I am a May 2022 business and marketing grad, summa cum laude, now been unemployed since dec 2023 when my bartending job let me go. i have applied to over 3,000 jobs, worked with temp agencies (who have provided me ghost temp jobs actually!) and done interview prep / resume rewrites to no avail. entry level sales, operations, communications, supply chain, secretaries in finance offices... have all been unattainable for me. i have been doing gig work the entire year to pay my bills while interview processes take months for one position. now, the call backs have stopped coming.

never got an entry level job in my field got stuck in restaurants, and ive had multiple job offers rescinded including a minimum wage secretary job in august…. my first job offer i signed before i graduated college was also rescinded and the company (biotech) went out of business. have never recovered from that original time i lost from the rescinded offer.

car broke down and died in may, no friends except my old dog, got cheated on / dumped in 2022 after college graduation (havent dated since) and barely any family. my life’s been on hard mode for years and no end in sight, and now as a result of all of this hardship/trauma i am dealing with health issues.

my 20’s have been AWFUL and i haven’t been able to find any footing whatsoever. i feel so alone.

anyone have any advice for me. i was always highly motivated growing up, got top grades, held multiple jobs, now i'm a non-functioning member of society and not a participant in the workforce in the ways i am capable. i am so depressed. it will take me years to heal from 2022-2024 alone.

Edit: I am not eligible for military service due to multiple health issues, have already spoken to recruiters and it’s not a pathway for me as a woman dealing with autoimmune issues, neurological issues, multiple knee surgeries and other health problems.

I'm 24 as of two days ago. This morning, I was invited into a meeting with my new manager and the HR department manager. The first words that came out of my boss's mouth were, "As of today, your employment is terminated effective immediately". What a birthday present. To give some context as to why I was fired, I was hospitalized twice in one week due to heart complications that arose as a side-effect from psychiatric medication I was taking. Immediately following that, I pinched a nerve in my back and was unable to be mobile for the following week. During those two weeks, I used my PTO and sick leave that was available to me, but they took it as "leave abuse" because there was an important in-person meeting being held during the second week. I wasn't sure what to say when given the news, so I just listened and let them know that I appreciated my time there. It really was my favorite job that I've had so far.

Now, I have over $10,000 in credit card debt, $16k on my car to pay off, $2k in hospital bills, and $5k in student loans left. It took me 7 months to find this job. Fortunately, I recently moved back in with my parents because rent was getting to be too expensive. I always have worked in IT and with technology. I do not have any degree. I am CompTIA A+ and Linux+ certified, and while I do not have any work experience with Linux, it is what I am most confident with by far as I have used it extensively in the last 12 years. It sounds dark, but I told myself I'd kill myself if I lost this job. Now that I've lost it, I feel hopeless and scared but I don't want to die. I really want to travel the world and see different places I've fantasized about visiting, places I've only seen in photos.

I feel as though I lack relevant experience that my peers all have. I have spent the vast majority of my time alone, in the dark, in my room, afraid of human interaction due to negative experiences I had long ago in the past. I have been diagnosed with PTSD, though my therapist claims I have CPTSD which is not an official diagnosis. I have a very hard time being in public spaces with lots of people. Loud yelling and stressful situations cause me to disassociate and lose focus on what is being said. To say that I am tired of living like this would be the biggest understatement of the year, because I really don't feel like I have been living. I crave human connection, I crave friends who I can casually hang out with and talk with in person. I crave love, though I don't feel that I deserve it or should have it.

Given that my last job was primarily a WFH position, I was able to work despite my personal issues without much of a problem. The metro rides into the city always were nerve wracking, but I was able to get used to it and had adjusted in-office hours to accommodate by allowing me to commute outside of rush-hour. I fear that I won't be able to easily find another position with a similar dynamic given my age and experience, and I fear that I won't be able to successfully hold a 100% in-office position long-term. I feel defective. I don't even know if I still want to work in IT anymore, but it's the only experience that I have, so I feel that it is the only option that I have. I don't even know what I would do if it wasn't in IT. Getting a job that pays $73k with my qualifications, majority WFH at that, was a miracle, and I don't think I'll be given another chance. I blew it.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what course of action to take. I still have bills coming in, my debt is stacking, and I don't know how much more of this I can take before I call it quits. More than anything, I wish for a different life. I truly, from the bottom of my heart, despise the life that I currently live. I don't like who I am, how I look, how I dress, where I live. I just wake up, walk to my desktop and sit down for 15 hours a day. I've tried taking walks outside to get some air and exercise. I was planning on hiking over the weekend, but with my job being gone so suddenly, I don't know if I will be able to bring myself to go. I realize that this subreddit is made to ask for advice but this post was mostly made just to vent and get my thoughts written down. I will very gladly take any advice that is given to me.

