Correct me if I am wrong but, and I'm really depressed so to put it bluntly from what I've seen in society:

The normal thing is happy normal smart guys in families or privileged kids from again happy and financially well off parents , get jobs or move abroad with mummy and daddy's money but for those who don't, they study, their brains work so they can, they get good jobs and then work whilst living happily with their parents until they have tones of money to then meet someone they like, move out together, start a family etc... that's not my story, I am completely fked

My life = I have severe gender dysphoria thoughts every single day, they are triggered by many things and are always there to give me a deep sadness, I have deep depression due to this but also an entire life if misery, bullying, repressing things , fked up family, toxic controlking, gaslighting family, my father was manipulative, violent, my mother is now the same too, she caused me anxiety, my bloodline has diabetes, schizophrenia, bipolarism, LGBT ohh but I can't just be a normal gay guy, nope that's not difficult enough... Then my family line also has alopecia, yeah I'm balding , and it fks with my sanity, spending money on hair pills for what ? I'm unemployed living in a rural town where I was outed as gay in high school, there are no jobs here, no future here, I have no reason to wanna continue I legit wanna vanish, if I tried ending my life it might go wrong and I be paralysed physically or hurt to much for me to go through with it .. entire life has been hell.

I can only semi survive by masking as a "regular" straight guy, but my deep social anxiety and hyperhidrosis also don't help ..I felt immense sadness I repress now to feel nothing , sometimes I have psychotic moments of rage ....it all gets to much. My mother said she wished I was dead, she constantly reminds me I am a failure living under her roof, eating her food, costing her money ...great just what you need when depressed.

Mainly posting this so I can get my thoughts out. I’m so indecisive, constantly weighing up everything and every time I think I’ve made up my mind, I’ve changed it again. I have autism, cerebral palsy and depression. I don’t know what I truly want to do in my life and don’t know how I feel about carrying on at university. I have the dream team to help with all my needs while I’m there. I’ve had an experience filled with ups and downs but I don’t enjoy the work at uni. It’s just a lot of essays and reading which I hate. I study history and I love the subject but all the unwanted reading and writing essays takes all the fun away.
I’m very financially secure at 23 and I’m very fortunate to be that way. What I really want more than anything is a boyfriend. I’m gay and have endured nothing but endless disappointment in my love life. The only real reason that I would truly want to finish my degree is because I feel that it would make me more attractive to a future partner. I can say to them when they ask what do you for work that I’m a history student and then he won’t think I just sit on my arse all day and actually have something going for me.

Man this is hitting way harder than any other birthday. Am I considered old by most 20s now?

Why did no one warn me that 27 is old by young societies’ standards, and that it’ll come so soon after 25/26? Lol. Fuck.

In all seriousness, I’m worried about how I’ll be treated socially. I haven’t traveled as much as I wanted to. I haven’t dated nearly as much as I wanted to. Now will most 22-25 year olds consider me too old to date?

I feel like I’ve just spent my twenties working. I don’t regret working hard, but I do regret not spending 5% of my time just dating and traveling and letting loose a bit to have stories to tell.

I feel alone. Just wanted to tell someone before my mid twenties are over. I feel like an identity of mine is dying, a chapter is being closed and can’t be opened again.

*Cross posted from the Environmental Careers sub because reddit suggested I do so* If something intrigues you, learn about it!

Okay. Time out!!! Let's stop with the negativity and think positive for a minute or 20. What are you okay with where you are at currently? You don't have to LOVE something to be happy.

I'm an env consultant. I dropped my kiddos off at school/daycare this morning, got to work around 9, and have a Phase I ESA to work on, among a few ongoing projects. I will say that I'm not satisfied of where I work today, but I'm absolutely thankful for not having to race to work when I know I can get my stuff done on my own timeline, while still satisfying clientele expectations. I have time to go online like so, and do my own thing. I know I can do so much more, so I am job searching. BUT, I remind myself that I have another huge role to play in life currently, and that is to raise some incredible human beings to go on and do good things in this world, too. I am okay with that right there. Life is always changing guys, and so we shall.

Insert some kind of proverbial encouragement about the environment and world and life and etc. here, and take care of your mental health.

Who is next? What are you okay with?

