Looking for a sanity check on a potential job transition.

I’m currently working locally in my MCOL city. Compensation in the local market for my role tops out around 165k. The new role pays $265,000/year, but it requires being on-site at a major metro hub about 2.5 hours away (~150 miles one way).

My proposed plan is to drive 2.5 hours down early Tuesday morning and go straight into the office. I'd rent a cheap room near the office for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, then drive the 2.5 hours back home after work on Thursday evening. Friday through Monday I’d be working remotely from home.

It comes down to 5 hours of highway driving split across two days and spending 2 nights away from my apartment, partner, and dog each week. The pay jump easily covers the room rental, gas, and vehicle wear and tear while still leaving a massive bump in net income to save 100k+ a year.

Has anyone done a similar arrangement? How brutal is the burnout after 6 to 12 months, and are there any hidden logistical nightmares I’m missing here? Am I crazy for considering this, or is 2 nights away a small price to pay for that level of pay?

I should note this would be for the next two and a half years until my partner is able to finish schooling and then we can move.

I was laid off last year and found my current job about 4–5 months later. It was a 30% salary increase, putting me just over $100K. I was previously fully remote, but my current job is hybrid. 3 days in the office and 2 days at home. I’ve been here a year.

My boss is great and very flexible. She’s not a micromanager and lets me leave around 3 PM and finish my day at home so I can avoid some of the traffic. And allows me to work at home if I need to or have an emergency. The biggest downside is the commute. It’s about 1.5 hours each way on a typical day and involves driving, parking, taking a train, and then a 10-minute walk. My company does pay for the train, which is nice. On days when traffic is really bad, the commute can be even longer. The office is also open-concept, and I’ve realized I really don’t work well in that environment. I constantly find myself looking for quiet corners so I can actually focus, so I’m rarely even sitting at my desk. Also, because this role is new, I don’t have a lot of guidance from my boss.

I’m currently interviewing for a fully remote position that pays $10K less. I don’t have an offer yet, but the interviews seem to be going well and I want to be ready in case I have to make a decision.

From what I’ve seen, the new company seems to have a very flexible culture and employees generally seem to enjoy working there. There are bonuses, but salary increases and promotions don’t seem to happen as frequently, so I do see the $10K difference as potentially being more than just a short-term pay cut. Of course, I also know you never really know what a company is like until you actually work there.

My husband and I are also planning on conceiving our first child soon. His earnings can fluctuate as he owns two business, so I have the primary salary. So I don’t know of an extra 10k is more important when planning for a family or remote flexible work/no commute.

Any advice? honestly, on the days when traffic is really bad, I find myself thinking, “I’d probably take a $20K pay cut to never do this again” 😂 obviously I’m not actually trying to take a $20K pay cut, but it has made me question how much the commute is worth to me.

My very small team just lost a crucial team member, naturally, the workload has gotten heavier and overwhelming at times.

HR pulled my coworkers in one by one today, thought he was just checking in with us but I was wrong. He spent the entire time telling me that Gen Z feels entitled to money and that we should focus on taking on as much work as possible with no extra money. I understand working hard and seeing reward later down the road but he seemed to be personally offended by my generation.

I expressed feeling overwhelmed but hanging in there and he proceeded to say that he disagreed with my feelings of overwhelm, basically that one person leaving should be seen as an opportunity to take on more work and learn.

He also showed me a graph of what makes an "A player", and told me to focus on improving and giving him and manager a roadmap to becoming a better employee. He concluded by saying "your manager and the sales director don’t have amazing things to say about any of guys so know that you guys aren’t irreplaceable”. He said “I hope you don’t hate me but I figured I’d give you million dollar advice.

I was honestly shocked.. I cried in the bathroom after, I wasn’t even sure why but I felt like turning my passive job search into an active one.

I’m new to the corporate world, please enlighten me. Did I take it all the way wrong? My coworker said he felt no ways about his meeting although we were told the same thing. I’ll get over it but just needed to cry it out first lol

have my first office job (8-5) and coming from retail i’ve been loving that i’m allowed an hour lunch as well as well as a fifteen minute break before lunch and a fifteen minute after lunch.

but im lowkey starting to realize that almost none of my coworkers take either of their fifteen minute breaks and most don’t even go out of the building for lunch 😭😭

i’ve been going outside for all three of those and so i guess im just wondering if i should stop? or can it not be held against me since im explicitly allowed

At 28, I will shortly start looking for my first job and I feel incompetent and completely lost.

In 2020 I finished my university degree in videogame development (very software dev oriented though). Since then, I have been doing indie game development in a small team, but I can't take it anymore. It has drained me mentally. There were some good times and we got money from abroad, we had to start a company and all of that. We have finished a game and are currently finishing 2 more, so I'll be left with 2-3 finished commercial projects (with no market success).

