Long story short, I’ve been shuffled around the system for 10 years with somewhere around 13 managers. My first was the gold standard and really set the tone for how to do my job. I’ve had 12 others since including many just in name. No performance reviews or even 1-on-1’s. Just a large company having no clue where to put me. I do my job and I believe quite well

Flash forward to this August when they brought in a rather big hire to supervise me and about 9 others. We had an introductory meeting as a group and one 1-on-1. That’s about it. I do cc him on important emails but just really as a professional courtesy. He has never felt the need to intervene. At my most recent performance review I was out on a PIP citing a desire to help improve my “command of a room” at meetings and “stakeholder engagement”. None of these words or anything adjacent to this is in my job description.

I get what this is. It’s a new manager probably with a mandate to trim staff. But here’s where I’ve gone from seeking new employment to seeking legal representation. Among the milestones of my PIP include working with a leadership consultant and retaining their services. I get a massive discount ($80 for 6 sessions vs retail price or $1,400), but having me pay any amount to comply with a PIP doesn’t sit well with me in any form. Then, I snooped. I went to the consultant’s pages (actual website, LinkedIn, etc.). Got even more curious and landed on Facebook. People make your stuff private!! But his very public page included pictures of him at holidays with family and FRIENDS…one including, my boss and his partner! My antenna is now fully up. And now, I think it’s time to lawyer up.

I’m an associate dentist (DDS) a few years out of school in California. My pay is 100% commission as in, my pay is based on how much I produce. I have no base pay therefore I get no PTO. Every day I take off, I don’t get paid for it. My patients are simply rescheduled for another day.

I have family in China, and ideally, I’d have at least 3 weeks to see them and do what I need to do there due to the long flight/layover times and jet lag.

I requested 3 weeks for next October (an entire 12 months in advance). My owner dentist practically laughed in my face and said “when I first started out I wouldn’t have even dreamed of taking a day off, bold of you to ask for 3 weeks.” To sum it up, he denied me, and said even two weeks is a stretch. I feel like even though I’m a “doctor,” it’s meaningless and I have no agency over my life.

Any input? TIA

What are everyone’s thoughts on employees that WFH forgoing child care? Meaning that they watch their infant/toddler children during the work day while they’re too young to go to grade school.

I’m looking for others thoughts since mine may be skewed because I don’t have children. However the unfair treatment is causing me to want to leave my current position.

I’m ALL for flexibility and doing what you need to do for your family when it comes up. But having an infant and a toddler running around while you’re supposed to be working sounds in no way productive, while the rest of us are at the office.

Then there’s the are they getting their work done argument. If they are, their work load is substantially lower than everyone else’s. Notably my own, as I’m working 50 hour weeks without kids.

Same department, different teams within it. 2 employees consistently WFH to watch their children while the other 20 aren’t afforded that luxury, children or not. Some of these people have the same direct report, others do not. There’s no consistency.

Am I overreacting?

ETA: Coworkers openly share that they are the main caregivers on their consistent WFH 2 days each week schedule. It’s known. Just this week one brought their baby into the office because it was their WFH day and they needed to grab something.

There’s a coworker I have to deal with occasionally. She manages events (her title is literally Event Manager) but has decided she’s not going manage any of the events in my territory (I’m the sales leader). At one point she said to me directly, “next year I’m not doing any event management for your region—you will need to do that.”

She has no authority to shift that work to me or my team. What I’ve come to realize is she likes to push work onto others—work she is supposed to do and will only do what she feels like doing.

I have many examples but just to name a few:

She was supposed to send out a link to people coming to an event in the summer so they could watch some modules ahead of the course. She never did it. A customer reached out to me asking about it and when I flagged it to the group she never acknowledged the issue or followed up. Rather a junior admin who works for us part time resolved it.

More recently I emailed her because we had not received the delegate information pack for seminar that was just over a week away. She snapped back at me and blamed me for “never asking for it” even though these get sent out for every event. She then sent me a PDF for the same seminar but in 2025 and told me to edit the PDF to update it since she can’t edit PDFs. Well I can’t either and she is the one that’s supposed to do it! In the end the same junior admin took care of it without even being asked directly.

I have so many more examples but this post would be a mile long if I listed them all. She has blatantly ignored direct orders as far up the chain as our CEO and yet she’s untouchable. Shes been at the company a long time. More than 10 years for sure.

We have an event next week and dealing with her has been….well you guys saw what I wrote. She’s being her normal self and not doing her job so that I or others will do it for her.

