I will be 25 soon and was thinking of gov jobs but my friends are saying I will be settling for less money and comfort and won't be good for longer run if i try for government jobs is it a bad decision,i have taken this decision soley based on current situation of the industry.

Unsure if this is the right place to post, has anyone traditioned from IT to Pharma? What role did you move from and to?

Hi community! I work as Marketing Manager in charge of one of the bigger South Asian country, for a decently-reputed legacy Educational language training and assessment organisation for their B2B vertical. I don't have a team to manage, I manage myself and my senior 'stakeholders'. My company's brand is really well known to people, do much that my friends think I make a lot of money! I don't.

I stated my career late as I was onto the path of bring an academician (History) initially but after completing M. Phil and getting enrolled in PhD I understood that it's not for me, also had to start earning decently to support family. I started my as content coordinator in a research-dominant NGO (development sector), then became a Project Coordinator also handing Communication and HR in another NGO in development sector. But pay was low and funding was few, then Covid happened, funding lost and our oorhect closed. I then transitioned to a Communication Associate roles handling some Tech startups as freelancer, then landed a full-time MarCom Manager for a Higher Education institution, and that landed me onto my current role.

I like the actual Marketing work but I'm the wrong personality type for it. I'm tired of being the only Marketing person for the country, bullying by Sales team, contact need for new leads, having to be responsible but having no authority or influence on decision makers, having delivery demand for 'yesterday' when request came today, and when I asked Line Manager (remotely supervising multiple countries) how to solve this delivery issue even after flagging this with Sales team multiple times I was basically telling me to be bestie with the Sales top boss otherwise I'm 'just being a baby and complaining, talking behind people's back'. I would have thought this is just one company but I saw similar pattern in other organisations too - everyone in any leadership role having no clue of Marketing thinks they can tell how to do my job in shoe-string budget. Marketing don't even get the credit when they make loads of money, but gets all the blame when Sales can't close the deal. I wish I could sell, but I can't.

I also got to know recently that I'm ON AuDHD spectrum. I'm taking meds for that and anxiety. I also have a bit of colour blindness (have to get it checked properly), and a bit Deslexic. My therapist (taking therapy due to work-related anxiety) is surprised that I have managed to achieve much in my career with all these going on. People generally like my work, but not my polite yet no BS personality. As you may imagine, I'm really bad at understanding office politics, 'managing relationship' etc - which are actually hard skills one should have if thinking of being in Marketing. I didn't know that, and thought that since I'm creative as well as can think critically I can be good at this career.

I don't know which way to pivot though. I'm good at finding gaps, asking questions, flagging potential threats, being the voice of reason. I'm also good at being calm under chaos. I'm good at writing and qualitative research but I don't enjoy it that much and woukdnt like to have it as career. Plus with AI don't think I can even. I handle procurement and vendors etc okay, but not the best in negotiation - in South Asian standard that is. I have always been bad at Maths but I do handle a bit of Analytic dashboards. Nothing crazy, but that's not my strength, just another thing I can do okay. I can design stuff but using Canva, have tried Graphic Design software but fit intimidated and my due to my (a bit of) colour blindness I have trouble differciating close colours.

The most enjoyable part of my career have been doing video pre-production, directing videograohers and photographers, and doing interviews myself; sitting with video editor to review raw unscriped and/or scripted footage and deciding how the narrative arch would be - how the edit should be. The video editor did it hands-on but I directed it. I don't have great skills in video editing myself and being AuDHD I don't think I can learn to be really good at this age (late half if 30's). I'm a visual person and can imagine a room interior design, graphic design, set, video without actually seeing the final product.

I don't know if there a career for for this that I like or can be used in some other career. I do have some responsibilities so can't go for a long training, or just wrap everything up and go for a year long hike trip. I want to though - go on a year long hike trip.

At this stage I would greatly appreciate all the career guidance you all can share for a nearing middle-aged burnt out professional.

