Young Professionals Navigate Career Uncertainty
11 posts across 5 communities in the last 30 days; 36% from r/careeradvice.
“Throwaway-ish vent, but I’d take real advice too. Background: BSc in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering (Istanbul Technical University, 2024), MSc in Industrial Engineering & Innovation Management (Vilnius, 2026). Field exposure is a Sperry Drilling MWD/LWD internship, plus a…”
“I am applying for Call Center jobs since translation market is very fucked up. I know you should hide your degree when applying to these kind of jobs but it still appear on my linkedin profile and I do not know which lie tell. Because I know keeping the degree and telling I gave…”
“Hello, For a bit of context, I'm 28, single and I have a bachelor's degree in IT and 3 years of relevant work experience in my home country. B2 french and C1 english levels. I have an offer to work in Canada in the food service industry, under the Froncophone Mobility Program, 2…”
Many young professionals are grappling with career choices, facing pressure to balance financial stability with personal well-being. Concerns include choosing the right field of study, dealing with gaps in education, and navigating job market biases related to names or backgrounds.
SOURCES (31)
“I'm updating my LinkedIn and have a somewhat unusual career timeline. I'd really appreciate some practical suggestions, especially from recruiters. My timeline: 2022–2024: Master's degree. Defended my thesis and completed everything except one minor exam in 2024. That exam wasn't offered again until 2025, so…”
“I'm a BI analyst with 3 YOE at a multinational telecom company in Egypt. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in information systems a couple years back, and when I was applying to jobs at the time i specifically targeted only multinationals for the possibility of one day internally transferring abroad. To my surprise (or not, in this day of age) my company outsources a lot of tech-related roles to poor countries like mine so that path seems increasingly unlikely. I've contemplated l”
“I'm a BI analyst with 3 YOE at a multinational telecom company in Egypt. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in information systems a couple years back, and when I was applying to jobs at the time i specifically targeted only multinationals for the possibility of one day internally transferring abroad. To my surprise (or not, in this day of age) my company outsources a lot of tech-related roles to poor countries like mine so that path seems increasingly unlikely. I've contemplated l”
“Hello, I am a recent university graduate, my degree is in English, and I just graduated in August. I am 26 years old, and have worked a majority of my college career. I also did a study abroad and started some research while I was out of the country as well. My work experience right now is around the education field. I was a teacher's assistant for a special ed high school, I have been a private tutor and a company hired tutor, and I was a guest speaker for a Foster Youth Education Summit ev”
“I’m a BA Economics (Hons) graduate with a 2–3 year gap and no work experience. I’m confused between government exams like SSC CGL and building skills for a private-sector career. My maths is weak, I struggle with consistency in exam preparation, and I don’t want to keep wasting years. I also don’t like coding. What realistic career options would you suggest for someone in my situation? And will the gap make it very difficult to get a decent job? submitted by /u/Worried_Plane_4407 [li”
“Hi so I am 23 recently graduated from a tier 3 college I had decided to do masters in final year but couldn't crack the entrance so now I'm giving again also just did one internship during summer but that was of tech and i wanna do masters in ece I'm targetting GATE so can anyone enlighten me how to justify gap or doing gate is just fine submitted by /u/Naive-Test8475 [link] [comments]”
“"I took a 10-year career break to stay home with my kids, then returned to the workforce in 2019 in a new field (accounting). I now have 5+ years of continuous, relevant experience in this new path. I also have an unrelated job from 2005–2009, before the break, which is currently listed on my resume along with my 2019-onward work — meaning my resume shows both the career gap and my approximate age. Should I keep that 2005–2009 role on my resume, or drop it and just show my continuous experi”
“Throwaway-ish vent, but I’d take real advice too. Background: BSc in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering (Istanbul Technical University, 2024), MSc in Industrial Engineering & Innovation Management (Vilnius, 2026). Field exposure is a Sperry Drilling MWD/LWD internship, plus a supply chain internship at a refinery and customer ops work in Lithuania. Azerbaijani, based in Baku, five languages, decent MSc record. The problem: no full-time drilling job on the CV. I graduated into a market w”
“I am applying for Call Center jobs since translation market is very fucked up. I know you should hide your degree when applying to these kind of jobs but it still appear on my linkedin profile and I do not know which lie tell. Because I know keeping the degree and telling I gave up searching in the translation industry because job market is fucked is not an option. (Although it is what I said this time because I am tired of this question). submitted by /u/romescum [link] [comme”
“I’m taking a gap year between undergrad and grad school, hoping to get a retail job for the time being to save up. Should I leave my bachelors off the resume im submitting for these jobs? I’ve heard people online say it can make you look overqualified because you’ll leave at the first good offer. And I am technically planning to leave in a year but obviously not necessarily something I want them to know. Does anyone have any insight as to whether or not a bachelors looks bad on a resume for reta”
“Hey everyone, I’m 32 years old female and trying to figure out the most realistic way to restart my career after a very disrupted period. I graduated with a BA in Political Science in 2016. After graduation, I spent about a year improving my German and English, then moved to Germany in 2017 for a master’s degree in Political Sociology. My master’s took much longer than planned because of several circumstances. I developed severe depression during my studies, which affected my academic progress.”
