I am currently getting screened for cancer, and while I doubt it will return positive, what should I do if it does? I'm kinda worried that all of my doctor appointments and things will give an impression I don't want to give my managers and HR, especially since I was only offically hired months ago, but how should/could I explain all these times where I'm having to leave for the docs or if I do wind up getting a positive result for the cancer test?

Hi guys :)

So I’m 25f in Eastern Canada. I graduated in 2025 with a degree in Community Development and Environmental and Sustainability Studies, and absolutely loved my time in uni. My classes, coursework, faculty, everything.

During uni I worked as a bartender then bar manager at a very small, family owned brewery. When I graduated, they promoted me to hospitality manager and put me on salary (45k CAD).

They pretty much trust me implicitly and have handed over the day-to-day operations to me. I do payroll, scheduling, event planning, marketing, ordering, HR, etc. I run that shit. My only boss is the owner, who’s busy with brewing and etc, so I’m essentially unmonitored.

And I LOVE my job. It’s easy. To be completely honest, I fuck around half the time. As long as I get everything done (which i do), no one cares what I’m doing. I make my own schedule, work from home half the time, and can bartend whenever I want to make tips.
However, there are downsides:

- I have terrible, unmedicated and ill-managed ADHD, and my job has absolutely no structure. I cannot for the life of me get myself into a routine without someone else enforcing it. I’m really starting to crave structure.

- It’s a small business so I get no benefits.

- The business runs on razor thin margins and I’m constantly stressed about cutting costs and increasing profits. I feel very responsible for the health of the business.
It’s a family run passion project, and it’s a MESS. Finances, paperwork, everything. Nothing shady, just incredibly disorganized. I’m the first point of contact so I’m also the one catching flack for unpaid bills and etc.

- It’s the service industry, which we all know kind of blows. I love the chaos but I want to start a family in a few years and I’m getting tired of late nights.

Anyways.

A job has come up that aligns perfectly with my degree. It’s not my dream job, but would lead into it well. Pay is fine (50k CAD), but it’s municipal government so BENEFITSSS🥵

I know I’m putting the cart before the horse considering I haven’t even applied yet.
But I am TERRIFIED of leaving my company. It makes me sick to think about telling my boss I’m leaving. They would absolutely flounder without me, at least for a while.

And I knowwww it’s just business and they can replace me. But it’s not some cold capitalist corporation. I’ve become close with this family. I’ve been to their weddings, watched their kids/grandkids grow up, etc. I genuinely love these people and leaving would fuck things up for them so bad.

(Although I’ll be honest, I genuinely think someone else could do my job way better. I’m sure there are people who thrive with little structure. I am not one of them. It would just be hard to find that person.)

The other problem is that I have it SO GOOD right now. I’m worried about the culture shock of going from essentially running my own show to working in municipal government. It’s kind of where I’ve always wanted to end up, but what if I hate it?? Then I can’t go back. I’d have left a job I loved for a job I hate :(

So yeah. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Am I insane for considering leaving a job I genuinely love, or would I be stupid not to pursue something with more structure, stability and benefits?

I graduated from college in 2022 and spent the last four years working as a stockbroker at a securities firm in Vietnam.

During my first few months, I actually had some decent achievements. I ranked #1 in new account openings for two consecutive months and made it into the company's top 15 salespeople twice.

But after four years, I started feeling like I was becoming stagnant. Maybe it was the work environment, but I gradually became less motivated to push myself or try new things, much like some of my coworkers. Once you build up a client base that generates commissions from their trading activity, it's easy to get comfortable and rely on that passive income instead of constantly looking for new opportunities.

The ironic thing is that I was probably one of the most tech-savvy people at my branch. I was always keeping up with new technology and even knew how to edit videos (WTF, lol). Yet somehow, I still found myself getting lazy and reluctant to take on new challenges.

After four years, I decided to quit because I felt the environment was holding me back. Of course, you could argue that stagnation is a personal problem rather than an environmental one, and honestly, you'd be right. Maybe I just wasn't disciplined enough to break out of that cycle.

Since leaving, I've been applying for jobs through various platforms, mainly targeting roles like Sales Representative, Sales Manager, Customer Success, and SaaS Sales. I'm also looking for remote opportunities because I'd like more flexibility and time to earn money.

