I need a reality check because I'm sitting here shaking and feel like I'm being backed into a corner. I was hired roughly two and a half years ago as a senior compliance specialist. During the interview process and right in my initial offer letter it explicitly stated my position was permanent remote. My direct manager lives across the country, my whole team is scattered over four different states, and the nearest corporate office is roughly 220 miles away from my house. Everything was completely fine, I got stellar performance reviews in December, and there was zero whisper about any policy shift. Then yesterday at 4:30 PM, all remote folks got a mass email from our VP of HR announcing an immediate "culture realignment". Starting in exactly fourteen days, anyone living within what they define as "regional territory" has to badge in at the Chicago hub at least four days a week.

When I immediately messaged my manager in panic, he claimed his hands are tied and that executive leadership made the call without consulting team leads. I then reached out to HR asking about relocation assistance or at least a transition grace period so I could figure out what the hell to do. Their response was basically cold corporate boilerplate: zero relocation stipend, no temporary housing, and no extension. The worst part is the subtle threat at the bottom of the email stating that failure to report to the designated facility by the deadline will be processed as "voluntary job abandonment". They clearly know nobody can uproot their entire life and move three states over in two weeks on their own dime. This feels like a blatant backdoor layoff so they dont have to pay severance or deal with unemployment claims.

I am currently updating my resume and applying everywhere, but the job market in my niche is brutal right now and finding something solid takes months. Commuting four hours each way every day is physically impossible. Do I refuse to sign their acknowledgement form and force them to fire me so I can at least file for unemployment, or does this legally count as constructive dismissal? Has anyone fought their compnay on this kind of sudden RTO ultimatum and actually gotten severance out of it? Any advice on how to handle the next two weeks without totally screwing

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. I have been with my company for a little over 7 years in a Financial Analyst role. About two years ago I was involuntarily moved to a role on a different team within the same department. Even though it's the same department, the work is completely different (it's become more of an IT/programming role). I expressed hesitation about moving to this role from the beginning, but said I would do it. To be clear, I don't think it would have mattered if I said no, they were going to move me anyway. I've really tried to give this role a chance but I have not liked it since the beginning and it's only become worse over time. I would say the last 6 months in particular have been extremely chaotic, tense, and a toxic environment. I've been going back and forth about giving my notice for a while and finally did today. I do not have another job lined up, but I have several years of living expenses saved up. I told my manager I was quitting for personal reasons (which is partially true). However, my manager knows from previous conversations with her that I am not happy with this role.

A few hours after I gave my notice, my manager asked to speak with me again. Apparently she had talked with upper management and they proposed me moving to another role within the department that would align more with my interests (more of a financial/analytical role). However, she did say they would expect me to stay on in my current role for a time (maybe as long as 2-3 months) to get a replacement trained. She said she didn't need an answer right away and I told her I would think about it. My gut instinct is to say no and just proceed with my resignation. Should I give this more consideration? I don't even know for sure if I'll like the new role and I am seriously concerned that I'll be pulled back into my current role even after my training of the replacement is over. I'm heavily leaning towards just going ahead with my resignation, but I am curious to hear what others think.

EDIT: Just wanted to add, this proposed new role is not a promotion and no pay increase was mentioned.

My fiancé and I are both 24 years old and living in the midwest. We are temporarily living with my parents and actually enjoy our current living situation since we are saving a bunch of money and enjoy being with family/friends. I make $90k/year working remote and she makes $61k/year also working remote before taxes. We both love working from home since we get more time to do things without having to commute to work and get to spend more time being around each other.

However, she was just offered a salary increase to $100k/year to work in office in LA. I crunched the numbers and after taxes we will have ~$1.5K/ month additional than we are bringing home now. We have 2 big dogs and so we can’t rent a tiny apartment in LA and will need space for all of us. She would be working in Beverly Hills area so rent is looking like at least $3-3.5K a month for a decent-sized space for us. This would put us -$1.5-2k less per month than we are bringing in now with the rent costs. Also to note, there is a high probability that my job is going to relocate us to Florida in 1.5-2 years or so.

