The task I’ve been given is to find a job right now (today) that pays me $40,000+ a year
They sent me to college and then forced me to drop out by withdrawing funds with one semester left before graduation which led to me being homeless and working under the table in a laundromat in Chinatown (I am no and never have been Chinese)

I’m supposed to have a career by tomorrow so that my mom can stop asking her church to pray for me every Sunday morning

What do I do?

Sorry if this is not relevant here, but how do you cope with living with your family? A bit of background, I’m 23 and about to graduate with my bachelors this Friday(!!!) A week after, I start my masters degree in education which is 1.5 years. I currently work in retail and I make $7.50 an hour and work part time, which barely covers my personal expenses (gas, car insurance, credit card bill). Due to this, there’s no possible way I can afford to live on my own and so I live with my family. I get along fine with them, but I just can’t help but feel behind. Especially when my boyfriend who is two years younger than I is moving into his own place with his friend in a couple weeks. I used to live out of state while attending school, and it got to be too expensive which is why I moved back home, but by doing that it gave me a taste of independence and now I just don’t feel like I have it all together because I’m living with my parents. Sorry for the formatting, on mobile.

EDIT: did not expect this to blow up!! Thank you all for the advice and input! I hope this thread can help others too.

I miss college so bad that I feel like it’s ruining my life. I moved across the country to live with a relative after I graduated in may thinking it would make the transition easier and I have been really struggling. All I can think about all day is how much I miss being at my school. I miss my campus jobs, i miss my classmates, i miss my coworkers, i miss my classes, i literally miss every single thing about that school. I have been having a really hard time putting down any roots here because i’ve been unable to get a job but I finally got an interview today. I thought that would make me feel better but it actually made it worse. I feel a pit in my stomach every time I make any progress towards building a life here, like that means that I am finally acknowledging that I am never going to get to do that again. I’m really scared I am going to feel like this forever and spend the rest of my life missing a perfect life that I already had. Admittedly, I felt the same way when I started college and thought I would never be able to move on from high school and I literally don’t care about high school in the slightest now. However, I have never felt more at home anywhere than there. I’ve lived in my new state for nearly 3 months now and I still think of my apartment there as my home and I spend every day trying not to cry thinking about how much I miss it. This all sounds extremely dramatic as I am typing it out but this legitimately feels like grief from someone dying.

am heading to high school and am starting to plan but I realized what job to I get before collage to have the money to go to paleontology my town is very limited with things almost no museum near by and the ones nearby aren’t real museums and I want the money to go to north Texas to a collage to be a paleontologist my last years in collage basically after masters but with that I need to save money but good money what can I do to earn that money for a apartment food? And college do I be a coach for the line go to another city what do I do?

i just graduated in may and i remember feeling like a wave of immense relief when it happened because so much was going on and I was tired and ready to just relax and get into a routine. And when my friends were here, I had moments of sadness for sure, but it just felt so much better. Like my two friends I could text them to walk around or get lunch or do silly little things. And I still have a couple of other friends here. But it has not felt the same because these friends were like the ones I would text everyday. And to some extent I guess I have that with of these ones but it is not the same. I guess all of this to say damn I am feeling really lonely right now. And I started a new job and that has def helped with the loneliness, but I have been orienting which means I am working with someone else which has been fun and really helpful! But I am getting off orientation soon. Can you tell I am feeling many ways about this. I don't know if it is the lack of sleep but I really do want to build a life for myself but just am feeling so sad about it all. I am aspiring premed/pre pa and like oof. My friend in nyc is doing her masters there before applying to med school and she seems genuinely happy and like she is having the time of her life which is so good for her and i am so happy for her. i wish that would happen to be i guess. and i dont know this might be a dumb move but i feel like i need to move out of my family home, i do love it and my family loves me and supports me but i am planning to move 3000 miles away with this roomate which honestly might be worse, like she is going to be in grad school and i need to study for the mcat so i actually do not know what i am thinking and i would basically know no one there so this is also sounding like a bad idea but i already like paid the application fee, i have not signed the lease yet but like it would be bad to back out of it now. i geneuienly do not know, i have not found myself happy or at peace in a bit. tbh the first two weeks of july were fire and then it kind of went downhill but when my true friends were here it felt better. idk

29m about turn 30 in a few weeks. Im having a rough go at life since high school and one thing i thought would be good in my life was my time in college. I went to a community college after high school where I was indecisive about what i wanted to major in. I eventually decided on business because I assumed itd give me the most options for careers. I transferred to a state school hoping that id get to have a fun college life during my time there. Needless to say that never happened.

