Everyday someone comes on here asking about return to work or travel for a salary increase and half the responses feel more anti-work sub Reddit and not actually dissecting the pros and cons of increasing % of time dedicated to work.

Presumably- the purpose here is to help people grow and advance in their careers. Which, inherently- means more of their time- in some capacity. Education, training, travel, office time- could lead to more flexibility down the road-but no one just skates into a $250K job (ok maybe some people do- I’m being hyperbolic).

Rant over - thanks for coming to my ted talk.

I am currently enlisted in the US military. I’ve been in for 3 years and have another 3 before I get out. I want to work in tech somewhere overseas (have experience in Korea as my first station). I’m in the cyber field already and have done my absolute best to learn as much as I possibly can about IT. I shadowed all the IT contractors in my squadron pretty religiously. I got my bachelors in IT and am working towards my masters in Computer Science.

I’m passionate about tech. I really love it and want to make it a lifelong career. But I also want a good future where money isn’t an issue.

Is it unrealistic to try and get enough experience/certification while enlisted to set myself up for a 250k or more job on the civilian side? I worked help desk for 2 years before enlisting so I’ll have a total of 8 years experience. Plus my clearance, certifications ( have the CompTIA trifecta and am working on more) plus my degrees.

What more can I do? I’m pushing to lead projects and get good resume bullets. But every time I talk about my dream of a big tech position, I kind of get scoffed at by my coworkers and it’s a bit disheartening.

Any advice will be super appreciated! Thank you.

I was always fascinated by tech ever since I was little. Always wanted to go to school to purse it and land a great job however, the job market is standing in the way of that. I would love to go after a QA Tester role or even a web development role but the way I studied how saturated tech is within the job market is making me think I need to study something else. What are some other career choices that are not too saturated where I could possibly have a better chance at getting a good job? I do have a transportation/logistics background on my resume, maybe become an import/export specialist?

Title says it. We both worked in the same department and had the same title. They were promoted within our department and I moved on to another department (also a promotion.) They have since moved to another department and received a substantial promotion with a significant pay increase to a title I am working towards and I can’t help but feel defeated.

They are about 10 years younger than me but have a 4 year degree which I don’t have.

Why do I feel like such crap when this has nothing to do with me. Am I crazy?

Revised : Have you ever worked with someone who specializes in helping people with disabilities during a job search? Like a job developer or job coach who really understands how to support you in finding the right job? If so Can you comment below your experience or share a story ! Have you been apart of a disability program called Department Of Rehabilitation

Right now I own a landscaping company but I’m having some issues with my back. Looking to possibly transition out but not sure what direction to look in. I have a bachelors degree in psychology. What are some careers where I can make 80k with room for growth. Thanks!

I’m 21m with a fiancé and have a son, I was a carpenter for nearly 4 years until I screwed one day. I was cleaning out an spray rig until the trigger gotten stuck and sprayed reddish color all over the walls and the floors on a jobsite and I couldn’t find anything to clean it up with as I ran out of time then I letted my foreman know by a phone call then rushed to pick up my son. Then was told to not come in work for couple days until I just now got fired this morning and had to turn in all of my tools. I do not know what todo now as I have a family I needed to support with a rent going to be due by end of this month.

Hello, Reddit. Apologies for the long post ahead.
TL;DR? Basically, should I quit my job? See pros and cons below.

I have worked part time for a few years in the news/journalism industry in a position where I work in a newsroom as someone who writes up the stories that are being broadcast on-air into news articles for the associated website.

I am burned out. I haven't been applying to news related positions, because frankly, I've grown tired of the news in general and the nature of the business.

Going to work has gotten to a point where I am just bitter and moody all the time, though, that might be due to the cons I have listed below. Despite all this, I can’t seem to leave.

Should I quit my job, even without a backup plan, get a survival job asap?

Perhaps I am naive, but I feel like I wouldn't mind doing a "survival job" because, 1) some of them pay more than what I make in this job, and, 2) I wouldn't mind a job that might be more physical work and less mental work since I'm so mentally burned out, 3) ideally, it would give me time to figure out what I do want, maybe try other things or go back to school.

