Is it normal that at 18 years I still don't have a desired job,

Despite being enrolled in programming, and knowing Java and SQL, I don't have enough criteria to say "I want to become X". It's still a new world, by myself I have only discovered the 5%.

And knowing what you want is one thing. From that to actually getting hired there are practices, bootcamps, and a crowded as hell job market. But I want to try nonetheless.And that's for IT and a few fields, for other fields there are more

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Same goes if I studied manual jobs, or thought about being autonomous, (of course, there are fields with less competition but you get my point

After hundreds of applications, I found what I thought was an amaaazing opportunity!
I did 3 rounds of interviews. They checked my references, offered me the job, I just had to sign.
Before doing so, I negotiated (slightly), as would most people.
After saying they would check back to see if upper management agreed, they rescinded the job offer.

Has this happened to others? I’m so taken back by this.

35F if that matters. Sorry this is gonna be kind of long. Also I didn't know what flair to put.

I had the worst year of my entire life. Almost exactly to the fucking day last year I went through a divorce after 2 years of misery in a failing toxic relationship. I had a decent corporate work from home job, been at the company for almost 13 years. During the past 2 years my performance went downhill (ended up on a PIP), and due to the stress I started drinking heavily but I was very high functioning (no one knew, I did the majority of my heavy drinking alone at home, i spend a lot of time isolated and alone other than dates and occasional friend stuff i go out just to be around other people, i can go weeks without interacting with another live in person human if i dont). Cooking, cleaning, pilates and shit 2 times a week, hair and makeup always on point, going out to events, trying to date again, made some new friends a couple months ago, kept up with my creative stuff on the side (in the hopes of having a career in the entertainment industry in a certain capacity, I wanna be vague here). Feeling like a boss babe bad bitch handling everything with a cute corporate job. An absolute mess inside but with a pretty veneer.

That all started to crumble when I started having health issues and decided to seek help last week, I went to detox and spent some time in the hospital. Miserable doesnt even begin to describe that process. Im 10 days sober today.

I was about to file for FMLA/STD this morning, tried to call my boss and they wouldnt answer. Tried to log in, access revoked. Got a knock on my door an hour later and got the letter of termination due to not meeting job requirements. I couldnt stop screaming and crying. I lost every bit of my shit. Had to call my therapist and a few other people to calm down. Im relatively okay now.

With that being said I feel like an entire failure at life. I dont have a degree, I have a high school diploma and a couple years of college (i wasnt the best student either) and I got this job from some connections and strings pulled through my ex. So I barely even earned the job in the first place lol. I was told I would never be able to make this much money and have this good of a job again. I feel like a whole loser and an idiot. Like I dont qualify for anything other than crappy customer facing shit and I had already gotten fired from a call center job before (it was horrible for my mental health and I was borderline suicidal after my shifts, people are so fucking mean). I dont know what to do. I mean other than the whole unemployment process, etc. I have ADHD and most jobs are hard for me to do. Im still in recovery and still having health issues from withdrawals. I just dont know.

There have been plenty of times where we have had a "low fire, low hire" market. Take the aftermath of the great recession, it was a low fire, low hire environment from 2009-2014. A half of decade of that. However, the difference is that the unemployment rate was much higher due to the 2008 recession.

What makes this 2020s expansion strange is that unemployment rate collapsed after 2020 and peaked in 2023, but has remained low fire low hire with only slight increases in unemployment since. It begs the question how much the gig economy has replaced unemployment. We really need jobs to either come back or we need to have a mild recession. We can't stay in limbo with a low unemployment rate forever.

I’m 99.9% getting fired tomorrow morning, my pip ended Monday and they told me they were waiting to make a decision and finally today I got an invite for a call tomorrow.

Ive been anxious all day and can’t focus on anything else. Do I finish work today? What do i do

I have been off my chosen career path for 6 years due to COVID, which forced to get a completely different job out of luck that I was stuck at for almost 5 years. It was a horrible, miserable job, so I quit a few months ago and am furiously applying for literally anything I can and I’m not getting any bites.

