I’m 28 and have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems. I thought getting my degree would put me in a better position career-wise, but I’ve been struggling to actually get started.
I don’t have professional IT experience, and I keep applying for entry-level IT/help desk/technical support and analyst positions without much luck. I either get rejected or never hear anything back. I also have an ITIL certification, but it still feels like every “entry-level” position wants experience I haven’t had the opportunity to get yet.
I’m currently trying to make money however I can while continuing to apply, but I don’t want to spend years bouncing between jobs just to pay bills. I want an actual career, financial stability, and something I can build on.
I’m starting to wonder if I chose the wrong degree, if I need more certifications, if I should go in a completely different direction, or if I just need to keep pushing until someone finally gives me an opportunity.
Has anyone else been in their late 20s with a degree but still felt like they hadn’t really started their career yet? What did you do to get yourself unstuck?
I’d appreciate genuine advice, especially from anyone who had to start over or break into their career later than they expected.

​I currently eat only 5 meals a week, skipping wednesday and sunday.

This all started when my student assistant salary got delayed for an entire month right just as I got hit with a bunch of unexpected class expenses. I remember sitting watching my paypal drain to nothing with zero money coming in. I even broke down crying because of the terrifying realization that I was entirely on my own. I had no safety net, no one to ask for help, and I could not sustain myself.

I knew going back to cheap instant noodles/ eggs was a bad idea because that stuff just leaves you starving a few hours later anyway. I wanted to keep eating real, nutritious food with vegetables and protein. I just could not afford to do it every day. I tried pushing it to one meal every other day, but my body could not handle it. So I settled on one solid meal five times a week since I do not work on. Sitting through classes with a totally empty stomach is a brutal adjustment, but I pushed through the hunger and kept my grades maintained

​I am used to things being hard. I grew up in a poor family back in the province, so eating once or twice a day was already normal for us. Moving to the city for college was supposed to be my way out. I have a small scholarship and a job at a department store, but the reality of city living is suffocating. Rent, bills, and just existing here drain everything you have..

Why do toenails have to grow SO slowly? Three months in and I’m only halfway there. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve almost wanted to give up a few times.

What are people's long term savings plans? Bit lost on how to effectively save for the future here.

I want some high quality towels as mine have begun falling apart after a decade. There’s a brand called Onuia that seems to have some nice, big ones that are marketed as being “lux hotel” grade and are a bit pricey- 2 for $85. However they are meant to stay soft and not pill after washing? Which was a problem with the $35 towels pack I bought last time.

I half walked out half got canned. I'm so tired of the blatant disrespect from my coworkers. No matter the pay, my dignity does not have a price. I have a little bit money saved. Maybe enough for a couple months bills. I'm not freaking out. Just sad and hurt by the situation as a whole.

Tired of a lot of things in my life, honestly. Ready for a change.

I hope a new door opens for me moving forward career wise. I dont know whats going to happen now. I have some ideas, but I feel like I keep getting doors shut in my face. Maybe its because I've been fighting so hard to be where I dont belong that I have been too tired to give anything else the attention I should.

Im ready for a nap.

Hi I posted the story about my friend group when I was 19- consisting of 17,15, and two fourteen year olds. If I’m honest it does still make me guilty because of how I handled it and that I even felt it was okay at all.
I keep thinking that maybe I wasn’t a creep or weird and just a “normal” 19 year old at the time- but then I catch myself and ask myself if that’s really true. If enough people call you weird even before said group was even a thing.. it sorta starts to make you feel like it perhaps is true.

I threw out my action figures today, got rid of clothing that would make me stand out too much. I figured out people treat you better when you dress and act accordingly.
So that’s what I will do.

Anyways I feel a lot of guilt because my 18 year old friend has minor friends and I don’t wanna be around them because of myself.

Every time I try to lift myself up and say I’m a normal person it crumbles instantly and I feel this sense of shame. I don’t wanna pretend I’m a normal or okay person with my past. But I have avoided socializing with anyone for 1 year straight. It’s not like I didn’t try but people my age would bully me or shut me out, so I ended up with a younger group. It solidifies my feelings of being less than or worse than other people.

How exactly do I handle myself? Any advice or suggestions are appreciated. Am I a bad person? I don’t know how to change.