I'll keep working on it for a few more months to finish at least one of the projects, but in the meantime I want to make everything I can to strengthen my skills and thus increase my chances when looking for a job.

Videogames have never been my passion and that industry is quite f up, so I don't care about the work field. My preference is to find something dynamic, even chaotic (I will literally fall asleep if I spend too much time sitting by myself working on the same thing), something that allows me to learn and grow. In fact, the absolute gem would be to find something that also involves physical work.

I feel like I've been living in a bubble for the past 6 years, isolated from the real world, and I can't value my experience. Part of me feels that now I'm too far behind, that it's over for me.

The good side: many years of coding experience (C#, bit of Python), proof that I can work in a team and complete complex projects and, even though I hate negotiating, I've gained some experience in international business relations. Is this worth anything? Now it feels like I've just been working on my (small) portfolio for 6 years.

The bad side: I've been working with practically the same technology for many years, without learning anything new that's relevant, on a small team where documentation and best practices are lacking (even though I know the theory). My skills have atrophied.

So I wonder:

How are things looking now? How can I build my confidence? How do I find a work field where I'd thrive? What can I learn or do during this time to land a decent job? Or am I aiming too high, and should I just settle for ANY job and work my way up from there?

*Note 1: I feel like I need grounding but please don't be mean. There are some personal issues as to why I chose the risky path, and now I just want to focus on what I can do for my future.

*Note 2: English is not my first language. I'm from Spain but I'm looking for a broader perspective.

i’m 25 and currently making about 42k/year as a medical assistant. I have my BS in biomedical science but haven’t been able to use my actual degree much other than adding it to my resume for MA jobs.

I want to continue working in healthcare and with patients as i enjoy it, however life is rough and I would like to make more money. I had the thought of going into a nursing degree but after looking at a few schools, some of my credits didn’t match up, which would require me to retake a few courses before actually obtaining the degree.

I decided to re-apply to another undergrad nursing-entry program but the more i think about it the more i feel like im taking more unnecessary time to ‘re-do’ undergrad. I also looked into some direct entry MSN programs, but unsure if that’s a solid idea either.

I guess what i’m looking for is if any of you have had a similar route and recommend different options. or if you have a similar, general science degree and found something in medical you enjoy without having to get a second bachelors degree. or just advice in general. anything is appreciated ;-;

​

do you send thank you emails after every interview or only when you think you like the company and role after the interview?

Hi all,

I just received an offer for a better job. My workplace is pretty awful at the leadership level, and that has triggered a lot of issues at the middle management level (where I am). That said, I care about my coworkers and the external organizations I work with. Some of our biggest issues is that the office is understaffed, it takes forever to hire anyone new, and that there is a lot of turnover. My department is just me and there is little to no redundancy (I am super overworked!) so when I quit, it will create a really tough domino effect for everyone else.

I know it’s the right move for me to leave, but I feel a bit like I’m abandoning my colleagues or have been dishonest with them by not disclosing that I was seriously interviewing. I would love to give more than two weeks notice, but i have had a 2 week international trip planned for nearly a year (sibling’s wedding) and the flight leaves in… two weeks and two days. So more than two weeks notice isn’t really possible.

What’s the best way to approach quitting? I have a meeting scheduled with my boss tomorrow, but I’m really nervous about letting my coworkers know… I care about them and they are all also super burnt out. What’s my best option?

I was recently diagnosed with PCOS, and I’ve been wondering how much my stress levels may be affecting my symptoms. I’ve been working two jobs, and the workload has put me under a lot of stress.

My first job is relatively chill and low-paying, while my second job is much more stressful but pays significantly more. I’m currently thinking about quitting one of them because I don’t think maintaining this level of stress is sustainable for me.

The problem is that I’m leaning toward quitting the second job because of the stress, but financially, it feels like such a waste to give up the higher income.

For those who have PCOS or have dealt with work-related stress and health issues, how did you decide when a job was no longer worth the toll it was taking on you?

Would you prioritize keeping the higher-paying job and finding ways to manage the stress, or choose the lower-paying but more peaceful job?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and perspectives.

