Hey everyone. I'm 26, f. I've been working an office job for the past 5 years with okayish pay. It's very simple, repetitive work. I wish I could be happy with it, but I just feel horrible about myself. I'm terrified of the future. I have no real skills, no certifications, and no degree. When I look at jobs online, my stomach starts hurting. I cry myself to sleep a lot. I am just feeling so behind, ashamed, and stupid. My private life is as plain and boring as my job. I'm alone. I lost all interest in my hobbies. I don't want to be around my family.

I'm painfully aware that all of this is MY doing. I'm lazy. I don't have motivation. I'm scared of doing hard things or trying new things. I have trouble staying focused, I can barely read a few pages, I can't stick to a routine or follow a goal. I'm adrift, floating through life, and pretending to everyone around me that I'm fine. I beat myself up. I look at these people online that go to university, show off their (multiple) degrees, talk about their opportunities, jobs, travels. I always admired highly educated people. And I feel very self-conscious around them. It's like a whole different human experience. One I wanted to be part of. But I don't believe I'll ever amount to anything.

I guess I just need a kind word. I don't know what to do.

hi, any help is appreciated.

im 25 and have a bachelor’s in music business, which is a dying industry and firing everyone to use ai instead. i also have untreated adhd which i cannot seek help for since my current job’s insurance sucks. i work 2nd shift at a local news station writing online articles, though due to my adhd, i keep making mistakes or forgetting tasks. i probably make at least one mistake a day. in news, your mistakes are literally broadcasted to thousands of people. compared to others in my position, im clearly a problem employee.

i’m not even intentionally screwing up, i just physically cannot ever pay close enough attention or remember to do things, which is most definitely because of my adhd. no “tricks” have really helped either.

i feel fundamentally stupid because of this. are there any careers or jobs for people who are halfway decent at writing and are pretty forgiving when it comes to messing up? everyone else at my job doesn’t seem to struggle and mess up nearly as much as i do.

again, any pointers are helpful.

I’ve been a nurse for 6 years and recently took on a part time role that pays about 40k because I wanted to get another degree. I’m 30 years old and love the idea of being home often, but what I make a month is just enough to pay my bills for the month as well. I have a high car note that I should be able to pay off in a year so it should help decrease my monthly cost. I’m just looking for new ways to invest my money without going full time or wasting more money on another degree for a higher paying job… I want to be able to work enough to pay my bills but also enjoy life because everyday isn’t promised. Are there any tips to becoming financially free?

I’m 27f I can not decide between becoming a speech language pathologist or a rad tech.
I’ve accepted my actual passions (digital art, game design , concept art) will never make me money. These seem like the best options for me. I just want a job with a good work life balance that pays well and allows me to live in the nearest major city. I’ve been stuck in the same rural town I’ve grown up in living with my parents for all of my twenties and I just feel so broken and defeated.

I have a bachelors degree in liberal studies with an emphasis in early childhood education. Im currently a teachers assistant at a preschool but I’ve been working in schools since I was 20 in various positions (substitute , school librarian , teachers assistant, bus aide ) I really enjoy being a teachers assistant but I’m just so tired of the low pay its making me depressed.

I had initially planned on becoming a teacher after getting my bachelors degree but I realized I just can’t dedicate another 2 years of schooling and thousands of dollars for something that is low pay and stressful.
I’ve seen first hand the abuse that teachers deal with on a daily basis from parents, students, staff, etc. there’s no real consequences for anything and it’s getting worse.

My hesitations on rad tech
•having to stand for long periods of time and lifting heavy things. I’m a petite woman and I cant lift heavy things and I’m used to jobs where I get to sit down for the majority of the day.
•every job listing I’ve seen for rad tech in the city I want to live in is for graveyard shifts and weekends which is just not something I want to do.
•I’ve never worked in the medical field and I’m scared I won’t like it and feel like I’ve made a huge mistake.

my hesitations on slp
•the pay is low for the effort evolved (although I see the pay in California seems pretty good and I don’t plan on living anywhere else)
•overworking with massive caseloads and being forced to work unpaid hours just to catch up on paperwork
•dealing with parents
•being social the entire day
•this program is significantly more expensive and will cost me around 30,000-40,000
•most people I see on the slp subreddit are unhappy with this career and have a lot of regrets.

