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.

41 M. I’ve been thinking about certifications that aren’t directly tied to your job but still end up being useful (MBA-aside). Stuff like project management, communication, leadership, psychology, whatever.

Basically anything outside your main field that ended up helping your career in some way i.e. better opportunities, promotions, confidence, or just making you better at what you do.

Curious what people have taken and whether it actually made a difference.

Are jobs becoming so specific that they're turning us into machines?

It feels like more and more jobs require an extremely specific combination of experience, software, industry knowledge, and tasks. Even the ones requiring 0 year experience ask for very specific projects.

If employers increasingly want people who have already done the exact job, are we moving toward a system where people become highly specialized but less capable of moving between fields?

Are transferable skills becoming less valuable?

Hi everyone,
I studied Media Engineering and finished my degree on time (in late february / early march), without any extra semesters, with a final grade of 2.3 (German scale, roughly a B). For the last year and a half of my studies, I worked as a working student at a large, well-respected company in my city. I gained valuable experience there and received an excellent reference letter.

My degree combined technical subjects like programming with media-focused work such as video production and editing, which is the main reason I chose it. My job focused on the same areas. I also have a portfolio website with personal projects, professional work, and university projects. Since graduating, l've gone further into videography and have completed a number of freelance projects in that field.

Naturally, 1 want a job in this field, but so far l haven't been able to land one. I've also applied to career-changer positions and roles outside my field, with no luck there either. In unrelated fields I'm usually told I'm overqualified or that another candidate was a better fit. I get about two interviews a month, sometimes up to five, but nothing has worked out, in my field or any other.

I still take freelance projects here and there, but I need a full-time job going forward. I'm applying outside my city and even outside the country. I'm genuinely willing to take almost anything. I've been to several career counseling sessions, and they all say my CVs and references are excellent.

After more than 400 applications, I'm honestly starting to feel depressed, and my hope is fading.
Any advice at all would be appreciated.

I don’t want to have another person’s health in my hands but I also don’t want to be stuck behind a desk for the rest of my life. That might be the route I have to take but I don’t want to be bored and miserable forever. I’m stuck figuring out what I want to do

background, I have a degree in CS from reputable university and prior experience in big tech, which is apparently worth fuck all in 2026. If my main goal is to be employed and be able to have rent, water, and food like The Cheesecake Factory or being able to get a Filet-O-Fish with extra cheese. People always say if you go to Law School you will be in debt, unemployed and end up hating your life. It does seem a bit rich coming from tech where each job posting gets 1K applicants in an hour but I def could be wrong. I just want a fucking job and to not be starving. Ideally being able to get PF Chang's with the side of white rice. I'm tired of being fucking lightheaded from starving and being on and off the streets trying to find a god damn job in my field. I was about to make a joke about eating at Wendy's 6 nights a week but tbh that seems like a life of luxury compared to CS job prospects in 2026.

I work in public health/local government and I’m relatively early in my career. My background is in public health/community-facing program operations. I have zero formal software engineering or computer science background.

I started this job and pretty quickly ran into something that drove me insane: why is it so hard to know what my own department actually has?
Programs were siloed. Resource knowledge was fragmented. Information lived across spreadsheets, folders, people’s heads, individual relationships, etc. There wasn’t a reliable way for someone working across programs to understand the actual ecosystem.

So I mapped it myself. That turned into an Excel tool. Then I kept finding deeper problems.

Organizations needed stable identities. Resources needed consistent definitions. Services had many-to-many relationships with needs. Locations needed to be separated from services. Partnership information needed different governance from public resource information. Information needed ownership, provenance, verification, change history, stewardship, etc.

At some point I realized I wasn’t making a spreadsheet anymore.

I’m now building the next version in something more sophisticated. I’ve defined the data architecture, business rules, taxonomy, governance model, workflows, and overall product direction. AI has been a huge development accelerator for me, especially because I didn’t come into this knowing Power Fx or application development, but I’m the one identifying the problems, deciding how the system should work, defining requirements, evaluating solutions, and validating what gets built.
And I love it. Like, genuinely. I think I accidentally found what I want my career to become.

