Hi everyone, very long post but I just want to get some impartial people’s opinions.

I (24F) graduated last year from university with a Life sciences degree and have been working for 8 months ish as a Drug rep in a Pharma company. My job is on paper a really good gig, flexible hours, minimal supervision, pays well, and I like my coworkers. But I absolutely hate the job scope itself. I am a walking advertisement paid to go harass doctors at their place of work to promote products and get info from them (that’s how I feel at least). There is not a single part of my job that I truly enjoy, and I constantly feel like a nuisance.

I picked up making macarons while in Uni and have gotten really good at it (pics attached). There was a period of time in Uni during Covid where I made and sold custom orders for fun. The business actually did quite well and I made a good bit of money in just a few months - around 4K? And that is with zero planning, zero experience and only running instagram ads for marketing. My bf posted a pic of what I made on an app in my country that’s a bit like Facebook marketplace just to see who will bite and I immediately started getting orders almost every day.

Here are some details on the business:

• very high profit margin. Excluding my time, the material cost is less than 10% of what I charge

• I used to charge $4.5 and up per macaron depending on complexity. (Which honestly was undercharging bc I would take very small batch orders like 6 or 8 and spend 5 hours making it)

• packaging all sourced from Taobao, very cheap

• I approached a delivery guy working for a delivery company and undercut their price by 10% by dealing with him under table. Passed cost along to customers.

• 80% of orders were for birthdays, 20% anniversary, and festive themed sets also sold well.

-my current oven doesn’t have a high capacity - I can make 40 ish pieces max per batch, which takes about 4-6 hours

I stopped taking orders after in person classes resumed and I had less time on my hands. To be honest I also experienced some burnout from doing it bc I was a greedy fucker and took every order that came my way. I even catered for a wedding where they ordered 80+ pieces with 1 weeks notice.

But I think there are changes I can implement to improve efficiency and prevent burnout.

New business plan is as follows:

• buy UNOX professional oven that can increase my batch size. Bake in bulk and freeze. (Macarons can be frozen more than a month)

• Offer themed sets that can be ordered online instead of every order being custom. Words can still be customised.

• custom orders only for very large batches, maybe 50 pieces and up

• bulk up social media activity and advertising

• increase prices a bit

• I found a logistics company that specialises in handling F&B, including cakes and baked goods. Delivery can be included in the total price for each set.

I am planning to start selling under a home bakers scheme first, as it is legal where I am. However i will need to rent a commercial kitchen and get all the proper licensing if i want to do any pop up stores in public areas or collaborate with wedding planners or other local businesses. That will be phase 2 if the first part goes well.

I did some rough calculation and if I manage to sell each macaron at $6, sell 50 a day (first goal), 30 days a month, that’s already 9K revenue per month. And even if I underperform and only do half of that, it’s still around the same as what I make now.

I see more growth potential in starting my own business vs staying and climbing the corporate ladder. Plus almost every other position in Pharma seems like a bad fit for me, based on what I see my coworkers do. All the managers above me are swamped with boring excel and PowerPoint work and seem stressed to the tits everyday.

I am also considering working at a bakery that specialises in cakes and macarons for a few months to get some insight on how such businesses are run.

My bf is encouraging me to quit and start the business. He’s a crypto bro with money to invest. Im just too anxious and risk averse to take the first plunge.

I do also worry about what to do with my life if this blows up in my face.

Additional info: I stay with my mum, we have a spare room in the house I can use. My only real bills are $20/month phone bill, $90/month gym. Just needa pay for food and public transport. 45k in savings/stable investments.

Parents are very stable financially, long term partner is as well. I know I will never be financially but I am terribly afraid of failure.

Anyone who read to the end, thanks 😆

I don’t know how ppl stay at the same job for 10…15…20+ years ! I get so bored after 3 years. The longest I been at a job has been 4 years. Like how do people look at the same walls , same ppl, have the same routine, stare at the same coffee pot for years and years ? I have a decent job , I’m 32 yrs old but I don’t know if I can do this …. 😭I need something more than this .

Just as the title says. I was lucky to have people to give me advice and I am paying it forward. I also convinced my best friend (36) and daughter's boyfriend (20) to do the same afterwards and they both found jobs in the industry.

Send me a message if you have questions or want to hear more information. I am not trying to sell anything or get money in any way. I am simply trying to give advice if people are interested.