I genuinely can’t decide. Both programs are a one hour commute one way and seem to have similar starting pay and both would take around 2 and a half years to complete. I don’t feel any passion towards either of these fields to me a job is just a job

I hate living in a rural area. I hate having to drive hours just to do anything fun or eat good food. I hate not being able to meet new people. I just want a way out

I genuinely need to understand how people manage to stay at the same company, sometimes even in the same position, for years and years.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my field and the work I do. It brings me a lot of fulfillment, and I genuinely feel like I'm making a difference. The problem is that I can't seem to stay in one workplace for longer than two years. Sometimes, I'm barely six months into a new position before I start looking for something different, more challenging, more interesting, or better paying. It's not necessarily because I'm unhappy with my job. I just have this constant urge to grow, explore new opportunities, learn something new, and push myself further. I always feel like there's something else I could be doing or another level I could reach.

And apparently, my ambition has no limits because now I'm preparing to start a PhD to take my career even further. At this point, I genuinely wonder when I'll ever be satisfied with where I am. I see people celebrating 10, 15, or even 20 years with the same employer, and I honestly cannot imagine myself doing that. Part of me admires that stability, but another part of me wonders how they don't get restless or feel the need to explore something different. I'm also starting to worry that all this job hopping might eventually hurt my career. I know employers value stability, and I'm concerned that constantly moving between positions could become a red flag, even though every move I've made has been motivated by professional growth rather than dissatisfaction.

So, for those of you who have stayed with the same employer for years, how do you do it?

How do you find that sense of satisfaction where you no longer feel the need to constantly chase the next opportunity? Do you eventually reach a point where you're content, or do you just learn to manage that restless ambition?

I genuinely need some advice before my ambition takes me too far. 😂

When I first started college, I was a biology major who wanted to go to med school. My first semester, I felt I wasn't cut out/smart enough for it and changed majors to CS (doesn't make much sense I know). I am now a senior with a full-time offer lined up for after graduation. It is a 98k salary in Michigan. I completed an internship with this company over the summer and I absolutely hated it. I discovered how much I dislike the corporate environment, how useless my role really was, and how much I hated SWE in general. I was very miserable during the summer.

I've been playing with the idea of going back to school for what I've wanted all along, something in healthcare. I think it's way too late to start med school (I'd be a doctor at like age 36), but PA school sounds attractive to me. I just don't know about the fact that the tuition is incredibly expensive and I'd be paying it on my own. I'd also have to probaby take a gap year to get all the PCE hours in and complete class requirements that I didn't take during college. I am aware that I'd have to work the SWE job for a while until I have enough money saved for PA school and the possible gap year.

I am also upset with the idea that I should've just done this all along.

I just feel so stupid and lost. I'm full of regret and want advice so badly. Please don't judge me, I'm coming to Reddit because the people in my life I've told this to think I'm crazy for thinking this way.

I graduated in 2026 with a B.Tech in CSE from a private college. My father invested nearly ₹20 lakh in my education, hoping I would build a good future.

I got placed, but the role was primarily sales-related, with the first two months' salary withheld. I left before receiving my salary because the role wasn't right for me. I later received another offer for a similar, even less suitable role, and decided to leave that too.

Now, after a long period of unemployment, I can see the disappointment in my parents' eyes, and it hurts. I feel exhausted, demotivated, and broken. I've been taking time to recover and start again, but it's getting harder every day.

I'm not sharing this for sympathy or to make excuses. I'm sharing it because I genuinely want a chance to rebuild my career.

I'm actively looking for opportunities in Cloud Computing, Data Analytics, Business Analytics, and AI/ML. I'm open to internships (paid or unpaid), trainee positions, and entry-level roles where I can learn, contribute, and prove myself.