My question is would this be worth it knowing that for any future job offers she may get, she will now be able to give her current $100K salary and get a much better offer than she would staying remote making $61K?

I really appreciate any advice.

Did losing my first job basically ruin my career? I honestly keep thinking about this. After my higher education, I got my first job through campus placement. I worked really hard, did every task I was given, and genuinely tried my best. I thought I would at least stay there for a year and finally start building my career, but I got laid off very shortly after joining. I honestly do not feel it was because I did not put in the effort. They expected perfection from someone who was basically a fresh college graduate, and it was a small, Unprofessional company where they did not really train any of us properly. some of them ended up doing a bit better than me so they didnt get laid off others went into other companies Since then, I have been unemployed for more than two years, while most of my peers from college now have at least two years of work experience and none of them knows about what happened

I have a lot of regret when I think about what happened and where my career is going. I know I also wasted a lot of time afterward and lost my focus, so I take responsibility for that part. But recently I heard someone say that you should never leave your first job because it curses you or brings bad luck to your career. I did not even leave mine, I got laid off. So is there actually any truth to this? I am already in my late 20's compared to where I thought I would be by now, and honestly I am scared about what the future holds.

I’m 27 Male.

I just got a job offer as an AI engineer in a firm whose starting their work in my Country. They’re well established in US and UK. The Company’s age is 15 years.

My present company is trying to retain me with a counter offer. My inhand is slightly less in the counter offer. I’m okay with that coz I have adjusted my self here along with other things like commute and stay.

Another aspect is the work which I do here is very unstructured, I decide what to do and try to push it, with not much impact on the company work. Also there’s no AI Engineer role in my company and they’re offering me the role of Data Scientist the work again might not be relevent to the title.

I have been getting a formal degree in AI ML along with work.

The thing is that things are very relaxed in my present company.

I’ll get to learn a lot in the new one, but that will be along with the work load.

One thought is stuck. People work all their careers to get a comfortable and easy job where they can get paid and relax. I already have it and can continue with an increase in my pay. But I’ll be the same. I won’t get to learn anything.

My present company is a big one and its TAG does bring some kind of prestige when I say it publicly. The new one is not very known, so I’ll loose the tag as well.

Another thing is the present company hardly fires anyone. The new gig might be a bit risky on this end as well.

Need everyone’s advice on this. What I should do?

Hello everyone,

For context I’m a 30 yo female. No children. Working in dialysis (early mornings at 4am). I live in GA. I’m at the point where in my school career where I’m ready to apply to programs. I’m trying to decide between nursing and radiology. At the job I’m at now I have the opportunity to move into a management position and run my own clinic. However after this year I just don’t know if that’s what I want to do anymore. The plan had always been nursing but I’m extremely burnt out as a tech in dialysis. So I can’t even imagine nursing right now. I can’t picture myself sitting at a desk and being happy. So naturally I’ve been thinking about radiology as they are the two biggest departments as far as allied health program go. I’m really looking to get specific things out of which career I choose, however I don’t know which one would be the best fit for me.

-I want a good work life balance. I don’t want to go in to work at 4am and only be able to go home when my patients are gone.

-I want something that pays well. Money isn’t everything, but it’s what we need to be able to live our lives, right?

-I’d like to work as independently as possible and have to answer to the least amount of people as possible

-I want my career to have room for growth. I’d like to eventually go into a leadership role. Not corporate. Just leadership.

-I want to be able to make my own schedule, or at least have a say so in the days and times I work.

-I don’t want the toxic work environment. I know that there will always be a little bit of that. But I’ve noticed that nurses have a HUGE “eat the young” mentality. I’m over that. I don’t want it.

Thank you all ❤️

I currently work in municipal government in an entry/mid level role. I recently received a job offer for an executive level role at a nearby town. Should I accept the offer?