I genuinely believe I can sell almost anything as long as it doesn't go against my ethical principles. I'm also a fast learner. When I take the time to learn something, I tend to understand it pretty thoroughly. I feel that if someone trained me for a month or two, I could take over the role and handle the responsibilities pretty smoothly, regardless of the industry, as long as it wasn't something highly technical.

The problem is that my resume is pretty limited outside of my experience at the securities firm and a previous job in hotel operations. I'm worried that my lack of diverse experience is getting me filtered out before I even get a chance to interview.

I've been applying for jobs for a while now, but I haven't received a single offer. It's getting pretty discouraging, and I can't help feeling like I'm falling behind compared to other people my age.

What should I do at this point? Should I keep applying for sales and customer success roles, try to break into a new industry, or take a step back and build some new skills first?

I'd really appreciate any advice from people who've been in a similar situation.

I'm 26 years old, living in the Kansas City area, and honestly feeling pretty lost about my career progression.

I graduated in December 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a 3.6 GPA. In March 2022, I started working at Cerner (later acquired by Oracle) as a Business Systems Analyst, making $65K annually.

I stayed with Oracle for about 3.5 years, eventually moving into a Program Manager title and getting some exposure to AI product management. Unfortunately, I never received a salary increase during my time there.

In September 2025, I was laid off as part of a reduction in force.

After months of applying and interviewing, I finally landed a Systems Analyst II position at Commerce Bank in August 2026, making $68K annually.

Here's what's bothering me:

• I have nearly five years of professional experience and a Computer Science degree, yet I'm still making under $70K.
• My salary has barely increased since I graduated.
• I feel like I've fallen behind financially and professionally compared to where I expected to be at this age.
• I have experience in business systems analysis, enterprise applications, and some AI product management, but I'm struggling to figure out which career direction offers the best long-term opportunities.

I'm grateful to be employed again, especially after experiencing a layoff, but I don't want to spend another three or four years barely progressing financially.

Ideally, I'd like to move into a role paying $100K–$120K+ within the next couple of years. I'm open to systems analysis, technical product management, project management, or other technology-related roles.

My questions are:

1. With my background, which career path would you recommend pursuing?
2. Is earning $68K with my experience significantly below market, or am I being unrealistic?
3. Should I focus on building technical skills, earning certifications, or pursuing an MBA?
4. Would you recommend staying at my current company for a year or two, or actively looking for better opportunities sooner?

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who have worked in business systems analysis, product management, or corporate technology. I'm not particularly interested in pursuing software engineering, as coding isn't my strongest skill. I'd prefer a career path that combines technology, business, and project or product management.

I'm based in Missouri, if that helps provide some salary context.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I graduated in 2025 with both a bachelor’s and master’s in computer science. I have seven internships under my belt and have worked two full-time jobs. I was recently laid off, and I’ve realized that I don’t really have the desire to go back to working for another employer.
I know it might seem strange to feel this way so early in my career, but my experiences with my last two full-time jobs have genuinely changed how I view employment.

I’ve dealt with workplace bullying, managers constantly shifting goalposts, contradictory instructions, unresponsive leadership, and KPIs that were eventually discarded. I’ve had managers ignore texts, emails, and phone calls, only to shift the blame when something went wrong. I’ve experienced environments where leadership didn’t seem to know what they wanted, wouldn’t answer questions, and wouldn’t provide feedback when asked.

There was also the office politics and the constant need to manage the emotions of people above me. You could do your job, ask the right questions, and try to meet expectations, only to have a manager wake up in a bad mood and suddenly treat you as incompetent. One job ended with me quitting, and the other ended with me being laid off.

Both experiences had significant consequences for my life beyond work. They affected my savings, travel plans, and career plans. It made me realize how much control an employer can have over your life, even when you’re doing your best.

I’m tired of the idea that I should sacrifice my time, work overtime, and constantly prove myself to people who can make arbitrary decisions about my livelihood. I don’t want my ability to feed myself and sustain my life to depend on how a manager feels about me on a particular day. I don’t want to spend my working life navigating office politics or managing the emotions of grown adults just to maintain my income.

My concern is that I’m feeling this way so early in my career. Now, instead of feeling motivated to climb the career ladder, I feel almost completely disinterested in participating in the traditional employment system.