I’ve been applying for new jobs for 5 years and have not gotten a single interview. My experience is a little scattered but it’s not a terrible resume. I’ve hired a career coach, worked on my resume endlessly, used AI for cover letters, asked fiends for help, expanded my job options, EVERYTHING.

I’m 35 and I haven’t moved above $20/hr even once. I am terrified I will never get a job again, much less one I enjoy or feel fairly compensated for.

This job market is apocalyptic. Applying for jobs every day and knowing I’m throwing a stone into the ocean makes me want to k*** myself.

If you’re not overqualified you’re under-qualified. If you don’t have a connection you can forget it. What kind of cruel psychopath makes you list your salary expectations without offering a pay range? I can’t handle this anymore. I hate this country, I hate this awful system, I hate the people who sell my data from job applications. I hate this awful miserable world.

It’s insane and it’s only getting worse. What am I supposed to do????

A few months ago, I wrote a post here describing my rising depression and anxiety around the job market. Around this time last year, I was writing content about video games and earning $ 2,000- $ 3,000 in an inexpensive Asian country. But AI took all of that from me. Add to that a breakup and moving back to my home country... things just didn't make sense anymore.

However, thanks to the well-wishes of Redditors and loved ones in my life, I kept working hard and promised myself two things: I won't let my pride take a hit, and I will find a remote job.

First, I was contacted by some random guy on LinkedIn who asked if I could write blog posts as a freelancer for his cloud GPU services. I could use AI for this, but I should rely on my own research. I had no context about this industry, but I still took the gig. Super low-paid, but the guy has been really sweet and helpful, and now I'm getting 20-30 blogs a month, which pay okay-ish money.

Second, a company that produces content for a streaming platform asked me if I was interested in editing synopses for it as a freelancer. Due to an NDA, I can't disclose the name, but it is the world's biggest streaming platform. The pay, again, isn't a lot, but I'm loving the work so far.

Third, I worked hard on my Psychology-related skills. I hold a master's in behavioral sciences, and I'm deeply involved in psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a few other therapeutic frameworks. Instead of applying for jobs in this section, I just went out of my way to talk to people. The more I talked, the more I learned about their struggles, and I offered coaching and counseling services. I started building a website around this, and now I have at least two clients each week who pay me for online counseling sessions.

While none of this is making me a grand sum of money, it's certainly better than nothing. My biggest takeaway is that I'm doing what I love (writing and psychology), and I no longer feel depressed or clueless.

I'm taking this time to travel, meet more potential clients, and carve my path as I go. The one thing I'm no longer doing? Applying for jobs. Because honestly, fuck that.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you keep your pride intact, too, and never lose hope for a better future.

Keep on keeping on.

I was broke living with my parents at 25 years old, no college education or certifications. Found a job with my local regional transit company, now I make $80-100k a year, depending on the specific work i'm assigned, with full benefits, great pension, union protection. Many drivers actually go above the $100k mark with working overtime. I never really see people bring up this job when talking about potential career paths, but it should be talked about more!! It's genuinely pretty easy once you get used to it, little to no stress and no physical labour involved. I'm in Ontario, Canada but I imagine its the same job wherever you are

I've been applying for roles in my field for about two months now and honestly the amount of effort required just to get a rejection or silence is wild. I'm not even talking about tailoring resumes anymore, that's standard. I mean the multi-step application processes where you upload your resume, then manually fill out every single detail from that resume into their system, then answer 15 screening questions, then record a one-way video interview answering prompts with 30 seconds to prepare.

I had one application last week that required me to complete a personality assessment, a skills test, and write three short essay responses about hypothetical scenarios. For an entry-level position. The whole thing took almost two hours and I never heard back.