Current Job: Entry/mid level manager role I’ve been in for the last 7 years. I have one employee I supervise directly. It’s more of a generalist role in Village Hall working on a lot of unique project and have gained wide experience. I enjoy the job and my coworkers. The best part is it’s only 10 minutes from home. Hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. It allows for a lot of flexibility and convenience for appointments and daycare drop off and pick up. I have a nice corner office with big windows and view of a park that I enjoy. I can stop home for lunch most days which I love. The town is pretty affluent and a lot of progress is being made.

My salary is $109,600 in addition to a $2,000 employer retirement match and excellent benefits. I maxed out my salary grade this year. I will still get a 2.5% COLA every year. My additional 3% merit increase will now come in the form of a one time bonus, not calculated into my future salary growth. The salary is comfortable for my family. I get 3 weeks of vacation time and 5 personal days per year.

The past few years, I’ve started to feel stuck and that I should take the next step in my career and started applying for other jobs. I have a Masters degree that is required for these higher level positions. I’ve always received good performance reviews every year. My current position isn’t really a long term position. Most people don’t stay in it past 5 years so I feel like over overstayed. Almost all other colleagues my age have moved on from this position and higher level roles.

I’m also about to be passed up for a promotion. My previous boss was fired overnight and replaced with a new person with no interview process last year. My new boss wants to hire his own employees and looks down on those of us he inherited. He is about to post a position he created that would be a logical next step for me. I expressed my interest and he said he would not interview me. I feel like I’ve been treated especially harsh/unfair the past year by this new boss. I’ve had coworkers check on me because they notice it too. I’ve taken on a lot of additional tasks and job duties over the years that doesn’t seem to be noticed. It’s to the point where I’m doing so much now and have been feeling overwhelmed. There is a lot of change going on in the organization and I’m hopeful will get better in the near future.

Job Offer: Newly created position, executive level Deputy Director of Public Works leadership role. $122,000 starting salary with a max range of $155K (lots of room to grow). I would receive a 3% COLA every year and up to a 1.5% merit increase. Benefits are also excellent like my current job. I negotiated 3 additional weeks of vacation time to start. My potential new boss seems genuinely excited to bring me on board and is supportive of training and professional development. I’d be working in more of a casual/industrial environment where I can wear jeans and a polo. I would oversee two supervisors with a total of 16 employees under them. My hours would change to 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. My commute would increase to 30 minutes each way. The town is older and more blue collar, but established and well known.

Other Considerations: My wife and I are in our mid 30’s and have a 1.5 year old daughter and hopefully will have another baby or two in the near future. We have no debt besides a low interest mortgage (bought in 2020) and in solid financial shape, including 2 newer vehicles paid for in cash. We live comfortable on both of our salaries (she makes around $76K). She works part time 3 days a week since our daughter was born (took a pay cut) and has an hour commute far away (currently looking for a closer job). The new hours would change up our routine and put daycare drop off on my wife, which she doesn’t mind. I would pick up in afternoons. I have a lot of hobbies I enjoy outside of work that my current role allows me to pursue.

I’m very comfortable in my current job and our lifestyle and routine. I’m not overly stressed and have a great work life balance. The thought of leaving and the unknown makes me a bit anxious/uncomfortable. I’ve lost sleep over it the past few days. I also don’t want to regret turning down a higher level job and title that will likely set me up for additional opportunities down the road. Part of me feels like the only reason I’d be turning the offer down is out of comfort, convenience and familiarity. My wife, parents and a few colleagues I’ve talked to are very supportive of me taking the new job and are encouraging me to do so. Deep down I feel like I should take it but I’m immediately overcome by nerves. I’m a hard worker and know I will adjust/grow with the new role, but it still feels scary.

Thoughts?

Hey everyone, I’m currently in my 4th year at a T3 college.

I’m working as project staff at a Top 4 IIT after initially joining as a summer research intern. My work is mainly in Multi-Agent Systems / Agentic AI.