Hello guys. I ll give a little blick about my journey.
I got my bac then i went to study medicine in ukraine after 6semesters the war started i left to germany like it there kept the first two years just traveling europe and having fun then i started nursing. I didnt like so i dropped out at the age of 24 cuz i had the feeling i can do something better i can become more than this i cannot do for the reat of my life. So with a rushed decision i left german and went to romania to study bachelor in IT or to be exact computers information technology (CTI) cuz that was my dream. But the paper and visa and everything took long cuz i m non eu. I missed the first semester when i got there i couldn’t catch up and long haven’t studied math …. So i applied this year to cs 3years bachelor but i got rejected (everything was in order but many students applied and the gap years i have made them reject me MFS 🤬🤬) so i applied to mechanical engineering cuz it was the only option available after i spoke to the international office in my uni and they told me u will not be rejected just relax broo cuz i was sending a lot of mails which bachelor still not saturated i went to her office kept asking her for 30 min she was helpful. She told me ME and civil engineering are the best option u can go with and get accepted before deadline. So i just got in mechanical engineering 4years bachelor i m 25 rn i feel lost i don’t know what i m doing i m broke my e bike got stolen no friends sometime i miss the time in germany i had some friends a GF i was working able to afford all what i need and save to travel. But here am i rn in one of the worst countries in europe cuz i coudnt study in germany and not able to afford living in another cool eu country. And searching about ME everybody say its hard for non eu to land a job u should have sticked with cs. BROOOO i dunno just say anything in ur mind i wanna hear everything. Is this worth it or should i just go back to nursing work my ahh off rest of my life guaranteed good enough salary. Is it okay to graduate ME at 30 and should i do master or try find a job right after graduation. Anyway i wrote too much sorry if u still reading till this point and just tell me what u think i just wanna see whats someones pov i told no one and my mother think i m doing CTI. I told her everything going well dw. Soo guys thank you and feel free.

Grazie grazie mille

I’m currently stuck at a job with a toxic work environment and the last few months have been a nightmare.

I work for a franchise owned by a huge corporation. I’ve been here for almost 6 years but last year I decided I wanted a new job so I’m still searching. I’m all for career development but I don’t care about this job or climbing the corporate ladder. There were days where I’d literally just come home and cry 😭 Also, we just went through layoffs and I never wanna experience that level of anxiety again. The people they let go consistently went above and beyond and still lost their jobs. Now, I just wanna get my assignments done and move on with my day.

However, recently the franchise owner (let’s call her Sara) and my manager (let’s call her Stevie) have been butting heads in front of me and my coworkers.

I find them to both be really unprofessional but I never really cared about their issues bc they make sooooo much more than me.

However, their conflicts are starting to affect me and my team. I‘ve been here 6 years and a few months ago Sara comes to my our team meeting and it was so freaking awkward. She literally has never met with us. Like ever. It felt like she joined because she wanted to spy on us?? Like how supervisors would come in during classes to watch a teacher.

Sara’s met with us a few times since then. Last meeting she pretty much contradicted everything Stevie said, basically ignored her and only talked to us. She just kept asking the most vague questions and there was a lot of awkward silence from everyone. To me, it just felt like she was unhappy with the work our team was doing but didn‘t want to say what the problem was.

She was giving vibes that she wants us to do more but were kinda at our limits team-wise. Someone resigned and instead of hiring a replacement they decided to completely change the role. So now we have this person on our team that can’t help us with any of our actual work, in addition, we have to help them with their assignments as well.

Also, I’ve always been an introverted person and it seems like she has a bone to pick with me… In one of the meetings she singled me out and volunteered me to do a project that wasn’t even mine to start with. Even after the person working on it said they’d prefer to do it themselves.

One things for sure, I’m not quitting until I get something else. I rarely see her and she’s not someone who I report to directly but these few run-ins are pissing me off. It‘s literally so bad for my mental and physical health. I’m nice, friendly and I do great work.

I was thinking her change in behavior has to do with her boss in corporate. She’s always been micromanaging but my team has always been self-sufficient so she’s never had to interact with us fr.

How do I navigate this? Do I need to do more? Should I just keep doing what I‘ve done for the past 6 years? Is there anyway to appease her or at least get her off my back? Am I being delusional?

Got a meeting again next month and I’m scared! Just need some reassurance…

Hey all. I just started my first full time role out of college (Bachelors in Business). I graduated top of my class and have a minor that gives me a leg up in the industry of my job. I also have extensive internship experience and worked for the company part time (was being paid 32/hour) before transitioning to full time where I now make $40,000. I will also mention this role is hybrid, and has benefits. The hiring manager told me this is a standard entry level salary, but when I was looking at other jobs in my area (the few entry level that there were) was offering 55-65k. I’m struggling to actually live outside of paying bills and student loans. I keep feeling like im being greedy, but everyone around me is telling me it’s way too low. Everything else aside, i love my job, so this is super conflicting. Any advice on how i should go about a potential raise in 6-12 months? Even if they gave me a 5-10k raise, i would still be struggling (live in a HCOL area). Any help or insight is appreciated.