For those of you who have experienced something similar, what did you do? Did you eventually find better employers and change your perspective, or did you successfully transition into working for yourself? If you chose entrepreneurship or freelancing, how did you make that transition without putting your financial stability at risk?

I am a full time college student working* *
wed-thurs 4-12:30am
sat 4-2am
sun 4-12am
I texted my manager august 28th asking for only weekend mornings because i knew my work and school would be too much for me to handle and i had a gpa requirement for my scholarship. She asked me when i needed it by and I said whenever but preferably as soon as possible which i now realize was a mistake. I followed up in person sometime this month and asked her for a temporary schedule October 19th but she said she would put out the new schedule next week and would fix it for me.

Well the schedules came out and im working thurs-sat-sun same hours. I was extremely upset and yesterday I told one of my other managers who texted her. He said she almost definitely forgot and that she said to write up a shift exchange and she’d try to find someone to cover me this weekend. The problem is it’s Halloween and nobody is taking that shift. I don’t want it to look like im throwing a fit over Halloween but it really feels like the cherry on top, waiting all this time, being promised a new schedule only to get genuinely nothing and having to work on a holiday.

I really do not want to work it, but it’s extremely unlikely anyone is taking that shift, and if I call off that day I’ll get fired. Idk what to do, im about ready to quit over this. It’s way too much stress for a minimum wage job, but i also really like the people and im onyl six months in so i dont wanna be an asshole and quit short notice

So I have been working at my workplace, hospital security, for about 6 months now and when I hired in I was told I would only have to mandatory overtime every 3-4 months. The normal schedule is 8 hours 11pm-7am Thursday through Monday. The mandatory overtime is being forced to work 12 hours with little to no notice. On night shift for the past 2-4 months there has been a total of maybe 30 people who come into the hospital at night all of which are not combative or needing security assistance so I basically get paid to sit in my office on my phone the whole shift. Ever since I started working I have had to work at least 2-3 12 hour shifts per month with less than a week notice sometimes I don’t get notified until it is an hour before I get off. In July I had to work 8 12 hour shifts with no compromise while nobody else had to work a 12 hour shift. The thing is we have part time workers who are supposed to work at least 3 shifts per month per their contract but management lets them work maybe 1 every other month or so with some not having a shift since before I started. This is all because the part timers don’t want to work as they have told me and several other coworkers. Now since middle of September the October schedule has been out and nobody noticed that the 2nd shift guy on Halloween is working at both places meaning someone needs to cover one of those shifts. I have made it known that I have plans for Halloween since I had an assumption that they would try to force me to work mandatory overtime that day since they did on the 4th of July and are planning on doing for thanksgiving and Christmas. I brought it up to my manager this morning as I didn’t notice until last night and he said that I have to make sacrifices even though i have been the only one whos been making sacrafices, there have been multiple weeks where i dont get both my scheduled days off because they were forcing me to work one of those days since nobody wanted to work. Everyone else who works there gets to have their days off and only work their scheduled shift but me, i am constantly being told i have to be a team player and that my personal life isn’t as important as the work community so i have to make sacrafices. It is also worth to note that almost every er nurse has some sort of complaint with me, as well as every security officer, because they do not like how I do my security walks nor how I handle situations, but I was told by other security officers and supervisors that my walks are fine and the way I handle situations is fine since I can’t do much due to liability issues of me not being a real cop. I have been declining in my mental health due to all of the stress this job has put me through, I feel like if I were to put my two weeks in not only would the management and coworkers make my life miserable but also other staff members since it is a betrayal since I am leaving them. I already have 2 jobs lined up starting Monday and I don’t plan on using this current workplace as a reference or coming back to work later on in life. I am still in college for my teaching degree. Is it worth it to ‘burn this bridge’ since they are constantly disrespecting me and my time and causing mental anguish and will it affect my future goal of becoming a teacher?

Hey everyone!

I've been looking for my next remote role for a while now, mainly in customer support or virtual assistance. I have 5+ years of customer support experience and have used Arabic, French, English, and Russian professionally, supporting customers around the world through live chat, phone, and email.

I've been applying through job boards and have landed a few interviews, but unfortunately, no offers yet. We all know the job market is a bloodbath right now, and remote opportunities aren't what they used to be a few years ago.