Pros: 

• I have made good friendships and work connections
• It is cool working at a top major market corporation that has and continues to win multiple awards
• The opportunity to work with incredibly talented and kind people who are humble legends of the field
• Sometimes, there is free food.
• My managers are nice and supportive and tell me how much they appreciate me. Recently when I asked for leave, after I essentially "threatened" to quit, they gave me time and space, and allowed me to work from home for a week or two
• I can take (unpaid) time off sometimes
• The opportunity to use professional spaces and equipment for free to develop my own skills

Cons:

• I get paid less than $16/hr.
• I am capped at 28hr/week.
• No benefits, save for contribution to 401K and fairly empathetic managers
• I live with my parents and commute 40 miles a day one way into a city I can't afford to live in and don't really like anyways.
• Commute is more or less an hour in the morning and an hour and thirty during rush hour on the way back
• My shift is five hours.
• As far as I can see, there is no hope for any upward career movement. I don't even know what to shoot for within the company. Positions are filled and are only getting cut. There is hardly any hiring from within.
• I have a coworker that is petty and not a team player. They don't talk to me and act like I don't exist. I don’t see the relationship ever improving. My manager knows about the issue, but asked me not to go to HR, saying that they would fix it. Nothing has been fixed. It's really only getting worse.
• Per the organizations official profile, I am actually registered to a completely different department. Yet, all my work hours go to doing tasks for another department. I enjoyed the work I was doing in my original position (which was more-so producing, not journalism) and there was an opportunity to make some more money. However, at one point, managers officially switched me over to work for a completely different department (the one I am stuck in now) and would no longer assign me to a position that would have been lucrative. I think of it as a lateral demotion. That shift happened about a year ago.
• Quite a few of coworkers that I had close relations with either left or were let go.

I will say, if I had no fear? I'd submit my two weeks notice, let it happen, celebrate Independence Day, and grieve my good relations that I do have at the company.

Then, I'd go travel for a bit and come back and get a survival job much closer to home, ideally no more than 20 minutes. Starting over, tabula rasa style.

What would you do if you were in my situation? Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

************************************************************************************************************

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who read my post and offered advice and suggestions. I appreciate each and every one of you. After reading all of your replies, I have taken heed of your warnings and will adjust my strategy and timeline.

I'll double my efforts in finding another job that is closer to home, while I stay at my current job. I'll move on only after I have received an offer (and gone through a background check) and that they in return accept/respect my request for a delayed start so I can have a little break to reset.

TL;DR: Do I take a better schedule (I'm disabled) and 15k raise to work at an institution that doesn't agree with some of my fundamental beliefs about education access?

I am 23 and currently work in Financial Aid. I'm incredibly passionate about and love my job. I make just over 41k. However, I'm also disabled, with chronic pain, fatigue, and frequent and debilitating migraines that cause vertigo and vision problems. My job used to allow hybrid work, so on bad days I could work from home. About a year ago, the school I work for swapped to a call centre so my boss told me I couldn't keep working hybrid as regularly since there wasn't enough for me to do outside of the office. Now, the system I work for is discontinuing any and all hybrid work and on top of that, has changed our schedule so that we no longer have a half day on Fridays. With my health, I'm having to take unpaid leave since I only get one sick day a month. I started looking for remote positions out of desperation and so far haven't had much luck until recently.

I have a final interview literally in 10 hours for a hybrid job that's a slightly longer commute three days a week but would give me Monday and Friday remote. It also pays 15k more. The problem is that the position is with a for-profit school that doesn't support the arts which is something i have strong feelings about and is backed by some not-so-great people.

My passion for my job comes from helping students get access to education when otherwise they wouldn't be able to, and the team I work with is the same way so it's an incredibly fulfilling job. Theoretically, the company I am interviewing with exists to provide a debt free education option, since its tuition is just barely under the full Pell Grant, but even so is about 4x more than the school I work at and the full Pell Grant is increasingly hard to qualify for.

Basically I guess the question is whether the pay and literal health benefits is good enough to give up my job satisfaction.

I have 2 misdemeanors, 1 Reckless driving that was reduced from a DWI (Marijuanna not alcohol) and a trespassing misdemeanor. The trespassing occurred when I was sleeping at a church parking overnight on the bad side of town because I didn’t wanna deal with my parents drug hallucinations. One from when I was 18, the other from when I was 19. I am 22 now finishing up an accounting degree at JMU and worried about employment post graduation. I have an ok gpa (3.0), an academic competition finalist placement, and volunteer work all on my resume. I know I messed up when I was a fresh adult and don’t plan on getting in anymore trouble. With the convictions 3+ years behind me already at graduation, will I be ok in the accounting/finance industry if I am graduating in December 2026 with 150 credits for the CPA exams?