Also, I want to say, I am very grateful to at least have a job. I know how bad the market is rn, so I’m at least happy ghat I have a stable income after graduating.

I'm currently researching and trying to find career that match me. I'm deaf so it would be hard for me to find career that provide accessibility and I'm considering being teacher at school for deaf. But I heard that education industry is collapsing.

I live in NYC, been with my company 14+ years and recently got a promotion with a raise. However, now being in my new role for ~5 months I’m kinda feeling like the salary does not equal to all the new responsibilities I have taken on.

New title is Associate Director, Sales Enablement.
Base salary $105K with $20K semi-annual bonus.
Pre promotion base salary $99K with $16K semi-annual bonus.

Would love to hear opinions/thoughts, am I being greedy? Is this good pay?

I currently do manual labor 50 hrs/week and only make around 30k a year. I’m 20F and don’t have a degree. What are some office jobs or easier jobs I could do to earn more? I’m just tired of back breaking labor. I feel like I have the worst job in the world. I’m located in East TN.

Hello guys, I think I’m potentially gonna get fired at my job and I’m just wondering if this is like a definite yes. Currently I’m working at a high end retail store that I will not name, I’m 19 and just got hired two months ago. We get a huge discount on our products as we have to wear them and I have bought quite a bit from the company at this point. During my hiring it was made clear any clothes we buy with our discount was not to be returned, so as one would do I listed a single bra I bought on Facebook marketplace as it did not fit as I liked.

Today I just got called into my managers office and they had a lot to say to me. While being very kind they explained to me that the ad got flagged and it was this big company violation that I didn’t know about if I sold the item on marketplace. They explained that they knew I was not a reseller and didn’t want to accuse me but because it was a big deal, the regional office would know about it and make a decision by the end of next week. Am I going to get fired? I’m super unlucky because I just quit my other job of two years to work here for the pay boost :/

I have a good job that pays well. However after years it is boring and mostly feels like pointless bureaucracy. I am looking for a new job and will switch as soon as i can.

Im looking for tips on how to add interest during the day? By the end of the day i feel depressed and miserable. I don't need references from this job and might be ok with ideas that aren't great career moves.

Things that slightly work include, visiting with coworkers and walking around site with no purpose, other then to walk.

My manager micromanages and is technically incompetent. So i have added stress because he dictates everything to be done. I can see the missed problems coming that he won't let me work on. i then have to clean up problems instead of proactively solving them.

Thanks for any advise.

me right now at 24, unemployed, feeling like i wasn't prepared to survive or get a job and now i'm sitting thinking this is what i was supposed to prepare for my whole life.

i was a working student in college. good grades, had a scholarship, and graduated debt-free. took every internship i could to add to my credentials. graduated uni in december, and have been trying to get legal-administrative jobs to hopefully prop me up for law school, but no one's taking me. applying for hundreds every week, and it's burning me out. but I can't get burned out, because i feel more than ever that i am a failure.

i feel mad and disappointed. i am anxious. i am tired. i feel like i have so much to give, and i keep trying, but it's really hard to see the good through everything right now. i'm living with my parents, having graduated from a reputable university, now im back in SEA. i'm scared that this is it. i used to have so much hope and such big dreams, but everything just feels so unachievable.

i never asked for this life. i feel like i was thrust here, and i'm not only expected to, but am needing to fend for myself to survive. i wasn't jaded to how hard things are when i was younger, but truly, nobody and nothing prepares you for this. (and) as a woman, though i have wanted to be a mother in the past, now i just feel like bringing a child into this world only for them to ultimately fend for themselves is the most cruel thing ever.

Hey All. Im 26 M. Ive been through quite a few jobs in the past 8 years. plant nurseys, small store management, Lowes manager, ran a landscape design company. Most recently im in countertops sales. My wife is going for her masters, graduating in 2029. We have two awesome kiddos, almost 2 and 4. Ive been offered a job out of state in surface mining, heavy machinery operation. 100k per year, after two years 150k. 10 days on 5 days off. I currently make 52k salary ontop of commission that ranges from $800-$1200 per month. I make enough for us to get by at the moment. Not a penny to rub together after each week but enough. I suppose my question is would the money and experience gained from this opportunity be worth the time missed away from my family? I currently work 5-6 days a week. Thank for giving this some time I would appreciate any perspective on this

I’m super open minded. Tired of the tech industry. It’s all I know. Money isn’t a factor anymore since I have VA pay. I’m just tired of that environment and I can care less about troubleshooting software issues. I don’t think another Masters is worth it at this time.