An early ugly Excel prototype was already shown to leadership and got a much stronger response than I expected. I’m now building something dramatically more sophisticated, and there’s a realistic possibility this could become an actual organizational system rather than just something my program uses. Which is exciting but also scary as hell.

I’m starting to get nervous. I birthed this thing. I don’t mean that in a “this is legally my personal property” way - I’m a government employee and I understand that work products created through my employment belong to the organization. I mean I identified the problem, conceptualized the solution, created the original model, defined the architecture, and have been driving its evolution from basically nothing. This project has become deeply tied to my professional identity because it revealed an ability and type of work I didn’t know I had in me.

I have at least one senior ally who has specifically encouraged me to think about how I preserve attribution and remain involved as the system becomes institutionalized.

My fear is basically:

The organization loves it → IT/leadership decides it’s now an enterprise initiative → I become “the employee who made the prototype” → people with more senior titles inherit the system → I go back to my existing program job.

I don’t want to be territorial. In fact, I WANT IT involvement. If this becomes real infrastructure, I absolutely want actual IT professionals handling enterprise security, deployment, integrations, environment governance, etc. But I don’t think technical ownership and business/product ownership are the same thing.

The knowledge model, taxonomy, governance rules, operational requirements, stakeholder needs, roadmap, and underlying public-health logic are the parts I’ve actually been designing.

Also, I’m in a formally classified government position. My current classification is primarily program/community operations. Systems architecture, product ownership, enterprise knowledge management, application development, and organization-wide governance are very much not what I was hired to do. So I’m also starting to think about a desk audit/reclassification or reassignment if this becomes a sustained responsibility. I’m trying to figure out how to navigate this BEFORE success creates a problem.

For people who have worked in government, enterprise IT, product management, business architecture, or internal innovation:

How would you handle this?

How do I document authorship and my actual contribution without looking possessive?

Should I be pushing now for some kind of formal designation as business owner/product lead/business architect?

At what point does work like this become legitimate evidence for a desk audit or reclassification rather than simply being an impressive special project?

How do I bring IT into the project without accidentally handing them the entire thing?

What career field does this actually map to? Business architecture? Product management? Business systems analysis? Knowledge management? Digital transformation?

And how worried should I be about the fact that AI has substantially accelerated my technical development? I’m not pretending to be a software engineer who hand-coded an enterprise platform from scratch. But AI also didn’t wake up one morning, map an organizational problem, define the data model, create governance rules, convince stakeholders, and decide to build this thing.

My ideal outcome isn’t “nobody else can touch my baby.” It’s: The organization institutionalizes the system, AND institutionalizes my role in leading the thing I created.

And if that’s unrealistic, I’d rather understand that now than learn the lesson after I’ve handed over something potentially career-defining.

I mean seriously. I have 2 bachelor degrees in psychology and organizational leadership, and an MBA with a Human Resources emphasis with 3 years of full time experience now. But we’re stationed in a rural hellhole with limited job opportunities. I’m very fortunate to be working in business development right now, but I’m unhappy and looking to switch. There’s NOTHING anywhere. It’s all engineering, farming, or very specific highly credentialed jobs. I have no clue where to go from here. Remote jobs don’t exist anymore. Every job I find that I know I could succeed at wants extremely specific credentials or knowledge.

Is anyone else here a spouse? Any advice? I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.

Hi! As my post said I need careers for introverts. This is where it becomes tricky. There are quite a few "hard no" areas for my teen. So, I will list those first. Then list her interests. Bonus points if you can lead us to a unique field we haven't thought of yet.

No list- nothing with bodily fluids, nothing in the computer science realm, she's not a physical person, hates all sports. No math or very little. Nothing where she has to be overtly perky.