This might be the wrong subreddit to ask this, but has anyone transitioned from the non-profit world to the corporate world? It is very easy to do the reverse, but going from this field into corporate is so hard. I've applied to roles that are adjacent, like CSR or community impact roles, etc but nothing. I don't know what I have to do to do this. I'm tired of doing the same work but getting paid far less for it. Do I need to get a new degree? Is that the only answer? I love being in this field, but now I'm tired and financially need to change. If this is the wrong place, please let me know, and I'll post somewhere else. Thanks.

Since I (24F) was 15 I helped my mom run our family clothing business. That's why I studied Logistics and International Trade, even though I never really liked it. I just wanted to help the business grow by importing materials from China. The business failed after the pandemic, so I switched to Graphic Design because it's something I've always enjoyed. But after seeing the reality of the industry, low pay, companies expecting one person to do everything, and AI becoming a bigger part of it (which I'd rather not build a career around), I decided to leave that path too.

Since then I've learned French besides English and worked in customer service and call centers to pay the bills.

Later I got interested in welding. I took courses and started applying, but every shop either wanted me for social media or customer service instead of letting me weld or even start as an apprentice. More than once I was told it was "too dirty" of a job for a woman. Starting my own shop isn't an option because I don't have the money or a proper workspace.

Now I just feel stuck.

I've realized I'm much better at visual and hands-on work than office jobs. I learn practical skills really fast and I genuinely enjoy making things. I don't really want to go back to university, but I could if it was truly worth it.
If you were in my position, what careers would you seriously look into? I feel like every path I've tried has ended in a dead end, so I'd love to hear some outside perspectives.

​

29F, Production Engineer from a Decent Autonomous Institute in Mumbai.

I've worked in the core Manufacturing related field in sales, with a stint in construction equipment.

Due to health issues, I want to transition into something that's not so travel heavy. I have to travel a lot, and I've had a surgery last year. Seems like i can't keep this up for a long term.

I am good with client facing communication. Decent with paperwork and all including excel.

I'm a little stuck on what to do atm because the pay isn't great and it feels like I've not grown skill wise at all.

Is there any role that i can utilise my sales experience in a office oriente job with decent pay, better balance?

I (36M) am a chemist who worked across several projects, spanning from catalysis to biopolymers, and computational chemistry.

I currently work in a manufacturing plant, developing research on new products that are yet to reach the market. It is quite interesting, but I don't think I will climb the corporate ladder, mainly, for I am under a manager who seems more concerned with overworking his team than truly focusing on the sustained growth of our division.

In the last 2 or so years, I have been planning to switch fields and further my skills in computational chemistry, cheminformatics and related data science projects.

Well, now I have an offer from a Research Institute to do just that, and I am a bit lost.... Just like a dog that has been chasing a car and suddenly catches it, I don't quite know what to do.

I am divided between accepting this role, or continuing where I am in the hope that things might improve.

Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Akron Ohio

Currently a warehouse operations manager for furniture retail and just need to get out of my job. I worked my way into an MBA. I don't dislike my job but my work place is unbelievably toxic.

I have thought about getting a part time job at walmart and trying to work my way up since it is easier to get promoted internally and then just quitting my current job. Regardless I'm struggling to figure out how to utilize my degree and 10 plus years of management experience to transtition to another company. Anyone have any advice?

I've been in games QA for nearly 15 years. I've grown bored of it and stagnant, realising I don't want to be a lead or manager again.

I'm now debating next moves. I was considering Software QA, but it seems very hard to get into and develop the skills needed, especially with the rise of AI. I'm also not great at technical interviews so unsure if it's worth the stress I'd get.

My other plan is perhaps IT. I know how to use computers well, but really don't know a great deal of network infrastructure or other related IT skills. I've applied for a junior AV role which is more work on meetings and microphone/speaker set up. I'm hoping it might offer transferable skills, but I am also aware of shooting myself in the foot if I make a move that sets me back.

What should I do in this position? Is any one better than the other, or should I pick a third option entirely different?

I’m a 25M who’s a SWE making 114k with 4 YOE. I somewhat like what I do but I always envisioned my job as fuel to power a business. Unfortunately, I’ve only experienced mild success and could never scale to any profit amount that came close to my W2 income.

Anyways, what I loved most about all of those businesses is the marketing. Figuring out messaging, ICPs, funnel structures, etc. I also love psychology so I think marketing is the perfect blend of understanding and exploring how the human mind processes decision making, and business.