I'm trying to look beyond the usual job boards and would love advice from people who've actually found remote jobs with companies that hire worldwide, especially where speaking several languages is a real advantage.

I'd really appreciate suggestions on:

1. Websites or niche job boards that helped you find genuinely worldwide remote jobs.
2. Companies or industries that actively hire multilingual customer support professionals.
3. Search strategies that worked for you, such as applying directly through company websites, contacting recruiters, or finding smaller companies that don't advertise widely.

For those of you who've been through this search and successfully landed a worldwide remote job, what worked for you, and what would you recommend trying?

Concrete examples and personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. I'm happy to put in the work; I just want to make sure I'm looking in the right places and not missing anything.

Thanks to everyone willing to share their experience! 🙏

A little bit of background:
I am 22M, married with a 2 year old son. I am currently attending school online for a BSBA in Finance, and am expected to graduate next spring. My education started at FSU majoring in psychology. But, after discovering that I didn’t like psychology and after struggling with some personal issues, I dropped out. About a year and a half later, my son was born, and I decided to go back to school, this time for history, which has always been a passion of mine. However, with a newborn son to think about, studying in a competitive field with little guarantee of a solid, well-paying career seemed like the wrong move. So, I once again switched paths to the one I’m on now. I have no interest or passion for finance, it just seemed like something I could do and build a stable career out of. Personally, I hate the idea of working in this field for the rest of my life.

Over the last year or so, my passion for history and linguistics has been reignited, and the idea of studying it seriously has become too enticing to ignore. I’m now one semester away from graduating in finance and I’m working more than full-time at a local restaurant. After numerous academic burnouts and shortcomings, my GPA sits at an undesirable 2.58.

Is it too late for me to pivot once again into linguistics and history? My ultimate goal would be a PhD in comparative linguistics, but no grad school would accept someone with a degree in finance and a 2.58 GPA. On top of that, getting letters of recommendation seems like it would be an impossible task, as I’ve been studying online for the last 2 years and haven’t exactly connected with any of my professors. If I were to do this, would it be best to obtain a second bachelor’s in linguistics, boost my GPA and connect with professors along the way? Is this even feasible at the moment, or should I wait a few years or so for things to become a little more stable?

I feel like I’m close to yet another burnout. It feels like I’ve been studying topics that I simply do not like my entire academic career, and I don’t want to be stuck doing something I hate forever. What are my options, if I have any?

I work in reinsurance and I got an offer for a new job that is 20k more (75k to 95k). I would be going from being one of several accountants to being the only one and being part of a process to consolidate the role from various departments. They currently dont have a reinsurance department so I would be the only one. I also would lose a average 6% bonus and 6% ESOP bonus. The new company has a couple percent more 401k match. Otherwise most is comparable.

I like my current job and the people there, I am good at it and have taken on specialized knowledge that makes me valuable. Im just trying to decide if its worth giving up for 20k more? In my current role I know it would take me quite awhile to get that 20k so im not sure. I do like the possibility of growth at new job and they have bent over backwards to hire me. Just not sure what the best move is.

Hi everyone, Hope this post finds you well

I’m an MSc Biotechnology student in the UK, and I have an assessed poster presentation this Friday. It’s an internal university assessment, not a conference. The presentation session is from 9 am to 12 pm, and all the students will be presenting their posters simultaneously. The only audience we’re expecting is the assessors/judges who will be marking us.

I’m feeling incredibly stressed and could really use some practical advice from people who’ve been through something similar, especially those who’ve done assessed poster presentations during their master’s.

I have social anxiety and struggle with confidence, particularly when I feel I’m being evaluated. I’m worried about freezing, not knowing how to answer a question, or being made to feel inadequate in front of the assessors.

One thing I’m particularly unsure about is how to interact with the assessors when they approach my poster. Should I proactively greet them and give a short summary of my work, or should I let them read the poster first and wait for them to ask questions? What’s the usual approach for this kind of assessment?

My supervisor has also told me that I need to know everything, including aspects of the experimental workflow that aren’t actually included on my poster. We only included part of the overall workflow, but apparently I should still understand the parts we left out. My supervisor has warned me that there will be lots of questions and that they won’t necessarily be friendly or smile while asking them. This has made me even more anxious.