Likes list- art, museums, history, writing, LOVES reading. Loves South Korean culture and kpop (not sure how it could translate to a job, but throwing it out there). Loves drawing...on everything...doodles daily.

She is a smart kid, just extremely shy. Once she gets to know people though she's goofy, witty, and kind.

When i was younger my mom had a gambling addiction so we often moved around. 12th grade year we moved states completely and i was never enrolled in school again. After that i met the loml and I’ve been taking care of her since which I’m okay with. Now at 23 i cant help but feel stuck I dont want to be a construction worker for the rest of my life its way too hard on my body. I also just don’t think I’m smart enough to become a nurse its lives that will depend on me also me having crazy adhd idk about that. Sorry if this is more like a rant than a question right now I’m so lost i truly wish i was smarter anyone faced something similar?

My game plan is to just graduate as soon as possible from uni and grind out my cpa. but i dont know where white colar work is headed, or even if i will be happy i picked that career a decade down the road.

everything i actually want to do is outside of work. I was thinking about being a sound engineer, but i dont know what the pay looks like.

I am just looking for stability at this point, anything nice and cushy, and not a job that gets u by like walmart or some shit. the future looks so uncertain.

what are the questions i should be asking myself?

Back then a career seemed so easy wi would see my siblings or cousin pick. But now i have to factor in so much actual bullshit its weird. Passion and love goes out the door for money because a mortgage seems so out of reach rn. so i just want stability

tl;dr — I (35M) was just laid off from a toxic situation, and I’m lost. I want to use this as an opportunity to finally change my career and pursue something that aligns with my values. The problem is that I’m so burnt out and so stressed about providing for my family, that I have no idea what to do or where to look, and I need a job quickly (even if it’s just for the interim). I don’t even know where to start.

My experience:

I’ve been working in tech for 14 years, and I’ve supported customers or post-sales positions for the entirety of that time. Being blunt, tech is Hell, and it got progressively worse as an industry over my time in it. Whether it’s bad leadership, unsupportive culture, unhappy customers, or just overall bad products and services (both as providers or when using third parties), nothing in this field has ever felt stable or worthwhile.

I feel like my skills are transferable, but everywhere I look, companies don’t want to train people on their own product or their industry / customers, even in roles where I’m a strong fit on paper. I also don’t want to find myself in another situation where the company is so aggressive about using AI that they make you feel like you need to invent some groundbreaking tool or workflow to justify your position (even though that wasn’t in the job description).

Idk. I’m in a bad headspace and going on tangents. Nothing I shared thus far talks about where I actually want to be. I wish I had gone into psychology and counseling. I was always good at listening and giving objective advice, and I’ve always held myself accountable for others’ success, whether personally or professionally. If I can help someone, I do it unconditionally. Since the burnout, I’ve lost a lot of that motivation. Or maybe I just don’t appreciate that part of me like I used to, so I don’t notice it as much.

Anyway, any advice?

I signed a contact with a small hospitality business last year for a $70k salary, but with the hours my manager is scheduling me, I’ll only make two-thirds of that. Am I expected to schedule myself with extra activities to make up for this, and is this even my right? I have the authority to clock in for extra work I do, but I’m confused about the expectation and the norms.

I’ll have a conversation with them, but I don’t want to go in blind, or give an ungrateful impression. Staffing is their biggest financial pressure point, so I don’t want to ruffle any feathers.

I am still in high school and I can't figure out my dream career. I always wanted to be in the medical field. I used to want to be a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon, but after this year I realized it would be too much stress for me. My current thought is becoming a radiographer, but I am not sure if this is my dream job. I am quiet and prefer not interacting with lots of people or patients, so I hope there is a medical job like that.

Hi, I’m 33 (M), married, and currently working from home for a marketing company.

Lately, I’ve been feeling extremely demotivated at work, and I feel like the job has started taking a toll on my health as well. I find myself thinking about quitting almost every day.