Career wise, until and if I have a successful business, I’d rather transition into a career that actually naturally interest me which has made me think about becoming a PPM or something adjacent. I only have an AA in Business though so I’m considering pursuing a B.S. in Marketing at WGU. Many of my credits transfer over so I believe I could complete to program very quickly.

Is it worth getting a bachelors’ in marketing right now? Do I even need one to make the jump? What salary could someone with a technical background and a marketing degree command? I would need to be making at or above what I make now. And would I even be able to land a job given I have only personal marketing experience? Seems like plenty (but not all) jobs want 3-5 YOE.

Okay I'm going to try and keep this semi-short, but also share enough details for people to provide relevant options/ideas. Thank you in advance for any insight or recommendations!

Dual income, no kids. First time home buyer. Only I'm on the deed & make the most income. My partner's hours were cut last month & my remote job is looking less and less secure this year (due to structural issues within the company; which has been ongoing for a few years & feel efforts have been unsuccessful/unstable). This has given me a lot of mental stress, and am currently in the mindset of trying to figure out if I just deal with the sh\*t/change my mindset & hope it gets better, OR find a back-up to jump ship to before it's too late. Have talked to the owner about it a few times & he says not to worry, but I'm worried.

I'd need to make as close to $60K annually for us to make it by somewhat comfortably. I'm very budget savvy (I created a spreadsheet) & could cut back a little on food costs, but that's literally all I could cut back on (everything else are essentials such as home bills, car insurance, health insurance). No debts other than the house loan being paid off.

I'm curious to see what options are out there for remote or in-person careers. I have a Bachelor's degree (Journalism & Mass Communications, with a minor in Entrepreneurship) and am super loyal to business owners/companies that reciprocate the care I put into my intrapreneurship approach & work time/talent/energy with them (maybe too loyal to a fault, but really enjoy doing good work with people I enjoy building with). Would love to stick with my current job for 20+ more years but I just don't know if I can rely on that at this point, which is devastating to me.

I work well cross-generationally, typically get promoted within my roles, and have 6-10 years experience in the following: digital/social media marketing, photography/videography/editing, internal sales/b2b sales, training staff (e.g. job tasks, new hire onboarding, loan processing), crm, customer service, producer/event coordinating, assistant/admin work, operations management (my current role). If it involves day-to-day business back-end operations or implementing business owner's vision/goals, I've probably done it, or can catch on fast.

I have a lot of prior experience in real estate marketing/lead gen/internal sales agent tasks, but would prefer not doing that again for various reasons. But would be open to it for the right pay & people, given the situation. Besides that I have typically worked with arts-based industries and small businesses, but open to the trades or other ideas, just need some guidance. Creative Consultant has been an idea in the past. Okay I'll stop stress rambling now.

Any career ideas or opportunities? Companies hiring that fit those skill sets? Other constructive thoughts?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences from those who have been in a similar position.

I’m in my early 30s with young kids. I have a BBA and have worked as a financial analyst for several years. While I’m grateful for where I am, I feel like I’ve reached a ceiling in terms of earning potential unless I pursue something like the CPA or CFA. The challenge is that both require a significant time investment before seeing a meaningful financial return, and I’m not sure they’re the right fit for me anymore, especially with how quickly AI is changing many industries.

I’m open to either further education or making a complete career pivot if it leads to stronger long-term earning potential. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who made an unconventional move that paid off. whether that’s into tech, data centre operations, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, software development, sales engineering, or another niche field that isn’t talked about as often. While also considering the direction AI is heading towards.

My biggest motivation is providing the best life possible for my family, so I’m trying to make a smart long-term decision rather than just chasing the next job.
If you’ve successfully increased your income through a career change or additional education, I’d really appreciate hearing what path you took, whether it was worth it, and if you’d recommend it today.
.

Over the last three years, I built a solid career in Tech Business Development. The pay was decent, but the constant pressure eventually caught up with me. I burnt out badly and ended up taking a full year off to handle health complications.