I understand that I should know my project beyond what’s written on the poster, including the rationale behind my methods, the steps we didn’t include, and the reasoning behind our decisions. I’m not trying to avoid preparing properly. I just don’t know how far I should take my preparation or how to handle questions when I genuinely don’t know an answer.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found my immediate academic environment particularly supportive. My supervisor and module leader haven’t been sources of reassurance, and I don’t feel comfortable relying on my lab mates for advice either. Some alumni have shared their experiences and suggestions, which I appreciate, but hearing how stressful their own experiences were has sometimes made me more worried rather than less.

At the moment, I feel like I’m navigating this almost entirely on my own.

I’d really appreciate advice on the following:

* The first interaction: When an assessor approaches, should I immediately start with a 30–60 second introduction, or let them read the poster first?

* Question preparation: What kinds of questions do assessors typically ask MSc Biotechnology students during an assessed poster presentation? Do they focus on the displayed results, methodology, scientific rationale, limitations, troubleshooting, or the entire experimental workflow?

* Knowing what isn’t on the poster: How deeply should I understand the parts of the workflow that weren’t included? How would you prioritise revision when time is limited?

* Handling difficult questions: What should I say if I don’t know the answer, need time to think, or realise I’ve misunderstood the question?

* Dealing with a serious assessor: If someone asks questions without smiling or seems intimidating, how do I stop myself from assuming that I’m doing badly?

* Social anxiety: How do you manage the nerves when someone is standing in front of you, evaluating your work and expecting you to explain it confidently?

* Practical preparation: What would you focus on during the final few days before the presentation?

I know this is an assessment, and I’m prepared to put in the work. I just need a realistic idea of what to expect and how to approach it without letting my anxiety take over.

If you’ve done an MSc poster assessment in biotechnology, biomedical sciences, molecular biology, or a related life-sciences field, I’d especially appreciate hearing about your experience.

Sorry for the long post! I just wanted to explain my situation properly because I'm feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and offer advice. I really appreciate it!! 😭😭

I started this job late August. I work in and LLC that prepares visa documents for latinos, something very new and that my bosses were aware of when i started. They stopped supper using me after a month, which i thought was odd since there are a lot of tedious tasks and several laws that I am not familiar with. Nevertheless, everything was fine. I have done some minor typos but nothing big.

For one of the applications, you need to put bank statements form the past 12 months. My bosses told me recently to only put the first two pages of the statement so that the application isn’t so large. That’s what i did, what i’ve been doing.

Today, one of the clients got their visa rejected bc there were missing pages in the bank statements. They started to scold me, telling me i should have been aware and that i can’t be skipping out on pages. I was super nervous and anxious, especially since they were the ones who told me to follow this format. I told one of them “i thought you guys told me to only do two pages.” she said “yes but the consulate changed and now wants all.”

I can’t help but be anxious that they’ll fire me. It wasn’t my fault but I read their messages (we have access to their messages) and one was super upset and degraded me, the other was more calm. Anyways, the workplace was so hostile towards me.

I feel so guilty, even tho i followed their format, and am worried to get fired. However; they didn’t tell me much expect to be more cautious, i just saw from their messages that they want to fire me. This is my first “big girl job” :(

I am not sure what to do, i feel anxious now and am scared of them.

I am in CA and thinking about pursuing esti because I feel like skincare and aesthetics is something I’m more passionate about. But I’m also doing this bc it requires a license and would want to improve my job prospects. Is it really hard to find a job as a new graduate? Or should I just pursue something else as I am considering taking classes in accounting instead. I really just want a job fast.

Edit: also I am verryyy introverted and sensitive so I was worried about esthetician being a more extroverted job

I'm a volunteer at a small nonprofit, my job is to maintain and improve a web application of theirs. My degree and current job specializes in working with this particular kind of technology and it's been helping me fill a skills gap. I had to go through a formal interview process to get this role, but it's just 1-2 hours a week so it's not a big commitment.

I only have a year of relevant work experience on my resume/LinkedIn so I've been considering moving this role from the volunteering section to the work experience section as "Volunteer [official title]". Would that be frowned upon?

