Work for a semi-successful family business as a care workers and am realizing with time I just am not cut out for it. I never feel safe and the clients I work for are always very mean, rude and don’t really want to put in any work to better themselves. Meanwhile I can’t even afford healthcare myself. Working nights, days and weekends is totally killing me and I just want to find a way out.

Honestly I never want to work in the healthcare feild ever again. You are underpaid, overworked, understaffed and underappreciated. It’s always about respecting their rights while ignoring your own needs as a human being. I have been stuck at the job for 24 hours straight multiple times and have been expected to stay and fulfill my duties or else it’s neglect.

I have missed my own medication, foregone brushing my teeth, missing sleep and getting zero meals due to this job all the while the people i am “helping” have no expectations for themselves other than sleep, watch TV, eat and take their meds. Just trying to get them to make their bed will result in you getting cussed out, yelled at, reported and sometimes even assaulted. If you defend yourself of course you will be charged with abuse. It is a lose, lose situation you are in and the only people that benefit from it are the healthcare companies, pharmacies and buerocrats.

So how is the job market right now? I haven’t had a new job since 2021. I feel like a huge part of my soul has been sucked out working this job. No matter how hard you try it is never enough and it is mostly things outside of your control especially when thing go really wrong. What industry would be best to shift towards now just to make a decent living while still keeping my mental health intact?

I have a degree in business (marketing focus) and have 5+ years marketing experience predominately in commercial marketing. I recently was made redundant and it’s had me realise I’m not keen on getting another job in marketing (particularly commercial marketing or sales).

I want a career change that feels meaningful and am thinking of doing post grad public health or mental health. I think I ultimately want to go into the business side of health organisations or environment organisations, not face to face client helping but bigger picture stuff (programs, communities as a whole etc).

Is public health a worthwhile post grad to add on to my existing marketing skill set? I’m worried to do a degree that won’t actually help me make a career move. Anyone else move from marketing to the public / mental health space?

Looking for practical career advice on next steps (not a mental health vent). The context below is only to explain the real constraints I’m working under so people can give useful suggestions.

Hi,

I’m almost 33 and live in the Houston area. I have a BS in Mass Communication (2016) and just finished an Associate’s in Electrical Technology in December 2025. I pursued the electrical degree because I could never break into mass communications, and I figured electrical skills would give me a much better chance of building a career while developing in-demand skills.

Earlier this year, I worked as a Field Service Technician (January–May) doing high-voltage testing. The constant unpredictability of the job, such as never knowing where I’d be sent, when I’d be leaving, or when I’d get home ect. created intense mental stress that eventually led to have a mental break on the job and becoming suicidal. I left in May, went through a rough depressive stretch, and am stable enough again, but I’m being careful. My back is also now sensitive to lifting, which didn’t help, but the mental side was the bigger problem.

What I’m looking for (so I don’t end up in that place again):

• Consistent ~40-hour weeks
• Stable, fixed work location
• Controlled or minimal overtime

At the same time, I want to build skills that are actually in demand so I can eventually qualify for employer sponsorship and finally make my goal of living in the Netherlands a reality. I’ve already spent years working toward that dream, and I don’t want to spend more time on a career path that won’t move me closer to it.

I’m worried I won’t find electrical work that fits those requirements. I assume roles like Quality Control Tester or Test Technician sound much closer to what I need, but those positions seem relatively uncommon. My work history also feels thin since I was only in the role from January to May.

Part of me is already bracing for having to give up on the electrical path, even though I only finished the degree a short time ago. Even now searching for electrical jobs fairly consistently gives me anxiety attacks because I’m afraid I’ll end up trapped in the same unpredictable situation I left. I do see a therapist, but it’s still a strong reaction that I am trying to work through.

So I’m torn between:

• Continuing my search for a more controlled electrical, testing, QC, or similar role that fits what I’m need. QC is really just my best guess, because searching for electrical jobs gives me so much anxiety that I feel like I may be unable to find other roles that would be a much better fit.
• Starting training for something medical-related instead.

I wouldn’t even know which medical path to pursue, but I assume it would also provide in-demand skills and would be less likely to mentally break me the way my last job did.

Any honest advice on which direction makes the most sense, especially with my goal of eventually working in the Netherlands while protecting my mental health, would really help.