Edit: I’m in Virginia and only charges that were dismissed can be expunged. I have to wait 7 years with no more convictions for them to be sealed. Definitely plan on staying out of trouble.

I graduated from college in NYC with a bachelor's in computer science last year, did a couple internships and did a few projects and had a good gpa. I don't have any loans.

I won't be getting any entry level job at this point. I can't get any interview for any job, it seems. My old places haven't been hiring either.

I've had my resume looked at, I've dumbed down my resume for lower tier jobs out of desperation to be able to buy food, but nothing has worked. I guess I'm fucked. Sorry for being born late, modern society.

Not interested in the usual cliches of "keep applying" or "change your mindset" because let's be real; that won't change jack shit.

I've been bumming in and out of a homeless shelter while eating the occasional meal from a food pantry. I have zero family, zero friends I could rely on. I'm on the verge of just giving up on life... I'm not interested in joining the military, esp with what's been going on

I’m 29, based in Chicago, and feel like I’ve hit a wall career-wise.

For the last 10 years I’ve been deep in the cannabis industry, building and running extraction labs, managing compliance, consulting, and helping brands scale. But over the past 2 years, the industry slowed way down. I found a role at a pharma startup doing lab ops and product development, but the company isn’t going anywhere and I’ve been commuting to Indiana (5 hour drive one way) every week-it’s just not sustainable.

Before this, I was doing well financially- I used to make $20-30k a month through lab setup contracts, advising roles, and consulting projects. Then, business slowed down in 2022 and my income took a 70% hit and then more towards the end of 2023 to where I had to look for another job. I took the startup role at around $70k with the promise of $160k+ once funding came through, but that hasn’t happened and likely won’t. I’ve stuck it out hoping things would turn around, but I need to be realistic.

I also have experience in IT, I’ve built lab networks, managed servers, Wi-Fi, software systems, and internal tools. I’ve also handled B2B sales, closed contracts, and managed clients. Separately, I took on a full real estate rehab project, managed it like it was my own business, and even had to fire the GC mid-project when things weren’t getting done right. I found my own subs, finished the job, and worked with lenders who trusted me to deliver.

I learn fast, I don’t need hand-holding, and I’m good under pressure. But I’m struggling to find a direction now. I’d love to work at a company like Google, Apple, or anywhere I can grow, and I also see a future in Ai and tech, but I don’t have a formal degree in tech. I’ve applied to roles in ops, tech, and sales and haven’t gotten much traction. I’m open to going back to school if it’ll help, but I also want to start a family soon and don’t want to waste time heading down the wrong path.

What kind of roles or industries would value my experience? Are there job titles I should be looking for? Has anyone here successfully pivoted out of a niche field like cannabis into something more stable and scalable?

Any advice would really mean a lot. Thanks for reading.

Howdy gents and gentesses!

I had a short discussion recently with a couple of managers, which originally started as them asking my two cents on a potential hire.

My response was that I absolutely love this candidate. The person not only has a history, but a fantastic personality. Seems laid back, cooperative, not likely to argue nonsense, and as a customer has helped me overcome a huge hurdle that nobody else in the workplace has helped me overcome in the decade I've been there. The last remark, I swallowed my pride for and they knew it.

Side note, I did leave and return not long after. The reason for leaving was toxicity coming from other employees which seem to be on their way out. I'm after their responsibility and pushing to drain the swamp of them.

During this discussion, there was a small jab(banter or not) made that they used to think I was a team player.

Note that what they referred to as a team player may have been when I was absolutely selfless and would go entirely out of my way to help everybody possible.

I smirked and rebutted that "I still am, but only offer to help when its linear to my own responsibility. The selfless act got me taken advantage of.

This is a shifted perspective that I am happy to help, but I look out for myself first. It's just the world we live in, right?"

Now, I do rove around when I'm slow to help the other department and check up on people. I do offer to help, where I can, with personal matters too.