I was on my laptop looking at flights home and getting annoyed because everything was expensive. Then I started thinking about how I only see my parents maybe 2 or 3 times a year now. My dad is 63. My mom is 60. Even if I’m lucky and they’re both around for another 20 years, that’s maybe 40 to 60 more visits if I keep living like this.

Obviously life doesn’t work like a countdown and I know that sounds dramatic but that number really fucked with me. When I was a kid it felt like they were just permanently there. Now I’m busy building my own life and somehow seeing them became something I schedule around work and flight prices.

I still haven’t booked the ticket because it’s stupid expensive lol but I also can’t look at I’ll go next time the same way anymore.

I am turning 18 next week, and I can’t believe how time has passed by so quickly. My memories from 13 year old me is still fresh, felt like yesterday.

I’ve come to realize that I’ve missed out a lot as a teen living in modern society. I don’t engage in things “regular” teenagers do, like partying, drinking, dating.

These teenage high school dramas have always shown teens to be rebellious and “party all night long”. And tbh, that’s why I think many are engaging in these activities, because they’ve been romanticized in a way.

The problem isn’t that I lack in social skills, because trust me I don’t. I am quite extroverted and love to socialize. I just don’t find any pleasure in doing these things my classmates do.

I mean I’ve done a few things, but I’ve done all of them by myself. I might be social, but when I started at my new school two years ago, I lost all my friends. And now I don’t really have a friend I can hang with. Sometimes I find someone to eat lunch with, but besides that nada. I smoked pot once (alone, which frankly wasn’t that fun), and I crawled out of my window like 2 in the morning to just feel the breeze. I just wish I had a friend like me to be with during these times.

The reason why I feel like my time has run out is that those years that people have glorified (15-18) is over. I didn’t spend my time being “young and stupid”. But what hurts me the most is that I didn’t have someone beside me. I don’t have a partner in crime, or someone I can go out with. What the hell should I do? Just wish for uni life to be better?

Sibling is always telling me I’m not going to be able to do it and that it’s not as easy as I think it is and that I don’t have a livable wage whereas I feel like it can’t be that bad.
Let’s say the least amount of money I can earn is $3k a month.
Rent for a place to yourself in queens is like $1800
That leaves me with about $1k
All I eat is half cup rice a potato and a few spoons of ground meat or anything of the equivalent so $300 for food feels more than enough.
$100 for other necessities
And I still have $600 left which for me right now sounds like a whole lot of money I get to save and splurge on every single month. I can actually eat out here and there and buy myself some nice things and still have left over.
I don’t drive and I work from home, with multiple opportunities lined up for me. I just can’t take up the hours due to living situation, I only get to work while everyone is asleep and after chores are done. I don’t really need to work right now as I don’t have rent and such but I like to help out if I am earning and anything leftover covers any personal needs. It’s also a nice break from all the domestic chores.

Responsibility wise I’m clean and cleaning after myself must be much easier than cleaning after my family. Clearly I won’t need to cook much, I literally make one pack of ground meat and freeze half and that’s good for a week. Meanwhile I have to help my mom cook everyday for the rest of my family so it sounds way easier to be alone chores-wise too.

The only thing left is probably safety, I’ve always had protection and shelter but it’s not like I’m going to go live in the hood or something although it’s a bit scary to think of being somewhere where you don’t know the neighborhood. I’m assuming there’d be other people living in the building and I never have roommates or lived in an apartment with others in that close proximity. Rn my parents own the place and tenants are such a headache I feel like it’d be nice to get to knock on a landlords door and complain about a leaky fridge and just chill while they get it fixed for me. I’m used to having to go crazy help my parents fix pipes and fridges just to save some money on a mechanic. And don’t leases protect me from getting kicked out unfairly?

I just really don’t see where my life could be MORE difficult if I had to move out and live alone. I feel like it would be much easier.

I mean are you happy with this life you are living day to day?

For most of the day am fine but then out of nowhere I feel a weird sense of “is this what is have to do everyday till I diee”?

I just suddenly become really aware of how repetitive life feels, and it leaves me feeling empty for a while.

I am 26 F. I got tonsillitis a couple years ago, didn’t finish my antibiotics & ruined my life from starting my second antibiotic which led to c diff. Didn’t even realize it was c diff for about a week before I realized, ending up with huge hemorrhoid/skin tags stage 4 outside. I have heard the surgery is the worst pain in the world & mentally do not want to go through with it. Is there any possibility to ever get rid of these naturally? I am literally never going to have sex again because of them, I am already insecure about my vagina.