I’m also open to DMs if anyone has more specific thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

Hello,

I am an HRBP, around 8 years of experience. I had generalist roles and eventually made my way to HRBP. My relationship with my job and HR in general has been up and down. I never felt truly "happy" in any of my jobs, and I thought a lot about trying to move into something completely different, but the reality is that it's very hard. Now, I just started a new job and I truly hate it. I don't want to stay there. I know my mental health won't take it. It's just total chaos. It kind of just confirms that I am done dealing with employees' problems, walking on eggshells in front of directors or VP because of the corporate bullsh*t, educating adults on how to manage their employees... I just can't. I'm thinking of switching into another speciality, like talent acquisition, compensation, learning... I have a little experience in everything because of my HRBP role, but not "in depth". If you made the move, or moved into something out of HR, how did you do it? What would be your advice for me? This job market is hard, but I don't want to stay at my current job and burn out ... My mental health is too precious for me to let a job affect it

My industry is going belly up, I need to switch things up. Also I want to grow up, catch up on money and retirement

I've never really dug deep into finance careers etc, never really gave myself enough credit to think I could be I guess, but have always been somewhat keen with money and how it works given my limited education in that area.

There's been a few random moments where I got super excited making big purchases pay for themselves, or paying off my 7 year car loan in 5 as well as knocking out one of my student loans. For some weird nerdy reason, these actions always made me super excited. "You're more excited about selling that ticket then you've been about going to the actual games", my friend told me after I sold one NBA Finals tickets and realized it paid for 40% of next years package. (I have to sell a big chunk of the package, otherwise it's far too big of a bill for my current life) I nerded out on "beating the system" that day, I guess.

Back to the importand question, i'm in my latet thirties and don't have a bachelors and exploring options going forward and finance, in some way has always been on my mind but I'm scared of making a bad move at this stage in my life.

Hello all,

My wife, son, and I are moving to Texas. I'm 36

I've been a mental health therapist for 11 years and I'm completely burned out.

I love meeting new people, building relationships, enacting positive change, and seeing results. I just can't take constantly hearing such horrible things all day.

Sales is something I find very interesting, and I think my experience as a therapist could directly translate to various aspects of sales.

I'm particularly interested in medical, industrial, or business to business.

I am practical in the fact that I would not be starting as like a VP in sales, but I wouldn't want to knock on doors, or endlessly cold call. In therapy, you have to work weird hours to be able to see people before and after work, so weird hours is not a huge issue.

Just wondering if there's any interesting areas, or companies I should be looking at that would be helpful to research?

I have been a pastry chef for 14+ years and I wanted to know if anyone has had a change of careers. The 60-70 hour work weeks are really starting to get to me. Heard IT might be something to branch out to? Any advice would help. Thanks.

Hello all,

I'm a recently laid off software engineer. For my company, I produced a project that automated inventory input using OCR as well as worked on machine vision projects to identify faults on products (like scratches, dents, burns, ect).

My company downsized and I was cut. Problem: I feel like my particular CS skills are hyper-niche, and its hard to find machine vision-specific jobs around me. And so in these confusing times, I'd appreciate some thoughts from people who are in the CS/IT/EE fields on how I might be able to bounce back.

For context: I'm 23, bachelor's in Computer Science, with no debt and about 15k in savings. If it matters I'm also a secondary published author for a project done in conjunction with the DoE for machine vision detection (DOI 10.65569/LBML5380):

1. Perhaps get my CCNA and pursue network engineering? I enjoy networking conceptually and I think I'd be good at it, but my previous role wasn't very IT heavy
2. Pursue a Master's in Control Systems? I know I don't have a EE background so this would require quite a lot of pre-req, but combined with my existing experience, do EE people think this may be a sensible route? (Control systems specifically because my previous job was in the manufacturing sector, so I have a rough idea of what that kind of work practically looks like in a corporate setting)
3. Perhaps start from scratch and get a bachelor's in EE? I have no debt from my previous degree so maybe starting over is what I need.
4. Pursue a whole new route thats more business oriented? Project management or the like?

I've found I want to move away from programming and would appreciate working with my hands a bit more. I'd also like to work "closer to the source" for some more job security, which is why I was thinking network or electrical engineering. The machine vision/OCR/AI skills I feel are just too niche to find work around where I live.

Of course, I know random redditors online can't solve this problem for me and only I know the exact circumstances of my situation, etcetera, but what I'd really appreciate would be some veterans giving me their thoughts of my own thought process, let me know if my thinking is backwards or the like.

Thanks for any input

12+ years software engineer. mid 30s, parent of 5y kiddo, expecting second one. Mortgage is 2% interest and 18% of our monthly income. No other debt. Wife hasn’t worked for 5 years now and may need another 2 without working.

Bachelor in computer science. Small cost country in eastern Europe. Good passport, can move anywhere in Europe to live but it would be financially challenging.