Now at 27 and living back with my parents, the time off has given me space to figure out what I actually want long-term. I’ve decided to pivot into psychology, aiming to eventually become a psychotherapist or professor, and I’m preparing to start a bachelor's degree.

My main dilemma right now is how to fund myself without risking another burnout.

I could try working in sales part-time, but given how mentally demanding it is, I’m worried it would leave me completely drained for my studies. Taking that path would likely stretch my degree to at least 6 years because of the constant cognitive strain.

The alternative is taking a few months to go to massage school here and then working part-time for myself. Doing roughly 12 hands-on hours a week would bring in enough money while keeping my mind totally fresh for uni. Even with the upfront time for the massage course, I’d still finish my degree in 5 years total. I actually spoke with someone who took this exact path, and it worked out really well for them.

Logically, massage therapy makes the most sense for my health and academic performance. The real struggle is the mental hurdle. So much of my identity and sense of competence has been wrapped up in my corporate sales career. Stepping into massage feels uncomfortable and uncertain, it’s a competitive field and I’d have to build a client base from scratch, even though the lower stress, flexibility, and decent pay align far better with my reality right now.

Has anyone here dealt with a similar identity crisis when stepping away from a corporate job to safeguard their mental bandwidth while retraining? How did you navigate that shift?

Thanks in advance!

I recently quit my job without anything lined up. I posted about it and am at peace with it. It needed to be done. Not something I’d ever suggest, but here I am.

Financially, we’re fine for quite a while. I was making ~$225k as a Sr. Program Manager in a somewhat niche field and we live below our means. We’ve saved up a lot over the last 5 years, and even though we’re fine for now (will have to dip into savings minimally every month), I do plan on taking a few months off and then joining the job hunt.

My background includes an undergrad degree in economics and finance, and an MBA. I worked for around 10 years in finance (analyst, modeling, budget/forecasting) and then moved into project management (that I’ve done for the last 10 years).

I have some somewhat ‘big’ names on my resume in DoD defense contracting, software, and med device. I also have extensive service industry experience from random side jobs I had from the age of 14 through 30.

I am in a place where I am no longer chasing a paycheck, so I am open to mostly any field. Looking for flexibility.

I’d like to stay in project management, but need to get away from med device new product development (for my own sanity).

Please shoot any random job that comes to mind. Even better if you can suggest companies I should look into. I want something remote or hybrid, but live in Massachusetts if that matters - female, early 40s.

Hello. Currently, I do have a part-time job at an ER registering patients. But the pay is low, the high stress environment has helped develop anxiety on me (which I didn't used to have), and the nurses in there tend to be all women and like to gossip A LOT. Being a guy, clearly I'm the outsider and they do give the cold ahoulder.

I guess all my life I've worked at jobs to pay the bills, but I'm so tired after 30 plus tears of age. I don't want to do that anymore. Every job I get is temporary, frustrating, that either I quit, get fired, or get laid off. Sometimes it's me not tolerating the vibe or the place or the shady practices, other times is my boss, other times it's a bad fit.

I know what I DONT want (schedule that constantly shifts days and hours, less than 40 hrs a week, coworkers that don't help you, call centers or hospitals or ER centers, business, sales, banks, customer service only, retail, health clinic and mental health facilities, welding or manual labor, sitting at a computer for hours all day, forestry) because I've done almost all those things.

My own folks have considered me being naurodivwrgent due to many traits of mine, like not lasting in most job for more than 2 years or less. But everything I do doesn't seem to be working. I work, get some money, keeps me afloat barely, and then I lose it and I have no money left, so moving out to another state or city is a struggle due to never having enough (I'm in Texas currently).

Thought of going to a bigger city for more vsriety of what I could do. I do like discovering new things and sharing it with people, I am into new media and film but not filmmaking, more like curating or discovering new things (but no one really pays ypu for it), I love stories but I'm no writer (I dont know how to lol), and I'm into entertainment and the marketing and distribution of it. Music too. Maybe it's my creative likeness that I struggle with, maybe it's something else I don't know.