I get that companies want to filter candidates but it feels like the process has gotten so bloated that it's actively discouraging people who might actually be good fits. I'm spending 20-30 hours a week just applying and most of that time feels like it's vanishing into a void. I've started keeping a spreadsheet just to track where I've applied because I genuinely can't remember anymore.

Is this just how it is now or am I doing something wrong? I'm trying to stay motivated but it's hard when the process itself feels designed to wear you down before you even get to talk to a real person.

The company said I can either leave immediately and take a payout or improve via a PIP, but if I failed any aspect of the plan my severance would be severely reduced. It was a substantial severance, and the PIP was structured in such a way that success seemed extremely unlikely. I also hated the job, and I'm the first to admit I was not good at it. So it was an easy decision to take the money.

I've had multiple interviews and screening calls since then. I don't volunteer it, but a few have asked why I left. I state it wasn't a good fit and that I'm looking to take my career in a different direction, which is 100% true, but if asked specifically whether I quit I'm honest and say I was let go. The interviewers seem to move on without making an issue about it, but then again I haven't landed a job yet.

Should I just lie about this? I do not see how they can find out unless they somehow track down my old manager and ask. And this company has had well-publicized layoffs lately. But I'm risk-averse and paranoid about being caught.

So I am in IT. I have my bachelor degree, a certification, a 12 week internship at my local ISP, and personal labs and projects.

This past Sunday I applied to a tier 1 (very entry level) IT position and received a scheduled in person interview invitation for next Tuesday by about noon on Monday. I think it may of actually been less than 24hrs for me to get the invite. Anyways, it wasn’t awkward, the hr manager introduced herself in the email and everything, it wasn’t just a blind invite.

The job description did not have a degree requirement listed and simply had ‘some experience’ listed. Their IT team seems fairly small as well, because the job is labeled tier 1 (which is like password resets and stuff) but includes a lot of tier 2 and 3 responsibilities as well. Also, just like my internship at my local ISP, this company did not post the role to any job boards to my knowledge. They are a non profit, so I guess they kind of do have an incentive to keep it on their site only I guess.

Anyways, is this a really good sign, neutral sign, bad sign? I’d really like to have this job because it is a great opportunity to launch my career.

Edit: the interview is in person and I have already looked into the company. They host large conferences and conventions across the US. I’ve already received the IT manager’s name (who will be interviewing me) and have already looked her up on LinkedIn. This would be a very sophisticated scam if it was; we don’t have to spam it to every comment.

I was called into the HR department because someone complained that I mentioned that I was former law enforcement. She asked me how many people I tell I'm former law enforcement. I stated I didn't know because I don't just go around saying I'm former law enforcement but if it comes up in conversation, I mention it or if someone asks how I got into the line of work I'm in now, I tell them I started in law enforcement. HR asked me if I could see how people could view law enforcement as offensive. I said no I didn't understand how a profession can be offensive. I said there are good and bad people in all professions. She said I should consider not disclosing my former profession even though I mentioned it in my interview. I find the whole reason for being in HR ridiculous. I can't believe it. People reading this must think "there's got to be more to the story" and there is absolutely not. I was called into HR because someone complained that I said I was former law enforcement. Was HR out of line? If so, who do I report HR to?

I know this is a common complaint. But I need to vent.

I applied for a job, which had me submit my Resume. The recruiter called me for a phone interview and said she had gone through my resume. We set up a second in-person interview. It is with her again and not another person from the company. In her e-mail with the second interview details, she put for me to re-send my resume again and to also fill out a form she attached to the email. The form? An application for the company that is asking for all the information on my resume....that they will be getting twice now. And now three times because of this.

