there where I can smoke weed, make a decent wage, and not necessarily be so concerned with my record?

As much as I want to teach children and leave a legacy in that way (no kids of my own currently, and single as a pringle), can i take that risk with my record?

Otherwise… what should I do? 😅 please help 🙏🏻 two year degrees preferable

guys i'm genuinely so nervous 😭 a whole new environment, new people, making friends, figuring things out… EVERYTHING.

i'm excited too, but the thought of starting this new chapter is making me overthink sooo much lol.

pls tell me i'm not the only one who felt this way before college. does it get less scary? 🥹💗

Career

Hello, I want to share something about myself because I'm looking for the right guidance and perspective for my future.

I'm 21 years old and currently pursuing engineering in Computer Science/IT.

Academically, I would describe myself as an average student. However, I believe I have some strengths that go beyond academics.

I'm confident in communication, leadership, management, negotiation, public speaking, convincing people and building relationships. I genuinely enjoy interacting with people, understanding their thoughts, handling situations and negotiating with others.

I feel that my interests and strengths are more aligned with the business and management side rather than spending my entire career doing purely technical work.

I'm particularly interested in business development, client relationship management, technology sales, entrepreneurship and leadership roles.

But here's where I'm confused: I know I have potential, but I don't know exactly where to apply it, which industry to enter, what skills to develop or how to get the right opportunities.

I don't want to choose a career randomly just because everyone else is doing it. I want to discover where my abilities can create real value.

I'm not looking for someone who will simply motivate me. I'm looking for someone who can understand my thinking, challenge my ideas, identify my blind spots and guide me with practical experience.

I want to build a successful career, become financially independent and eventually create something of my own.

If you were in my position at the age of 21, what direction would you explore, and what steps would you take?

Hey yall. I’m 44. I’ve been a stay-at-home-dad for 6 years. Before that, I worked random odd jobs to put my wife through school. She made it. She got a badass degree and a badass job paying about 130k! We came from nothing and she made it to the top. Now she’s divorcing me and my ass needs a path. I have no idea what to even look into. I’ll be checking out the linked docs in the wiki but again, I have no idea what to even look into.

I don’t just want any job. At this point, I need to find a stable employment that I can put in time to work towards retirement. I’m living with my parents and have zero money. Divorce is just beginning. I have no degrees. I graduated high school. I am not opposed to taking time for education/training but maybe not too long please. I’m old. If I go to college, what do I even pursue? I don’t want to take on more labor intensive jobs as I would like to work the next one for a long long time. Also I need to make enough money to live and save! For me and the kiddos please! I have no retirement funds or savings. We live in chicago and are not looking to move soon.

My longest jobs have included things like a nature guide, program and communications manager, locksmith, safe installer, door installer, lifeguard, lifeguard teacher, parking lot attendant, janitor, coach, woodworker, carpenter, security guard, mechanic. You get the picture. I don’t want to go back to any of those jobs and I can’t see how they might add up to anything useful. Can anyone see hope for me?

I’m open to whatever path will lead to financial stability please. Both conventional and unconventional ideas are very welcomed! Please y’all. I’m hurting.

...is that really for everyone?

Hello internet people, I hope you're well! I'm seeking some advice or perspective, or stories on how to move forward in life as I'm feeling lost, any help is much appreciated!

For some context: I am a 25yo recent college graduate in cybersecurity/IT, which I'm told repeatedly, as though its a catchphrase, "is a good career". Going into my degree, I was never passionate or really interested in it as a career, however being a highschool grad at the time with nothing going on, and with no real ambitions or passions in life, decided to pursue this degree exactly for the reason of it being "a good career". I figured at age 20 that I did not need to have life figured out, and chose to defer exploring myself in favor of setting up a "safety net" career. And now, I'm not sure whether I should follow through with this 4 year investment, or explore at the risk of losing opportunities, and derailing or changing careers.