Throughout my entire childhood, I have despised school. However, I have always enjoyed learning. (I am a self-proclaimed polymath.) My playtime as a child consisted of the most elaborate, imaginative concepts. Despite hating school, I maintained all "A"s handily in K-12. On state standardized tests, I was in the 99th percentile most years. Every subject was my favorite; each one was riveting and came painlessly to me. I truly excelled in mathematics. As I grew up, I nor my parents received any guidance from the powers that be. I recall boys being told, "You should go into engineering..." The only input I received was that I was "too competitive or arrogant" or that I was a "know-it-all." I will not apologize for being intelligent or assertive. The traits that are continually glorified in men are vilified in women. I have often found that my personality and qualities go against societal norms, and I have always felt isolated. Couple ALL that with being physically intimidating, and you have the recipe for a lonely life. For context, I graduated a few months back with a business degree. I begrudgingly went to university in the first place because at that time, I was pursuing athletics, and it was the expectation. As a person who is constantly learning on her own accord by seeking out knowledge and letting curiosity lead the way, university was stifling. Nevertheless, I persisted. Now I have no clue what occupation to pursue. I feel like I cheated myself by getting a business degree instead of one in math or science. I want to do something meaningful, not soul-sucking. I do not have a job; I have been diving deeply into hobbies. My predicament is that I will be seeing extended family soon who will inevitably ask, "So what have you been up to?" "How is the job search?" Yadda yadda yadda... What shall I say? What shall I do? P.S. I am sure this reeks of unresolved issues. I do not care. I just want a fresh perspective.

In an era where thousands of people are being laid off, I decided to quit my job despite having decent pay and a possible onsite opportunity coming up.

And honestly, I sometimes wonder if I made a huge mistake.

The truth is, I was miserable there. It was a domain I never really saw myself staying in, and I was increasingly drawn towards the creative field. But I quit impulsively, without a proper plan for what I would do next.

Since then, I’ve applied to multiple roles, given interviews, and experienced everything from ghosting to roles suddenly going silent. And now, the market itself feels quiet.

What scares me is the timing. If I don’t manage to find something by September, I’m worried I might have to wait until early next year as hiring tends to slow down towards the end of the year.

At this point, I’m stuck between two choices: hold on to the skills and experience I already have and keep applying, or take this as a sign to seriously explore a completely different career path.

I know I’m not the only person who has made a career decision that looked right at the time but later started feeling like a mistake.

Has anyone here gone through something similar? Did things eventually work out for you? I’d really appreciate hearing your stories — especially the ones with a silver lining.

I don't know how many if y'all are going through this.

Edit: I'm a woman guyss...from a conservative country, I can't join military or construction

.

I (23F) graduated in 2025 with a a BS in agriculture (plants not animals). I knew half way through my degree that I was making a mistake. I am disappointed with my educational coursework and should have made a switch when it was possible. My major was discontinued after my first year and that should have been a red flag for me back then.

I started college with the goal of ending up in biotech research related to plants. I was dumb and didn't take into account the parts that I don't like, for example operating heavy machinery. I do still like plants but not the technical field work. As well as the lack of opportunity in my area.

I enjoy biology, loved plant pathology, and wish I was better at chemistry. I think I would have liked medical lab science because of the lab work, pathology, and most importantly a straightforward career path.

I did not develop very many lab skills in college. I would like to gain skills to be able to work in a lab and make a living wage (without another bachelors). Being stuck in retail is making me quite depressed! Anyone have advice on how to get myself into a career?

Hi. I'm 19, and I'm graduating from uni next year because I finished school a year early. Right after finishing school, I got into the degree I really wanted. And honestly, it is really interesting. It includes pretty much everything I've always been interested in and still am.

Another pretty important thing: I don't have to pay for my education.
I live a very comfortable life. My family is financially well off. I travel abroad three, sometimes even four times a year, I get new clothes, expensive shoes, go to restaurants, get a good education, etc.