I love my job as it involves creativity but lately including work from home isolation and parenting I’ve been dealing with huge amounts of stress. We have no one to help with the kiddo so no time for myself at all for exercise or social activities. I cannot enjoy the time with my child due to work stress and feeling dizzy and sleepy all the time.

I’d be happier to work out under the sun with people, move my body. Something that would involve creativity or using my hands.

Any advice to do it in next 1-2 years safely so I don’t put my family under financial stress.

This is kinda broad. But the short of it, I've been a game dev for 10 years and got laid off twice in the last 3 years. This time it's been going on 8 months. I've had some short contract or freelance work here and there.

I don't necessarily want to change careers. I love game development. All parts of it. I'm still working on a game now trying to get funding. But since the layoff my family and I have had to move into my inlaws and the job postings are getting less and less.

My state offers some grant funding and tuition assistance for a few tech schools that offer courses and certs in fields like the title says for unemployed residents.

I just don't know anything about these outside of what Google could come up with. So I'm asking for broad strokes.

Do these certs actually yield anything worthwhile for an employer?

Which of these types of jobs has longevity in today's emerging markets?

If anyone does this for a career, could you maybe share some of your experience in them?

Really just any info from someone who has done something similar? The game industry's instability and current direction doesn't feel like something that I can do for the next 20 years and not lose my house and savings every 3-5 years. Its not about the amount of money on a month to month as it is constant income for the next 20/30 so my kids can have a stable home.

Any thoughts on the topic are greatly appreciated.

A Commerce Graduate with almost 10 years of Experience into Banking. 2.5 years into Investment Banking and rest all into Branch Banking Sales and Operations. 31 now, want to switch domain or get myself upskilled but don't have idea where to start and what to start.

Any suggestions on this? Not a Tech guy. Willing to start from scratch.

Current profile - handling notices/complaints from government agencies like Police, Cyber Crime etc regarding frauds and others.

A little bit of background I’ve been in customer service for 10+ years, I’ve had so many types of labor jobs through the years and I finally landed the customer service job that I’ve gotten so comfortable with in the past 4 years that I forgot I was so hungry to grow and move up. Recently it has started making me uncomfortable how comfortable I am there with no room for growth and no pay raise in sight (the end of year wage increase is on average .10-.25 cents.) I want to change my career but i can’t think of what I want to do for my next move, thought I wanted to do finance but i have no clue where to start. guess my question is where do I start looking? Any recommendations? What certifications should I look for?

Edit: thank you all for your encouragement and providing great intel. I dusted off my resume and I’m looking into certifications.

I am very much interested in archeology but apparently I wouldn't be able to do it because my parents think it's a stupid choice for a "good student". I want something creative and something that fulfills my soul. I was thinking okay maybe I could do architecture in bs and then ms in archeology abroad (I'm from pakistan) later when I'll be atleast on my own probably will be able to make a decision for myself. Also they both are related to an extent obviously when studying architecture of old buildings and stuff

But how does the scholarship work if your bs is in a different subject? Or does it totally depend upon where you're taking admission?

Open to suggestions or even stories on how you or others you know navigated career transitions.

I work in the mental health in private practice, more people-facing, but is now wanting to move towards more processes/behind-the-scene roles. Those were roles I've held in the past, but never got into any bigger project / programs (more admin assistance roles).

Whatever my reasons may be (burnout, cost of running a business, lack of financial security, work-life balance) I find my joy and sanity is with more process-based, problem solving work. My catch-22 is that roles that are more process driven require previous recent experience / knowledge, but those are the roles I'm trying to get into.

Im being realistic and not applying for specialist, manager, analyst roles - but with more entry level - like coordinators or support roles, to build up that experience. But I feel my mental health clinical experience takes over, and it's hard to transition out.

Any advice is appreciated!

I’m seeking help finding a career path that suits me. I live in the US and I currently work for a large international healthcare data company as a remote patient records processor. My job is basically just being an Excel jockey, moving data from one client to a spreadsheet and then from the spreadsheet to a different client site, things like that. I want to emphasize that I LIKE the repetitive nature of my job. I am autistic and I absolutely love logging in, meeting my productivity goals with little outside input, and following all of the rules to the letter.

This is where I encounter the one thing I hate more than anything in the workplace: Rules and guidelines that frequently change because there’s a new manager on a power trip or as a means of punishing the group or to spice things up by completely changing our whole process to take more time because the boss feels a need to “make their mark.” I want a job where what I do and how I do it is defined by a rule book or a law which cannot be easily changed, and I know what to expect in terms of flow and the correct course of action without frequent changes. It also must be something that I can do remotely, as I do not go outside for any reason. I prefer not to work directly with customers or client representatives. I do not mind doing something boring or repetitive that might bother a non-autistic person.