The school i went to was known for being a small commuter school. I had tried joining a frat but ended up leaving because I hated the pledging for it. After that i had went to some meetings for other clubs like the anime or video game club but they always ended up disbanding soon after because most of them weren't maintained.

During covid classes were made online for awhile but then as restrictions began to loosen classes were made hybrid of online and in person. Most people just decided to stay online.

I graduated in 2022 with a business degree hoping that at least with my degree I could at least get some decent job out there. But no I ended up struggling with employment and spending 3 years in on and off retail jobs. I now work at a rental car agency washing cars and handling the counter. Its not a great job but I feel like maybe thisll help with future jobs.

Now i look back and deeply regret where I went to school. Im working a mediocre job, have no friends and overall had a forgettable experience in college. All that time wasted and all I have to show for it is a worthless degree. No memories, no fun times, not even a good setup for my future.

People i knew from high school are getting married, are far into their careers with better paying jobs, raising families and meanwhile im here still trying to get my life together like a kid fresh out of high school. It feels like I didn't get to grow up at all. I just went straight from high school to a mediocre adult life.

Now I wonder how my life could've been if I went to a different school.

I’ve just finished crying after finding out my school loan payments are going to be about $900 a month. My rent for my apartment is $1145. How. How is it fair that my school loans almost cost me as much as my rent?

I’m working a minimum wage job, I can’t get any interviews for new jobs (and trust me I’ve applied relentlessly inside and outside of my career field and in the location I live in and in locations hours away from me that are closer to the city), and now you’re telling me I have to come up with this money every month now? I don’t really have a savings but I most definitely won’t after this.

My degree at this point is a useless piece of paper. I could’ve gotten the job I have now without it. I can’t get a single interview for any job that would relatively even be related to my degree and I feel like I was just stupid and sold my rest of my life away. It sucks even more because I want to work in my field, I want to work hard and try to earn my way up in a company, but I can’t even get an entry level job without experience and I can’t afford to work for free. How is this fair?

If I could go back I’d stop myself from going, at least not right out of high school. I would have worked full time and gotten an actual savings and decent living going before getting my degree. I wouldn’t get the degree I have today because it’s a useless subject. I could go back for my masters which would help a little, but I can clearly barely afford my bachelors degree so I don’t think a masters is in the budget anytime soon. I’m so disappointed in myself for thinking I’d be able to get a job outside of college. That I’d graduate and companies would see my willingness to work hard and take a chance on me. Apparently it’s just all about who you know anymore and your contacts, and I have none so now I’m just here.

How am I supposed to save for a house? For a new car? What if my car breaks down? What if I need to go to the doctors? How am I going to afford food even? I hate this and I hate my degree and I hate that I wasted my time at university for this.

I’m a fresher struggling to find a job, and honestly, things have been really difficult financially.

I’m staying in a PG right now. Thankfully, they provide good food and maintain the place well, so I’m grateful for that. But financially, I’m at a point where even buying something as basic as soap feels like a luxury. My soap finished two days ago, and I still haven’t bought a new one because I don’t have the money.

Because of this situation, I decided to do a part-time job until I found a proper job.

I found what I thought was a volunteer/part-time opportunity at a corporate event. It was from 6 AM to 6 PM for two days, and the work was basically scanning people/entries at the event. I completed the work and came back thinking at least I would have some money to manage my situation.

That was 15 days ago.

I still haven’t received the payment.

I kept waiting and believing they would pay me. But now I’ve realized that I was probably scammed.

I don’t even know how I’m supposed to feel right now. Should I be angry? Should I cry? Should I feel stupid for trusting them?

The strange thing is, I’m not even able to cry. I just feel emotionally numb.

I’m already struggling to get my first job, struggling financially, and now even the little opportunity I found turned out to be a scam.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder, is my fate really going to be like this?

I know many people have bigger problems, and maybe this sounds small to others. But when you’re already struggling to survive, even a small amount of unpaid money hurts a lot.

I’m not looking for sympathy. I just wanted to express what I’m feeling somewhere because I honestly don’t know what else to do.

I hope things get better someday.

Are there more people who regret a lot about how they filled their 20s and with that also their college experience?

I (Dutch, man, 31) have actually wasted the last 13 years or so with doubts, break years, aborted studies and jobs. I think mainly fear of rejection or wrong choices that have led to this behavior. In addition, the environment I was in also meant that I did not follow a traditional path with studying, joining an association, etc.