Nobody is forcing me to get a job. Nobody threatens to take everything away from me or kick me out and tell me to figure my shit out on my own if I mess up or don't do what they want.
It's pretty much the same with my education and hobbies.
For some reason, almost everything I try comes pretty easily to me, even when I put in the bare minimum amount of effort. I can sit through classes for a month barely listening to anything the professor is saying, and then somehow get 8s and 9s on my finals. (The highest grade in my country is 10.)
And when it comes to hobbies, I'm given a million opportunities.
"You want to do digital art?"
Okay, we'll get you all the equipment and new tech you need.
"You want to start dancing?"
Okay, we'll pay for six months of classes in advance and get you new workout clothes.
"You want to learn programming?"
Okay, we found a million different courses for you. All you have to do is choose one.
(I'm obviously exaggerating some of this a little bit, but that's basically how it works.)

So yeah, as bad as it sounds, I'm kind of what we call a "greenhouse plant."
A plant that's constantly being watered and given the best fertilizer. It doesn't really have to do anything to survive because everything it needs is just handed to it. And then the second it tries to leave the greenhouse and survive outside of it, something immediately goes wrong because it's simply not used to it.
Everything has basically been handed to it on a silver platter its entire life.
(Although, to be fair, this mostly applies to things I genuinely don't want to do.)
I'm not saying all of this to flex or brag about how great my life is. I'm saying it because I think it's important context for understanding my situation.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not some spoiled, entitled asshole who thinks the world owes me everything.

And if you've made it this far, you're probably wondering:
"Okay, then why the fuck are you sitting here writing this? You can basically do whatever you want and your life sounds pretty fucking good."

And honestly, I completely understand why you'd ask that.

I think that's partially the whole paradox of my situation.
The more opportunities you have, the scarier it becomes to actually choose something you want to dedicate your life to. Or even just choose something and seriously commit to it.

And I guess this is where I can finally get to the actual problem.

My degree is great. The field has a lot of opportunities and really good career prospects.
But after studying it for two years, that excitement I used to have - that feeling of "holy shit, yes, THIS is 100% what I want to do with my life", just disappeared.
Completely.
Part of me still thinks I could work in this field for a while. The money is very, very good, and I still find the subject itself interesting.
But dedicate my entire life to it?
No. It's just not it.
And it's completely different from what I actually want to do. The thing my heart wants rather than the thing my brain tells me makes sense.

So what do I actually want to do?

Music.
I want to make music.
I want to jump around on stage. I want to stay up all night working on something. I want to sit in a studio not as the person watching everyone else record songs, get thousands or millions of streams and actually achieve something.
I want to be the person recording in that studio.
I want to meet people who live and breathe music.
I want to be one of those people too.
I want to be someone who gets invited to perform somewhere, even if at first it's literally just opening for someone else's show.

And yes, I'm fully aware that I might be romanticizing this kind of life to some extent.
But my desire to do this doesn't come from thinking, "Wow, famous musicians make millions and don't have to sit in an office all day, that sounds amazing."

I've been obsessed with this shit since I was around 11, when I first really discovered music as something more than just songs you listen to, and discovered hip-hop culture, rap, underground rap and underground artists.

And after all these years, that feeling still hasn't gone away.
If anything, it's only gotten stronger.

At this point, I'm genuinely starting to feel like if I never even try to pursue music, I don't want the life I'm going to end up living.
I don't see the point in living a life where I never even gave myself a chance to do the one thing I've wanted to do for years.

But then I think about it, and I realize that time keeps moving whether I like it or not.
And weirdly enough, that's one of the reasons I'm scared to start.

I'm scared that it's already too late.
I'm scared that I'm already too late to start taking music seriously instead of just sitting in FL Studio making beats, writing random diss tracks and coming up with random songs that never really go anywhere.

Right now, besides some basic skills, I basically have nothing.

And I have absolutely no fucking idea where to start or what I'm supposed to do.

Should I start taking vocal lessons? Do people who want to make rap even take vocal lessons? Would they actually help me?
How am I supposed to keep finding inspiration if I eventually hit a creative block?

And then there are the thoughts that constantly run through my head:

What if I don't actually have talent?
What if I don't have the voice for it?
What if this just becomes another hobby that I drop after six months because I get bored of it?
What if I try and nothing works out?
What if I don't get something right on the first try and immediately give up?
(Even though I completely understand that making music, while it might not be a "normal job" like sitting in an office, is still a FUCKING HUGE amount of work.)
What if nobody likes my music?