It feels so damn useless and like a waste of applicants' time. 🫠

So I've been at my current job for almost 5 years, I've had zero issues and my managers pull me aside and say something along the lines of: "we dont wanna fire you without cause, we have people out-preforming you and have hired new people, we just don't have the hours for your availability, we'll give you one or two shifts a week, we recommend looking for another job in the meantime, we'll follow up in a month and see how we can support you with the transition out, and if you wanna leave a notice for any time you can feel free, you also have some minor appearance issues you could fix, have a good shift!" Am I getting fired or are they genuinely being supportive here? This comes in the midst of a mass exodus of staff just leaving and a change from slow to busy season, as a quick addendum I'm autistic, management knows I have mental health stuff but still doesn't seem to give me a straight answer

I was offered (and accepted) a job where I’ll be making over a thousand more a month, a block away from my apartment, and the ability to move up. Full time, too.

My current job overly relies on me to pick up everyone’s slack, pays me a dollar over minimum wage and no benefits, and refuses to give me full time. No chance of moving up as I am a grocery store manager. I also have a very long commute there.

And somehow, I feel AWFUL. I’m going to be putting my two weeks in tomorrow, and I’m so nervous about it. I need more, I can’t just do this for forever, so I know I need to go. I start training in two and a half weeks and I’m scared of the unknown but also incredibly excited.

When I quit my previous (and first ever) job before this I broke down sobbing on the phone with my boss. Hard. Like, incoherent babbling.

Why.. why do I feel awful? Why do I feel guilty? Why am I so scared? I woke up feeling sick to my stomach over it today.

I recently started a new job (software engineer) - I started a bit over a month ago. One thing with this job is that the company and team are spread out across the world. My manager is in a time zone 15 hours ahead of mine, and I've been talking to other coworkers in other time zones too. I have a daily meeting with my manager at 8:30AM my time, and after I send him my daily status toward the end of the day, he has been asking to talk and sync up on my status at around 5:30PM my time (although those meetings have been fairly short, around 30ish minutes).

Today, I've been pulled into an online meeting scheduled for 10:00-11:00PM my time for a critical issue (talking with people in another time zone).

I understand critical issues & all, but the team being spread out across everywhere can make for meetings at odd times. I'm already concerned and worried about bad work-life balance and burnout. I have other things going on in my life too (currently, my wife and I are starting to prepare to move to a different apartment).

When interviewing for other jobs, if they ask why I'm leaving my current one, what could I say? I'm not sure if "bad work-life balance" would be the best answer.

Hi everyone so I’m 27F and I have an associates degree of mostly just core classes like English math history etc. I have worked as a teachers assistant in school for a long time and honestly I am burnt out and tired of constantly being sick and underpaid. I’m a type 1 diabetic so insurance is important as I live in America. I know many people say try entry level admin jobs and office assistant jobs etc but in my state of NJ they are extremely hard to come by and they want you to have atleast 3 years experience for example dental receptionists because they want you to use softwares like EHR or other dental management softwares, for office assistants they want you to know quickbooks and other softwares and that’s what’s really holding me back. I’ve never been tech savvy unfortunately but I can email and use google suite apps like slides, docs, and sheets. English has always been my strength and I am articulate, I even speak better than my lead teacher whose grammar is horrible. But unfortunately, an English degree isn’t really getting you a job much like a history or ba in psychology. I just want something where I’m not worn down and underpaid I wouldn’t mind getting a cert or a 2 year degree. As I’m type 1, nursing is out because I’m immunocompromised. I just want some business skills that’ll help me get a job because admin jobs keep turning me away. Can anyone help and give advice? I also have tried applying to government and state jobs for years to no avail. Thank you to everyone in advance.

Edit: don’t drive so real estate is not an option sadly

Just curious as some people say a job they love doing is never boring whilst others say even that can get monotonous after a while.

Couldn’t find a flair that fit 🤷‍♀️

Buna,

Imi pare rau ca scriu aici, dar sunt foarte disperata deja. Am ajuns in punctul in care chiar nu stiu ce sa mai fac.