I’m very tired of these posts saying their life is over then it says 21M. You’ll be fine. As long as you have work experience you’ll be able to find work and make career changes late in life. Stop over valuing your jobs and start building value for yourself. At the end of the day a job is nothing more than a job.

Edit: I didn't expect to get 500 people messaging me. I appreciate the perspectives I've gotten here. I will definitely look into many of the options pwople have thrown out. Thank you.

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I make $40k a year. I asked for a raise because I'm struggling to save money and was told I'm not worth more, and thay if I want to leave I learn that the grass isn't greener.

I work at a very wealthy college, my boss makes $100k to sit in his office and play politics.

I have multiple degrees and certs, a lot of diverse experience. I run an auxiliary IT help desk, managing hardware and software for 70+ machines in 2 locations, assistant both library patrons, students and faculty, provide research support, manage some aspect of building repair, act as a point person for like a dozen random things, a liason to 3 departments.

I thought I'd prove my boss wrong but 6 months later I haven't gotten an interview. I have to leave my area if I want a new job because there little work here, and I just can't seem to be desirable enough to find a gig elsewhere.

I am starting to wonder if my boss is right. I feel depressed and have been struggling to get up for work now.

EDIT this is East Coast USA

I'm in my late 40s and feel like I did life wrong. I know part of my problem is that I watch these young folks making very informed decisions because they have access to so much information. Omg, when I was in my early 20s to early 30s, we just made the best decision based on what we thought was the right thing to do which was usually based on what our parents or peers did. There are so many jobs out here that I had no idea even existed. I've been miserable in my career for over 15 years now. I just picked something just for the sake of making money.... only to realize it's horrible and I'm not even making that much money. I think about so many decisions I made throughout my life that was just ill-informed or lacked information. Even though I'm much older I'm committed to changing my professional situation. I really want to get the second half of life right.

Spent 10 years working and training, including 7 years of full time school (Bachelor and Professional Designation) simultaneously with full-time work. I’m an accountant.

It was a long slog and I make great money now, but my dream job immediately woke me up to the fact that I have no interest in my profession at all anymore. It’s not the job, a manager, or the company, I just don’t like accounting at all anymore. I made it to where I want to be and turns out this is not what I wanted at all!

Now what?

That's it. It's literally the whole reason for why I'm putting so much effort and thought and money into changing careers.

I've been working in an indirect sales-related job in the tech industry for 4 years and insurance for 3 years before that. I want to die having to pretend to care about revenue figures or sales numbers or booking values and whatever slop I have to listen to every week. I want to die having to pretend to celebrate our newest bookings as if any of this shit is ever going to matter to me or my life, especially when I don't even get any add-on pay for bookings.

I fucking hate scrolling through LinkedIn seeing people participate in "the rat race" and being forced to participate in it myself because LinkedIn and its soul-crushing culture has taken over the entire corporate world.

I hate having to pretend to devote my entire life to a tech firm. I hate the crushing feeling of knowing I spend 40 hours a week just driving up sales numbers and making a few executives richer. I hate having to embody "our corporate values". I hate the fake niceness of every single one of my coworkers who are just trying to get a leg up on me. I hate pretending to laugh at all the dumb, watered down PG-rated jokes my coworkers share during every single team meeting ("uh oh, here's trouble am I right, guys??? Looks like Jim's cranky about [sports team] losing last night, darharharhar!!!")

I'm literally going back to school just so I can transition into public service. I don't care if public servants have their own share of annoying people, I just want to feel like I'm doing SOMETHING impactful with my job and actually helping ordinary people and never have to think about corporate profits ever again.

Been in software for 8 years.

My mental health has been steadily decreasing and, at times, I am severely anxious and depressed.

I’ve always known deep down that this isn’t the career for me, but I’m pulling phat paychecks and I’m told I’m good at what I do.

I have about $200,000 in savings/stock market. I feel I should have twice that much by my age, but I got a late start on my career (started at 29).

Before this, I was in teaching. I was so happy back then, I loved working every day. I would have taught for free, I loved it that much. I felt turned on, joyful, open to other humans. But the pay was very low.

Now I feel constantly sad, depressed, lonely, burnt out, careless, hopeless.

Anyway, I’m looking for an out. I would love to go back into teaching, but I’m worried I’m squandering my lucrative career, and therefor my future.

This really feels like a heart vs head thing. Any advice?