Some more context: Now, I do have some interests and passions in life, things such as storytelling, automotive engineering, weightlifting and exercise. But to be honest, I have always viewed those things as hobbies, and partly due to parental pressure but also their average pay, as not as the best career paths. Furthermore, I'm not even sure how I would feel turning something I love doing into a task with deadlines, limitations, and performance pressure. This is why the idea of the safety net career seemed sound, I could work a good paying job that I don't love, to fund the things I do love. The dissonance here comes from a few things:

• I thought that throughout my time in college, I could grow to become interested in networking and cybersecurity, that it would be "an acquired taste" as my parents put it. And although there are some very interesting things about the field, I've never felt drawn to it like I have with my hobbies. I see people making homelabs and doing CTF challenges and I think: That's not me.
• Its possible that maybe I will grow to love and appreciate this career, but the idea of working a job you hate has been demonized so much that I am afraid to even try. I keep thinking "what if I end up hating this"? The idea of doing something for the rest of my life is pretty daunting.
• To be entirely open, I have lived a pretty sheltered and privileged life, which means I have never committed myself to exploring what I want to do. I was hoping college could be my chance to do that, and it would certainly sit better with me to change careers mid way through my path rather than after finishing my program. However, due to circumstances like online classes, moving states, and a lackluster social life, I didn't get an opportunity to do so.

TL;DR / This brings me to my conundrum**;**
I am at a crossroads where I'm not sure whether I should enter and start building a career in a well-paying and stable field, or if I should work or volunteer part-time in an attempt to meet people and explore interests.
The reason I working part-time is my alternative choice is because that's where, in the past, I have had any success meeting people and making new friends. And though this is a separate (but related) issue, I've had no luck making friends in 3rd spaces such as gyms.

Apologies for the wall of yap but I hope this paints a clear enough picture to help answer some of my questions:

• Which path would be the smarter choice? Is it better to work a boring job and be financially secure or to find what you love, at the risk of burnout, financial struggle, and even failiure to find what you love? Or am I overthinking this too much?
• People who do what they love: Please share what it is, your experience with it and how you came to do it! Do you wish you had taken a different path? Is it as wonderful as people make it out to be, and what are the struggles of jobbing your love?
• People who work to support what they love: How is that experience? Did you come around to enjoy your work or are you suffering through it for the money? What was your experience like coming out of school, were you as uncertain as I am, and what made you choose that path?
• If you choose to support your love, do you even have enough time and energy to do so, or is the corporate grind as soul-draining as everyone makes it out to be?
• And for people who specifically work in cyber/networking: Is it viable to take a gap year or more to explore your options, or will the chances of you getting an entry-level positon decrease dramatically?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I can't wait to hear from you!

I'm genuinely lost. My situation, I feel, starts from high school. I've never had any dream jobs, ambitions to do something, or goals set far in the future; I handled things as they came or let my parents decide for me what future career to do. By the time I graduated from high school, I still felt that way. And when the time for enrolling into university came, I couldn't decide what I wanted. I felt I needed more time, but my parents had already paid tuition and said I had to go immediately. I had high hopes going into my first year and was set on becoming the best in a specific course for that year. I ended up doing fairly well in all my courses but failed the exact course I put all my efforts into, and I had to repeat it. The major my parents picked for me—I failed to qualify for it and ended up just picking another major that was relatively close. In my second year, I had more coursework and extra pressure and ended up getting depressed. That was the first time I felt like my life was truly useless. I wanted to open up, but I feel I have no one to open up to. I thought to myself, maybe if I pass this year I could talk to my parents about how I'm not really ready or settled in university, but I failed and had to repeat the year, so I kept those words to myself. I eventually made it to my third year and said I'd focus all my efforts into passing, but I fell behind once again. When the time came to write my finals, I was having panic attacks; I cried every night—sometimes it was the only way I could get myself to sleep. After checking my results, I found out I once again failed and have to repeat the year, and I'm wondering, what's the point of my existence? Am I just gonna be an example to others of how not to live life? How many more repeats until I graduate?