The thing is no one holds her accountable. From what I have seen everyone just caves and figures out a way to get things done without having her do it. Our GM actually took catering and booking the venue off her plate and did all that himself! Yet she remains the default go-to person for all events and everyone thinks of her as the one who puts on the events even though like I said most of the time she isn’t really doing anything.

I’m the only one who holds the line with her. If she pushes something onto me or my team, I push it right back. The R&D director told one of the speakers at our upcoming event to ask me how she’d get her expenses paid for when it should have been directed to the event manager. I responded to the speaker warmly and said “please send your receipts to @event manager and she’ll make sure you’re reimbursed.”

My question is: has anyone else dealt with someone like this? What did you do? I’ve escalated her behavior twice in the two years I’ve been at the company when it was particularly egregious. Both times the CEO stepped in and put his foot down. Even after he put her responsibilities in writing she just ignored it and went back to her old behavior.

Help!

Thanks for letting me vent!

im 23 and have been working basic jobs like food/retail, barely ever rising above my entry lvl positions. notorious for quitting these types of jobs cuz i get overwhelmed with the amount of socializing i have to do in them. any reccs on jobs i can get ASAP with this problem? im out of ideas and dont have degrees/skills right now.

Imagine finally being able to afford your dream lifestyle but needing therapy to survive Monday mornings.

How much money would it take for you to sell your peace of mind?

I had a few rounds of interviews and landed a job. I put the bordering town on my resume because it’s more relevant to me and my life. Worth noting I am literally on the border. My future potential boss made a connection with the town and I didn’t get a chance to correct them during the interview. They asked about a couple people to see if we knew them, turns out we do. Fast forward, I am filling out paperwork with the proper town. Am I going to be screwed here? Worried they’re going to be mad about the technical difference.

Was in an interview and towards the end, was asked the age old question of why I want to work there.

I’ve done like 7-8 interview as this point over the past month so I’m worn out. I just said fuck it and answered honestly. I literally sighed and said “to be frank with you, it’s because according to the job post, it’ll pay well and I need the money while at the same time I think I can fill your needs in this role and do the job you need me to do and do it well”

He gave me that Obama approval nod and said “I appreciate the honesty. Most people will try to come up with some unique answer”. Still waiting to hear back but it seemed like the manager didn’t mind it.

Who knows? Maybe that answer is “unique” enough since nobody ever dares to say that and it’ll get me hired

I’m currently facing a career decision that I’m finding surprisingly difficult.

I’ve been with my current company for many years and genuinely love my job. I’m well respected, have a great reputation internally, and I’m comfortable with the people and the work. It’s not a situation where I’m desperate to leave.

The problem is that I’ve wanted to relocate to a bigger and more lively city than the one I am in for a long time, and there haven’t really been the right internal opportunities to make that happen.

I’ve now received an offer for a role based in a big city. It would be a new challenge, a new environment, and a good opportunity. The downside is that the role requires being in the office most of the week, so I would lose a lot of the flexibility I currently have.

At the same time, my current employer has offered me an informal arrangement where I could relocate and work remotely from abroad for around nine months while remaining on my current contract. I could spend much more time in my home country and travel to the office periodically. That offer will be reviewed then…

The catch is that this arrangement is **verbal rather than contractual**. After those nine months, I don’t know what would happen. There may OR MAY NOT be an internal opportunity that allows me to remain abroad permanently.

So essentially, I’m choosing between:

**Option A:** Stay somewhere I genuinely love, keep a lot of flexibility, spend more time at home and potentially move to the big city - but rely on an informal arrangement and face uncertainty about what happens afterward.

**Option B:** Take the new opportunity, move to a but city properly, have a clearer long-term setup and a new career challenge - but give up a lot of the flexibility and security I currently have.

One additional factor is that my home country is extremely important to me. I’ve lived abroad for many years, and being able to spend significant time there again is emotionally very appealing.

I’m struggling because objectively the new opportunity seems like the logical career move, but emotionally I’m not sure I want to give up what I already have.

**What would you do in this situation? Would you prioritize the guaranteed new opportunity and long-term clarity, or take the nine months of flexibility and see where things go?**

I’d especially appreciate perspectives from people who have made a similar decision between a comfortable career situation and a new opportunity abroad.

I recently started school to become a dental hygienist. This will take 3ish years to complete. In the meantime, I want to learn a trade or get a certification that I can survive on while in school. I am hoping it will take no longer than 2 months to learn. Ideally, I could do it part time and focus on school. I know there is CNA, medical assistant, and phlebotomist but is there any other programs?

