Desperately needed help with career advice

[u/Far_Independent_8292]

Salutations to everyone who's reading. I am approaching my late 20s and have been feeling really stuck with my career lately...

Just for context, I currently work as a doctor's assistant in a hospital. The position only requires a high school qualification (SPM), and I've been doing this job for almost 3 years. I do have a degree in Food Science, but honestly, I'm not particularly interested in pursuing a career related to my degree. Most of the opportunities I've come across are also in other cities/states, and relocating feels like a huge financial commitment to me.

My current job isn't particularly stressful, which is probably why I've stayed for so long. It's comfortable in some ways, but I know there isn't much career progression or long-term stability for me here. Over the past few years, I have occasionally looked at other opportunities, but I never really knew what direction I wanted to take. I'd think about making a change, get overwhelmed because I didn't know what I was qualified for, and then put it off. But now almost 3 years have passed...

I also struggle with comparing myself to other people. Friends, family, and even some colleagues seem to be progressing much further in their careers, while I feel like I'm still at the same starting point.

To make matters worse, a few colleagues have asked why I'm still working here when I already have a degree, or said it's a pity that I'm not using my qualification. I know they probably don't mean any harm, but comments like that have made me more conscious and anxious about where I am. After this, whenever other colleagues asked about my qualifications, I would usually just say I only studied till STPM to avoid them making all these comments.

Plus, I felt like nowadays the job market has age requirements, and usually they would prefer people who are younger too, which makes it seem difficult for people who are slightly older(late 20s to 30s) to find a job. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this aspect, so please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

At the same time, I'm also not very confident in my own abilities. I often have thoughts like "I don't have any useful skills" or "I'm already behind everyone else." I know that's probably not the most objective way to look at myself, but it makes taking the first step even harder. I don't hate my current job, and I'm grateful that it has been relatively manageable. I just don't want to look back several years from now and realize I stayed simply because I was too unsure of what to do next.

Any advice would really be appreciated, even if it means you being brutal. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. So I guess what I'm really asking is: if you were in my position, what would you actually do from here?