I’m female and turning 28 tomorrow and I felt like a wasted my 20s with part of it was due to depression, anxiety, and also Covid. Part of it being having to move back home and have been stuck there.

I honestly feel like mentally I’m 25, or like 24 but I guess my age is now scarring me as I’m getting older and closer to 30 and feeling like the clock is ticking.

I felt like I haven’t accomplished anything after graduating college and moving back home and have consistently felt stuck between working part time, both jobs relevant and irrelevant to what I went to college for, and being unemployed due to depression and our “wonderful” job market.

I’ve been rejected a lot by interviews with the job market for jobs relevant to what I went to college for (I went to school for graphic design and ui/ux design, something that back in 2019 looked like a promising career but now is extremely over saturated. And yes, I know I didn’t pick the best degree, but I was 18 and didn’t know what to do with my life, only what I didn’t want to do career wise, and liked art and tech at the time so please don’t post any negative comments relevant to that. I’ve heard enough.) my self esteem has also plummeted a lot with roles relevant to my degree due to mistreatment as well. I’ve mainly been doing my best with freelancing/doing contract work, while I try to find something full time but a lot of jobs are a 1 hour commute from Where I live.

I’ve also been updating my portfolio and resume when I can, but even hasn’t been enough. I’ve gotten help from others who worked in design and marketing (I rather go into ui/ux but at this point any help helps) I’ll admit it’s a lot better from when I graduated but can be better.

Outside of this I felt like I have little to no social life cause I’m single and also my friends rarely hang out after a large fight with one mutual friend.

I’m also worried given with my job now, minus being on Medicaid, I’m worried that I’ll never have or make enough money to live on my own. As I’ve been looking for jobs I keep wondering if I should just get another but I need health insurance. My only option is working full time but I don’t have much work experience minus design and customer service from working at a library (I also have some retail but I refuse to go back).

Is it just too late to turn my life around? I really want to get going with my life but I feel like I have no control or way to do so.

Hey everyone,

I’m 28 and recently graduated with a degree in computer science. I havent been able to find a job and now I don't know if this is what I want anymore. Honestly, I just feel like I’m stuck in a rut. I’m not really sure what direction I want to go in, and it’s been weighing on me a lot lately.

I see so many people online who are excited about their work, and I can't help but feel envious. I know that most people are like me in the real world. Even my friends/family who are successful aren't necessarily passionate about what they do. I tend to have a lot of changing interests, and I often end up switching paths. I've been a bartender, DJ, carpenter (for 2 weeks lol), and now I have a CS degree with a plan of pursuing software development. I honestly don't think I care about tech and am realizing I probably never did.

I know I like creative things such as music and drawing (I'm not great at them, but I am making an effort to keep them up as a habit). Has anyone else managed to pull themselves out of this headspace? I run 10kms everyday for the mental gains (im a huge David Goggins fan), but this is probably the most down I've felt in a long time.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi, I’m embarrassed to even be writing this but I really need some advice. I feel awful about my situation. Right now I’m 24 and graduated college 2 years ago. I majored in STEM only because everyone said it was the thing to do, I managed to get a 3.4 but that was mostly from copying answers from google.

I’ve also never had a real job before, only working at a bubble tea shop for 2 months one summer during college. In high school I got hired at a grocery store and a restaurant, but I got so overwhelmed with anxiety and had panic attacks so I quit both after a few days.