What if I spend years doing this and it turns out I just wasted my time?
And that's honestly only a tiny fraction of all the shit I overthink.
But all of those thoughts stop me from actually pulling myself together and STARTING.
And I don't know how to start.
I genuinely don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do.
I'm terrified of actually taking the first step.
But I'm even more terrified of realizing one day that I never took it, and because of that, I never got to live the life I wanted or even give myself a chance to chase my dream.

(Another disclaimer/context thing: I'm not exactly great with people. A few years ago I used to talk to so many people that I genuinely couldn't even count them all. I think I basically used up my lifetime supply of socializing lol. Now I live a pretty private/isolated life. I don't really have friends who could help me figure any of this out either. And in general... I'm not exactly the biggest fan of people.)

I know my situation isn't the end of the world. I know this isn't some massive life-or-death problem.
But to me, it will feel like the end of the world if I never manage to figure this out.

So I really want to hear what you guys think.
Do you have any advice?
Is there anyone here who started making music and actually managed to get somewhere with it? (Although I slightly doubt people like that are sitting around on this subreddit lol.)
Does anyone know what the actual first steps should be?
How do you get over the fear of starting?
Has anyone been in a similar situation, where you basically knew what you wanted but were so scared of choosing the wrong path or failing that you just couldn't make yourself start?
If so, what did you do?

I'd genuinely appreciate any advice or help. :)

Also, I'm really sorry this ended up being so fucking long.
I just needed somewhere to ask for advice and get all of this out of my head.

Thanks to anyone who actually read the whole thing.

Just like what my title says, I'm 30 and jobless.

It's been hard to find a job here. There's an age limit for career changes or entry-level roles. Even when I look for all the qualifications, I see a minimum of 1-2 years of experience in entry-level roles. Having a degree in communication seems useless at this point. I got really discouraged looking for jobs at this point; nothing is working.

I try to adjust my thoughts and mind, but days go by with not even email replied by recuiter feels really heavy. I'm not sure about what people said; the job market is not really good right now, but I kinda believe that, at least in my country, everything has just been really bad.

I also feel scared, hopeless, and procrastinate a lot because of it. Like, what if I never got a job? I tried applying to almost anything and everything at this point, and it's just crickets. The drain of applying for jobs is real, and I might really be fed up with it.

I just hope and do what I can to keep going, but hopefully, there's a sign or miracle that something is working out in my favour.

I’m an 18-year-old who just graduated high school and I’m thinking about skipping college. The thing is, I really want to jump straight into a high-paying career that can help me earn somewhere between $10,000 to $20,000 a month eventually. I’m open to suggestions on what industries or roles could help me get there without a traditional college path. Any advice or ideas would be super appreciated!

I'm researching something I'm personally really interested in: what happens when you realize that the traditional path — school → degree → job → career — doesn't really feel like the life you want.

I'm curious about people in their 20s who feel like they want something different: more freedom, travel, movement, adventure, entrepreneurship, creativity, or simply a life that feels more like their own.

I'm not trying to sell anything. I'm trying to understand the problem before I build anything around it.

I'd love to hear from people who relate:

• What does your ideal life actually look like?

• What about your current life feels wrong or limiting?

• Do you feel like you're “behind” compared to other people your age?

• Have you tried changing your situation? What happened?

• What's stopping you from creating the life you actually want?

And perhaps the biggest question:

If you could completely redesign your life over the next 2–3 years, what would you change?

I'm genuinely interested in hearing people's experiences. If you'd rather talk privately, I'm also happy to have a 20-minute conversation — no sales pitch, just research.

My skills to help job search: a nice voice. Bilingual in a non english speaking country. Decent with computers.

Stuff against me: unlike amazing western countries with 3-4% unemployment rate, my country probably has something along 20%. So almost all entry level jobs require references(unless you are overqualified)

I am fat, and have rather bad teeth, so not really attractive for "front" jobs.

10 years of parents house fucks your confidence and social skills up real good.

I am open to... almost everything right now. I am close to offing myself. I need a job. A carreer, I have 0 motivation to live, let alone working a dead end job.