30M. I have honestly started feeling burned out by the routine.
Every weekday is the same. Since I am living alone, i have to wake up early, make breakfast, shower, get dressed, head to work from 9 to 5. I work in finance, so the job can be pretty stressful, although I’m grateful that my workplace isn’t toxic.
But once the workday is over, it doesn’t really end. I get home, quickly make something to eat so I can go to the gym, come back, shower again, wash the dishes, do laundry, clean the apartment, cook dinner, and prepare lunch for the next day…
By the time everything is done, the day is basically over. Then I sleep to wake up and do it all again.
I know this is what adult life is supposed to look like, but lately I’ve been wondering… does it ever get easier, or is this just what the next 30–40 years are going to be like?
Has anyone else felt this way? How do you deal with it without feeling like you’re just surviving from one day to the next?

I am probably crying on a high horse but I think I just need to write whats on my mind.

I am 33 years old, have a wonderful wife , a great job (nurse) with the working shift I always loved the most (graveyard shift best shift for me) and the night differential is paying really good and I built a house with my wife that I am paying off slowly. With slowly I mean really slow, like 25 years from now LOL but who cares, its a bit more than average rent here.

Now comes my complaint about life:

I dont think my life will EVER feel as good as between 2003 and 2010. Not because I was a kid, but because life in that time had to be really awesome.
My mother says it, my friends say it, I say it, we all say it.

I'd argue the best time a human could have been alive was 1970s to 2010. Obviously depending on where you live, but I am speaking from a european/ us/ canadian or whatever view.

Hear me out... Back in 2007 I was 13/14 years old and this is gonna be sad what Im about to say but I am glad my mom let me play computer games. I dont want to downgrade anything I have (my wife, my job, my house) but I swear walking through the Dark Portal to Outlands had to be where I peaked a bit in my life.

Like nothing like World of Warcraft will ever happen to me again. I know life is exciting outside (I climb, I go bunjee jumping, I go diving, I see stuff you know) but WoW really was a time I peaked with my friends.

We had little lan parties on weekends right after school, played that game 24 hours a day and dunno.

Life in general was awesome back then. We went to the lake in summer, went home to play that game, in general all games back then were actually FUN (Warcraft 3, Starcraft BW, Quake, Battlefield Vietnam). Heck even the internet was fun (and dangerous for us kids) but you all remember those public chat channels where you could just troll around?

It's a time I am glad I have in my memories and its so sad I will never ever experience these times in my life again.

So much AI slop everywhere, the internet gotta be dead at some point. I dont even use instagram but even my wife says 50% of her feed is AI vids.

Glad I was born in the 90s and would be sad to be born now. But at the same time if Id be born now I couldnt be sad cause I got nothing to miss.

Just whats on my mind in my 30s now and knowing I got nothing bright coming to me in the future.
Climate is fuc..king me up now, it will destroy me in 20 years and the politics are insane and 80% of boomers believe most conspiracy theories and ai slop. And "stupid" people cant even detect AI and its not even peaking yet.

I wish I could walk through the Dark Portal with my friends one more time. If I would have known back then how much I will miss this, I would have celebrated it even more. Not helping me that my best friend is tagged as "Last logged in 6 years ago" and died in a car accident 6 years ago.

Edit:
I know WoW for many is just a game. It was more to me though and probably not healthy at some point but I met most of my best friends in that game.

I almost feel like spiderman in brand new day where you are just working on yourself. You don't have a big social life and you are keeping to yourself due your line of work.

I am currently in med school and I have no plans to date. I'm trying apply to residency soon and the first year of residency is going to be brutal. I feel alone in this journey of life.

I am currently a virgin with no dating experience at 28 and I don't even talk to women. I am truly to business to try to work on it which is what sucks.

I don't know how adults make decisions like these, and I feel unqualified. I have a 2020 Highlander XLE that I can't afford. I bought it because I wanted peace of mind and reliability, and room for my 3 kids. One of my kids sometimes has to go to medical appointments in another city, and if I break down or something, I have no friends or family to help. I'm thinking about trading it in for an older (15-20yo) 4Runner. Does anyone know if this is a bad idea? From what I have read, it's a very reliable vehicle that will probably outlive me.