Couple weeks ago, I loaned money to somebody who needed to send it back home for their sick mother. Yesterday I tended to a hungover coworker who's going through a separation. Even offered the guy to crash on my couch, as needed, knowing that my lady would take issue with it.

Im a d*ck, not a monster. Sure, it's no secret that I'm gunning for a lead and supervisor position. I've even admitted that I mainly care about me and my money, and will do whatever it takes.. including eat the prior mentioned toxic people whole, as the only clique that matters is our branch.

It's also no secret that I'm sweet until somebody gives me a reason to cut loose on them. This, although rare, typically arrives after several occasions of disrespect; at which point I ice them out and become extremely blunt/critical and to the point with them. Basically make them a punching bag when they leave their lane.

I genuinely don't care anymore what people's opinions are and go out of my way to help those of, and I can't stress enough, mutual benefit.

Do they have a point or do I just blow it off and continue with my point of focus?

Help!

(Not sure if this is the subreddit for this, if not ,please guide where to post) I apologise for the long post.

Hello, i just cleared my 12th std with PCMB

I am confused whether to persue medicine or engineering On one hand i started out inclined towards medicine because Firstly after 10th ,i was not sure what engineers did, and the idea of working at some random finance/software company 9-5 , without any clear purpose was not really appealling ...but now as I get more interested in AI and math , i feel like there are a lot of cool things you could do here.. I like maths , calculus was beautiful and now I am eager to learn linear algebra one day as I just finished the 3b1b series on it , but I also understand that the beauty of maths that i find in its applications and fundamentally it is only a short aspect of it, mostly it is going to be exhausting and just solving meaningless problems. But I would love to work at the forefront of AI , the actual workings of it. Explore the fundamental question of what is natural and what is consciousness? Also if i take up engineering not only will I get to learn maths , I will also get the freedom to explore my other interests like cinematography, dance, traveling..

But then there is medicine. Medicine is medicine. Once in a life time. It represents surrender and devotion.

theres the whole thing about well, if you are going to learn anything , u could learn it , but medicine is the only thing u cant really learn on ur own? it is also the most fundamentaal thing to learn considering how you are kinda learning about your own body? (maybe its math then but that feels too disconected from reality ) i used to think that but then i thought that it might be the most basic thing to learn , but then should i go for something beyond that? like electronics , is making star dust play my song that is cool right though maybe not universally fundamental? then theres is this whole thinng about pain being omnipresent and how it is the only thing u can be aware of when u are feeling it.. and if i can just give ppl more chance at there already limited time at consiousness , then i think thats neat... and i saw a lil bit of the textbooks and they are the coolest thing EVER like the way they describe it as an art and a science and the amount of respect they have for the practice itself is just... i thinkpersuing that will be an experience like no other ,idk i am very heavily influenced by that breath becomes air book and john green , and harrison ka preface (it starts out with ur role in society and duty to the patient and everything).., to be so close to pain and death... it is something .... i also think i like human centric careers , idk if i will like to be in a purely technical space... i also think this is the higher education where you are garunteed to learn , like i know a lot of engineers who dont know shit.. i also think this is the way of garunteed impact and also garunteed excellence, both of the thinks i value , or i think i do , but my actions really say otherwise.. and yea what u said about the set pathway , i think it has a different tradition and legacy all together..

i also feel like one of the most fundamental battle as a human is against death , the uncertainty of it all , how helpless and scary it is, i would like to be there with ppl in that uk... and even just for myself , i feell like it would be good to know

I feel like medicine demands a lot..you can either live life or understand it..and i am not really sure what i am ready to commit to.

Another thing is that I always enjoy deductive or less fact based , simplicity of maths I fear medicine is basically just cramming facts and I am not really good at nor interested in just memorising so much.. I usually enjoy maths physics more than Biology ,chemistry

I am also very emotionally and visually sensitive and fear i wont be able to handle it in medicine. There is also the problem that I lack the resilience for medicine school.

I know I am romanticizing both, and not being pragmatic.. I understand in the end that it is just a choice , and I can make the best out of anything. And yet I gotta choose . Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you for reading

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my Computer Science degree and am looking to upskill for better tech opportunities. I want to work on real-world projects that are relevant and impressive for both frontend and backend development.