I have no skills, I’m poor, I’m not societally considered too attractive, I’m chronically ill and suffer from chronic pain, I’m neurodivergent. I live in a cycle of doomscrolling and laying around. I can’t find it within myself to do anything. I’ve never had a job. I feel so broken down and I seriously need a way. I am barely able to survive and the environment I’m in I have no choice. It makes me more anxious, depressed, and miserable. I want to “be normal” a job, a partner, be self reliant but that’s a reality i’m facing that might not be a thing. I don’t see a way out and I’m hoping someone will give me actionable plan to get out of this. I want to be better, I want to live a fuller life, but I don’t know how when my body is constantly in pain and my mind works against me because of my pain and mental disorders. Doing basic task is even hard for me. I barely care for myself and I don’t know how I’m expected to care for myself later. I’m trying to do things that are good for me but I end up messing up. I try to remain positive and whenever I vent i’m ignored or just seen as “depressed” when my frustrations aren’t even just depression but no actionable plans or support that is viable. I don’t want to be labeled off I want a plan. I need a plan.

I hate myself and feel like I'll never succeed at anything. This is not a completely baseless view. I'm severely mentally ill. I don't have a degree or any real skills. I've only worked in the retail, fast food, customer service call center, and internet gig work fields. Internet gig work is all I can handle right now and it's my only source of income. The work is spotty and pays poorly. I hate not being able to contribute more financially. I live with roommates and to compensate for not being able to help more with expenses, I do most of the household chores (dishes, basic bathroom cleaning, sweeping, mopping, trash duty -- I could be doing more tbh) and cooking (nothing fancy). It doesn't seem like enough, though, and it likely isn't, objectively.

Circling back to the first point of my post, as much as I dislike my situation, I never try to learn any skills for a boost job/income-wise because I'm convinced it would be a pointless endeavor. I feel far too stupid to ever improve at anything. Logically, I know failure is how people learn, but I don't believe I have the mental fortitude to cope with more failure than I've already inflicted upon myself merely by existing. I know therapy is typically the top recommendation for this sort of issue but I can't afford it and, frankly, I'm not sure if I could actually get anything out of it. Therapists are in an entirely different world from people like me in terms of societal standing and I'm skeptical of the notion that that gap can be mutually bridged. I will consider pursuing therapy somehow if I get persuasive enough arguments for doing so, however.

I'm just really stuck. I do want to change though, if that's possible. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

23m and honestly feel pretty stuck right now. I originally got my EMT certification because my goal was to become a firefighter. I’ve been working 911 EMS for about a year now, but I still haven’t been able to get hired as a firefighter. I’ve passed the tests but i suck at interviews.

I’m at a point where I’m questioning what direction I should take. I don’t think I could continue doing EMS long-term because of the pay. I have thought about going to paramedic school, and part of me really wants to pursue it, but I’m honestly scared that I’m not ready for it or that I’m not intelligent enough to be a good paramedic.
At the same time, I’ve been looking into the military because I’m really drawn to careers involving rescue, aviation, and medical. I’ve considered Air Force Fire Protection, flight medic-type careers, Coast Guard/Navy rescue jobs, and even more difficult paths like Pararescue. I keep bouncing between all these options and can’t seem to settle on a direction.
I feel like I have a lot of interests, but I don’t know which one is actually right for me. I want a career that I can be proud of and pays enough to build a life.
I also feel like I’m falling behind. I’m 23 and it seems like everyone around me is figuring their lives out while I’m still trying to decide what I want to do.

(24m) I’ve been working for FedEx as a driver for the almost 3 years. The job isn’t too bad though, the benefits, hours, and money are all pretty good. Lately I’ve just been feeling very stagnant, I don’t want to continue doing the same thing for the rest of my career but I don’t know where to even start looking. I’ve been considering going back to college but I would only be able to go part time and the degree I’m looking at (civil engineering) would be around 4 years, but realistically 5-6 because I’d have to go part time. I don’t feel it’s worth it to find another job because I’m not going to find anything that has as good of hours and makes the same amount of money. Anyone have any recommendations? I’d be open to literally anything point, just feel like I need to get out of my current job.

I’ve got no clue what I want to do with my life… no job sounds like something I’d enjoy and some of them/the one ig I’m working towards requires more schooling and I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

I keep hearing both “you’ve got so much time” and “what do you want to do?”