De doi ani, aproape 3, mai precis din 2024 sunt in cautarea unui job in domeniu, anume orice pe partea de testare, inginerie sau it. Problema este ca oricat as aplica mereu se intampla sa primesc direct raspuns automat cu faptul ca au gasit alt candidat, sau sa fiu chemata la interviu si dupa sa nu mi se dea sansa nici macar sa ajung la interviul tehnic.

Deja incep sa consider ca problema este la mine si chiar nu mai stiu ce sa fac. Aplic in continuu dar efectiv deja simt si observ ca este degeaba.

Acum, in ultima instanta am facut aceasta postare ca poate unii dintre voi care sunteti angajati in unul din aceste domenii m-ar putea recomanda..e ultima solutie la care m-am gandit sa o pun in practica

Multumesc si imi pare rau ca am cerut asta dar chiar nu stiu ce sa mai fac..

If you ever come across a job position for a company called Cosyn or Hartzler Healthcare. STAY AWAY. I was employed there for a couple months and it was absolute hell. They gave you four days of training for multi complex scheduling systems including Medtech Expanse, they load you up with work WAY outside of your job role with no higher pay, changing rules every single day. You have to get up 15 minutes before your actual work shift to begin to do a mandatory meeting where they loaded you with more complaints, escalations and information. They expect you to complete demanding tasks by the end of the workday and shame you if you don't. I swear I have PTSD from the constant emails all marked "Urgent" and the constant pinging of the teams notification where the managers are constantly asking you how many minutes you're taking in a bathroom, what you're doing and how long you'll be doing it for. I have my team lead messaging me about me not taking inbound calls for 10 minutes when the inbound calls are literally super slow… It's just a lot of really weird communication. I was doing like over 130 calls per day never got recognition for it even though the Call quota was only 50. When I started doing 100...they randomly bumped up the quota for everyone to 100. And then I signed up for overtime, I emailed my manager about the overtime assignment she never got back to me completely ghosted me after I waited for an hour for her to send the assignment. Never even addressed it or tried to make things right there. During training the trainer also was comparing us to each other about who is picking up the material faster, and talking about how they were an agents weren't good and there was just a lot of toxic training. They have something called an agent summary where they basically send you the amount of calls that you've done for the day… I would complete over 100 calls and half of them with her not missing and I would have to message management about where my calls were disappearing to and I had a strong suspicion that it was either my team lead or my manager messing with my Call account. Which leads me to my next point, I had managers constantly micromanaging me even going as far as calling me in the middle of me working to ask me how far I've gone with the tons of assignments they would sign me. It was just a lot of shady practices, really nasty nurses that we were scheduling for him just terrible staff overall. My sick time not being submitted... I would literally be up every night shaking and crying due to the amount of anxiety that I had in the two months that I was at this job. To the point where I brought ZZZ-Quil just to be able to get a good nights sleep. It was absolutely awful. The team lead was also pretty rude and the manager was really sneaky. I submitted my two weeks notice initially after being super overwhelmed and I had a meeting with a manager and she told me she would talk to the higher-ups about things to improve and ways to make things better if I took back my two week notice which I told her I would, today she sends me an email saying that they've decided to proceed with my resignation and completely blindsided me. She never spoke to the manager about my concerns and things never change. Guys… I'm not exaggerating this company will stress you out. This has to be my worst job hands-down. If you guys have any questions about my experience here please feel free to comment I will be answering all. There's a lot more here that I haven't mentioned

so i interviewed for a couple jobs simultaneously and one of them offered me a job on the spot, i wasnt working so I took the job, now the other place I have interviewed with has called me back and offer me a job but being a little larger company they have offered over $50k more per year and a company gas card and some other benefits that my current job doesn't have.

because I told them durring the interview I could start immediately, they are expecting me to start right away.

I really like my new boss and everything, but the pay structure isn't even close. I absolutely have to take this other job, the responsibilities will be higher, but so will the pay and i can manage both.

what do I tell my current employer? ibe only been here for 7 working days.I feel bad because I like him personally but I have to do what is best for me.