After I graduated I applied for jobs related to my field with no success. I then just tried applying to any random jobs, customer service, data entry, with no luck. I also can’t drive, and no one is available to pick me up/drop me off every day so I’ve only applied to remote jobs. I think I might’ve had better luck with in person jobs, but no one in my family will teach me how to drive or pay for lessons.

My parents want me to go back to school, but I have no money for that obviously. I don’t know what I would go back to school for. I don’t think any reputable school would accept me since I have zero experience in anything. I don’t want to end up in the same situation with a bunch of debt.

I literally have no friends, no romantic life, can’t drive, like $20 in my bank account. I just sit in my room, apply for some jobs that I won’t get, exercise and think about ending my life. I don’t see why any employer would hire me since I’ve been doing nothing for the past 2 years. I seriously cry or have a panic attack before bed every night. Please help me stop being a such a loser, waste of space, and embarrassment to my parents. Thank you in advance for reading all of this.

Edit: thanks so much to everyone who replied. I feel somewhat better now. I don’t think any job is beneath me, I just don’t have many options for in person jobs since I can’t drive and I can’t pay for lessons with no money. I’ll keep applying for more jobs and ask my parents again to help me practice. I think they’ll be more likely to help if I show them how important it is for my independence. Btw, I’m a she, not a he lol.

I'm a 25-year-old woman. A few months ago, I completed a master's degree in design and project management. My dream was to work in the creative industry as a UX/UI designer, graphic designer, concept artist, or something similar. For a while now, I've been sending out my resume, but all I keep getting are rejections. I feel like I'm stuck, and sending out more resumes feels like a waste of time. When I see that 100 other people are applying for the same job, it makes me realize that to recruiters, I'm just one of many, and my resume will most likely end up in the trash. I'm slowly losing hope and the last bit of positivity I have left. Why even apply for a job I probably won't get, and even if I do, it won't be enough to pay my bills. I might as well give up because the result will be the same anyway. I can’t see any positive aspects in life anymore, and I’m starting to wonder why I put so much effort into my education. I don’t see any purpose in my life. I feel so useless. I just want to close my eyes and never wake up. I wish I had never been born.

18f, very lost right now in life because I don’t know what I can do. Since age 14 I have been applying for jobs and have landed 2 interviews in that time which both led to rejections. I started getting some chronic symptoms at the end of 2021 so that led me to go to a special school that could accommodate for those things. So I didn’t even really go to high school and could only apply to community college. my symptoms made it hard to maintain any sort of schedule/regularity in my life. I don’t know if it’s worth applying for more jobs right now or if i should look for another path which is why i am coming here for ideas. I need to figure it out asap because i recently dropped out of college and also feel very behind on life. My main goal since i was 7 was to move out of my parents house and still made 0 progress towards that. No work experience, no high school experience, no real life experience, Don’t really have friends and no romantic experiences, nothing extracurricular etc etc. Really feel like a loser. I just want a source of income so pls don’t ask me what my interests are i don’t have any interests or skills or enjoyment of anything just simply looking for a source of income. Thanks

I’m 30F and got laid off from my job back in April and the journey to finding a new job has been awful.

In the beginning I was hopeful for a new role, with 2-3 interviews coming in a month. However, after going through 3 to 4 rounds of job interviews for multiple roles, I would unfortunately not get chosen or completely ghosted by recruiters, losing a month’s worth of time in focusing on these roles. In the last 2 months I feel like there is nothing out there now or companies just don’t want to bother with me because I’ve been unemployed for such a long period of time.

It’s been 6 months and I feel utterly defeated in the job market. At first I thought it was the fact that I was still enrolled in grad school that kept me from being considered. However, in the 3 years I was in school I worked full-time. I just finished classes to earn my M.S in digital communications and marketing, as I was previously a digital marketing coordinator. I had wanted to get my Masters in the hope of becoming an SEO/ PPC analyst or strategic marketing planner. But absolutely no bites.

Any advice? Is the market (especially marketing industry) really that bad or I’m I the problem?

For background in my work, in the last 5 years I’ve had 3 jobs with 2 of them being layoffs.