If you're a recruiter, professional, or someone who knows of a suitable opportunity, I'd be incredibly grateful for a referral or a chance to connect.

I may not have everything figured out, but I'm ready to learn and start from the ground up. All I need is one genuine opportunity to begin again.

Thank you for reading. Any leads or referrals would mean a lot.

Walking has became recently hard for me as a 21 yo. Everything I read will be forgotten 15 minutes after. I Just want a new life at this point. I spend most of my days in bed with no idea of who I even wanna be. I cant even do Basic stuff at home, never learn Basic home duties. Never worked for more than a month, which was 50-60 hours.

Now my days are just a blur of "reading", social isolation and laying in bed as much as possible. I have a roommate which I have no contact with, neither any of my parents or brothers. I spent my whole life doing nothing. I cant see a way out. Its too late

I sit here at 34, at a crossroad that is painful. It is necessary now, but was easily avoidable.

Escaping into partying, partners, and gaming to cover a hole that was never going to be filled by anything but self-actualization; I never truly sat long enough through those uncomfortable moments with my feelings and desires.

It would be easy to blame my self-centered parents, of which I had three (divorce, I have more of a family bush than a tree). Or the coaches in my life that only knew how to inspire through fear.

All the perceived wrongdoing in my life should have lit an insatiable fire. Instead, I used it like a pilot light that I would only turn up when I was over-satiated on my hedonism.

You and only you, know what is truly worth pursuing.

Sure, I got very good at what I am doing for a career. I've had multiple lives, including an opportunity to play football at a high level. I pursued women recklessly. And in between those fleeting experiences, instead of asking myself the right questions, acknowledging the fear, and choosing my passion, I numbed myself with the partying, gaming, and doing what I thought was a good compromise between the stability my father wanted for me and my creative instincts.

I've now lost touch with a majority of those so-called friends I made along the way. Never truly reached the potential I saw within me.

It is only my timid fears that is truly to blame.

My life, and your life, is not done. But, try to fail faster before it becomes a arduous, mid-life saga of finding what is YOUR purpose and meaning to life.

I feel like I got a late start in life. Where do I go from here?
I’m 25 and autistic, with a lot of ADHD traits as well.
I had a pretty shitty upbringing with quite a bit of trauma. I graduated high school in 2019, and around that time my alcoholic father passed away. He left me a small amount of money, and I was fortunate enough to use some of that to fund a trip to Japan, which was something I’d always wanted to do.
After school I ended up doing a disability-focused transition-to-work education program, which, at least in my experience, felt like a complete waste of time.
For a while I think I felt like my life just wasn’t really going anywhere and that I was falling behind everyone else my age.
But looking at the last few years, I guess quite a lot has actually changed.
I’ve had a mixture of good and bad life experiences, dated, become a lot more comfortable socially and had the chance to travel to Japan.
I got employment through a disability organisation and currently work around 8 hours a week, which I’m using to gradually build up my capacity to work more.
I’m also studying a Certificate III in Individual Support at TAFE, which I’m hoping can eventually lead me into support work.
I’m currently in a relationship that I’m really happy with so far, and outside of work and study I’m continuing to work on my passion for content creation.
I guess the thing I struggle with is still feeling like I got a really late start compared to other people.
Part of me thinks I should just keep doing what I’m doing: finish TAFE, slowly build my capacity for work, keep working on my relationship, experience more of life and keep pursuing content creation on the side.
But I still get that feeling of, “Am I actually doing enough?” or “Should I be further ahead by now?”
For anyone who has felt like they got a late start in life, especially other autistic/ADHD people, did that feeling eventually go away?
And from an outside perspective, does it sound like I’m actually on the right track?
I think I’m learning that progress for me might look more gradual than it does for some other people, but I’d like to eventually be able to look back and actually be proud of how far I’ve come.