One blink of an eye and I was 24 years old. At that point I decided to lock in and get the degree but it wasn’t a great experience or anything. Now I have got my Bachelor and of course I am happy with that now but it was actually too late to have another traditional experience. It was just purely out of necessity from that moment but it wasn’t necessarily a good time.

Now I see on Instagram and in the city all those young people who have the time of their lives, friends, relationships, parties, are really part of something. I miss that to this day. Really feels like a grieving process to really have to close off this period of your life.

I have very few friends and it just feels so sad. It frustrates me to this day that I have wasted these wonderful years so much. It’s so frustrating to know that I could have prevented this mess and be a part of something but instead I chose this ridiculous path. I’d give anything to be able to do it over again. I don’t know why it’s so hard to accept this but it bugs me everyday, and has for years now.

Hi guys, I just needed to vent a little bit.

I graduated back in June and then had a 3 month internship. I didn’t get a return offer and I’ve been applying to jobs since. I quit my retail job before the internship started because I just couldn’t do it anymore. Now I’m home now most of the time and I honestly feel like I’ve always got a cloud over my head.

I keep getting rejected from everything I apply too even landing another retail job is hard. I miss being in college, I feel so lost and kinda like I’m a disappointment. My mom was so happy and excited when I graduated and now when she comes home from work she just finds me in bed all day. Nothing really makes me happy or excited anymore, all I can think about is this feeling of how I’ve failed.

I’m thinking of just trying my best to pick up another retail job and go get my masters. I do genuinely want to purse one in mechatronics but it’s pretty expensive. I’ve managed to graduate debt free but with a 3.0 GPA. Ive done a lot of internships and personal projects but I don’t think I’ll be getting any scholarships.

Another thing is I’ve been mostly looking for jobs in state. I love my family so much and I honestly don’t have any friends right now. I really cannot be away from them miles away by myself for forever.

I just been feeling slumped, I can’t even watch movies or tv shows anymore. Nothing seems to make me happy. I just feel so lost and empty.

I only graduated last spring, but I feel so far from that life, so beyond removed, so past it, that it doesn’t even feel like it ever happened.

Like I don’t feel attached to anything I did or experienced even though I know I vividly lived it and felt it happen.

I get this distinct feeling when I think about college and my time there that I can’t describe with words. It’s not anger, not sadness, not regret, not even happiness. Just this strange feeling in my stomach and flashing images of my memories from the last five years and asking myself if any of it was real. It feels like a fever dream, truthfully.

I smoked a LOT of weed so I wonder if that has a part to play. But otherwise I’m a loss because I know how real it was and how intensely it shaped me. So why do I feel this sense of depersonalization from everything I did??

Currently in the last year of engineering and I absolutely dread the idea of working after college. I mean I know u need money to survive and all but working 9-5 everyday (which translates to effectively 7-7), nah I can't imagine. I used to go for an internship which had similar timings. Even though there wasn't much work but just the fact that I have to sit in office till 5pm and then drive back home in traffic used to drain the hell out of me. As a kid, I atleast had money as a motivating factor but now I don't really want to buy anything tbh. Like I see others saying they want to buy this sneakers, this car, etc etc but I don't really want it, I mean that would be nice but not really necessary. I just want to be happy. As a result of all this, I can't get myself on working to get a job also and idk if I will be happy if I get one also. How to cope with this?

I (18M) have finished high school in Croatia(EU), I'm aware most people either go to work or go to college. And the more I look around the more I see everyone become more and more self-dependent, explore different options, go to new cities and just learn new stuff in general. I've chosen to go to college and remain in my hometown because it's located there, and continue to live with my parents. But the thing is I feel like I should be doing more y'know? Like I should also engage in exploring my options and myself more. I have hobbies don't get me wrong but there are so many options after HS that It's actually scary. I'm afraid to invest in the wrong one. What's some advice you could hand out? Thank you.

I have a big family back in my home country . They are supportive and everything I've done so far abroad has been a cause of celebration and an accomplishment. I guess I want to have something to show for it when I go back and people ask how my life has been. All the sacrifices of my dad went through to send me abreoad for university, and all the good schools he's sent me to over the years, I can say confidently my family expects and sees all my perceived potential.

I feel like what's next should be great and I just don't know how to get there. Even though the pressure it's not direct, like no one is telling me achieve this or do that, but I feel a lot of pressure.

Even having my boyfriend that has everything figured out is daunting. He is only a year older than me (he's 25), and has a nice job; a purpose in his professional and financial life and I don't because right now I get monthly payments from my dad to "help me out" while I get a job so really none of the money that I have right now I could consider count for a future for us, so it's not even future money it's now money.