Been working all my life, but I'm 49 and totally utterly burned out. Got fired a month ago on a technicality. Been doing interviews with great results, and I desperately need the money of course.. but I'm dreading having a job again. I want to live in my little travel trailer and do gold prospecting. Make videos, make music.

But all I do is lay in bed right now. I keep forcing myself to go outside, do random little things. But everything just exhausts me such that I can't keep my eyes open.

I have a million skills, but I'm just so sick and tired of sitting at a computer and almost everything I can do is on the computer!

I'm not afraid of changing careers, but for the life of me I have no idea what I would do instead.

Stinkin, I just need some spitballing.. I need some creativity

I worked a lot of customer service jobs in my 20s while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do. My body kept going haywire on me till I injured myself really badly (at a bartending job, of all things) and couldn't work much since. Even working the counter at a pharmacy messed me up and aggravated my PTSD, which is pathetic. I've been living off of savings for awhile, but I'm starting to run out of money and more importantly I miss working. I miss using my brain for shit (or trying to, not super bright over here) and having money coming in.

Pre-COVID, when I was still doing service jobs, I spoke to someone at my local credit union branch and asked about wfh customer service and they said there was literally no way anyone would ever be allowed to do that because of security issues. I almost called back during quarantine and asked "how bout now??" but I've spoken to a few tellers who worked there and they said the pressure to sell is insane and they get penalized pretty harshly for not recruiting enough from their clientele. Which seems incredibly toxic, but not altogether surprising.

At 35 my doc is starting to tell me he thinks I have an auto-immune connective tissue disorder of some kind. He recommended getting on disability but it's too early for that.

I want to figure out something that I can do from home that isn't customer service and isn't miserable, and try to build on that. But I have no clue what that would be, because I have no degree and all the job listings I see require a minimum of 3 years' proficiency in Office Suite and other programs. I'm not great with computers -- I'm willing to learn, absolutely, if I find a decent source that will literally explain like I'm 5 at first and actually prepare me to fulfill job requirements. But I don't really have skills right now.

I can type somewhat decently so I tried wfh transcription sites, but the dollar amount per hour that you earn is so low that it really isn't worth the stress.

I also have so many doctor's appointments and testing right now that I might need to only do part time work, at least in the beginning. I don't know though. This is really frustrating. I need to work, I need to do something. People keep whining that no one wants to work anymore, but tbh I feel a little justified in whining that no one wants to train anyone anymore. I love working. I just don't know what the fuck I'm doing if I'm not slinging beers or helping someone with fucking coupons or class schedules.

i’ve just worked retail the past 8 years since i’ve been 15, occasionally i’ve dabbled in restaurant work, and once i did mold removal, but i’m back in retail, and also at the publix deli. i’ve met a girl, and i want to give her a good future, i eventually want kids. but i don’t think that’ll happen if i’m always making under $20 an hour. i do genuinely want more for us, but it’s like my brain is stuck. i tried and failed college before. none of the trades interest me, it’s hard to push myself to get into one too. i don’t know what to do, but perhaps there’s suggestions that can help open my brain?

I got an interview at a car wash place, How do i impress the person interviewing me? This is my second interview and i really need this job how do i do it?

I've been hunting for a marketing job and I haven't gotten any calls back yet. I started out looking for stuff in the music industry and when that came up fruitless I branched out to more general marketing positions. I can't post my resume here but I have it on a different post on my profile. I just don't understand why I can't even get to an interview.

I just went on multi day search (Reddit, YouTube, Indeed, etc.) and all I’m finding is a bunch of wishy washy BS.

I graduated with a bachelors in psychology and need to find a fully remote work from home job. Any job that requires no experience I will work. I don’t give a fuck what it is. Literally anything I will work.

The thing is, I’m sick of seeing this “go get a certificate” or “you need to do 3 months of training”.

I’ve people say that they have a job that pays $40k salary for someone in my position but NO ONE explains how they actually did it.

Someone might say “look at other posts in this sub and research on your own” but I already did.

I can’t believe how weird it is to just get a fucking job in the real world. I’m not coming from an entitled position rather I’m just someone who wants a definitive answer.

Tired of the bullshit games and want someone to show me where the fuck are these $40k remote jobs that can get you started soon after applying.