I just got out of high school, early too. It is only two days after the first quarter, and i graduated, I am wanting to get into Computer Science and all of that, but I don't know where to start, I want to be a software developer, it has been a dream job for a long time, but idk where to start, and when I start where do I go from there?
I am lost I have done my best to reacherch what to do, i am trying to learn python in more depth, but idk how to really do anything all to complex, i have been trying to learn, but all i have been able to do is learn how to make a button class using pygame, and i took a course in python turtle to get into programing in middle school, i did very well i was student of the year, but all I really got from that is how loops, and simple things like that, and python syntax, even then only parts.
I am trying to get a job as a software developer, i don't really care doing what, front end or back end, but i don't know where to start or what to do some help and advice would be nice.

When I go into my local office once a week, I’ll have to be on Teams calls all day long given that every person from my team lives in a different state than I do.

It just so happens that everyone else from my team also happens to get to stay 100% fully remote since they all don’t live anywhere near an office.

Therefore, I’ll be the only one from my entire team who has to go into an office (while everyone else stays 100% fully remote on my team).

Anyone else have something similar happen and what did you do?

36, laid off in 2024, three jobs since, just moved abroad for a 2-year contract and already drained. How do I break the cycle?

Hi all. I'm looking for honest advice, especially from people who've been through something similar.

My career has been very bumpy since 2024. I'd been at a consultancy for two years when I was laid off in a restructuring. I was happy there and wasn't looking for anything else. Since then I've felt a bit lost about what I do.

After the layoff I took some time off to travel and started a new job a few months later. Looking back, I jumped in too fast because I wanted to be working again. It was the wrong fit. There was basically no onboarding and nothing really for me to do, so I felt stuck straight away and looked for something new.

After 8 months there, I got an opportunity at another consultancy. I had a great start and really liked it, even though it wasn't my dream job (I don't know what that is). It didn't feel long-term, though, because there wasn't much room to progress and the work itself was quite basic, but I like the clientfacing aspect to it.

A year after I started there, I got the chance to move abroad on a 2-year contract. It was a clear step up in responsibilities, I could learn a lot, and living on another continent for a few years had always been a dream. It felt like a now-or-never opportunity to do this, before me and my partner start thinking about kids.

The problem: since the layoff, I can't seem to just do my job, or any job, anymore. Every job gets boring after a few months and I start questioning everything. I'm six weeks into this one and two years already feels very long to do this job. Right now I have no energy to do anything.

Where my head is at:

- I really want my next job to be one I stay in for years, so I can finally find some stability. The longest I've ever been anywhere is 3.5 years.

- But I'm scared another short stint will make me unemployable if I leave now or before my contract is up.

- I'm not sure about my industry or the type of work I do. I fell into it, 10 years ago and went with it. I'm not sure changing careers at 38, when this contract ends, is a good idea.

My questions:

1. Has anyone else felt "broken" about work after a layoff? What helped?
2. Should I push through the full two years, or is leaving after one year, or even sooner, okay?

TL;DR: 36, laid off in 2024, three jobs since, just moved abroad for a 2-year contract and already feel drained. How do I stop jobs from going stale and find one I'll actually stay in?

Hi everyone,

I need help coming up with a job title and negotiation advice.

I interned this summer as a finance and accounting intern for a company. Half of my work comprised of FP&A work under the FP&A manager doing weekly P&L reports. The other half of my work was working with the controller providing account reconciliation support for our operating companies, as well as performing account recs for Corporate. I dipped into a few other projects such as creating a PowerBI dashboard on customer and sales data.

I extended my internship remotely this semester. I graduate this December and was told a few days ago that they are currently discussing a new position for me and asked me what I'd like my title and job responsibilities/projects to be, but that they would not be flexible on me working remotely because then everyone else would want to (currently full-time would be hybrid with 1 day remote)

I like the split between the work I do and think it would be a good opportunity to start my career with accounting work (considering I am a finance major). I need help deciding what job title accurately best describes my work and what I could possibly negotiate since I live in a different state right now and resigned my lease until October of 2027. I was thinking possibly asking to work remote for maybe the first 3 months, or possible relocation assistance? Could I do these things in addition to asking for a pay increase? Additionally, is it risky to negotiate in the current job market?

They told me they would love to have me on the team but don't want to pressure me; is it typical in this case I would have an internal interview or just receive a return offer?