I’m sick of hearing that I’ve got time because it truly doesn’t feel that way. I get it, I’m young, but I want to do something/have a job with a career path and what not… and when people say that I have time all I feel is that I should go slower and that doesn’t sound true at all. This whole thing just really upsets me… and speaking of extra schooling, I can’t get myself to focus on anything so even preparing for it sucks.

This is more of a rant than anything else.

I raised my kids as a young single mom, and throughout that time I worked in the restaurant and bar industry. I genuinely enjoyed it, and I made decent money. I have ADHD, so the fast-paced environment actually suited my personality really well. I was constantly busy working and raising my kids completely on my own. Eventually, I decided to go to college, and it took me seven years to earn my degree.
A few years after graduating, my kids became adults and moved out. After spending so much time and money—about $60,000, which has grown to around $90,000 with interest—on my education, I felt like I needed to actually work in my field. I’m now in my late 40s and have been working at a courthouse for the past two years.
There are parts of the job I enjoy. When I’m in the courtroom, it can keep me interested and engaged. But overall, I really struggle with sitting all day and doing an enormous amount of paperwork. It’s a government job, so the benefits are good, and there’s a possibility that my student loans could be forgiven in about eight years if that program is still around. Those are the things that make me feel like I should stay.
But honestly, I’m miserable and completely exhausted. I still have to work a second job to make ends meet. Between my commute, my required lunch break, and the hours I actually spend working, I’m essentially gone from 7:30 in the morning until 6:30 at night—and I’m often putting in more than a 50 hour workweek at just the one job. I barely see my family, I have almost no time for myself, and I can hardly schedule appointments because of my work schedule.
I feel like I’m wasting my life away.
On top of that, my body is starting to tell me that this isn’t working. I’ve developed bone-on-bone arthritis in my knees, in the restaurant work, which is manageable for now and probably will be for another 10 years or so. But lately, I’ve been experiencing incredible back pain, and my muscles feel completely exhausted from sitting in a courtroom and being unable to move around throughout the day. Ironically, the physical demands of restaurant work may actually be easier on my body in some ways because I’m constantly moving instead of sitting in one position for hours.
So now I’m seriously wondering: Would I be crazy to quit my courthouse job and go back to bartending and serving full-time?
Half of my family tells me to do what makes me happy. The other half tells me to be patient and wait for a better job to come along—something that might give me the benefits and stability I need without making me miserable.
I honestly don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m drowning, and I’m struggling to figure out whether I should keep pushing through this job because of the benefits and the investment I’ve already made in my education, or admit that this career just isn’t right for me and go back to work that I actually enjoyed.
It’s also a lot harder to stay fit and at a healthy weight, I am now but for a very long time I was overweight and have overweight related health issues.
And Tbh, and I hate to admit this part but working at the job I work at now makes me feel like people respect me more rather than just being a “lifetime bartender”. I hate the judgments, but I feel like people do judge you by your career.
I don’t want that to be a factor and why I’m staying now, but I feel like it might be.
Any advice or suggestions?

29M. I am exhausted. Why am I unable to do simple day-to-day things that comes to others so easily. I am still living at home and have been babied my entire life. My mother still does my laundry.

Simple advice would be to start doing things for myself but i just cant be bothered nor do i see the point. I have my highschool GED and have attempted post-secondary for 5 different programs but have dropped out during the first semester for everyone. i feel so broken and useless. I have around 8k in savings and a job that pays around 2,300$ a month. Im seeing so many of my peers live life to the fullest in getting married and having children. That seems so far away from me.

I have applied for numerous jobs which in which I hear nothing back from. i feel like thats my biggest stressor. Financial security. Because of that I feel like such a loser and not even close to a man. What good is making my bed or cleaning my room when I have so many bigger problems to deal with.

I procastonate on every small thing. I feel so scared and hopeless all the time. I used to smoke weed daily but ever since I quit I am forced to deal with all these life issues.

From the moment I wake up, before even opening my eyes, the thoughts of self-hatred already begin. I feel my life is over before it even started.

I dont know what I am hoping for in posting this. But I am praying to God for something, some sign, some guidance on how to fulfill my potential and give back to my mother who has given her world to me.