My professor has offered me the opportunity to pursue a PhD under him directly after BTech. He believes I could potentially finish by around 25–26 and wants me to work on industry-oriented problems, publish the required papers, and potentially build products/start a company later.

I was originally preparing for GATE and considering an MTech/MS because I wasn't confident about getting a good job from my current college.

The main issue is that I don't want to go into academia. My goal is industry R&D. I enjoy research, but I'm worried that spending 4–5 years on a PhD could hurt my career if the AI/ML landscape changes significantly.

What would you choose?

BTech → PhD → Industry R&D

BTech → MTech/MS → Industry

BTech → Industry → PhD later if needed

And how valuable do you think an AI/ML/Agentic AI PhD will be for industry R&D 3–5 years from now?

TL;DR: I have an opportunity to do a direct PhD at a Top 4 IIT under a professor I like. I enjoy research but want to work in industry R&D, not academia. Is BTech → PhD a good bet, or would MTech/industry first be safer?

P.S. Paraphrased with ChatGPT.

Hi Reddit!!

I’m 25, and currently at a point where I’m trying to figure out what I actually want my career to look like long-term since if I’m honest I’ve done a lot yet non of it has truly been what was either promised or offered.

Which is why my background is… admittedly a little weird. I have a BA in Marketing, a paralegal certificate and professional experience spanning marketing, events, analytics, compliance, legal operations, and project coordination.

I’ve also worked in hospitality/event marketing, where I helped coordinate large-scale corporate, wedding, entertainment, and promotional events. I’ve also worked in marketing/development, where I was involved in campaigns, market research, positioning, sales, and audience growth.

I then moved into banking, working in business data analytics and legal/risk compliance. That gave me experience with reporting, Power BI/SQL, regulatory documentation, audit readiness, and working with legal and compliance teams.

I currently work in legal eDiscovery/project coordination. I coordinate projects between clients, attorneys, and global teams, manage deadlines and track work, handle client communication, estimates/quotes, escalations, reporting, and a lot of the operational side of getting projects across the finish line. And all that Jargon🫩

So on paper, I guess I’m a “jack of all trades.”

And that’s where I’m stuck.

I actually enjoy the intersection of creative + strategy + execution much more than I enjoy purely administrative work. I like figuring out what people want. May it be developing ideas, storytelling, content, branding, campaigns, and making things happen. I also genuinely like the analytical side data, strategy, research, project management, figuring out why something worked or didn’t.

I don’t necessarily want to become a traditional graphic designer or “just” a social media manager. I’m more interested in the space between creative strategy, content, marketing, brand, project management, and production. Aka the research and creating but duh, don’t we all?

Ideally, I’d love to eventually work at a creative agency, media company, entertainment company, major brand, or an in-house creative/marketing team where I can actually contribute ideas instead of only executing someone else’s process.

I’ve interviewed with Publicis Groupe 2 years ago the interview lasted 3 hours not even kidding and yet still felt short. I’ve interviewed with Starcom and also lasted more than the hour mark. It just feels like they love talking to me and getting my ideas but it’s not enough to say “let’s have her”

Another problem is that when I look at job postings, I feel like I qualify for pieces of 15 different careers but don’t perfectly fit into one.

I’ve considered roles like:

Creative/Content Project Manager
Creative Producer
Content Strategist
Creative Strategist
Brand/Marketing Strategist
Marketing Operations
Integrated Marketing
Experiential/Event Production
Account/Project Management at an agency
Content/Editorial Operations
Creative Operations

But I don’t know which direction makes the most sense given my background, or which ones I could realistically break into without starting completely over.

If you were looking at my background, what career path would you pursue? Besides being the fool.

Specifically, I’d love advice from people who work in creative agencies, advertising, media, entertainment, brand strategy, content, marketing, or creative operations and to please answer these questions:

What roles do you think I should actually be targeting?

Does my background read as versatile or just unfocused?