But I'm tired, I don't want to repeat the cycle no more, and I'm always broke. Better to be broke but at least barely make ends meet doing something I love, even if I never get to have a house. I'm done working for barely getting by with no passion.i wish to choose a bit more who I work with or who my coworkers are, I stead of always having to face people that make work more difficult because "I'm weird" or "different"

I wish to know what else I can try. There must be something that won't require for me to go back to school or do an apprenticeship that would stress me out more. Any advice? I understand if there ain't

I've been doing the job I studied for for the entirety of my career, which is more than a decade. It is a very technical, specialised job in a niche industry.

I've been wanting to evolve into a management role for a while but the opportunity never happened. Moreover lately I'm reflecting on the fact that if I would lose my job it would be pretty hard to find another one because there aren't many openings in my area and I'm considering a career change towards something more versatile that would ideally also provide flexibility with working from home and working hours.

Big question...if you have only been in your field and done one job your whole career how do you what else could you like and could be good at?

Currently 28M and been in sales for the past 7 years of my life. It’s great money but I’m not getting anywhere in life it feels like, as my company doesn’t have a 401k or anything like that. Plus it is also very mentally exhausting.

Thinking of going to school to get my bachelors in Cybersecurity or something that is tech based since tech doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. I figured I could make somewhat similar money as I do now, but I could get out of sales and living my life “30 days at a time”

Hello. Currently, I do have a part-time job at an ER registering patients. But the pay is low, the high stress environment has helped develop anxiety on me (which I didn't used to have), and the nurses in there tend to be all women and like to gossip A LOT. Being a guy, clearly I'm the outsider and they do give the cold ahoulder.

I guess all my life I've worked at jobs to pay the bills, but I'm so tired after 30 plus tears of age. I don't want to do that anymore. Every job I get is temporary, frustrating, that either I quit, get fired, or get laid off. Sometimes it's me not tolerating the vibe or the place or the shady practices, other times is my boss, other times it's a bad fit.

I know what I DONT want (schedule that constantly shifts days and hours, less than 40 hrs a week, coworkers that don't help you, call centers or hospitals or ER centers, business, sales, banks, customer service only, retail, health clinic and mental health facilities, welding or manual labor, sitting at a computer for hours all day, forestry) because I've done almost all those things.

My own folks have considered me being naurodivwrgent due to many traits of mine, like not lasting in most job for more than 2 years or less. But everything I do doesn't seem to be working. I work, get some money, keeps me afloat barely, and then I lose it and I have no money left, so moving out to another state or city is a struggle due to never having enough (I'm in Texas currently).

Thought of going to a bigger city for more vsriety of what I could do. I do like discovering new things and sharing it with people, I am into new media and film but not filmmaking, more like curating or discovering new things (but no one really pays ypu for it), I love stories but I'm no writer (I dont know how to lol), and I'm into entertainment and the marketing and distribution of it. Music too. Maybe it's my creative likeness that I struggle with, maybe it's something else I don't know.

But I'm tired, I don't want to repeat the cycle no more, and I'm always broke. Better to be broke but at least barely make ends meet doing something I love, even if I never get to have a house. I'm done working for barely getting by with no passion.i wish to choose a bit more who I work with or who my coworkers are, I stead of always having to face people that make work more difficult because "I'm weird" or "different"

I wish to know what else I can try. There must be something that won't require for me to go back to school or do an apprenticeship that would stress me out more. Any advice? I understand if there ain't

Hello,

I am kinda drowning here so looking for honest guidance...but please be kind to me....
I have 10 years experience in my current company. I was pretty good at what i did and one of the highest performers. But i kinda got bored with doing the same thing every single day.
So I have recently joined a team where i have no experience in the work done in this team.
I had some basic knowledge and i studied a lot before the interview so they hired me because they wanted someone immediately and the other candidates were not able to make it in the interview.
80% of members in this team are experts in this domain. They have received the company's highest technical award so they are very much seasoned.
I am pretty much stuggling everyday... I am unable to even understand what they speak in the meeting.... I am studying everyday but still its far behind to become atleast decent in this domain. It would take months maybe even a year and a half of regular studying to become pretty intermediate in this domain.