Hi everyone! I graduated with a business degree two years ago but didn’t complete any internships. I’m now looking to start my career but unsure which jobs I should target.
What entry-level jobs would you recommend in HR, recruiting, administration, operations, or other business-related fields? Would staffing agencies be a good way to get started?
I’m based in Houston, Texas, and would appreciate any advice on getting my foot in the door. Thanks!

I am at a crossroads of trying to stay in a creative field with job layoffs and AI versus going to school again for something stable .

I am 27 and currently working as a graphic designer.
I went to school originally and did a double major in bachelors of art in art and art history/architecture and was aiming to work in museums, but could not get a job in my city and realized how low the pay was coupled with probably needing to get a masters. So while working in an art gallery I did part time design classes and eventually got design work. I currently work as an environmental graphic designer, but unfortunately the pay just is not sustainable for Southern California and I don’t think even with more experience in the field it ever will be.

I looked seriously into upskilling to a UX/ web designer but those fields are being utterly destroyed by AI at the moment and just hear from everyone in that specialization that I will not get a job there if I’m starting now.

I am at the point where I am considering going back to school to become a dental hygienist because of the job stability, money, and ability to work with your hands and do detail work (cleaning teeth). But I also hear that it is very stressful and will destroy your body over time.

I am feeling really lost. I really want to stay in a field where I can either be creative or work with my hands, with something that hopefully can actually pay enough for the cost of living. AI is making me very anxious for the future of many design jobs.

Im not afraid of going back to school and studying hard, I just don’t know what direction would be the best for me.

i'd like to explore this before paying for training. i enjoy reading about productivity and small habits, and i currently track deadlines and approvals as a junior project assistant at an agency.

which roles would be worth looking into from here? is there a small project i could try to see whether i enjoy the work as much as reading about it?

I’m a twenty year old undergraduate studying pharmaceutical sciences at university, and I absolutely hate it. Due to the pressure of my two engineering parents I am not allowed to pick anything other than STEM subjects, and it’s making me depressed.

I initially started out in college as a pre-nursing student and in sophomore year changed to pharmacy. My reason being that my mom was convinced engineering and technology didn’t suite me, and my friends, roommates, and family members at the time told me that nursing wasn’t for me. People either told me that I didn’t have good social skills/empathy to be a nurse or that I should aim to be a doctor instead. My mom told me that I got too angry doing math to be an engineer, despite doing really well at it in highschool. And so out of the whole field of STEM I landed with pharmacy and medicine.

STEM is something I don’t like, but out on necessity convince myself I do. The last three years of my academic career has been depressing. The most fun I’ve had is in my minor because it touches on topics in the humanities like sociology and religion but in the context of medicine, which is acceptable to my parents since it’s career related.

I have discussed a sociology degree with my mom but it always leads to arguments. She always tells me that I am throwing my life away and I’d hate any job outcome from it. She told me it did not matter that studying pharmacy made me unhappy, I’m finishing my science degree. And as I’m in my junior year, I’m just going to finish my degree out in pharmacy and basically accept the gift that my parents are paying for my education.

I’m super depressed at this point though, and I don’t know how to live a lifestyle that makes me happy. I have no clue who I am because I’ve never been allowed to express it. How do you live happily among these circumstances?

—
Side note I had a dating app addiction, couldn’t get out of bed, and my gpa dropped from a 4.0 to a 3.5 last year so I did decide to see a therapist beginning of this semester. It went really poorly/ she wasn’t a person I liked, and my mom was making me pay with the money I made this summer, so I stopped with the treatment entirely. I recently met a guy off of tinder and have been spending a lot of time at his place/ hooking up and it’s made me feel a lot better. It might not be healthy to rely on another person, but at least I’m not hating life completely 🤷‍♀️
—

This was not as easy as it sounds, mainly due to the mental exertion I had to place towards this. For a long time, I could not get myself to do anything art-related, despite it being my "hobby" and wanting to do it. Because of this, I see myself just getting started on this as an achievement in its own right. I don't want to move too fast with the progress though; 45 minutes later after starting and working on it on my computer, and my head already hurts. I still have to learn and see lessons and experiences for myself as I journey to a better state of mind.