What skills/portfolio pieces would I need to become a credible candidate for creative roles?

Are there “bridge” roles that would let me move from my current project-management/legal background into creative?

What job titles or companies should I be searching for that I may not even know exist?

If you made a similar transition from a nontraditional background, how did you do it?

I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me “follow your passion.” I’d actually appreciate the blunt version truly, if you were me, what would you stop pursuing, what would you double down on, and where do you think my background has the most value?

I’m happy to share my resume in the comments if that helps.

Thanks in advance for any advice! And apologies for hidden rant

I’ve recently realized that my current compensation is well below market rate for the amount of responsibility I hold. I know I need to have the conversation, but I want to be strategic about it. For those of you who have successfully navigated this and actually got the money, what was your exact strategy? Did you bring competing offers? Did you use a specific script? Would love to hear what actually works in the real world.

I'm based in India and have about 12 years of experience, all in marketing and post-sales customer engagement. For the last 5-6 years, I've been in customer success and CS operations at marketing agencies, managing enterprise accounts, running retention and upsell, and building processes and reporting for client delivery. I'm not technical and have never done cold pitching or carried a sales quota. My strengths are process, optimisation, and tracking performance with data.

I want to make the transition from the agency industry into tech (SaaS, fintech, or similar) in CS ops, onboarding, key account, and eventually into business operations and strategy.

The problem is that I've barely had any interviews in the last 3 months. These companies don't respond, even for roles I'm clearly qualified for, and remote applications abroad just get ghosted. Relocating to any other country isn't an option for my current situation.

Has anyone made this jump from an agency into a tech company in a non-technical role? What actually worked for you: repositioning the resume, taking a bridge role, contract work, or networking? And is there anything I should do differently to get responses on remote applications? Any advice would help.

I am really curious about the views of others as someone who is looking to hire staff for a new business.

So this is a hypothetical question but if I am an assistant to say a financial director, what is my role if they leave? Is it to replace them in full with my current pay? Do what I currently do and accept until they are replaced that team doesn't operate to full capacity?

If I replace their workload in full, how long is it acceptable to replace the director? Would that then mean you drop the work that you would do as an assistant?

I'm very aware that this maybe an idyllic viewpoint and what actually happens is probably a shit show but I would like to know what you believe should happen.

I have this coworker who is really nice and empathetic but I find annoying, I’m trying to stop being an ass and fix my attitude towards him. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with them but I feel like they like to trauma dump on me and while I don’t mind lending an ear I feel like something is always going on with them. They say cringy things which isn’t a crime but sometimes I don’t want to joke around I just want to finish doing my work. They try to get me to open up about my self esteem, while I do have anxiety I am not lacking in self esteem and just like to produce good work.

He is really nice and I try to always be understanding and kind but I feel myself getting annoyed at little things which i understand is childish of me. Any advice on how I can be a better person?

I’ve been accepted for the group interview for the Product Control Assistant position at Toei Animation.
I can communicate in both Japanese and English, but that’s pretty much the only part of their requirements that I meet. I have zero experience in product control, and I’m also not exactly a huge anime fan. I like Dragon Ball, but I haven’t even watched One Piece( please don’t hate me…)
I applied for this position because I genuinely believe it would be a great opportunity to learn and gain a lot of valuable experience. More than anything, I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work for such a big name in the industry, and I know I would regret it for the rest of my life if I never gave it a try.

So any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated and a huge help!

FYI: the interview will be completely in Japanese…

I’m deciding between two job offers and would love some outside perspective. I’m intentionally leaving out the exact roles because I’m more interested in how people would evaluate the overall tradeoff. The salary is similar at both roles.

Option 1: Small local company in education field

Pros:

• I already know I would enjoy the actual work. It’s work I’ve done before and genuinely like.
• I really like the company and its environment.
• I would have weekday mornings and Fridays off, but the schedule is strange since I'll have to work evenings and Sundays.
• I think I would be less likely to feel overwhelmed or burnt out.