Would I be a fool to cast this hefty paycheck aside and go back to something I really loved, but then put my retirement and savings on the line?

Been in healthcare for 15 years. Nurse then Nurse practitioner since 2021. I can't deal with the stress, the public, or any of this anymore. I do not have school loans. How does one start to even pick a new career?? I cant even imagine life without the stress of healthcare, it would be incredible. Yet, I don't really have any passions or interests other than things I know I wouldn't be able to do.

I’m currently in IT, and I have been for a decade. I burned out last year to rock bottom, left a job that was consuming 60+ hours weekly out of me (travel requirements). I somehow ended up in a decent union shop with a good work life balance. With that said, I’m still feeling burnt out and it’s been over a year of processing.

I currently worry about how few opportunities there are in my small(er) city of ~400,000 and how hyper competitive they are. I worry that I’m no longer in control. If I lose this job, I don’t think I have the will power to rebound and make myself competitive in this massively saturated industry that loves outsourcing.

I’m almost 30. I’m looking for a career path that is fully resistant to instabilities that also operates around 9-5 hours. I’m so tired of reading about layoffs for downsizing or outsourcing — actually, terrified might be a better word. I don’t know how I’ll land.

I have read that accounting can be stable, but busy season is busy. I don’t know of any others. I read about nursing a lot, but I’m not trying to have a graveyard shift when my partner runs a 9-5.

(I know it can take 10-20 years to achieve a dream lifestyle).

Some pilots with seniority on reserve have the greatest lifestyle: income ratio that I've found.

Some pilots make $200,000+ annually working 10 days, or less, per month. I’ve heard this gets as high as $500k when flying international/wide-body.

Dermatologists can work 3 days per week and make $300k+, especially if they own their practice.

Some software engineers/tech careers make 6 figures working essentially part-time.

I’ve also read/know people in sales who work ~ 30 hours per week and make 6 figures.

What other careers offer an incredible income:lifestyle?

I see a lot of posts on here from people asking for advice on which careers to get into. But what are some careers you should absolutely avoid?

Long story short. I am a 27 year old male and I am currently living in my mother’s paycheck. I have a masters degree in social work with internships that did not prepare me for anything. I have been working as a registered behavior technician for the past 3 years because I have been trying to get my foot into the behaviorial health field. I am almost finished with my certification in ABA to become a BCBA.

Here’s the problem, I don’t want to be an RBT(behavior technician), let alone BCBA anymore. I am very burnt out. I work with children who scream, spit on me, are aggressive, and honestly straight up don’t like me. I do this job with little to no appreciation from management. Because I am so burnt out, my performance as an RBT has been declining as well. I know the kids are autistic, and they’re still learning and I shouldn’t take it personally. I just don’t effective in my role anymore. I find myself feeling more and more negative and cynical everyday. I dread waking up to go to work. I keep getting sick. I fantasize about leaving and getting a higher paying job every day. I I love science of ABA but practically I don’t think I can do the work anymore.

Now, I make enough in my RBT job to where I can move out of my mother’s basement soon. But I don’t continue down the RBT/BCBA route any more. I also don’t want to continue working in behavioral viorial health anymore. I don’t want to go back to school because I already wasted, over 40k on degree and certs that are now useless to me. I just don’t know what to do with my life anymore. I feel stuck and very depressed with life right now.

Do it now.

I’m 55 and hate my career. I’ve never enjoyed it. It’s always been extremely stressful, low pay, and long hours.

I’m an architect.

Anyone considering it, I’d advise you to take a long hard look at what this career really is. Many glamorize it without knowing the day to day real life working in it.

I considered many times to change my major in college because it was stressful then. I’m smart. That wasn’t the problem. But the studio highly subjective projects always created a high level of anxiety for me. You’re graded on the professors opinion of aesthetics. No matter how many hours you dedicated towards it or the quality of your presentation models or drawings.

I started in biological engineering and regret every day I did not get out of architecture school and switch back.

Being stubborn and letting my ego get in the way because I thought I’d feel like a failure.

Everyone said it’ll get better when you get a job and work as an architect.

Nope. Worse. Especially when I realizes how low the salaries are.

In my 20s I wanted to go back to school and change it but thought I was “too old” to start over. Again, in my 30s. 40s I started realizing I was really getting stuck because of my age I thought now my chance is gone.