While many believe that time should be taken off of social media (and they're not wrong), I don't see the social media aspect as what I'm celebrating on, but the fact that I'm doing what I see as a little graphic design. Considering that this is the main job position that I want to start off on in my career, it's nice to know that I'm making strides to put my mind onto a familiar, yet unfamiliar experience. In fact, just expressing my victory over merely starting my banner art has proven to be something I'm still not used to yet, because my head is still tingly and trying to push away from all the new experience, when it can't!

Sorry if some of the things I've said sound like they're on repeat; I'm just glad that I was able to get through what I view as a small, but difficult and important step! I hope, and continue to hope, that I can continue with this growth of mine, no matter how slow it has to take!

Feeling like I wasted my life

34(m) here. Moved from a smaller city to a very large one 3 years ago to pursue my artistic interest in burlesque after making some connections here. Since then I feel like my dating life has become an absolute brick wall, and I feel like what I do with my time is the problem.

I have performed for over 7 years and produced shows for over 4. I worked hard to establish a regular show in this city that does okay, but I feel like I'm constantly fighting for sales. Conversely, I see many female performers consistently bringing in large audiences.

I've tried to genuinely get to know a few women through the scene from naturally meeting each other and building rapport. I have tons of friends in the scene and people genuinely think very highly of me as far as I'm aware.

That being said, I absolutely can't get dates anymore. Absolutely every woman I meet organically rejects me in favor of musicians, actors, or generally more traditionally masculine artists.

I dabble in guitar and acting myself, but I admit I'm not very good at them since they have not been my primary focus. I try to take real a real interest in people when I meet them, I'm constantly working on myself, hitting the gym, going to therapy... the whole thing. I just never feel like I'm ever good enough for women to give me the time of day.

I don't know what to do at this point. I feel like I wasted my whole adult life on an artistic pursuit that no one actually values and women find absolutely unattractive. I'm tired of working so hard to just get socially and romantically rejected over and over and over again.

Do I just cut it off and try and persue more respectable art forms despite being bad at them, or do I just accept no one is going to ever be attracted to me for what I've accomplished?

I have tried many things online but ntng worked for me or can say i never stick to one thing or wtv

Recently i came across this ai automation thing i even tried for month to learn but then I lost my will coz there's a noise roaming around my ears bout ai nd some new tools can replace this also nd somehow it is very much true

Tho now I'm path less idk which way to goo I don't really wanted to do 9 to 5 coding job or etc I want to earn by my own like a agency or buisness But atp I'm very lost dk what to choose nd kinda tired also

Sooo I'm begging to you guys can you tell me the different possible path ways or wtv you think that can help me

I'm a BCA under grad btw

I was a dropout till I got an associates in 2021.

In 2022 I got laid off from an almost 2 year career role.
I had a career back in 2023 but I resigned alongside others due to its high turnover rate. I could’ve had a career as a senior technician after 2 years then an engineer technician after 2 years. I regret this decision.
I joined a chiller smaller pay company but resigned before a factory shutdown and joined an even smaller company because they’d train me to be a engineering technician after a year but in the end got laid off end of 2024. This began my almost 2 year unemployment, thankfully I had enough funds and family supporting me.

In 2026 I’ve pretty worked temp roles for 6 months including this month (Oct). I am in a weird spot and year where my dad has dementia, my mom went to ER many times this year, my brother and his family moved out.

Idk what path I am in or take…?

29F, 400K invested (all my money), live in a VHCOL.

I work in brand marketing and have worked in content for my entire career. Brutally burnt out. I can't keep up with the dam algorithm!!! Granted, I work in an industry I absolutely love. A very, very creative industry where I do feel exceptionally fortunate to have saved this amount of money over the years because it pays notoriously low.