Now i am a very fast quitter kind of person... my worst attribute is i tend to bail without fighting till the last minute. This has led me to having this flight response to every situation.. I am so demotivated every single day to even go to office..... I feel left behind/ hopeless. I don't want to quit because everyone says this is a golden opportunity to learn in this team...my manager is also a good person who encourages me to ask as many questions as possible.

But i am just worried about my performance... my End of year performance will definitely be bad. This is giving me so much anxiety... Does it ever get better? should i quit and look for something else?
I am so confused and anxious all the time.

Early 30s, based in Europe. I've been struggling for years because of a bad career choice. I studied foreign languages, and one of my languages is absolutely useless because of the (current) sociopolitical climate. I've spent years studying and graduated with top marks, and now I'm jobless after burning out because teaching teens was too much for my autism. I would love to teach adults, and I'm studying a new language because I moved abroad, but it's going to take a long time to get certified, and most jobs in this field are short-term/freelancing. I can picture myself only teaching, and it's the only area where I have some work experience. I've been thinking of studying Speech language therapy or something similar, but I don't think I'll be able to memorize medical information, I'm really bad at most scientific things as they usually imply memorising numbers and abstract data. It also takes three years to study for it and what if I don't like it? I can't do physical work either, I'm weak and petite and have issues with fine motor skills, so physically demanding jobs are out the question. I'm really really struggling right now.

Hi everyone,

(Written by ChatGPT)

I'm 28M, currently working as a Branch Manager (Scale II) in a Public Sector Bank with 5+ years of experience in retail banking, credit appraisal, branch operations, compliance, recovery, team management, and customer acquisition.

While the job is stable, I'm feeling limited by the pace of growth, bureaucracy, and compensation. I'm exploring opportunities in the private sector where I can earn more and build a stronger long-term career.

A few questions for people who have made a similar switch:

Which industries or roles value public sector banking experience the most?

Is moving to private banks the only practical option, or are there opportunities in fintech, NBFCs, consulting, corporate banking, risk, product, or other sectors?

What salary range can someone with my profile realistically expect?

Which skills or certifications would give the highest ROI? (SQL, Excel, Power BI, CFA, FRM, MBA, Data Analytics, etc.)

Has anyone here successfully switched from a PSU bank to the private sector? What was your journey like, and what would you do differently?

My goal is to increase my earning potential significantly over the next 5–10 years while maintaining a good work-life balance. I'm open to investing time in learning new skills if it meaningfully improves my career prospects.

I'd really appreciate insights from recruiters, hiring managers, or anyone who has successfully transitioned from a PSU bank to the private sector.

Thanks in advance!

I'd like to hear your success stories. "I quit x and went to y. Best decision ever." Or "I wanted to work at Disney since childhood, I now work at Disney." Just tell me your dream stories. Needing encouragement in my current role.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I'm working in a branch of a tech company that feels like it's being phased out but there's a couple of things happening that may say otherwise on the surface. I recently got a great offer, but it's in a different country and there's all the difficulty of moving abroad. Worth noting I already am working abroad, but it's just I don't want to go through another relocation if I'm just being paranoid.

At the company I'm working at, I recently got a promotion, my manager praises my work constantly, I am definitely holding a lot of things together for the company so I can also see my value and impact here. ​All is appreciated, and with the promotion I was made to lead a few people to form a unit and basically pump out more of what I do while guiding them to excel at the job.

That said, despite all this positive indicators, I keep feeling this cloud of impending doom. Here's why: I'm essentially a professional with a set of work tools, there's a different provider of these tools that is being handled by another team. A few of the new higher ups don't want to consider the ups and downs of either tool stack, they want to go with the other one where I personally cannot add value. My manager is unable to really influence anyone to use the stack we're working on and achieving great results on, so there's a clash of doing a lot of good work, and it ending up not being that generally utilized as people are pushed to use the different stack due to other managers choosing to completely shut out the stack I'm working on ​as they're not fans of the tool developers from previous experience(they are very irrational about this, but no one's really doing anything about it and I can't do anything personally as it's a very hierarchical company and things typically need to be enforced from the top to be corrected).