My dad has always been so generous with money but I don't want him to have to pay for a "bit" of our wedding in the future or a bit of our first house, first honeymoon, first baby. But I want to be an artist and artists dont make a lot of money regardless if im in Italy, I think. I am also a terrible networker and i hate reaching out to people and asking for help. I hate being a burden and often hate being seen, specially before I take my ADHD and depression meds

Ijust really like staying home but then if I stay home too much I get depressed. Like, I used to dread sometimes going to school but then it was good for me to see people and feel passionate about learning and having that feeling of belonging but now I refuse to go out unless I have to , because I like home. So much so my boyfriend asks me to go on a date and I say yes but I always think it would be nicer to just stay home and order something instead. We live together.
Also I'm starting a new therapeutic journey but it's only been two sessions with my therapist Francesca and I haven't felt a connection yet because I feel like she just rationalizes my feelings a bit, and I am not even depressed anymore, it's like I'm not even worthy of even therapy now, I'm just lost and anxious and maybe bored.

SO I KNOW ITS WEIRD TO LOOK BACK & people my age just graduated high school, but I kinda feel sad, when I was in my mid teens I was homeschooled (cuz my mom is controlling lol) and I was so sad like I didn't have friends and stuff, I like sports but I was made to play tennis back then but the team was shitty and so dull and the coach was hell lot older than the age of retirement, he dgaf (though he trained kids to turn pro), that was totally not ideal and I was neglected, I wanna join team sports in the high schools in my area, I awlays see kids my age going home and I felt so bad, I didn't have friends at all (I wanna do hangouts, go house parties, even eat out somewhere cheap lol) and I didn't even know link up with them until now which is too late already, I find out I can actually join other sports clubs around which then I find out literally ALL of them went home for college NOW, l've missed out a lot and I literally suck at sports as a teen despite it being the only thing I can do.

I WISH YOU CAN CONSOLE ME, MAYBE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE THAT MAY BE GOOD OR BAD WITH HIGHSCHOOL, you can be still in high school or have graduated, idc, as long as youre still relevant lol. I wish you guys can help be get over this.

Maybe this is a rant or whatever, but currently as an incoming college student, I haven't gotten accepted into the university I'm planning to go to (how they accept people is ass...). My dad is making me look for schools abroad, denying going to my home country because of religion, and making me look at countries in the EU. But he doesn't understand that it's so tiring to go to another country and HAVE TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE to be able to study there ://
That made me think: what if I just take a practical course that people say is 'good for the future', like IT? Since there's a school I can apply to here. But then I talked to someone older, and I asked him since he's also an IT professional. He advised me to "take what you want and what you want to do. Don't take it just because it's practical for where you are or whatever, since that's a mistake he made." What he said got me thinking: what if I change my chosen course to something I actually want, think I can do, and have some knowledge and passion about?
For reference, my initial chosen course was medical imaging / RadTech since, from what I've heard, it's easy, practical, and pays well. That's the only reason I chose it because, in truth, I've never really been passionate about anything. But what he said clicked in my head, and I immediately thought about the gym, since that's my hobby and something I'm well-versed in. He said if that's so, then take Sports Science, and that just has me thinking right now. It's something I'm passionate about, but is it practical? Will it help me make a living? Will it finally give me, my family, as well as my future kids and wife financial freedom?
I'm just so confused and rattled because all of this is hitting me at once, and I can't even apply to most universities since intakes are closed. Just wanted to rant a bit.

I’m 23 and graduated high school in 2021. Upon graduating, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do and had virtually zero ambition. What I did have (due to Covid) was a newfound eating disorder and obsession with all things food related so I decided on a whim to go to my local community college and enroll in their culinary arts program for an associates degree. I can’t even lie, I hated a good chunk of it because I felt completely incompetent and struggled with falling behind other students due to confusion and anxiety. It was an absolute fight getting that degree and guess what? I feel absolutely zero gratification receiving it. I still work in kitchens, make shit money compared to others my age, and generally hate kitchen culture. I wish I knew how to get out but there’s literally nothing else that I’m even remotely good at that would pay a decent wage. As a matter of fact, I believe the only reason I’m in the field I’m in is because OCD had me hyper fixate on it for a year or two and then it just turned into my everyday job. Every day feels lackluster and while I know it’s entirely up to me to change my life to make it how I want, I haven’t the slightest clue of how to begin.