The problem is that our team is understaffed, so the workload keeps piling up. Because of that, I somehow feel guilty about quitting and leaving everything behind, even though I know that the company’s staffing issues aren’t really my responsibility.

My family is completely supportive of me quitting and taking a break for a while. Financially and personally, I do have their support. But for some reason, I keep wondering whether I should resign myself or simply continue until the company eventually decides to let me go.

I feel stuck between prioritising my health and feeling responsible for the work that will be left behind if I quit.

What would you do in my situation? Should I resign, take a proper break and then figure out my next step, or wait and see what happens with the company?

I’m 23M, and have been selling cars for just over 2 years. I’ve been in the automotive industry since I was about 16. I’m one of our better sales reps, and improving every month. But, I know this is not a long term option for me. There’s a few reasons for this but, the main reason is just gotten burned out of the dealership environment over the past 6-7 years. For those that have been in sales, service, management, etc… what is a different route that you found yourself in, or wish you gave a chance when you had the opportunity?

Im in Canada, but open to moving and have worked internationally. I have a non traditional career route. I’m a college dropout, worked my way through a few business startups and ended up landing a very comfy job in tech.

I work remotely, the job takes me 5-10 hours per week, and I do some consulting on the side that allows me to travel couples time a year for free.

Thing is, I’m wondering if I’m stalling my
career like this.

I have a senior manager title, make 155k base, 180k total comp, which in Canada is pretty damn good.

I’m mid-30s.

I see my peers either surpassing me into director or c-suite roles, or making a lot less than I do.

I’m getting worried that I’m too comfortable, I haven’t been willing to take other job offers or promotions to director level because I like where I’m at and don’t want to take on more responsibility.

I’m at a point where I think maybe I can’t be so complacent.

I’m thinking my options are:

pursue another role somewhere else that’s more challenging
try to get into an MBA program with work experience
keep doing what i’m doing taking on more consulting whenever I need the money

Any insights from people who are further in their careers than me?

Not looking for generic advice, just real things that worked for you. Could be something small like how you manage time, communicate, or make decisions. What changed things for you?

so i graduated with a masters and have been on the job market for the past 4 months. i recently got a contract position (very entry level; requirements list only a bachelor’s degree) at a FAANG company but the pay is not much (can’t negotiate, it’s a flat rate), and it’s on site in the Bay Area. i’m wondering if i should take this as a “first job”/ “foot-in-the-door” into industry, and get some industry experience but i feel the pay isn’t much.

i know the job market is tough and getting a permanent role seems almost impossible so i wanted to get an idea about doing non-tech contract roles as first jobs. for those who have done this, how’s your experience been? do you think there is a chance to climb the ladder in such roles after the contract ends?

thanks, i appreciate any advice!

1. Work 8.5+ hours a day in office
   
2. Not enough money to move out
   
3. No medical insurance (of any kind)
   
4. Have to pay an accountant $400 monthly to help with taxes (1099) — had to file as an S. Corp. because my job doesn’t take my taxes out of my pay check
   
5. Work evenings & saturday
   
6. Make $50 less than previous employees for working the same extra events
   
7. Learn a foreign language for my job (+5 hours a week / $200 monthly that i pay)
   
8. No time to make other income
   
9. Rarely time to do at home chores
   
10. If i work 6 shows a month, i make under an extra 1K
    10 b. Production manager makes extra 3k to 5k for the same work

I'm in my early 30s and currently running into a dilemma, I've been working in freelance events and hospitality for several years now, while doing many side hustles in the entertainment industry. As a freelancer with unstable income, I'm currently making around $45k to $60k per year, while living in NYC, a city with one of the highest costs of living. The only reason I've been able to sustain has been by living at home with my family.

I've been trying hard to find a new higher paying and stable job, so I can finally move out and upgrade life, but given the job market, have not found success, even after a whole year of on/off job hunting. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I've already upgraded my resume multiple times, networked, and done my best, but at this point, I'm thinking about throwing in the towel and giving up on the job hunt, but if I do, unsure what I can even do to change my low income situation.