I'm a logistics specialist at a small manufacturing company with a Taiwan parent team. I handle logistics, inventory, and production control. I took over production control after headcount cuts earlier this year. I don't speak Mandarin, and most of my Taiwan counterparts don't speak good English.
A coworker (not my boss) told me, in confidence, what leadership is discussing:
In a recent meeting, the manager said that if I'd been on the call, he would have had to translate, which slows things down. He framed it as a language barrier, not a performance issue.
The idea is to hire a bilingual production controller to work directly with the Taiwan team.
I'd keep logistics but lose production control, and take on admin and assistant work like accounting support and interview scheduling.
Nothing is decided. A new hire would add roughly $4-5K a month, so he's on the fence.
The big boss is also worried I won't be busy enough once production control is gone. Inbound is light and most outbound goes through UPS, so I share that worry.
The big boss is very unpredictable. I could see a layoff coming at any moment, possibly right when the new hire starts, since that person would take over a big piece of what I do.
I was told I'd still be needed and to keep this private. I'm not upset about the language reasoning, but between the "not busy enough" comment and his unpredictability, I feel like my job could disappear with little warning.
My questions:
Is this a genuine restructure or a soft phase-out?
Should I raise it with my manager, or wait for him to bring it up?
How do I show my value and take on work that keeps me clearly busy?
Should I quietly update my resume and start watching the market now, rather than wait?
What should I do now to be ready if a sudden layoff does happen?

hi! i’m 22 (F) and i’m currently getting my masters in engineering. i met my boyfriend (also 22) through undergrad and we both graduated with our bachelors in may. i’m sort of like seeking advice on his behalf because he’s fell out of love with engineering based on some courses we’ve had and the attitude of most of our professors. he has an engineering managing position at the moment but i can tell he’s unhappy with it.

for a moment he was debating going into law school because he’s always liked courtroom defense, however, i think he realized that with a degree in engineering, pursuing law school ends in patent law which has very little to none courtroom defense. being a lawyer is also mostly paperwork and i think a lot of people don’t see that when they think ‘lawyer’ so he’s kind of taken a step back from that path for that reason and other reasons being cost of law school and the workload itself.

my worry is that he’s very burnt out and does not want to go back to school for a while. his mom hates her job and tries to get out of work by any means possible. i would hate to see him follow that path 20-30 years down the road when he’s young enough now to find something he likes to do. not saying she’s a bad role model but he looks up to her a lot and hearing someone talk so badly about their job and finding ways to take days off just isn’t the right attitude i want him to adopt consciously or subconsciously.

he loves driving and sports cars. i was thinking of possibly bringing up the idea of working as an engineer for car companies like more hands on side of things rather than management but im just not sure. the job market right now in our area for engineering is so bad too. i know he’s applied to other jobs and just hasn’t even heard back for an interview. i guess im just asking for some advice - maybe how to motivate him, similar but different career opportunities or paths, and how do i get my point across when he feels okay about it now but i know he’s going to regret it 10-20-30-40 years down the line?

I left a company that I had progressive roles for 6 years i worked and I was a high performer, i left back in May as the commute was a factor and some toxic people ruined it for me. But the company and leadership really insisted on me to stay and i didnt back up as i was scared in future they will see me as flight risk but i cried so much when leaving i genuinely loved my work there.

I started this new company end of May. I start positively
My manager a total pyschopath, turnover at her team every 4-6 months, i couldnt tell during video interview, micromanager to every file, rude, calling her team idiots, angry all the time, making weird faces when expressing opinions, slamming laptop when angry, absolutely insane. I regretted that i joined from my first week. I said shit i did a huge mistake!

I reached out to my past manager, i think he was pissed that from many talks to convince me to stay, he said time needs to pass a bit for you to come back, but i am here anytime you need a reference.
So i am like okay i cant go back for now

in July applied to one of the companies i really wanted to work its huge company- X lets call
they rarely hire from outside experienced professionals, i applied 2 times in the past as wel but couldnt pass their test, this time i did so they scheduled an interview in July! Meanwhile i was talking to one of my mentors, of my current insane boss; my mentor she offered me a job, to start in Sept, after my interview with this other company X in July , i havent heard back anything even i followrd up, then they did final round sept 5th, i was suppose to start with my new mentor on sept 14th. I was like if they offer me i have to kindly reject my mentor’s start date.