“Hello, For a bit of context, I'm 28, single and I have a bachelor's degree in IT and 3 years of relevant work experience in my home country. B2 french and C1 english levels. I have an offer to work in Canada in the food service industry, under the Froncophone Mobility Program, 2 years of closed work permit. FEER 5 occupation. Taking all of this into consideration, what PR pathways do I have if I decide to go with this offer? Do you think this is a good idea? I cannot file for Express Ent”
“I am 32M, working since 2019. I worked as a QA for 2 years, then moved into data analysis. I now have 5 years of experience as a data analyst. The problem is, I graduated in 2017. Even 2020 graduates are ahead of me — just because they have more relevant experience — even though I have better knowledge than them, I'm still behind them. I'm now thinking of adding fake experience for 2017–2019. Can I use my friend's company as reference for this? I'm also concerned about how I'”
“I have ~1 year of experience in data, then I moved to the US where I struggled to find a job, so I worked as a cashier for 1 year, so in total i have 2 years gap after 1 year of experience over seas someone on linkedin said that this gap is a huge red flag and no one will interview me with it.. how should i act submitted by /u/ThatGuy_3001 [link] [comments]”
“I'm 24 and currently doing my MBA, which I should finish next year, insha'Allah. Before/during my MBA, I've accumulated around 2 years of experience working in the corporate world. Recently, I've become seriously interested in pursuing a PhD abroad. I'm particularly interested in research, learning, and eventually becoming a professor or researcher/scientist. I'd be looking at fully funded programs in the US, UK, Europe, Turkey, etc. I wouldn't want to take on signifi”
“US based, VHCOL. I am currently employed in industry and i've been thinking of taking a gap year next year to go travel the world. I am single with no pets or responsibilities currently. I am slightly burned out from corporate life and I just want to get the wanderlust out from my system. I also want to do this trip before my parents are too old and I have to take care of them. I was in big 4 audit for 3 years and then will be 2 years at my current job as CPA and accountant if I quit next ye”
“Hi everyone!! Applying for a nursing program. So I have to upload both a cv and personal statement. I’m happy with both but there is one thing, on my CV my last job was 2023 and now it’s 2026. The reason for the gap is due to having my child and moving countries. I’m back in my home country now and this is where I am applying for this program. Should explain the gap on my CV or on my personal statement. There is also interviews should I wait to discuss it there? And when I do discuss how should”
“I have a two-year gap in my resume, and I'm concerned that it may affect my application for an MBA abroad. I was wondering if you could help me understand the best way to address this gap. Is it possible to find a legitimate company that could provide an experience certificate as if I have actually worked with them? If not, what are the ethical and accepted ways to strengthen my profile and explain the gap? I'd really appreciate any advice on how I can improve my resume and minimize the”
“Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice on how to present a gap in my education on my resume and in future interviews. I took a break between my 3rd and 4th semesters (February 2025 to January 2027) to take care of some health issues that required medical attention. Thankfully, that is resolved and I am heading back to college this upcoming January to finish my degree. I am currently 23 years old and will turn about 25.6 years old at time of graduation will it affect my chances too. During”
“Hello everyone, I’m 36 years old, single. I graduated from a top-6 university in Turkey with a bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s degree in UK from a top-100 university worldwide (top 10 globally in its field). I have 5 years of engineering experience and 5 years of management experience on multi-billion-dollar projects. I’m currently working in Turkey. My net compensation is approximately $3,200/month, plus about $850/month in benefits. I also receive 30 days of annual leave. As long as I”
“The job would be about processing payments, renewals, changes, reviewing applications. I imagine it would be specific paperwork that does not translate to other insurance jobs. What do you think? Is life insurance work less respected? I also already have customer service experience and worked with supporting mortgage underwriting. One of my problems I have is that I already have niche experience in my resume so this makes it hard to get other jobs. So, I kind of want to avoid getting something t”
“Hey everyone, I'm looking for some advice on how to present a gap in my education on my resume and in future interviews. I took a break between my 3rd and 4th semesters (February 2025 to January 2027) to take care of some health issues that required medical attention. Thankfully, that is resolved and I am heading back to college this upcoming January to finish my degree. During this gap, I didn't just sit around. I kept myself busy by: Working at my family's business: I worked at a T”
“I graduated this year and I am looking for jobs. The problem is I completed my degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and I am confused to choose what job I am going to enter. I have completed 10 projects in various subjects 4 core subject projects 3 AI based projects and 3 Java projects. My skills would be Embedded System, Embedded C, C++, Python, TensorFlow, OpenCV, NumPy, Pandas, Java and C. Among these I have learned all of them in intermediate set. I want a good salary without the”
“So my name is Ethinic somehow, and I was wondering if changing it to some english/western name would work better in job applications? Like, most job applications ask for "prefered name", would having a western "prefered name" increase chances? Or would changing name legally be a better option? submitted by /u/newuser3043 [link] [comments]”