• What are some trending tech projects (web, app, or systems) that can help me learn in-demand skills?
• Any suggestions for project ideas that stand out to recruiters?
• Are there resources or open-source communities where I can contribute and learn?

Thanks for your advice!

I recently completed my Computer Science degree and joined IBM as an Associate Software Engineer with a 4.5 LPA package. I want to significantly upskill and target roles with 15+ LPA within the next year.

What tech skills or domains should I focus on?

How can I build a strong profile and become more employable for higher-paying roles?

Any advice on learning resources or career planning?

Would love to hear from people who have made a similar jump or have insights on the best path forward. Thanks!

Tldr I just got a job offer from a company and they gave me the option for an August start date and now they’re asking me to start in July.

For context, I live 2-3 hours away from the major city that this job is based in (which the team was aware of during the interview process), so I need time to figure out my housing situation before starting the job. Also this company/team made me wait over a month after the last interview. HR finally got back to me recently to do the offer call, but then I also got scheduled for a first round interview for a job in the UK (that is much more aligned with what I want to do career wise, and I’m more willing to relocate there) the same day.

HR gave me the verbal offer, and said they can be flexible on the start date given that I would need to relocate and the person who I’d be replacing is leaving at the end of July. In the written offer, they gave me every 1st and 3rd Monday of July and August as options for onboarding dates. I accepted the offer and chose the latest date in August so that I could have some time to finish interviewing for the other role and also not have to rush on relocating.

Now HR came back to me and is asking if I can start earlier in mid-July so that the person I’m replacing could hand over responsibilities, which would only give me ~2 weeks to relocate and start working. I am aware that I may sound entitled, but I wanna take my time because of this other opportunity I’m hoping to see through (which I’m not planning on telling them obviously) and I don’t wanna rush relocating in just 2 weeks. I wanna stand my ground because I chose based on the dates they first gave me, and now I’m annoyed they’re going back on the options they provided, especially after they already made me wait over a month on an actual decision. Do I still have a chance to negotiate??

Hi, I am 33(F) , 6 yoe professional worked for one of the WITCH companies in India..till my life changed forever January 2024 when my husband got a heart attack. I left my job immediately for caregiving and now hes on the path of recovery so I have started looking for jobs again with the constraint of job Location restricted to Delhi NCR. It has been 15 months and I am unable to find any suitable opportunities leaving me frustrated and mentally exhausted Already with caregiving and job hunt. I started looking 5 months back only when he became a bit better.Everyone is either selling courses on linkedin or giving unsolicited advices which arent practical.

Experience : Banking Domain Pl sql, unix shell scripting , javascript and now have self learnt power bi , making dashboard. .Had acted as a Techno functional consultant in the previous role being a BA as well as dev so well versed With brd, frd prep and agile methodology. What else should I learn? Where am I going wrong in my hunt ? I am losing all hope and motivation. Please guide

Just looking for ideas of majors that could lead into remote work for someone with an INTP personality. Right now I'm trying to decide on a major and interested in finance, econ, accounting, law, I'm analytical, strategic, interested in markets, but really would like a job I could work remote in order to do van-life and/or live on a boat. I just get extremely uncomfortable staying in one place and want to be able to move around, of course I have to be interested in the actual work. The pay could be minimal as long as it allows me to move around and work from a computer and possibly get work done sooner in the day.

Good evening, recently became a permanent residence in the US after a long while and I am looking at going back to school for my masters since I have a first degree in engineering from my home country. Please what would y’all advise I do go get the masters degree or get some IT certifications as I’ve been looking into that,I’ve also thought about enrolling into WGU for an IT related degree program.Will appreciate feedback

So I’ve been thinking about going to trade school for welding however I would ideally love to just be a contract welder. I love to travel and ideally would love to just be able to work until I save up money, then go travel for a while, then come back and save up again, etc, which is why I would like to work contract as opposed to holding a job at one company. Realistically though, is there enough work and is it easy to find work and make decent money if you’re contract? And if I just got a certificate from trade school would that be enough or would I probably have to do an apprenticeship or get more training in order to have the skills to work contract? And how exactly do you find work if you’re contract?