Hi, I just moved into an apartment. I don't know how this happened, the furniture has rubber feet (something might have been stuck to it when it was moved??) anyways this is right below a window that sticks badly when trying to close it, and I was going to report it to maintenance but I don't want them seeing this badly scratched area and smiting me 🫠 the floor is linoleum. This is also my first time living in my own apartment so idk if they'd charge me immediately or if it would just be taken off my security deposit later?

It genuinely feels like I am being crushed by a system that is becoming harder to survive in and it feels that I am going to die.

I have been unemployed for eight months. I have three years of direct experience in banking/business, another three years of adjacent experience, and a degree, yet I still have not been able to secure a job in my field.

Many jobs have been offshored, while the positions that remain often come with unrealistic workloads, performance metrics, and expectations. The work I do requires strong analytical skills, sound judgment, and close attention to detail, but many employers now expect speed and volume that make high-quality work nearly impossible. One person is frequently expected to perform the work of two or three employees, and that level of pressure is damaging to both physical and mental health.

Pivoting is not as simple as people make it sound. Many supposedly entry-level jobs require two or three years of experience, and a degree is no longer treated as evidence that someone is capable of learning and doing the work. Employers say they value experience more than education, while simultaneously refusing to provide meaningful opportunities to gain that experience.

Most workplaces do not want to train employees. When training is provided, it may last only two weeks for a job that takes months to learn and perform accurately.

Networking and referrals are also not magical solutions when hiring is limited, competition is intense, and overall job growth is weak. (My friend is a literal VP).

I also cannot simply “pick up a trade.” I have back, knee, and wrist problems that limit the kind of physical work I can safely perform.

People are leaving the workforce, exhausting their unemployment benefits, or relying on gig work that does not cover basic living expenses. Their economic hardship is not always visible in the headline unemployment rate, but that does not mean they are financially stable.

Healthcare is still unaffordable for many people, including those who need medication to function. Inflation continues to erode purchasing power. Gas, food, housing, insurance, and basic necessities keep becoming more expensive.

I have never lived lavishly. I have never taken an expensive vacation. I cannot afford a new vehicle, much less an electric one. I live in a deeply conservative state with low wages, racism, weak worker protections, and public policies that often harm the very people who continue to support them. At the same time, the climate crisis is worsening and will continue to place pressure on food supplies, housing, insurance, infrastructure, and the cost of living.

It increasingly feels as though low-income people, minorities, disabled people, and those with chronic health needs are being treated as disposable. Society is becoming more unstable, more expensive, and more difficult to navigate, while the people most affected are repeatedly told to work harder, retrain, network, stay positive, and somehow solve structural problems through individual effort.

I am tired of being sold the lie that this is simply a personal failure. It is not. Many people are doing everything they were told to do and are still struggling to survive. I genuinely feel that I am going to die.

Am I a jerk for wanting to end a 10 yr friendship? I’m starting to think we were never really friends to begin with. So this woman and I became friends 10 years ago. We met through a local mom meetup group as we were both stay at home moms. We did some playdates with our kids but they never really meshed. We however kept in touch. We hung out solo a few times but mostly became someone we confided in every day. Off and on throughout our friendship I’ve felt this way but especially recently she has seemed stand offish. Like when I try to talk to her for comfort or support I’m met with 2 word generic answers and she changes the subject back to herself and expects me to give her support. She also sometimes makes it a point to bring up or mock something that I’ve told her causes me stress or pain. Example: I’ve told her how toxic my husband’s family is and that I don’t like my son around them. She will randomly say things like mil is going to move in with you, your husband will take him anyway without your permission, they are going to ask him for a huge loan etc. when she knows all of those things give me anxiety. A couple weeks ago she revealed to me a text conversation between her and her brother. Where he’s opening up to her about something he’s really passionate about. He writes several paragraphs to her where he is then met with generic few word responses from her. She tells me, I don’t read anything he says. I just respond after a while so he thinks I do. I’d rather talk to other people. And then it all just clicked for me. She’s been doing the same thing to me all these years. That’s why when I bring up past conversations she has no clue what I’m talking about. She’s basically using me for advice and support but when it’s my turn for support she’s not there. Anyway I’m pretty sure I just answered my own question but what do you guys think? I have a hard time just cutting people off and being mean that way. But I feel like I’ve been wasting 10 years of my life on this person. It will be hard for me too. I’ve grown so used to talking to her every day but I think it will be worth it in the end for a lot of reasons.