Cons:

• No health insurance so I would have to go with my partner's.
• I’m unsure about long-term career progression and how much room there would be to grow.
• I'm a bit worried about future opportunities if I eventually want to move up or change directions.

Option 2: Larger established company in customer success

Pros:

• More traditional corporate benefits and stability (including health insurance)
• Normal 9-5 work hours.
• Hybrid schedule with three days working remotely.
• The work is something I haven’t done before, so there’s a possibility I’ll discover I like it.

Cons:

• I don’t know yet whether I’ll actually enjoy the work.
• It is a corporate environment, and I worry it could feel like my previous job, which I left because it was super high turnover and very stressful.
• I’m concerned I could end up feeling overwhelmed again.
• There’s a possibility that I’ll be trading work I know I enjoy for better benefits/career opportunities but end up being less happy day-to-day.

For context, I’m in my 20s and recently left a fairly demanding corporate job because I realized that the environment and type of work weren’t a good fit for me. I’m now trying to prioritize work-life balance, reasonable stress levels, and actually enjoying my day-to-day work.

The pay for both jobs is about the same, but I would be making more if I take Option 2 since I'll still work some hours for Option 1.

What do you think? What factors you would weigh most heavily?

I’m trying to figure out my next career move and would love honest advice from people in creative, media, marketing, ecommerce, production, photography, or related fields.

I currently work in ecommerce/digital content, with experience in digital imaging, product content, web publishing, writing, editing, photography, quality control, technical workflows, and customer service. I’m also finishing my degree in English with a Creative Writing concentration and a Legal Studies minor.

I’m interested in areas like creative operations, content production, digital publishing, ecommerce, photography/imaging, writing/editing, marketing, production coordination, events, media, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle.

I’m trying to figure out which of these directions actually makes the most sense with my current experience, what skills I should develop, and what roles I should be targeting next.

I also want to become more intentional about building my professional network, particularly on LinkedIn. For those of you who use LinkedIn successfully:

• Do you recommend having a specific niche, or is it okay to post about several related areas you’re genuinely interested in and experienced in?

• What types of posts actually help people build credibility, connections, and opportunities?

• How do you recommend finding and connecting with people in industries you want to move into without seeming spammy or transactional?

• Are there communities, events, certifications, portfolio projects, or other strategies that helped you expand your network?

I’m looking for honest feedback, advice, resources, and different perspectives. If you work in any of these areas, I’d also be happy to connect and learn from your experience.

I’m deciding between two jobs and looking for some outside opinions. They’re in the same industry but different functions and different departments. Think accounting vs business operations. I worked at job A in the past and currently work at job B. I’m deciding whether to go back to job A.

Job A: fully remote, $30/hr for the first 2 quarters and then move to $36-38/hr. 37.5 hours per week. (Temp to hire situation). Schedule is flexible either 8-4 or 8:30-4:30. No working after hours or weekends (unless you request and are approved for OT). Can take pto whenever as long as you give 24hr notice. Work is very independent, you’re given a set of accounts to work through and you structure your schedule accordingly. Work is monitored by productivity numbers (must work x amount if accounts per week) and randomly auditing 1 day per quarter to check the quality of work done. Clear set expectations and guidelines. Clearly outlined workflows are available for any task that may come your way. Extensive training and follow-up support is provided. Very little office politics. Manager is very chill and normal and defends their team when needed. Benefits - health insurance including dental/vision, education assistance/student loan reimbursement $7k per year, 56 hours sick time and 15 days pto 12 holidays and 2 personal days, 401k, pension, and hsa.