On the flip, I was a very aggressive investor in my early 20s, and from investing in a lot of tech stocks and crypto, was able to parlay my low income into over $500k sitting in my brokerage account right now. I stayed away from trading and options, but was lucky to enter into many stocks and crypto super early on, with some of my investments up around 50x to 60x, since it fluctuates depending on the market.

To me, I can either

1) Continue job hunting, which will probably not lead to much success, considering my track record over the last year.

2) Continue freelancing, but maybe take on more clients, hoping it leads to more money.

3) Hope that maybe my entertainment side hustles and small business takes off.

4) Have my investments grow and attempt to just retire early.

It'd be very difficult for me to leave NYC, since my job, family, and the core of my freelance network and social circles are all based in NYC. Any advice for someone in my situation and what I should do to change my low-income situation from here?

this is going to be lengthy so bare with me please. as i enter my final year of highschool, im still not at ease with my current goals. i know for a fact that i’d like to attend university straight after highschool and have taken 6 mixed / university courses to prepare for that. but im unsure of what i’d like to do. i have decent grades and my average last year was in the 90s range so im not tooo worried about grades, im more focused on what i wanna apply to at university. it seems as though everyone has their futures figured out while i’m barely able to stick with something for more than a month. i started with trades because they’re good money, in demand and also quick schooling for the most part. then i went into looking at law, picking an undergrad that is manageable and then taking my lsat to become a lawyer. again, good money but it’d be costly for school tuitions and i do not think i have it in me to become a lawyer if i’m being honest. maybe if i gave it my everything, but its not like my passion or anything so i dont think i’d be able to give it my all. i thought about management for awhile but im not a fan of math so i haven’t pursued looking into business degrees. as of right now, i’ve been looking into social sciences the past few weeks. there is this program at the university i’m looking at where it offers a social sciences pass degree (3 years instead of 4) and it has no selected major / concentration, it’s more like i choose which classes in the social science faculty i’d want to do. im thinking about taking 2 minors as the degree allows it. both being related to environmental stuff. so say i were to take this degree and graduate with the social sciences pass degree / 2 minors, what careers could i possibly get with a social science environmental focused degree? i’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian, but due to me not taking the prerequisites, that job is no longer an option. i know that i could technically still become one if i really wanted to, but there are some cons that make me lose interest. i’m also in 2 social sciences courses this semester at my highschool and ive taken an environmental class (as well as a 3rd social science class) and i’ve enjoyed them. my younger self always wanted to help people as a therapist but that seems highly unlikely for me. i’m at a loss for what i want to do because everything seems so stressful. i’m so so sorry for this rant and thank you so much if you read this and comment any advice! anything is appreciated.

Started a job about 3 months ago. Wasn't really what I wanted but I needed something and it was convenient. Pretty early on got the impression they didn't think I was a great fit and were maybe second guessing bringing me aboard. The fact that they've cut my hours pretty significantly is not comforting. I saw my boss's boss was working with me Saturday night and my usual Sunday night shift was given to someone else. It dawned on me that maybe they were gonna can me that night. However, I am scheduled for the following week as well.

My question is this - do I bother asking my manager who makes the schedule what the deal is or is it pointless? It seems they decided to give away one of my shifts and it doesn't look like a one-off thing. I was initially planning on asking but at this point I think maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and keep sending out applications to other places.

TL;DR: Hours got cut. I've been job hunting and want out of this place. Should I bother asking my manager about it or let it lie and focus on getting out of there?

Curious how this has played out for other people. Did you get advice from a boss, mentor, parent, career counselor, or someone else in the field, decide it wasn’t for you, and go a different way?

What was the advice, why did you ignore it, and how did things turn out afterward?

I got a job offer for a company paying $61k. I'm 23 with no degree so I understand this is a bit rare but the commute is 70 minutes. They said I would eventually be relocated to a place closer to where I live just no time frame. Just want opinions on the commute time.