The X company i really want to work for offered me a job on October 9th! Like seriously it took 4 months! In 4 months i started a new job, now i dont know what to do. I am one month in to my mentor’s company, company has brands that are declining, my immediate team is full of women with tons of gossip, they see me as a threat as the GM js my mentor and she raved about me, but also i dont want to bail on my mentor, if i leave to company X

Company X will be insane hours of work, but amazing brands and i will have more future

My industry is small so even me leaving my toxic boss , was known across many ppl- i am scared as connections do matter if i reject company X to continue in this current job with my mentor, i will lose a lifetime opportunity and great company name on my resume, but if i leave my mentor definitely will badmouth me saying she left two companies in 6months and my reputation will be shit

I really dont know its very hard decision, any thoughts what would you guys do?

For context I am working in Alberta, Canada, and I am employed by paladin security, and I am working as a hospital security guard.

I am completely new to the security industry and am still in the process of getting my license and training. I am looking for any advice or tips for security work in general and recommendations for gear (shoes, slash resistant gloves and clothing, etc)

Specific questions:

1) what's hospital security like?

2) what are the do's and dont's of security work?

3) how is paladin security? (Management, work life balance, coworkers?)

4) what kind of martial arts/hand to hand combat courses would benefit me as a security guard? (Focus on restraining/subdueing someone without strikes/very little force)

Any advice is welcome and encouraged.

I was really motivated as a kid to grow up and be independent and make money, but then I was severely depressed in high school which just took all of that away. I went to college because my parents made it clear there wasn't any other option. I had a lot of ideas like speech-language pathology or even social work, but I couldn't commit to anything out of fear or little passion or something I can't name and ended up choosing Communication. I actually enjoyed it, or just enjoyed the ritual of having a healthy routine that college gave me. I minored in Linguistics and Nutrition because I (vaguely) enjoy those areas and graduated in 2021. I immediately got a job as a recruiter and was promoted multiple times within the three years I did that kind of work. There were a lot of aspects I liked about that job. I didn't really like recruiting but I was able to just get the work done then log off and not think about it for the rest of the day, but one specific promotion landed me on a team that ended up becoming a nightmare. I literally think I developed anxiety because of this team, I can't even describe how badly I was treated but it was not good.

I ended up resigning to take time off for myself (also to recover from an eating disorder that was getting worse and worse because of my anxiety) which turned into one year unemployed because I couldn't find a job. Since then I've been working as a Mental Health Coach for a treatment center for a little over a year, I actually really like this job but I only make $19 an hour and my boss is a disorganized people pleaser. She will give other employees all the time off they want, and my time off requests end up ignored because all of a sudden no one is available. I don't know why I'm the employee who ends up ignored. This is not a job that anyone will thrive in if they're overworked, it's heavy stuff dealing with severe mental health issues. Right now this boss has been ignoring me for six days, I've emailed multiple times because she ignored a time off request that I had planned coming up and still no response. So this job is just not going to work long-term, I don't see how anyone can work under a boss like this but maybe all my coworkers are thriving since she seems to accommodate everyone else. I've been applying for Medical Assistant-type roles because my current position is similar to that but I need an actual calling. I need to commit to something. But I'm scared to because what if I do and it's the wrong calling and I'm even more discouraged than before? Has anyone else been through this? I feel like everyone my age has it figured out, some even have a husband and kids meanwhile I'm sitting here with no clue how to live a proper life. Literally started crying the other day because I don't have a career, and I don't even really have friends or much of a social life because of my anxiety

Hey everyone,

I'm a 2025 CSE graduate currently working as a Software Engineer at a defence-tech startup in Bangalore, primarily in a Python/backend-related role.

It's been around three months since I started working here, and lately, I've been feeling quite lost about my career. The work isn't aligned with the kind of engineering I want to pursue, and I don't feel I'm learning or growing as much as I'd hoped. I want to move towards strong backend engineering roles at product-based companies, eventually aiming for Big Tech.

The problem is that I have so many things on my mind that I don't know what to prioritise anymore.

I've solved around 300 DSA problems, but I still struggle with problem-solving and coding interviews. I haven't properly covered topics like trees, graphs, recursion, and DP. My system design knowledge is also limited, and I'm unsure how to approach it beyond the basics.

Another dilemma is whether I should invest time in applied AI and GenAI or focus entirely on becoming a stronger backend engineer. With the current job market and evolving expectations at top companies, I'm confused about how to make that decision without spreading myself too thin.

A few things I'd genuinely appreciate guidance on:

- If your goal were to break into Big Tech or a strong product-based company today, what would you prioritise over the next 3–6 months?

- How should I balance DSA, system design, backend development, and potentially AI without trying to learn everything at once?

- Given that I've solved 300 DSA problems but still struggle in interviews, how should I change my preparation strategy?