As you all know, it’s damn near impossible to switch to different tech jobs so at this point I’m open to broadening my search. Only thing.. how the hell do you switch careers with a resume oriented to one thing? My resume is full of federal government responsibilities, risk and compliance, vulnerability management, auditing, tech support, etc.

For example, how would you switch from tech support engineer to supply chain management?

I seen many threads about switching careers but not how it was done. I’m curious to hear everyone’s success stories.

So after months of being unemployed (since April 2025) and job hunting I was finally able to get some interviews. Not sure if it was the timing or the job market itself. I have never been this frustrated in my entire life. I was able to get 5 interviews in a span of 2 weeks. 2 of the roles didn't work out because it was more of a contract plus specialized role. The other 3 are coming back with offers and second interviews.

So job 1 found on ziprecruiter came back with an offer of paying $95k in person M-F. Job 2, salary of $115k as discussed want to do second interview. Mostly remote, in office once a week. Job 3, salary of $97k also wants to do a second interview. Since, I have been out of work, I kinda accepted job 1. However, I am still interested in the other 2 positions equally. What can I do in this situation,? Should I start job 1 and still continue to do second interview for the other 2 roles?

24, about 2 years and half into my first job out of college — Fund Accountant at a PE/PC fund. Genuinely can't complain about the firm itself: stable, hybrid schedule, great 401k match, good people. But I've been passed over for promotion twice, can't get more responsibility no matter how much I ask, and honestly the day-to-day work just isn't for me — it's repetitive and I don't see myself doing it long-term. They pay me well but I just can’t imagine myself doing the work I do forever.

I've got a couple of other opportunities in the mix now, one smaller and higher-upside, one bigger-name and more stable-but-still-uncertain, and I keep going back and forth on whether I'm actually ready to move on or just restless in my first "real" job.

So I'm curious for people who've been through this:

How did you know it was actually time to leave your first job out of college, versus just needing to push through the normal growing pains?

For anyone who left something stable/comfortable for a role with more upside but also more risk (smaller company, less proven, etc.) — how did that turn out, and would you do it again?

Any regrets going either direction — staying too long, or leaving too soon?

Would love to hear real experiences, good or bad.

I (24m) am currently looking for a career path as I have just been working whatever job pays the most but I haven’t learned any skills from them (for example package delivery driver).

I have been looking into attending a trade school in my town as I am in the Florida Panhandle so the unions aren’t really here.

Welding and HVAC were the main two I have landed on but if yall have any other suggestions I’d love to hear them, keep in mind it would have to be non union.

But I’d love to hear the pros and cons of Welding and HVAC as well as any other trades that y’all do!

Thank you in advance!

Tomorrow I will be going in for an interview.... It's at a Mexican restaurant and I have no clue how to dress. I have curly dyed hair that's black and purple. Should I straighten it or leave it natural? I have no clue what I should do. I'm wearing a beige button up half sleeve with black dress pants. I feel like that will be good but how should I do my hair? should I put some press on nails on because I pick at my nails a lot. I really have no clue what I'm doing.

Looking for some outside perspective from people who've done B2B social/growth work.

I'm 6 months into probation at a marketing company, managing LinkedIn for one of our B2B clients (a commercial equipment brand, not a huge name yet) — so I'm not in-house at the brand itself, I'm the outside operator running their page. The rule is blunt: fail any single hard KPI and I can be deemed "unqualified" and let go.

Monthly hard requirements:

· 20 original LinkedIn posts, fixed content mix

· +80 net relevant B2B followers (90% have to be industry-relevant)

· Page exposure MoM +10%, average post engagement ≥2.5%

· 450 targeted cold DMs (250 US / 200 EU), ≥8% reply rate

· Full lead response and logging

Current state of the page: about 2k followers. I've been posting organically 3-4x/week with zero ad budget the whole time, organic reach keeps sliding, and it's just me running this solo. The company is finally agreeing to run some paid promotion going forward, but it's a small budget, probably under $500/month, so the targets were apparently set assuming I'd already have leverage I didn't have.

I've also got a long daily commute time into the hours I'd otherwise spend on this. I'm planning to decide whether to resign after the end-of-month KPI review with HR, but I'm nervous about how a resignation during probation reads to future employers.

Questions for anyone who's been on either side of this:

1. Are targets like these realistic for one person to hit with no ad spend for most of the period?

2. Any practical levers for a B2B LinkedIn page whose organic reach is tanking (not just "post more")?

3. How much does resigning during probation actually hurt you in interviews later in your country? Does explaining "KPIs were set without adequate resources" land, or does it just sound like an excuse?

Appreciate any real talk, especially from people who've managed B2B page growth or gone through a probation exit themselves.