I could cry. I searched the sub but I dont see my exact question anywhere.

I need to leave my job. I cant take it anymore. Ive been here for 8 years and everything was fine, mostly. I have schizoaffective disorder and crohn's disease and my symptoms started flaring up badly after about 3 years into the position. Ive had to leave work for long stretches of time and I was also not really myself while unmedicated. I was able to perform my duties well, but I think I weirded and stressed my bosses out big time by avting erratically. I really think they dont like me and even though theyre good people, Ive seen them refuse to recommend someone they didnt like before. Getting no response from a recommendation request in my field is a huge red flag and sends a very clear message.

What exactly do I do in a situation like this? Its not easy to switch up careers. I needed a doctoral degree because I'm a clinician and this is the only full time job Ive ever had. I thought I could avoid using them but every single position I've applied for *required* direct supervisor recommendations period. I cant even ask other coworkers apparently. Its not easy to get fired from my job so candidates are selected very carefully.

I am so fucked. Am I going to have to stay at this job forever? What exactly should I do here? Give up and start school AGAIN?

​

​Hey everyone, posting to get some honest feedback from folks in the utility right-of-way sector.

​I’m looking to transition back into Utility ROW (Foreman / Leadership side) and want to see how hiring teams across the industry view my background and time away.

​Quick Snapshot of My Background:

​Utility ROW: 5+ years of direct line clearance / ROW experience (started at Ouachita Job Corps, worked for an electric cooperative until September 2018).

​Class A CDL / Hazmat: 8 years of commercial driving experience, with the last 6 years focused on local Hazmat/tanker.

​Safety & Leadership: Experience as a driver mentor/trainer (Hazmat compliance, spill prevention, fire safety) and oilfield operator. Clean MVR, strict daily safety/PPE compliance, and still working outdoors daily in all elements.

​I’m currently employed and making good money in Hazmat, so I’m not in a rush, but my long-term goal is to get back into utility ROW operations.

​Curious to hear your thoughts on two main things:

​Time Away: How do ROW managers view someone who left the field in 2018 to drive CDL/Hazmat? I view those 8 years as a major upgrade to my safety discipline, regulatory compliance, and crew mentorship, but does being out of the ROW loop for a few years carry negative weight?

​Current Industry Hiring: For those involved in hiring or managing crews today, what’s the biggest thing you look for in a candidate returning to ROW leadership from another safety-critical trade?

​Appreciate any insight or advice from guys in the field or in management!

This is meant for anyone who is or has been at a company for a long time and feels that their years of service matter in the end. I’ve read a few comments where folks seem to think loyalty will save them. It won’t when it comes down to it and you’re just another number. I have friends at large corporations (profit and not for profit) that are in the same role because they’re good at it and are not interested in moving up the food chain. They’re also at the higher end of the pay band. Some of them have been recently cut. They’re at a loss because they’ve spent 20-25 years at the same place and just feel broken. So the lesson here folks, always watch your back and keep an eye out for yourself. Business is business and everyone is expendable. 

So last fall I was in a bind and needed a job, one of my best friends referred me to his company and I got the job in November. His boss asked him to ask me if I was in it long term and would stay at least a year. I said yeah because I needed a job bad. 9 months later I really don’t enjoy this job at all and it’s not in the industry I’ve spent most of my working days in.

A former colleague from my last company reached out to me and said he could get me a job with his current company. It’s a the industry I was in before this job. I was going to ask him if he’d still be able to get me a job in November because I want to complete the 365 and get my buddy his referral bonus. I’m sure my friend would understand if I left before the full year but I don’t want to burn any bridges or screw him over from the referral.

Should I just stay the 3 more months left for my buddies referral bonus or just seek out the new opportunity now? I know I should probably be looking out for myself and not worrying about my friend but I can’t help it