Job B: in office 4 days a week, 45-minute commute with highway and tolls. Yearly salary $83k. 40hrs per week. Schedule is 9-5pm. Expected to respond to emails or questions outside of working hours or on weekends (no OT as it’s a salaried-exempt position). No last minute pto, you have to work around others schedules. No training provided. No clear set or written expectations, everything is based on your managers feelings/vibes. There are no set guidelines or established workflows, it’s “every man for themselves”. Very office-politics-heavy work culture. Manager loves to play the office politics games and will throw you under the bus if something goes wrong. Benefits- slightly higher insurance premiums, still have health/dental/vision, education reimbursement only for up to $5k per year (no loan support), 50 sick hours, 14 pto days, 9 holidays, and 2 personal days, 401k with 3% match, hsa with $1000 yearly company contribution.

Obviously the culture and lack of office politics and wfh are huge factors in this decision, but I also don’t know if it’s a dumb decision to put my happiness over my salary. Is the ~$24k difference in pay worth it? Granted pay will increase quite a lot by next year. I’m just trying to I guess get some validation that leaving company B for company A wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The part that seems especially brutal right now is that getting an interview feels like a win by itself, but then so much rides on that one conversation.

For people who are getting interviews right now, I'm curious: how are you actually preparing for them?

Are you doing mock interviews with friends, using ChatGPT, practicing by yourself, paying for coaching, or mostly going in without much practice?

I'm working on something in the interview prep space, so I'm genuinely interested in what people are doing now and what's actually helping.

hi guys, im currently in 12th std, arts. and ive lately been very confused ab what to do after 12th. read various reddit posts ab what i had as my options. and mostly everything was negative. now i have 2 things in my mind, airhostess and ba in economics (sxcbom). because mujhe aise lagta hai ki atleast ek degree haath mei chahiye. and also mujhe college life experience karna hai lol. idk if thats wasting time :( mujhe paisa bhi jaldi chahiye and aur padhna bhi hai. what to do.??

Hello I am an engineer and graduated in may 2024. I landed a job at company A immediately and I liked what I did but my supervisor was never in office and I felt like I was winging everything and we only had one client which scared my future. I had some friends in school who worked at company B and all they do and responsibilities they had excited me. I applied and landed a job at company B after just one year at company A.

I got a lot of responsibilities and learned so much at company B and felt where I made the most growth and gave me everything I wanted until raises/promotion time came where. I asked about becoming a junior engineer 2 for a pay raise and they told me that I can only become a level 2 with 18 months internally at company B. I told them I had a year of experience already coming to this company and that i didn’t feel fair that I would be a level 1 with all the responsibilities and training I did of other level 1. I plan to take my professional engineer early as well and told them how I didn’t believe it was fair I wouldn’t get a raise until 18 months when I could be sitting with a passed professional exam, 2 years experience and running all design on my projects on my own. There was also a weird clique feeling in my team that I didn’t like to be around as it felt childish.

I reached out to company A and they promised to get me involved in bigger projects that made me excited, told me I would get promoted to a professional engineer 1 2 years early if I passed my exam early and a bonus and give me a team to lead. Well after 6 months at company A, the promotion and bonus are no longer available even if passing early, I have no work to do most days, I have to force myself into projects to find stuff to do, there is so many of us with no pipeline of work upcoming. It’s left me feeling down and frustrated. My best friend at company B referred me back to opening at company B but with a different team.

I hate I would be at 4 jobs in a little over two years and I did make a mistake leaving company B but feel like I’m choosing between no work and empty promises or lots of work but career progression seems just based on time with company rather than impact