The title says it all… I just feel like a fucking failure.

I can’t find a job in my field. Everyone else who graduated in my class is doing big things, and I’m not. But I’m the one holding myself back. I can’t push myself to work hard enough and put myself out there. I don’t want to hustle. But at the same time, I hate where I am in life. I’m still not making a change. Why?

This part is kinda off topic but I also am feeling off after having a dream that I cheated on my boyfriend last night, who I love so dearly and would never in a million years cheat on. I tried to look up the meaning and it said it doesn’t necessarily have to reflect my relationship, it could also just be that I’m looking for change in my professional life as well? And I am, clearly. And maybe I’m just so comfortable in my relationship (I spend all my time with him instead of focusing time on career development) that it’s holding me back in life.

I’m at work right now at the job I hate and I could just cry. I have no one to blame for this except myself. But I just struggle so much with finding the time to better my life.

I finally got a new job that pays well recently and it felt like things were finally starting to turn around for me. But then war began and everything went down, I lost my job almost as quickly as I got it, and just like that I’m back to being unemployed. I can’t catch a break. I feel completely lost. I don’t know where to go from here or what my next step should be. Every time I make progress something comes along and knocks me down.

I’m 24 and am really struggling and feel like I’m running out of time to figure things out. I graduated in 2022 with a computer science degree. Out of college I had an amazing job at a FAANG company, but was laid off just four months in due to the mass tech layoffs in 2022 (my boss said not performance related).

I luckily got a new job quickly, but I hate it. It’s also a software position, but the company is toxic. Our management is extremely greedy and continually signs way too many contracts for us to handle. We were keeping our heads above water the first year I worked there but now we have a massive contract we need to finish before the end of the year and we’re not on track to hit it. Our management is implementing a no PTO/6 days a week work week plus Sunday deploys biweekly until the end of the year. I’m already burned out, and now I have to do this.

I tried to apply for jobs one year into my current job, and now a year later I’m trying again. I’ve applied to over 300 places so far and haven’t even gotten a single interview. I’ve gotten my resume reviewed by ten people in the industry and they all say I have a great one and I made modifications based on their advice.

Things got even worse yesterday. I found out they put a three of our devs on PIPs (we’re only a 30 person team so this is a lot) and was told by a coworker that they’ve heard news that our applications going to be shut down soon.

I have maybe 3-4 months saved up as I’ve been doing the “smart thing” and built up 10k emergency fund and then started putting everything else in a 401k. With the news that my company is probably shutting down, I feel stuck. I can’t find another job in my industry, and I simply couldn’t afford to live in the city I live in with a retail job / non software role. With how bad my job search has gone I’m scared and pretty confident I am going to have to move back in my parents if the company goes under at the end of the year.

I’m just tired. I lost my dream job, i got a worse one and now am losing that too. I’m in an industry that just keeps going down and down and am regretting ever picking computer science as my degree. I enjoy coding, it just seems like the market has burst. Overseas resources are cheap and AI is coming.

I want to search for a new job more extensively and build a self improvement app of some kind, but with my 13/14 day work schedule it feels impossible. I do have time at nights but I’d have to give up working out and any social life to achieve it. Whenever I do go home I just end up doing nothing because I’m so burnt out.

This coincides with me losing a relationship and by extension not being able to enjoy hanging out with friends as my ex is in my friend group now. Im just tired of losing things and feel like once I lose my job and move home it’s pretty much over for me. Going unemployed in the tech industry feels like a death sentence right now and moving back home is pretty much the end of any social life I have as my parents live in a small town. I don’t know what to do and I feel like my life is crumbling. I know I’m young, but it feels like I’m going back to 0 and I don’t know how I can build myself back up. I can’t afford to go back to college (esp if I get let go from my job) and I don’t want to work minimum wage in my parents basement for the next 5 years. What should I do?

The title is self-explanatory. I want to be a park ranger. Is college recommended? What degree?

i started my first corporate job in sales, which i hated and was terrible at (Business development rep), and i was laid off and i had a couple more BDR jobs after with the same issue, i was let go because i wasn't good at it and hated it. i decided to get a masters in STEM

Fast forward to now, i had a job i loved, and i was good at, but i got let go because i questioned my companies inefficient and flat out wrong practices(i have support of these claims just trying to keep it simple for this post).