Hello, all! I (24, very soon 25F) graduated with a BFA in art education a few years ago (end of ‘23), and I realized at the end that, though I love visual art, I really was not cut out for the education field. After graduating, I got a part-time job selling tickets at a venue, which I liked, and later became an office administrator with a college when I wanted to find something full-time. I have been at my job for a bit under two years (almost 20 months). I mostly do behind-the-scenes stuff, like travel settlements, reimbursements, and budget tracking. I recently interviewed for a new role that was just created at my undergraduate alma mater. This job pays about 14% more (from ~$35,000 to ~$40,000) and is related to college admissions, recruitment, and retention.

The only catch is that I am currently in my university’s MBA program as well as another certificate program with 15 credits left to complete, and I get a tuition waiver that is worth more than the raise by a non-insignificant amount (remaining tuition + fees would be around $10,000 over 8 months, and the waiver would cover about $8,500 of that). I MAY be able to have my parents chip in, but that is TBD. I have enough money saved up, but I would rather not blow through all my savings if I can help it as I want to have it on hand for traveling and real emergencies.

I was recently rejected from a marketing director job that pays nearly double my current salary after being in the top 2-3 applicants due to my lack of relevant experience, and I thought this would be something the admissions/recruitment-related job may help. My grades have been great in undergrad and graduate school, but I have had a bit of trouble finding my footing after graduating. I do painting commissions and design for some local organizations and individuals and have made a good amount of pocket change with that (a few hundred to a few thousand a year), but I still want a full-time, stable career.

Would this switch be worth it? Additionally, would leaving a job in under a year appear too much like job-hopping? TYIA for the advice. I want to think about everything before I make any kind of big jump.

Additional context and qualitative factors: I am a big-time introvert, but I do enjoy sharing information and helping people out. Both areas have a pretty low COL (as may be gathered by my salary.) I currently rent. Rent is more expensive in the new area, so I would likely live with my partner (28M) of about two and a half years who already works in that area and split rent, making it cost about the same amount I pay now. My commute would also not change a ton. The new area is a town, which I prefer to the current city I live in. The jobs have similar benefits. The new requires some evenings and weekends, though these seem like they’ll be rare. The new team I interviewed with, including my would-be supervisor, seemed very friendly, but my current team, including my immediate supervisor and bosses, are also very kind, so I am not too worried about the work environment of either place. The new job is slightly farther from “home” (my parents, siblings, and my best friend), who I visit sometimes, but closer to some other friends. If any kind of “planning for the future” is a factor, I would love to eventually make around 70k-80k if I continue to live in this area, and I have no plans of children to factor extra savings/expenses into.

Ahh! I’m so torn! I feel all confused and like I’m falling behind. Anything from someone more experienced is appreciated!

I’m in my late 30s, have an associate’s degree, and spent the last 7+ years working in education, training, events, and marketing. My job titles were somewhat unconventional and didn’t always reflect the full scope of my responsibilities, but I’ve managed major projects, budgets, events, marketing initiatives, and cross-functional teams.

Now I’m back in the job market, and it’s been incredibly frustrating. I’m applying for positions where the job descriptions are practically word for word what I’ve been doing for years, yet I’m barely getting interviews.

I can’t help but wonder how much of that comes down to not having a bachelor’s degree. I know the job market is tough right now, and I can’t prove that I’m being filtered out by ATS, but it’s hard not to question whether my resume is even making it in front of a real person.

I decided to go back to school this fall to finish my bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in marketing. I thought it would be relatively manageable given my professional experience and the fact that I already have an associate’s degree. But balancing school, work, and family responsibilities has been much harder than I anticipated.

What’s really frustrating is that I don’t necessarily feel like I’m going back to school to learn how to do my job. I’m doing it because I feel like I need a piece of paper to validate experience I already have.
And now I’m questioning whether the time, money, and stress are actually going to be worth it.

I’d really love to hear from people who have been in a similar position.

Did earning your bachelor’s degree later in your career actually improve your job prospects?

Did you notice a difference in interview requests or recruiter responses once you could list a bachelor’s degree?

Has anyone built a successful career without one and regretted not finishing?

For those involved in hiring, how much does a degree really matter when someone already has 7–10+ years of directly relevant experience?

I’m not against education, and I understand the value of a degree. I’m just struggling with the idea of spending the next few years earning a credential that may or may not change anything about my employability.