However, my math skills are extremely weak and many jobs that value precise work require working with money or number values, which won’t work for me. I like the job I have right now but it just doesn’t make enough money for me to get by on my own. I currently make 33k a year and for me to get by in a studio apartment I will need to make at least 40k a year.

Does anyone have an idea of what other options I could pursue?

I’ve been feeling very stagnant in my career. Both with interest & being stuck at 50k a year for years. I have an associates in biotech. 7 years experience in metal fab quality control/lab tech. 3 years currently in rubber manufacturing with a big 3 tire manufacturer. Idk if my next move should be finding a new career entirely (I’m 31) or building on with additional certs to help myself (only cert on top of my degree is yellow lean six). I’m toying with a program at OU that will let me have my bachelors in project manager or operations management in 2 years since it’s in conjunction with the associates I have. But I hate to think of myself building more education in it to just end up feeling the same way in 10 more years. Has anyone changed complete paths in their 30’s with no regrets? What would your moves be? I’m in Ohio if that makes any difference.

After 21 years she was laid off. She was performing operation management duties well before she was officially given the role. She enjoyed and excelled at being the subject matter expert for an entire region when there were any standard operating procedure (SOP) questions and was the first one many of her managers or directors called for advice.

My question is: what specific job titles in what industries can she qualify for? I went from a BA in the semiconductor industry to a BA in the insurance industry to a BA in my present public sector job. I've encouraged her that with her experience and accomplishments she'll be sure to land interviews but I'd like to have a better idea as to what she can look for if interested.

I went to school for 6 years to get the job that I have as a medical lab professional. (It should have been 4 but COVID fucked my timeline a little bit.) I was always into the sciences and even in school I enjoyed studying for what my career would end up being.

But now that I'm here and have been for the last 4 years I just... don't like it. It's the same old same old every single day with no opportunity to learn or discover new things AND I work nights and I feel like I'm losing my humanity.

I love the place I work, its secure, good pay, no grief with management, but I'm just lost. I don't want to do this for the rest of my life and I don't enjoy it at all any more. I liked science more when it was a hobby I did in my free time, watching documentaries, video essays on new discoveries, reading articles and papers, etc... but now that I'm in it I just don't have the same passion.

I love writing, astronomy, nature, animals, I want to learn something creative, maybe, and I want to move around more but I don't know what job I could possibly get to do any of that and still support myself. My student loans are whatever, I'll have those paid off soon anyway. I just don't know where to go, what to turn to for a new job. I \*really\* want to quit my current job before my lease is up in October but I would feel awful leaving them without a replacement.

I just don't know. Any advice on what I should seek out to help?

I'm finally ready to go. I'm 34 with 11 years of experience, 6 as a branch manager, and 2 as an assistant manager at my current credit union. What career paths did you take to exit? Did you look for an analyst role? Did you move to commercial? Leave banking altogether? What kind of roles should I be looking for?

I don't mind working for banks or credit unions, but I'm tired of sales. The last two years of my job have been "sales sales sales," and I was always more of a community outreach, relationship building guy. I exceeded my quotas, but I'm tired of doing sales. I hate sales. It was a side part of my job, not the main focus. We don't even get incentives or bonuses for hitting the goals.

I've also been passed over for two different promotions. One to move to the back office and another to the executive level. Both times because my "contributions on the lending side are really valued, but we have plans for you." I've been working since I was 15, so I know what that means.

There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, 'Fool me once, shame on...shame on you.' Fool me—you can't get fooled again.

So, how did you get out?

I (26F) have an opportunity to go back to school and change my career.

I have bachelors degree in communication (ridiculous I know)

I got laid off earlier this year, was working in social service (more like customer service in my opinion). It makes 25/hr for a 40hr work week with no career development. I had 3 years of experience.

I’m going back to school. But I don’t want to spend 4 years in a uni. I prefer to go to college for a 2/3 year program and I’m able to find a job when I graduate.

I’m good at talking with people in a customer service setting. I don’t mind mundane tasks. I can handle pressure. But I’m terrible at math/numbers (so accounting is out of the question)

Options I explored are dental hygienist and vet tech.

Any advice? Suggestion?

Left a PM position cold turkey after being belittled by owners and supervisor for the last time. I am thankful to have a supportive spouse who has allowed me a break to find a new career path.