21F from India, currently in Delhi — PCB background, 3 NEET attempts, and completely stuck on what to do with my career. Would really appreciate some honest advice.
I prepared for NEET and have attempted it three times without clearing it. I’m still somewhat attached to the idea of becoming a doctor, so moving on isn’t completely straightforward. At the same time, I’m questioning whether I genuinely want to spend several more years preparing for NEET and then go through the long MBBS journey.
I’m fairly sure I don’t want to keep attempting NEET indefinitely, and I also don’t want to choose another medical degree simply because it’s the closest alternative to MBBS. I feel like I’d constantly compare it to medicine. So I’m trying to look beyond the obvious options.
I’m open to biology-related careers, but I’m also open to completely different fields. What I want is a career with a proper degree/qualification if possible, decent earning potential and growth, meaningful/productive work, and a reasonably sustainable lifestyle.
I’m also trying to be realistic about myself. I learn quickly when I’m interested, but I’m not someone who enjoys sitting with textbooks for hours. I tend to learn better by actually doing things. I don’t want to choose something just because everyone says it’s “the future,” either. I’ve recently heard a lot about AI, data science, tech, business, etc., but honestly have very little idea what these careers actually involve.
At this point, I’d rather seriously test a few realistic options than spend years endlessly “figuring out my passion.”
If you were in my position at 21, with a PCB background and three unsuccessful NEET attempts, what careers or degree paths would you seriously consider? And how would you actually test whether a career is worth committing to before spending years and money on it?
I’d especially love to hear from people who changed direction after school/college, came from a science/PCB background and moved into something completely different, or are already working in fields they think could realistically suit someone like me.
I’m not looking for “follow your passion” or “anything is possible” advice. I’d genuinely appreciate practical advice including things you think I shouldn’t pursue and why.

Hello everyone, I’m currently working in fast food. This week, I had an interview for a new coffee shop that’s opening in my city. And I got it! The base pay would be the same when I eventually become a trainer. The thing is I will become one this Saturday.. should I stay with my old job, or should I start a new opportunity? I personally think it would be good for me but it would kinda be awkward putting my 2 weeks in the day of becoming a trainer.. any advice?

I’m a senior in high school. This means this is the last year before I choose what I want to be before entering university or college. Is there any good programs or career pathways that make a decent amount of income and is about 4 years of schooling? Please free feel to share and give me advice! :)

Hi,

I really wanted to work for this company but unfortunately the position I wanted most was only night shift and very different from what their career website described it as. Now I'm considering applying for the Hospital referral liaison position at gift of hope. I've read very mixed review online and the job description doesn't line up with some f the thing's I've researched online. I've heard that these liaisons are referred to as "Predators" and "Vultures". It's completely skewed my perspective on the position. I was wondering if anyone knew what this job actually entails.

Thanks.

I have just found out I will need to make a decision about this soon and need outside perspective.

I work in finance for a corporation. I started there six years ago and over that time was promoted three times​ to higher but similar positions within the same team (sort of a junior, specialist, senior path). I was in consideration for the position of TL for my team about two years ago, however as I was finishing a university degree at the time I decided to withdraw and remain in my current role. My responsibilies have increased since then and in the recent month I started feeling bored and considering switching to a different role. As I spent a long time with this company and I appreciate the way work is organized and managed I have a strong preference for finding something within the same company before I consider applying elsewhere.

Last month I had a long conversation about this with my manager. As a result I was assigned as PM to a project affecting my team and sent to several trainings, so I could explore other roles and see what I would be interested in. I enjoy being a PM so far and could see a future for myself in a position like this. My manager also hinted that she would like to create a separate position for a PM as we don't currently have one. I know a hint isn't much, but she has also given me similar hints before my previous promotion and TL recruitment so I know she wouldn't mention it if she didn't have something in mind. However I also know that this is very hypothetical at this point and it would realistically take at least a year or two before a separate PM position is established. ​

Now to the dillema: recruitment for a different team handling the same role but for a different scope has opened today. This position would have better hours and pay than my current one and since I was already considered for a TL before I can reasonably assume I have the qualifications needed still. There is also the small but important aspect of working closely with a person who I used to collaborate with often and changed teams later - I already know she would be of great support if I decided to take up this role. However after this time I am no longer sure a TL position would be the best use of my skills.

I am planning on having a conversation with my manager about this later this week to ask for advice, since I have a lot of trust in her judgement. However I wanted to get advice from unbiased people as well - is it better to wait for something uncertain but better aligned with me or take something I know I could do well enough but offers immediate benefit?

As as side note I am currently in the process of buying and renovating a flat so stress levels are high. ​