Career changers feel stuck without income or direction

“Hey everyone, I (23F) graduated last spring from my bachelor in criminology and went straight into a master’s degree in criminology this fall. I chose to do my master’s in a university that is 3hours away from my house (personal reasons + better program). However, I’ve been feeling drained and unmotivated to do my lectures and classes. It is a lot to take in at once: new university, no friends, a new way of learning a different and busy city, public transport (6h+ in a day back and forth), not h”

“I’m 26F and I studied in India (bachelor’s), worked for a year and a half in HR Ops and then moved to Europe for a master’s in management from a decent school in Paris. I graduated in July 2025 and moved to the US and got a green card in May 2026 but I’m still finding it incredibly hard to find a job. I live in NYC and I’m looking for something in strategy or adjacent. I did my bachelor’s (political science) and master’s in different things and my most recent experience which is a 6 month intern”

“A little info about me: I am 26 F. I studied business management in a coop program so I’ve had a combined 1 year of internship experience in project management and analytics. After graduating, I had one full year of corporate experience in analytics. I quit my job after my wedding and I relocated to Chicago America - I am originally from Toronto Canada. Current situation: I’ve been working at my in-laws small business for the past 1.5 yrs. It started off as helping them out and I ended up stayin”

“I am F26, after finnishing my masters in biotechnology I was able to find a job in another country as a scientist in a small start-up doing Research and Development in a very niche topic, where I ended up staying for 3 years. I really loved this job but ultimatly had to leave for multiple reasons, fast forward to now, I have been unemployed for 4 months and had to go back living with my parents in my home country, as I literally could not find anything that fits my skills, and when I do find som”

“Looking to see some opinions on what the move is. I am 33 years old in the US. I have a bachelors degree in a field that I am passionate about, and worked very briefly in that field (8 months) before moving to my current career field. I have invested about $100,000 in my current career and have worked for 8 years to get to where I am now. I admittedly have created a very nice life for myself at home through my current job and financially am very comfortable. My job has me away from home about ha”

“I’m almost thirty and plan to have kids within the next couple of years, and I know that either path I choose is not ideal for this situation. I have my MA in counseling, but I’d have to get two years worth of supervised hours when I’d be making very little and then make an ok salary in my state after that. I also have everything done for my real estate license other than taking the final exam, and real estate is bustling in my area, but I’m aware of how difficult it is to actually succeed in th”

“Dear people, I am 21, started my master's in cultural studies in a major european city and had been looking for a part time job, to kill some of the free time I have. I applied to an internship that hadn't listed anything about the weekly hours or conditions of the position. I have a cultural studies background and am doing the same thing in my masters, the internship is at a giant PR and Communications firm that has over 80 offices worldwide. The position was for international office ma”

“Bit of rant here, I’m in my first sem of a masters of public health, it’s a great course and really interesting content. I’m 31 and it’s been almost 10 years since I completed my two bachelors degrees and I’ve been working full time in the medical equipment/devices field for some time. I’ve been working in project management (also have dip in proj mgmt) for majority of this time and like to think of myself as quite a practical thinker and good problem solver. I’m doing some tute work online wher”

“I have less than 6 months to either find another job or go back to school. I have a masters in IR/communications and am an expat working in an administrative role. I wish to be in a more substantive, analytical field of work, so I’m thinking to pursue an academic program to learn more quantitative skills/software. The problem is that I’m not sure the cost of doing such a program would reap benefits, seeing as the labor market may be different in a couple years. It’s also just expensive. Any insi”

“I moved across the world four days ago to start a one-year master's program abroad, and I'm feeling incredibly out of my depth. I have a very difficult time with change and transition. I knew the move would be hard to adjust to, but I didn't expect to handle it so poorly. I've been stressed enough that I haven't been able to eat or sleep; all I really want is to go home. Right now, I'm in a fortunate position because if I withdraw before the end of next week, I won't”

“I'm a 33-year-old male, and I’m looking for some honest career advice from people who have made a major career transition, especially those who have moved out of education or academia. I’m currently a middle/high school ESL teacher and have been teaching for about six years. Before ESL, I taught World History and social studies. I genuinely enjoy teaching and working with students, but I’ve increasingly started questioning whether education is the right long-term career financially. I have a”

“I feel like I’ve hit a wall. To add some background: Ohio, United States. I completed an associate degree years back that took about 3.5 years due to COVID and some personal issues. Looking back, I seriously wish I would have stayed in college and pursued another degree. I ended up finding work, 100% commission, self-employed sales in real estate. This job is eating me alive. I had a long talk with myself and decided to get licensed in an adjacent field of real estate work (no degree required) t”

“I currently have 1.2 years of professional experience and was recently laid off from my company due to a lack of projects and company-wide cost-cutting measures. I have been actively searching for a job for the past one month, but unfortunately, I have not received any interview calls so far. I have applied to 600–800+ positions through LinkedIn, Naukri, Instahyre, Indeed, official company career portals, and LinkedIn referrals, but I am still not getting any responses. Because of this, I am con”

“I (31f) started my masters part time a year ago, and I am really losing interest. I am surprised that this doesn't interest me but I don't find it as interesting as previous studies. I completed my undergrad 10 years ago, then a post grad certificate (which was full time for one year) and a post grad diploma (part time for 2 years while Working full time). I normally love school, however now it all feels robotic. I don't feel interested and weekly threads, they are just a tick box. I”

“I'm 23M and currently working in corporate. I see so many of my juniors, colleagues, and classmates posting about the beginning of their master's. People are moving out to the US, the UK, and Europe. In fact, my mom thinks that unless I do a master's, I'm not going to achieve anything in my life. Will always be stuck in my current average paying job. I believe this generation of students pursues master's degrees just so they can delay unemployment. I know with what interest I”

“I’ve considered starting my masters for a while now and I decided to apply for the spring. I’ve also been on the hunt for a new job, though I’m at a secure and comfortable position now. I spoke to my mom (a finance C suite professional) about it and she thinks that I should focus on finding a new job because theoretically, if I get the new job, I should be focusing my energy on doing well there as a new hire. Taking classes at the same time would be a distraction. I understand where she’s coming”

“Long-story short: 26 year-old who just finished my masters degree in an engineering field. For the past eight years, I’ve basically been in school nonstop while working part-time jobs in research and retail and haven't had a chance to travel, live abroad, or pursue my dreams. Now I’m in this weird post-grad limbo where I have about three months until my lease is up and, for the first time in a long time, some actual freedom to decide what comes next. I want to travel, take the risk and pursu”

“Hello, I recently started a new job in communications / content writing in the healthcare field. I pretty much cover news in cancer. The job was listed as a hybrid position with 3 days in office and 2 days at home. This was the main reason why I applied. However, they informed me that the first 6 weeks I must go in everyday, 5 days a week before transitioning into hybrid. The commute is 1 hour 30 minutes. 3 hours a day driving. I am 3 weeks into the job and it is already taking a drain on me. I”

“About me: I am doing Masters, it’s my 1st year. I am 23. I don’t know if it’s usual or unusual to do masters at the age of 23, but in my country, people usually complete their masters at the age of 23. I will finish it at the age of 25 if it goes well. The thing is I am not enjoying this course, tbh I am not able to do this course. It’s quantitative, derivations, n all. I am hating this. I don’t know why I took this course, I had only this option and I took it but now I somewhat regret taking it”