I’d especially appreciate hearing from people in marketing, training, education, or related corporate roles.

I don’t want to waste my life in an office everyday week. I love the outdoors and have taken a wilderness medicine course in college that I really enjoyed.

That being said I’ve been looking into search and rescue, wilderness medicine, and some types of rural medicine as options. I have my undergraduate degree in biology and have been unsure about what medical route I would like to go with. I know I want to be involved in medicine, but I’m not shooting for the MD title exactly. I’ve somewhat looked into courses by NOLS and they seem interesting, but if I want a career out of it I would like input from anyone who’s worked in a similar field.

Would it be worth looking into PA school to go into emergency med or rural clinics rather than the more EMT type of training? If anyone has any input or suggestions please let me know.

I've been a PM for over 20 years in half a dozen industries: engineering, telecom, and fintech SaaS. I love the work but despise the multitude of horrible bosses and companies that seem to be everywhere. I've been looking for comparable jobs with nonprofits but they're hurting with this economy.

I need to find something unique. I'm done with being a drone. I've tried working with AI to find choices, but it likes to stick with stereotypical office job suggestions. I'd love it if anyone has any input. Thanks

I’m 18 years old, and ever since I’ve toured trade schools and colleges for programs, nothing has sparked my interest. none of the names on courses interest me, none of the opportunities interest me, absolutely nothing interests me. to make matters worse, I live in the middle of nowhere in Florida where jobs that are actually hiring are an hour away. I’ve tried applying everywhere, and nobody has hired me. I‘ve gone to look at all of the different classes and electives during college tours, and nothing has called out to me nor seemed to peak my interest in the slightest. I feel like an unsuccessful failure with no passion for anything. I don’t have any hobbies, I don’t have any skills, I just…sit at home all day on my phone and do school. what am I supposed to do? how can I get a dream career? i thought about something medical or pharmaceutical, but it just feels way too difficult and boring to me. I’m jealous of everyone that has a clear goal and job that they love. the only thing I want is to be hired for retail so I can make money, and I can’t even do that. am I just a lost hope? am I going to be stuck working in a retail job my entire life? I don’t want to work in retail, I don’t even want to work in food service. I just want to work somewhere that I can be proud of, I want to be something. what am I supposed to do? can I do anything? am I just doomed?

Location: US

Hello!! I just landed a job and will start next week. The probation period lasts 6 months and I am a bridesmaid for my cousins wedding at the end of February. How do you think I should approach asking for time off?

And how will that look like as a probationary staff.

On my job offer letter, it says exactly this: *Vacation is available after completing six months of service with the company*

If I ask, it’ll be a non-paid time off which I’m completely fine with

I've been with my current organization for 13 years, working my way up into a leadership position. I've built strong relationships, contributed significantly to the organization's growth, and genuinely care about the mission and the people I work with.

Over the past year, however, I've become increasingly frustrated with my professional growth, workload, and lack of clarity around my future. I started exploring other opportunities and eventually accepted a position at another organization.

I submitted my resignation, announced my departure to my colleagues, and began preparing for the transition.

Then things got complicated.

My current boss, with whom I have a longstanding professional relationship, expressed that he genuinely wants me to stay... days after I submitted my resignation. We recently had an extensive conversation about my frustrations, professional aspirations, and what an ideal role could look like. He's open to restructuring my position, discussing compensation, and creating a clearer path for professional growth. He also challenged me on some of my own work habits that have contributed to my burnout, which I appreciated.

The conversation was meaningful, and for the first time in a while, I could envision a future at my current organization that excites me.

On the other hand, I've already accepted another job. It's a new environment, a different mission, and an opportunity to develop new skills. But I'm beginning to question whether the position is actually aligned with my long-term career aspirations.

I'm also struggling with the interpersonal side of this. My departure has already been announced, colleagues have been supportive, and my new employer is expecting me to start soon. I feel tremendous guilt about potentially reversing my decision and disappointing people.

I know conventional wisdom says never accept a counteroffer, but this feels more nuanced than simply being offered more money. It involves a potentially reimagined leadership role at an organization where I've invested much of my professional life.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you stay or leave, and how do you feel about that decision now? How did you separate what you genuinely wanted from the guilt of disappointing others?