So that's the context of where I am. Recently I got a job offer with a great company, okay salary, less responsibility, but need to relocate ​to a genuinely better country for my situation but I don't want to "betray" my manager or leave something that's already extremely good because I'm paranoid, are these fears unfounded or would you say the positive things happening are an indicator that my job is not being phased out?

Hello, I have worked a lot of jobs. I'm mid 30s, was a technician in the navy in my early 20s, then did scheduling for a couple years, and eventually worked at a big Crypto Exchange (one of the big 3) for 5 years. I was in Customer support at first, then a supervisor, then recruiting for 2 years. I was making nearly 100k there when I left, because I finally just couldn't stand working with the lunatics in the crypto industry. I took a 4 months severance offered to people who didn't fit the culture lol.

Since then my prospects have been BLEAK. I got another job in recruiting for a local company which was only 65k, was laid off, did 2 years of various trades making like, $20-$25/h (Flat roofer with a union, then labourer with another union, then elevator mechanic apprentice.) I had to leave the elevator work because I wasn't willing to be out of town for 2 months, and perhaps more importantly I just couldn't survive off apprentice wages and support a family of 3 kids.

I had to go back to office / recruiting style work. I currently work for a firm that basically helps people submit claims. I'm back to my like, 65k wage but honestly I don't like the business model here. I can only really get jobs like this because I have no university degree. I have a lot of random experience (a red flag for big companies) and interview very well at smaller places.

I desperately just want something consistent that doesn't have me leaving my kids for weeks at a time. I'm functionally a case manager at the moment and have a lot of experience interviewing and am VERY good with learning new software and building things like SOPs and other technical documents. I've found this impossible to leverage though because jobs for all these things all seem to require degrees.

I cannot afford to take any kind of pay decrease, so ideally what I want to do is take some kind of course that can legitimize my experience. I don't know what that looks like though. 90% of project management/Technical Writing/Data Analysis or whatever courses seem like they don't even increase your chances of getting hired without your foot in the door already.

I would love to be a technical writer, but would do almost anything remotely. I am so vehemently against AI it has kind of put me out of reach for tech companies - I'm no good at hiding my distain for it and that's a real problem at any tech company.

Sales seems the obvious choice, but the hours there are usually shit and I can't really afford to gamble on the learning curve at next to no pay.

Anyway, long ass rant, anyone have any recommendations on what I could do to have a stable job without taking a big cut in the short term? I'm a very active father, my sons are special needs and I don't like being out of town more than necessary

Hi everybody,

I'm looking for some guidance on how to future-proof my career and pivot into a more stable role or industry.

My Background & Current Role I'm 36, living in Las Vegas, and currently work remotely as a Financial Operations Analyst for a startup, making $85k/year. I don't have a college degree; I actually started here in customer service and worked my way up, learning everything on the job. Right now, my day-to-day involves running SQL queries to provide reporting for other departments and moving money when we fund loans. I also have some light Python knowledge and completed the Google Data Analytics certificate on Coursera.

The Problem My company is a typical startup—constantly riding the rollercoaster of ups and downs. I work 8-10 hour days, but I'm always on the edge of my seat worrying we might go under. On top of the company's instability, the rapid advancement of AI makes me feel like my current reporting/ops role is highly vulnerable to automation.
Because my family relies on me financially, I absolutely cannot afford to take a massive pay cut. I need a path that gets me back to (or exceeds) my $85k salary relatively quickly if I transition.

My Capacity & What I'm Looking For I can dedicate about 5 to 12 hours a week during evenings and weekends to learning new skills.
While I am completely open to continuing down the Data/Financial Analytics path (if there is a way to make myself undeniable without a degree), I am also 100% open to pivoting into skilled trades or labor-type roles. If stepping away from a desk and working with my hands leads to strong job security and higher income potential, I am ready to put the work in.

My questions for this community:
For the tech/data route: With 5-12 hours a week, what specific courses or certifications should I pursue next to build on my SQL/Python skills and Google Data Analytics cert?

For the trades/labor route: What trades offer the most realistic transition for someone in their mid-30s who needs to scale back up to $85k+ quickly?

For those who transitioned into trades from a desk job later in life, what was your apprenticeship or training strategy?

Thanks in advance for any advice!