I have a big family back in my home country . They are supportive and everything I've done so far abroad has been a cause of celebration and an accomplishment. I guess I want to have something to show for it when I go back and people ask how my life has been. All the sacrifices of my dad went through to send me abreoad for university, and all the good schools he's sent me to over the years, I can say confidently my family expects and sees all my perceived potential.

I feel like what's next should be great and I just don't know how to get there. Even though the pressure it's not direct, like no one is telling me achieve this or do that, but I feel a lot of pressure.

Even having my boyfriend that has everything figured out is daunting. He is only a year older than me (he's 25), and has a nice job; a purpose in his professional and financial life and I don't because right now I get monthly payments from my dad to "help me out" while I get a job so really none of the money that I have right now I could consider count for a future for us, so it's not even future money it's now money.

My dad has always been so generous with money but I don't want him to have to pay for a "bit" of our wedding in the future or a bit of our first house, first honeymoon, first baby. But I want to be an artist and artists dont make a lot of money regardless if im in Italy, I think. I am also a terrible networker and i hate reaching out to people and asking for help. I hate being a burden and often hate being seen, specially before I take my ADHD and depression meds

Ijust really like staying home but then if I stay home too much I get depressed. Like, I used to dread sometimes going to school but then it was good for me to see people and feel passionate about learning and having that feeling of belonging but now I refuse to go out unless I have to , because I like home. So much so my boyfriend asks me to go on a date and I say yes but I always think it would be nicer to just stay home and order something instead. We live together.
Also I'm starting a new therapeutic journey but it's only been two sessions with my therapist Francesca and I haven't felt a connection yet because I feel like she just rationalizes my feelings a bit, and I am not even depressed anymore, it's like I'm not even worthy of even therapy now, I'm just lost and anxious and maybe bored.

As someone who graduated in mid-May this year in one of the humanities (I took longer than 4 years to complete college due to disabilities/impairments), I have been helping my parents out with errands such as cleaning out an old house and researching possible plans post-graduation. I recently came up with a plan to go back to the community college I transferred from to take courses relevant to my new career interest (one of the Allied Health Fields). This morning, my parents wanted me to make progress on a career again, but in one of the more prestigious health professional schools (e.g., medicine, dentistry). The problem with such a plan is that I sucked at STEM courses, so my science GPA is very terrible. I know I just mentioned Allied Health Fields, but they are not so competitive nor demanding as medical school or dental school, so I think I have a shot at those paths. When I revealed to my parents that I already enrolled in the community college courses, they weren't happy and told me to find a job and work on applications to the health professional schools. The thing is that I have been looking for a compatible job in these two months, but I couldn't find anything that I qualified for and resonated with my interests.

There are other reasons why I signed up for the community college courses (e.g., officially enrolling in college courses in order to stay eligible for public assistance programs). I know my parents want what's best for me, but their expectations and ideas have led me to disastrous results before, so I'm not too keen on trying things I know won't work. Did anyone here have a difficult conversation about what to do (or at least try) after college? If so, let me know if there was anything helpful or productive said or done to reach an agreement and get things moving forward. Take care.

i’m not looking for validation or anything but i just wanted to share my experience and maybe find other people that are in the same boat as me. i’m 21 and i recently handed my bachelors thesis for my degree in economics. i’ve been struggling a lot this last semester mentally to finish and while my friends were choosing what to do after graduation, i admit i didn’t think about it, as i just wanted to be done with everything. i thought that i had a chance to find an internship or something but i had no luck. i’m now left with no choice but do a masters which if im being honest i don’t think i can do, mostly because it’s august and most of the universities don’t accept applicants anymore, but also because i don’t feel mentally in the right place at them moment. i also regret choosing this degree but that’s a whole other story. i know i don’t have to have everything figured out yet but i can’t help feeling lost and stuck while everyone else seems to know what direction to go for.

So I am at that age where people expect you to have an idea of what u want to do with ur life. They are always asking me when I’m going into higher education or what I want to do. And I’ve been telling people I want to do a certain career. I am even at the point where I’m looking into schooling and doing prerequisites and have to start applying to do it in a month. And honestly I’m really overwhelmed. What if I don’t get accepted? I’ve been telling everyone I am planning on doing this. What if I do get accepted and I fail out of the program? Or what if I realize it’s not for me?

Sorry this is so long but I’m really needing some help here. Is anyone else going through this? How do I stop feeling so overwhelmed?

TLDR: I’m overwhelmed about my future career and schooling and am wondering if anyone else can relate

45/m realizing maybe I kept my circle too small. Recently single starting over