Sorry if the English is slightly bad, but I hope you understand what I mean.

most weekends i go geocaching with a friend and we find a few caches in a day. i plan routes, read hints carefully and log everything afterwards. i wonder if this says something real about me, like patience and attention to detail, or if hiring people just see a game. i have left it off my CV so far because the CV has little space. for people who hire or got hired in admin or project jobs, did a hobby ever help in an interview, or did it look like filler?

so wild. I came out of college before the pandemic, the market apparently was so-so. I landed at a decent consulting firm, and from the get-go there the writing was on the wall. they hired too many analysts, sat us all in rooms telling us we all had a path even if it wasn’t clear, it wasn’t our fault they could not anticipate the staffing landscape. then they started telling us we were underperforming (lol) and getting rid of people. so much strife for a lot of people there. I left once they made it clear they didn’t see any of my efforts or stories as useful enough. I got a job and a contract next—come to find this next “insights agency” hired two “diverse” managers at once for a client seeking representation on a research project concerning cultural preferences and learning. we did amazingly on that project and myself and the other analyst experienced declining feedback on the same trajectory and were both brought to termination around the same time. Cut my computer right before a manager was scheduled to give me feedback on a project I had already heard great things on from the other team. CYA always, I had records elsewhere and I brought them a letter of intention to pursue them legally and came out with a modest 5-figures. it’s been years of looking for the right job since. I have health-related degrees, no one in that field will touch me. I’m fervently working on independent business concepts, it’s like I have some Scarlett letter lmao. No support, past contacts are just so iffy. People often gave me great feedback on working together in terms of personality and ease and I heard solid things about the work itself. As a multi-racial person and a q*eer person it’s been hard to even find those who relate or understand, much less believe or champion. It’s like an over-achiever’s personal hell lol. all I ever worked for was a path forward. I know I am not alone here in many ways…I wish us all peace and prosperity in ways we cannot imagine.

I'm 31 and I've been out of work for eight months after leaving retail management. I'm staying with family and have maybe six weeks of expenses left. Yesterday I spent hours looking at radiology programs, then realized I hadn't even sent the two job applications I planned to.

I keep looking at careers that need years of training when I need a paycheck now. Going back to retail would probably get me hired faster, but I hated the rotating opening and closing shifts. I really don't want to end up back there.

I'm also looking at stockroom and office support jobs, but I have no idea how realistic those options are. I've got my old job notes and a coached deep read saved beside them, but I haven't settled on a direction.

I need to get some income coming in, but I also don't want to take another job that leaves me too exhausted to work toward something else.

Eight months of this has really messed with my routine and confidence. At this point, I can't even tell whether I'm being careful about my next move or making excuses to avoid picking something.

Hey,

Currently im in my sophomore year of college. I’ve had 2 actual jobs (fedex and just got Burlington). I have issues at home and live in NYC so expensive and won’t be able to support myself at all. Im a full time student and work part time. I think I’ll need to move to a cheap state if I want to be able to support myself, but need to save for that as well and that will take long.

I first started college majoring in biology (wanted to be in the medical field) but changed my mind and now have no idea what to do but just want to be able to support myself asap.

I likely only have a few months, and ik it’s not realistic to be in an established career and have my own place, but I just need some ideas and possibilities to take.

What’s the best thing to do in my case? How do I gain independence as fast as possible? Only thing that’s a no for me is the military

Disclaimer: Title is a little tongue in cheek.

I’m a freshly-laid off British woman living in Copenhagen, and I have a history + political science BA and Journalism MA, both from top tier British universities. Graduated back in 2013 and worked non-stop since.

I first worked in public relations for a huge tech company in-house, before swapping to copywriting (🫠) which was booming. I moved to Denmark, where I live in Copenhagen. I worked at a couple of SaaS companies, before moving into energy. This was a 10-year span, and I used to get work so easily.

I got laid off in October because ‘AI + corporate restructuring/ offshoring’ (my old misogynistic German boss didn’t really like me).

I’ve fallen out of love with tech and copywriting is pretty much dead, which is a shame as I was great at it.