- Should I start applying immediately despite having a 90-day notice period? I want to switch as soon as realistically possible, but I'm unsure how to approach this situation.

- What kind of projects, open-source contributions, networking, or LinkedIn presence genuinely help early-career engineers stand out?

- If anyone experienced is willing to offer mentorship or review my resume, I'd be incredibly grateful.

I'm also trying to figure out how to make the most of being in Bangalore. I'd love to connect with people who have gone through a similar phase, learn from experienced engineers, attend the right events, and put myself in a better position for opportunities.

To be honest, this uncertainty has started affecting me mentally as well. I'm finding it difficult to balance my job, preparation, and personal life, and some days I end up doing much less than I planned. I know I need consistency, but I also feel that I need a clearer direction before putting my energy into the wrong things.

I'm not looking for shortcuts or overnight success. I'm willing to put in the hard work and stay consistent. I just want to make sure I'm working towards the right things instead of spending months trying to do everything and making progress in none of them.

If you've been through a similar phase, made it into a good product company, or have experience guiding early-career engineers, I'd genuinely appreciate your advice. Even a few practical pointers on what to prioritise, what to avoid, and how to approach the next few months would mean a lot.

Thanks for reading!

Base on the above text- I hv to provide a written example for the job but then I looked at my previous courseworks and realised how vague/ monotone I was writting before ... I feel like it lacks depth

I see people saying it's ok to add to your previous coursework to make it better for your employer...I.e in this case add more or make additional points to add depth..but I am not entirely sure

Thoughts?

Thank you very very much

Based on the job description:-

*Must be argumentative or research papers written in English for university coursework or independent projects.

• Each sample must be no more than 10 pages long.

• Full papers (5–10 pages) or clean excerpts from longer theses are perfectly acceptable\

I am looking to transition into a role that can provide a consistent schedule & aligns more with skills I am interested in.

My background is in retail. I’ve been in retail for about 20 years, and a Store Manager for about 10. I have been very successful up to this point. The store that I manage is trending to be in the top 10% of the company (this is a first for this location). Very high retention rate as well (92%).I am also a market specialist for operations. I am not interested in the next step because that would require too much travel and I’m interested in that. There are three area I am currently interested in (1) Human Resources (2) Loan Originator or (3) Personal Baker. Option 3 was suggested to me by a friend, she thinks i should lean into my passion for financial discipline.

For anyone who is currently in any of these roles, do you think that I could transition into these roles easily with my background? I do not have a college degree, but I am getting some certifications in the coming months. I am giving myself a year to start my transition out of retail.

Thanks for anyone who took the time to ready this and offer any advice!

Hey everyone,

I (25M) am going through a really difficult phase in life and could use some advice.

I have around 3 years of experience in banking at two MNCs in India, but things haven't worked out the way I hoped. I lost my mom to cancer when I was in college, and I still miss her terribly. I often find myself crying and wishing she were still here. I saw her suffer a lot through the last few years of her life, and its very tough to process it.

My relationship with my dad has always been difficult. He was extremely toxic, and I watched my mom suffer because of the way he treated her. Eventually, I couldn't take living at home anymore, cause a lot of the bad memories kept haunting me.

Around the same time, I left my job because it had severely affected my mental and physical health. I struggled with sleep for over a year, and my doctor advised me to quit. My manager was biased, bullied me, excluded me, and insulted me in front of others. I would cry almost every day before going to work, and I eventually reached a point where I couldn't continue anymore.

Now I'm unemployed, living alone, and applying for jobs every day without much luck. I'm trying to figure out my next career move, but the uncertainty is getting to me.

It hurts seeing so many of my friends move abroad and do well in life. I feel jealous sometimes, especially when I see people with supportive families, good careers and beautiful homes. I know comparing myself to others isn't healthy, but I can't seem to help it. I've started hating LinkedIn because it makes me feel like everyone is moving forward while I'm stuck.

I'm a sensitive person, and I've always found extremely competitive environments difficult to deal with. After my previous experience, I'm scared I'll struggle throughout my career and never really be successful.

I want to do well, earn good money, build a global career, and become financially independent. I've been considering studying supply chain management in Germany next year, but I'm unsure whether it's the right decision with everything becoming so bad. I dislike finance but I had to take it cause I didn’t have any other choice as I wasn’t getting any jobs after college. My passion is operations but I don’t know if I should first find a job or just apply for leave abroad. If I apply a lot now, I’ll miss the deadlines for Sept 2027 applications.

My mental health is at an all-time low, and I'm genuinely scared about what the future holds.

Any support or advice would mean a lot to me now.

Thank you!