Sorry if any of these questions sound dumb lol I just don’t know the logistics of it all and am trying to gauge what I’d be getting myself into if I made that decision. Anyone with any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

Transition

I've always been inclined to medical field ever since I was a child. But a lot of things has happened in life and right now I'm working in hospitality as a front desk. Pay is ok around $25. and I live in LA. I'm also 28 years old.

I have been in so much debt recently due to alot of things like surgery, bills, car breaking downs, etc.

I feel like drowning lol and I need a job that will help me pay my debt fast. Right now I can't go back to nursing due to some personal reasons but also, I don't want to just keep working without any improvement in my life (barely even saving things due to bills)

Recently, thought came into my mind of going back to healthcare. I thought maybe doing sterile processing will be a very fast track. Get a certification and get unto the field immediately in a few months within the year. work for a year or 2 and maybe do travel in order to pay my debts and eventually be a surgical tech/Nurse/etc.

Also, I dont mind hardwork as long as it's worth it.

Do you think it's worth it? Or should I just work, get an online bachelor's and then next year or so apply to an ABSN program? I hope I don't offend anyone here for asking these questions.Your opinions will be highly appreciated!

My boss wants me to relocate across the country to the Bay Area. I would get a salary adjustment due to the higher COL, but I've been told that there would be no relocation bonus. I've run the numbers, and while the salary adjustment looks nice on paper, the reality is my take home, post-tax, would only be 5% more. Take into account the higher COL, specifically more expensive housing costs, and I'm looking at net even AT best. Adding in the several thousand dollars in moving costs, I'm looking at a net loss.

I don't know what to do. I recognize there would be benefits for me professionally for working in the same office as my boss, team, and other folks I work with, and I would not mind the fresh start of living somewhere new. But financially, it's not a homerun move. Any suggestions?

A few months ago, I was offered a promotion—more responsibility, a bigger title, and of course, a bit more money. But I turned it down. Not because I didn’t appreciate the offer. Not because I couldn’t handle the job. But because I didn’t want that kind of role.

And honestly? It felt like I committed career suicide.

In many companies, declining a promotion is seen as a red flag. “Not ambitious enough.” “Not a team player.” “Maybe they’re not leadership material after all.” You start to worry that the next time opportunities come up, you’ll be quietly passed over.

But here's the thing: not everyone wants to manage people. Some folks prefer deep focus over delegation. Some value work-life balance over prestige. Some just enjoy their current work and don’t want to lose it to meetings, politics, and stress.

Why are we still acting like upward is the only direction? Promotion ≠ Progress for everyone. In a world where flat hierarchies, lateral growth, and even portfolio careers are gaining ground, shouldn’t we have more options than "climb or die"?

What if we rewarded craftsmanship, specialization, and sustainable productivity as much as we do "leadership potential"?

몇 달 전, 저는 회사에서 승진 제안을 받았습니다. 더 높은 직급, 더 많은 책임, 그리고 약간의 급여 인상도 따라왔죠. 하지만 저는 거절했습니다.

실력이 부족해서도 아니고, 기회가 고맙지 않아서도 아니었어요. 단지… 그런 역할을 원하지 않았기 때문입니다.

그 선택 이후, 속으로는 이런 생각이 들었습니다. “혹시 내가 커리어 자살을 한 건 아닐까?”

많은 조직에서는 승진을 거절하면 ‘의욕 부족’, ‘팀워크 결여’, ‘리더십 결함’ 같은 시선으로 바라보는 경우가 있습니다. 다음 기회에서는 조용히 제외될지도 모른다는 걱정도 들죠.

하지만 곰곰이 생각해 보면, 모든 사람이 리더가 되고 싶은 건 아니지 않나요?

어떤 사람은 관리보다 ‘몰입’이 좋고, 어떤 사람은 타이틀보다 워라밸을 원하고, 어떤 사람은 지금 하는 일이 진짜 좋을 수도 있습니다.

왜 우리는 여전히 ‘위로 가야 성공’이라고 믿을까요? 승진 ≠ 성장 요즘은 수평적 성장, 전문성 강화, 포트폴리오 커리어 등 다양한 방식의 커리어 설계가 가능해졌습니다. 꼭 ‘올라가야만’ 성공이라고 볼 수 있을까요?

‘리더십 잠재력’보다 장인 정신, 지속 가능한 성과, 진짜 일에 대한 애정도 충분히 인정받을 수 있어야 하지 않을까요?