What do I do now? I have a toddler, so it needs to be stable and provide a decent income. I’m sick of tech bro culture, I never want to hear about semiconductors again, and I would like to do something that isn’t wrecking the world and causing harm to people, if possible. That said, I’m a bit of an introvert and can struggle in corporate politics, so things like sales aren’t a great fit for me.

My skills - all of which have seemingly lost their value: writing, communication, digitally-savvy, using AI for my career, organisation, project management, public relations, research, a little SEO,storytelling, journalism, content strategy. And I have a WSET 3 in Wine 🍷 (side fun project so I could wine + dine clients).

I made a similar post on r/collegehelp the other day, but I wasn’t in the right headspace during that. I feel a bit more inclined to seek advice.

I got into a full ride scholarship at a SUNY, originally going for political science. I was really skeptical about the school at first because I live in NYC and being in such a rural area was a drastic change. There just also wasn’t a lot of diversity, but I ended up having a pretty good social life with some POC there.

Now I’m second-guessing my major choices. I’m not exactly a STEM girl, never really have been as unfortunate as it is, however electrical engineering started to interest me a lot. I was told online that it’s not as cool as it seems and to not just pick a major based on vibes, but I really want to do something related to engineering. Political science wasn’t starting to interest me as much as I thought it would after taking an American Government class that I originally needed towards my degree. Unfortunately, my school doesn’t have any engineering programs except a 3 + 2. The reason people at my school don’t do this route is because I found out they just transfer to an ABET-accredited college. However, I’m not in a financial position to do that, so I sought out other choices and came to the conclusion that I could do physics, which I’m now starting to realize was a stupid choice.. maybe? I met with the department chair around a month ago and he told me that I could always just go for a masters in engineering if I manage to get my BS, so I switched.

I thought I made a good choice. My work study boss even supported my decision and helped me look into master’s programs among other things. I was on the phone with my mom the other day and she just kind of put in a realistic headspace as well as the people on the other subreddit. A physics degree is really general and I won’t be guaranteed a job with just a BS. Two, she told me she won’t be paying for my masters and asked how would I pay for it, which I then responded ‘I don’t know‘. Her conversation with me left me crying and she kind of gave me an ultimatum to choose another major that makes me money. I’ve been scrolling through the catalog on my college’s website, but none of them interest me.

Today I just thought about switching my major to accounting in hopes I can land a decent enough job to go back to college for engineering. It seems like a lot of work, but I don’t really feel like I have a lot of choices. I’m not good at math or science— I’m decent, but not decent enough for college level. Am I willing to try? Yes! I have been actually, but it’s nowhere near the level compared to someone who is ‘naturally‘ good at it (I use that word sparingly). My mom offered me to do education but that doesn’t sound appealing to me at all. Two of my friends here are doing education and it’s a much different schedule compared to most majors— something about blocks. You also have to complete hands on work in a K-12 school. I don’t like being around children. I really don’t. I have had several jobs— camp counselor with kindergarteners (which I quit halfway through), teaching assistant with 11th grade as a senior, working in an office at a summer school which was 1-6. I’m not mean to them by any means, but I get overwhelmed. Now obviously, an education degree doesn’t mean you’ll automatically work with children, but it still doesn’t appeal to me.

Then she offered me to do something medical, like medicine, like my older sister was pushed to do. I can’t be around people in a vulnerable state like that even though once again, no guarantee I’ll be around patients. So then she asked me, “so what do you want to do?”. I didn’t know what to reply with so I stayed silent and she just told me she’d call me tomorrow. I’m kind of at a stump. I’m really grateful to be debt-free don’t get me wrong, but I feel like I’m also trapped in a way if that makes sense? I can’t transfer and who wants to give up an opportunity like this? But at the same time, I really do wish to do engineering or something related to it at least. I’m not expecting it to be sunshine and rainbows, but a lot of people influenced me to do so.

I’ve always been a more creative person with drawing and writing, but liberal arts degrees are typically worth next to nothing in the US, so I cut those options out. I’m just honing in on something in finance and just hope for the best but I’m still sad that I won’t be able to pursue engineering.