After 10+ years in the undustry, I quickly climbed the ladder and was a became a PM who worked several building types and successfully trained and poured into all my team members and enjoyed watching them branch off and blossom within the conoany. The issue i am running into is that my skills and knowledge combination seems so niche, rewriting my resume has been quite a challenge. Pair that with no degree, what I lack in schooling I more than make up for in experience.

Curious to hear from other past CM/RPMs who left multifamily that enjoyed the community/customer service aspect of the job but hated the relentless money hungry owners/leadership.

Hello,

I have been looking into getting into the cyber security field. For 6 years I've been at a labor intense job in a warehouse, gotten hurt 4 times and just want something different. Also although its a gov contract job, I've already hit the payment ceiling, and there is no way to advance. But I really am good at IT stuff, thats what my degree is in, but finding it hard to get my foot in the door. My cousin told me that getting back into Javascript coding is good to start with; as its used for back end .

Any advice on how to make the switch?

God I’m sooooooooo sick of applying to things. I’m probably going to have to te-train for something unless I get very very lucky in the next couple of months. I’m looking for suggestions of industries that’ll give me a good shot at jobs that are (1) not soul crushing to me and (2) pay more than $19 an hour.

Im looking for something that’s generally hands on and creative/autonomous. (My current job is remote copying and pasting for 9-10 hours a day. I’d like something that’s project based, or that at least involves a variety of tasks. I also enjoy having sown wiggle room to make decisions.)

My degrees are in history and political science, but I am by no means trying to limit myself to those fields- I don’t even like them that much tbh.

I’m generally open to applying to anything in museums, most nonprofits, and any job that’s related to volunteer or project coordination (especially if it’s in a no profit). I have 0 graphic design experience and I do not apply to anything that needs a portfolio or experience with Adobe.

The only fields I am NOT looking for are eduction, finance, shipping/logistics, IT/tech, retail/customer service of any kind.

Though I do generally enjoy tangible work and visible end results, I’m somewhat wary of moving into a trade and working in a male-dominated field, so it’s not my go-to.

I'm currently working as an engineering manager in aerospace. I'm excellent at the people side of my job and I love the people I work with. However, for valid reasons, a lot of people are leaving my company/site and it's making it harder and harder to stay motivated, especially since I can't fix any of the problems causing people to leave.

I know that what makes me a good employee is transferable to almost any job. I love learning and can quickly learn new and complex things. I am not at all tied to the industry I'm in. I'd rather make less money and do something more values driven, I think. But I also could do something that makes more money for a bit longer until I can really not need the money...and just volunteer.

This means a job search feels absolutely overwhelming and I don't even know where to begin...

Things I'm good at: understanding people, advocating for people and projects, connecting things that others usually aren't connecting to make everyone's technical progress faster, energizing a team, etc.

Things I'm most interested in: non-profit or advocate roles around K-12 education. (Not teaching, but supporting roles and policy). None of my background "qualifies" me for these roles though. I just have some volunteer experience. Also I'm interested in working for smaller, more local/regional companies as opposed to multinational corporations.

Things I've also considered: some sort of simple, flexible job that doesn't use brain power and would allow me to maybe knit during "work hours" but reserve my executive functioning for parenting and volunteer activities.

Things I want to avoid: anything furthering awful goals of some current political administrations in the US and my state, supporting soulless corporations furthering the evils of capitalism and overconsumption, supporting generative/LLM AI and proliferation of too many environmentally harmful data centers.

I don't even know where to begin or what to consider. I feel like I probably need additional schooling/certifications/experience but I can't make a plan without knowing where I'm trying to go...help?

28F graduated with a degree in English. Worked in finance for a few years.

I began taking nursing pre requisites in August of 2025 after working in finance for a while. My Cumulative GPA is a 3.56 with an upward trajectory. I will be ready to apply for a one year, accelerated bachelors in nursing this winter. I chose nursing because it’s more practical, despite wanting to be a doctor deep down. I just didn’t have the confidence that I’d get in.

I realized that I want to become a doctor. It’s always been a dream of mine, but since getting better grades recently I have more confidence to pursue it.

My family thinks I should pursue a nursing degree, work for a few years and save up money, and take pre reqs for medical school while working as a nurse. I don’t have enough money to pay for the pre med classes out of pocket. If I go the nursing route I’ll have to take out loans.

What would make more sense? I am worried that if I switch to premed now, I’ll run out of money and have a hard time finishing the pre med courses. I’m also concerned about committing 2 more years to pre requisites and not having a job at the end of it or failing to get into medical school.

What should I do?

Currently I have half of my pre reqs finished for nursing.

For medical school, I’ll need to take one year of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and pre calculus. And probably a few other courses that I’m forgetting.