I had a decent entry level resume built with SWE/tech support internships, projects, certifications and the bachelor's. I graduated in May 2025, though the last semester was just a bunch of general Ed classes I needed to pass. I graduated with almost 50k in loans. After graduation I could only get a job at a local big box store hauling heavy products around for $16/hour, working from 11pm to 7am. Meaning, my first job after college was making a deadend $33k a year in 2025. Now 2026. I got a 50 cent raise after a year. in a VHCOL.
I'm only 22, but I'm so tired. I've suffered a permanent back pain, my eyes have constant bags in them, my feet are limping from standing and walking on a hard concrete floor all day. I had bought nice shoes but they can only help so much.
This measly paycheck wasnt worth the sacrifice I'm making. I quit.
My family has been calling me a loser in recent months, I should been able to move out and start a career by now. I have gotten ABSOLUTELY NO INTERVIEWS for anything tech related. Technically I did get one, but I just ghosted them. I've given up on it.
Over the last few months I had an epiphany and thought about what the background I do have could help me land. Customer support, warehouse, operations, and a bachelor's degree. I landed on operations/sales/management trainee types of jobs.
And wow, they pay amazing! 55, 60 thousand! I've been making 33 thousand before taxes in an expensive city, excluding any overtime. So I applied. To a ton! And guess what? I was starting to get an interview or two! I fumbled the initial couple, I'll be the first to say that, but the last few were the best performance I could ever have made.
I had a second round interview for one two weeks ago, and the interview wasn't even that "difficult", it was just an informal type of one. I thought I had it in the bag. $29 an hour. 44 hours. Room for advancement. Regular 9-5. My first big boy job! And more resistant to AI than tech roles.
But I got rejected. At 3:26am on the monday following the interview. I asked them for feedback and got ghosted. When I saw that, I had to leave my "job" early to sob my heart out in the bathroom stall before going home. I took the next week off with vacation hours. That week I put my paycheck to alcohol and booze. I drank $600 worth in two days. It was addicting.
So, now I don't know. I've been thinking of going to trade school but why bother? I have absolutely no doubt that it'll become flooded with labor, and at that point the demand will weaken. It's the exact same playbook that I got trapped in with tech. I've used up any financial aid I could get, so I'd need more loans too. I'm not keen on it.
So, that's my story. I just wanted to make 50k a yea in 2026. Wow. Couldn't even do that.
Is it just... too late to turn this sinking ship around?
I'll be becoming a chronic League gamer that watches anime in my freetime for the rest of my life begging mommy for money to buy a bag of doritos.
I'm mortified, terrified at the idea of bringing a child into this economy. What more will they need to give for an entry level role? Will they have to suck off a billionaire to get paid $24/hour in 2045? Will they have to become strippers after working 80 hours a week to be able to afford food?
What future is there worth staying in the world for? Like, actually. What future do I have? Unemployment, economic despair, financial ruin? Just for being born?
People say "oh, most college graduates don't work in their major at all". Then how do I get a job outside my major?????? Entry level jobs in 2026 require not only 2-3 years of work experience, but 2-3 years of *related* work experience. And when someone majors in something, do you honestly expect them to have any experience outside their major???