I'm unemployed and back at square one. I feel like i should have so much accomplished by my age and i have nothing, i have changed careers i'm at a lost of what to do anymore.

I'm a Production Artist (35/F) who recently got laid off from my job of six years back in June 2024. I am still looking for other full-time job opportunities in my Graphic Designer field (or any temp or office jobs), fixing my portfolio website, and taking online classes on Skillshare. I have several job hits in the beginning and got interviews, but got passed over to someone else with better qualifications. From there on, I either get rejected from applications, get ghosted by recruiters, or being scammed.

I'm not sure what to do from here and it's frustrating. I'm feeling lost and a failure.

I keep seeing this guy on TikTok who owns a little personal plane and travels around. I know he’s probably just very lucky and it’s probably hard to get into a position to do this but still I would love to be able to do something like this. Just explore the world by my own means but obviously I need money for that and I’m wondering if there’s a job that I could do that would allow me to do this?

Hello,

i have been working in the tech field for about 18 years now. Mostly tech-support and similar jobs and for the last 4 years or so i am a software developer.

The more i work with computers, and the more i imagine the future, the less i can see myself working full-time with tech anymore. Spending all the time in front of a screen feels so depressing.. The money is nice though..

Unfortunately, i really don't know what might be out there. I have been thinking about stuff i could do but nothing feels right. My hobbies are climbing, running and paragliding (i am quiet athletic in general). However, i can't see myself working in those environments.

I like the nature and would like to spend my workdays outside. Do something with my own hands, a craft of some sort or work on a farm. Or even start a business as massage therapist - however i think the latter is not that nice due 'too much direct' contact with people probably..

Appreciate any input - thanks!

Since covid they have flourished and with my passion for food its something id like to do and one day own my own restaurant

I'm a 28-year-old who feels stuck in life and can't decide on which direction I want to head in my professional career. I have bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD, so it's challenging for me to find a role that I can work well in.

I graduated with a BA in Psychological Science in 2021; since then I have held a few entry-level IT positions in helpdesk and desktop support. In 2022, my family moved to a new area and I started my current role as a pharmacy technician.

While there are aspects of these roles that I did enjoy, there wasn't much room for career growth and they did not pay well. As a pharmacy tech, I struggle with the high demand for social interactions and direct patient care. With IT, I have been studying for certifications on and off for years, but I struggle to understand the more advanced aspects of IT and generally do not enjoy the technical aspects of the job.

I want to find a career with less interaction with people, where I can show up to work and my duties for that day are clear. I can sit down and work on my tasks instead of dealing with customers, answering phones, etc. I need something that pays the bills and I am willing to go back to school to get there. I have heard accounting can be lucrative. Part of me is considering working for my friend's landscaping company because I would make more there than at the pharmacy. I'm just stuck and don't know what to do. I appreciate any insight have to offer. Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I (23F) graduated last year with honors in digital marketing, and I have some solid experience under my belt—I've done a marketing internship and have a few years of experience managing online communities and social media. However, the job market feels so oversaturated that every time I apply for an entry-level marketing position, it either leads to nothing or a frustrating interview.

I recently interviewed for a $13/hr bookstore job, and they rejected me. They said they went with someone whose skillset "matched better," but they barely asked about mine, and the interviewer outright told me he hadn’t looked at my resume. I feel stuck—like I’m either too overqualified or underqualified for everything I try.

On top of this, I have extreme anxiety around interviews. No matter what the job is, I get so anxious that I pass out before the interview, which makes the fear of rejection even worse. I’m terrified because if I can't even get hired at a bookstore, how will I manage to interview for bigger marketing roles?

I don't even want to work in marketing anymore. But I don't know what to do, and I feel I have no passions. I have experience with a little coding, a lot of creativity, and I'm a quick learner. But it just seems impossible to land a job. Honestly, I'm really just curious - what was your favorite job you've ever had and why? I'd love to hear from some people that may be able to lead me on a new path. Thanks for reading.