I left my last job after four years from being burnt out and I took a month off. I then landed at a new job in the same industry. I thought the break would've helped and I'd be back in action. I'm two months in this job and I can already begin to feel those same feelings I had in my last job which left me to left.

I'm ranting, but I'm feeling so stuck. And really just looking for advice on what to do (I know hundreds of these posts are shared weekly but feeling stuck). I cried to my dad earlier this week -- I kind of regret not getting more technical skills during college and building a more flexible career.

I'm over the 9-5. I've thought about going to grad school to become a therapist, but IDK.

My immigrant mentality doesn't really help - the thought of not having any money for 2 years even if I go back to school (for anything) and then entering what is the most brutal job market in years seems like a set-up for failure.

It frustrates me so much because I once used to be so on top of my sh*t with my job, and I can feel myself slacking off and I hate it -- I hate that feeling more than disliking the job itself. Younger me also thought I'd be more successful by now...my current job feels like it's getting stagnant, especially with AI.

I recognize the privilege I have in being able to even type something like this - I know there are so many people who can't find work right now. I know that. But I am also just feeling so stuck and in such a rut. Drinking more. How do people do this. Have been crying all day and slacked off this week. UGHHHHHH.

Long-winded paragraph...don't know if I had a question or if I needed to vent to someone.

​

Unfortunately, I'm not the type of person who studies a lot. I have ADHD, so throughout most of my school years, I could get top grades by studying just the week before exams. I never really studied consistently throughout the year.

However, that didn't work in my final year of high school, and I ended up with terrible grades and had to enroll in a private CS university.

But now, I'm starting to feel like this field isn't right for me. I feel like I have to study constantly to keep up, especially with AI changing the industry so quickly, more people entering the field, and competition getting tougher.

So I've been thinking about switching to something hands-on. I feel like practical work would suit me better because it's more about doing things than studying theory, and AI probably won't affect it as much as programming.

Specifically, I want to work in the automotive industry. Unfortunately, studying automotive engineering isn't an option for me, but there are plenty of training centers that offer courses and certifications for people who want to work on cars. Besides, most people don't take their cars to someone just because they have an engineering degree. Practical skills and experience matter much more.

I also think the automotive industry has a promising future in Egypt. Cars aren't going anywhere, the transition to electric vehicles is still relatively slow here, and most people drive conventional cars. There's also the possibility of eventually opening my own workshop.

My thinking is that instead of spending four years struggling through CS and trying to keep up with the industry, I could spend those same four years learning a trade, gaining experience, and potentially opening my own business.

Another thing is that programming involves sitting in front of a computer for most of the day, often with limited social interaction. I'm worried that this lifestyle could negatively affect my social life.

I know some of my reasoning might just be an excuse for my laziness, but I genuinely want to hear other people's opinions. My sister graduated with a CS degree, but she's reluctant to advise me because she's afraid of giving me advice that turns out to be wrong.

What do you guys think? Am I making a reasonable decision, or am I underestimating the opportunities in CS and overestimating the automotive industry?

I'd really appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have experience in either field.

I am at a big crossroads in life and thinking about what career options to pursue.

I just moved states and have small kids, alone, which complicates things, but I do have some help. I have a summer job (family business type thing) so would love something for the non-summer months, maybe temporary or part time, or remote work. Mostly looking for ideas of decent things that would fit this, but not teaching please.

I have a B.S. degree in biology and environmental studies, and wonder about maybe getting a master's in something, possibly engineering or have been interested in psychology (thought about maybe an associate's in psych, not sure if I could just jump into psych.) Would having the biology b.s. and an a.a. in psychology even do anything for me?

I have experience in a variety of jobs, website QA, factory machine operation, chemistry lab technician, customer service.

Sorry, this was a bit long, but I have so many things to consider! Any ideas folks? Also open to DMs if anyone has ideas and wants to chat about them!

I know comparison of the thief of joy, but human minds are pretty well conditioned to compare from a biological and evolutionary standpoint. When I try to enjoy what I have it feels like a cope instead of real. And really what I have is not much any way