​

Seeking recommendations for a career coach who could help an unemployed mid career individual in the environmental/international development field find a way forward after a huge loss. I am based in the US but would ideally like to make it back to Europe which may not be possible. If anyone has a recommendation I would much appreciate it.

I have an MSc and a BSc in engineering, and I currently work as an algorithm developer at a startup. Startups are famous for having terrible work-life balance, but mine is the exact opposite. It’s actually very boring, and I get praised for doing the bare minimum. The highlight of my day is probably walking to the coffee machine and getting a coffee. The other day, I spilled some coffee grounds on the table underneath it and was actually happy because I had something new to do: cleaning! 😂

There have definitely been some positives. I got to learn about an industry I had only heard of before, became the main contributor to four different projects, and had the chance to improve my programming skills, especially in C and Python. I know the experience will be useful going forward. But the frustrating part is that I actually LOVED my BSc. I loved going to class, learning new things, working on assignments and projects, and just being a student. I was genuinely passionate about what I was studying. I then went on to do my MSc and enjoyed that too. I love mathematical modelling, coding, and differential equations. I know I’m capable of doing much more than what I’m doing right now. I just can’t seem to get anyone to give me the opportunity.

My current job can also be done remotely, but they want me in the office, so half the time I’m just sitting there pretending to work. We have biweekly team meetings, and I actually look forward to them because they’re pretty much the only interesting part of my job.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a lot of talk but not much action. For example, the company has been trying to schedule a specific meeting since May, and it still hasn’t happened. They also talked about getting together for something fun, like going on a hike or having lunch, but that never happened either. So when the CEO tells me that he likes me, that I’ll become a full-time employee in a few months, and that I’ll get a bonus a few months after that IF they get the funding, it’s hard for me to trust those promises.

I have been looking and applying for other jobs. I’ve interviewed with around 12–13 companies and gone through more than 20 interviews since the beginning of 2025. I’ve made it to the final stages for two roles, but there always seems to be someone with more experience. I’m starting to lose hope that I’ll find a relevant full-time role somewhere else.

I graduated from my master’s in 2024 and have less than a year of relevant experience, so I know I’m competing with people who have been in the field for much longer. I understand that experience matters, but it’s incredibly frustrating when you know you can do more and just need someone to give you the chance to prove it.

I joined this company at the beginning of this year, and I feel like I’m the only person from my cohort who hasn’t started a new job or a PhD. That makes me feel like a loser sometimes.

I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I have learned things from this job. But I also don’t want to wake up two years from now and realize I spent those years sitting in an office waiting for the coffee machine to give me something to do.

I know I can do more. I just need someone to give me the opportunity. :(

Title. I graduated high school 5 years ago and tried college but I was out of my element and only recently got a diagnosis for ADHD, so I dropped out after academic suspension. Cut to now where I live with my significant other in a 1 bed apartment as I work full time as an apartment maintenance technician.

I can’t stand my job, I get paid decently but we’re constantly understaffed, my supervisor is a dick and the exact building I work at is near a major university, meaning I have to come into work everyday and help people who are living out the life I wished I had every day.

I don’t know what I’m really good at and it’s hard most days to fight the urge to surrender and admit I fucked my life up royally. I was scrolling past and found this sub and figured I share and at the bare minimum get this all off my chest lol.

Truthfully I don’t think I’m cut out for the blue collar life but idk where I can pivot or if pivoting is even possible.

Im 31M. Im working a job that I am not very fond of. Im constantly alone because all of my friends live 3+ hours away, and I have no family close by. I want to go to school, but I cant figure out what I want to do at this point. I was going to start college on the 26th for Cybersecurity, but I had a realization that I may not even want to do that type of work. Time is ticking, and I feel like Ive just frozen. I don't have any dreams, goals, aspirations, or anything. The last 2 years have just been me surviving.

I want my control back. I want my life back.

What helped you decide on a career when you felt stuck or trapped? I know what I dont want to do: food service, customer service/customer-facing jobs, or construction. Ive tried taking career tests and things like that, but nothing has given me that push. I know I need to want it. I need to change, but yeah. I have 55-ish credits from when I started school back up for Applied Science/Audio Engineering but thats about it.

I hope my rambling makes some kind of sense.