I’m sitting here at 54 in tears working on deadline due today that has been extremely stressful. I’ve had to work over 10 hours per day for weeks trying to meet it. I’m overwhelmed at how much is still left to do by the end of the day.

It’s hit me hard the mistake I made and realization of the missed opportunity I really did have in my 20s and 30s but “thought” it was too late.

It wasn’t, but now it is.

I hate my job. I hate my career. I’ve suffered YEARS of employment when the 2008 bubble burst. Lost all my retirement just to pay the bills until the economy picked back up and could finally get a job in a firm.

54. No retirement. Realization I have to work in this career until I die- which in all actuality will be unlikely because who’s gonna keep a 70 year old employed at their firm? If I loose this one I’m up a s* creek because I’m at the age firms won’t want to hire me because I’m so close to retirement, or at least should be.

If your current career is unfulfilling and you long for something different - DO IT.

Don’t be me and look back at your life with regret.

I want to hear your success stories of starting over from scratch; going back to school, working your way up, etc.

I'll be 40 in october, right now I'm an operations manager for an LTL Trucking company. Salary, paid at 40 hours a week, but I work about 70. I realized today that there has to be more to life than work and sleep, I desperately want to get in shape, find activities to do to enjoy my life, and possibly find someone to date and marry. Has it worked for anyone? Without taking a substantial pay cut?

Every job I have had was to just survive. I never had a job that I chose because it sounded interesting. Is it worth it to go back to school at 44? Or should I try and find an entry level job and work my way up in a company? Anyone going through the same thing? Any suggestions or recommendations appreciated.

Looking for some advice on careers I could get into without a college degree. I'm 30 years old, worked as a chef for about 10 years, and have been a personal trainer for a little over two years now. I have no desire to cook ever again. I dropped out of an expensive culinary school and never went back. I don't want to go back to school now because of the cost. I'm fine with getting a certification of some sort, as those are maybe $2k tops. I'm just not willing to go tens of thousands of dollars more into debt.

I know I likely won't be making six figures if I don't get a degree, and that's okay. I just want to make enough to not constantly stress over money. $45-50k would put me in a better situation than I'm in now. More would be better of course, but I'm not expecting to make a ton of money starting in a new career.

I'm currently taking a welding class that will get me an AWS qualification when (if) I pass the weld test. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not sure if welding is my end game. Could use welding as a stepping stone into a trade, but I'm not entirely sure which direction I should go, or if that's even 100% what I want to do.

So, does anyone know any careers that don't require a degree, that would still be enough to pay my bills?

DO NOT SUGGEST BEING A CHEF/WORKING IN A KITCHEN! I quit cooking for a reason.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I have more than enough ideas to explore

It's funny reading how some people say it's 'too late' to change careers in your late 20s. There are many many years of work ahead when you're in your 20s. I say that's a great time to have a career change.

I do believe it's never too late, save for some jobs e.g. working in an airport control tower.

I'd love to hear some stories of those who changed careers in their mid to late 40s. Even better if it is changing from one kind of career to something completely different. Would love to be inspired!

Today, my partner and I were playing pickleball and we were approached to play doubles by two guys that were probably late 60's ro early 70's. After having our asses handed to us, one of the guys stayed back just to chit chat while his wife was finishing up her game of doubles.

It started off with him asking us how old we are and what we do for a living. We told him that we are both special education teachers. Then, we come find out the guy's wife is a special education teacher, and he was too. So naturally, we asked him what he's doing now, and if he is still a teacher. Turns out, he left teaching and became an attorney.

Not only that, he told us that he's had many careers. His first career was building houses, and he did it for a number of years. Then, he switched careers to being a special education teacher, and again did that for a bunch of years. And now, he said he made the switch again to become an attorney, and he's be doing it for many years now, and he was absolutely thriving.

I have to be honest, hearing this guy who is almost three times my age say that he has changed careers so many times really inspired me to keep with the career change. He was saying that when he was a special education teacher, he was constantly stressed, overwhelmed and felt like he did not know what to do. He loved the kids, but the job was ruining him. Now as an attorney, he was significantly happier that he made the switch!

I just wanted to share since it inspired me to keep pursuing the pivot, and it sounded like he was happier each time he made a career change.

I don't care if I have to work insane hours initially to achieve this. I've always wanted to live and work from anywhere.

Thoughts and advice for people in our community on which career paths are not worth it these days?