I’m trying to figure out whether what I’m going through is a genuine career realisation or just some kind of midlife crisis.

Here’s my story.

I’ve been working in marketing since I finished engineering. Over the last seven years, I’ve primarily worked across content marketing, SEO, content distribution, growth, and CRO. I also did a master’s in digital marketing in Ireland.

On paper, my career looks like a fairly standard marketing career. But when I look at the kind of work I’ve consistently enjoyed, I see a different pattern.

I’ve always been much more interested in understanding people than in applying short-term growth tactics.

For example, when developing a content or SEO strategy, I don’t naturally start with keywords or topics. I tend to think about the person first, their worldviews, anxieties, behaviors and then map those insights to keywords, content, and distribution strategies.

So, although my job titles have been in marketing, a common thread has always been understanding motivations and behaviour, and then building strategies or systems around them.

I’ve noticed the same thing outside of my career.

I’ve been investing as a retail investor for around five years and have read quite a bit about personal finance and investing. Again, I find myself gravitating toward the behavioural side of investing.

I’ve also recently started writing on Substack on the same.

Even my master's thesis was about understanding what motivates people to post political content online.

So when I look back at everything I’ve done, behaviour seems to be the common thread connecting most of my interests and work.

Where I’m stuck

I’m now 30, and I’m increasingly unsure whether I want to continue down the marketing path.

It’s not because I’m bad at it. My work produces results.

The problem is that I’m not enjoying it as much anymore.

With AI, a lot of marketing work has also become increasingly monotonous and robotic, at least from where I’m sitting. I’m finding it harder to feel like I’m doing deep, creative work that I can genuinely be proud of.

That has made me question whether I want to spend the next 20 years in marketing.

I’ve considered moving into finance because of my interest in investing and behavioural finance. But I’m also conscious that, at 30, there are plenty of people with much stronger formal credentials in finance than I have. I’m not sure I could make the same salary I currently make without starting considerably lower.

So I’ve started looking at careers where I can actually make use of this interest in behaviour.

A few possibilities I’ve considered:

1. Moving into fintech or a brokerage

Perhaps I could work on behavioural-finance content, investor education, customer research, or content strategy for a fintech or brokerage.

2. Going back to university

I’ve considered doing another master's from a more reputed university, this time specialising in behavioural science, behavioural economics, or a related field, and eventually moving into research.

3. Moving into behavioural science / nudge organisations

I recently came across organisations that work on behavioural research, policy design, and interventions intended to influence human behaviour.

That immediately caught my attention because it seems much closer to the kind of questions I’ve been interested in throughout my career.

But I have no idea how realistic such a transition would be for someone with my background.

So this is what I’m trying to figure out

I’m trying to figure out whether there’s a career somewhere at the intersection of behavioural science, research, communication where my existing experience could actually be an advantage.

For those who have made a significant career change after 30:

How did you approach it?

Did you gradually transition using your existing skills, or did you completely retrain?

And if you work in behavioural science, behavioural economics, or something adjacent, I’d particularly love to hear how you got there and what the actual day-to-day work looks like.

I got into banking as a teller in March of this year, and lately I’ve noticed that my lifestyle has started to feel a little too comfortable. I know banking can help me financially, and it’s a good, clean, stable job. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about it, but at the end of the day it still feels like a regular 9 to 5, and there’s not much excitement to it.

When I left my previous 9 to 5, I decided to pursue real estate. The problem was that I felt like I was doing all the dirty work for my brokerage and the rest of the team without really building my own name or business. It started to feel like I was everyone’s puppet instead of actually creating something for myself.

Now I have another job opportunity in solar sales, and I’m seriously considering leaving banking to pursue it. What attracts me to solar is that you actually have to grind for your money, and I kinda miss that feeling. At the same time, part of me likes the comfort and stability I have now. When I was unemployed and doing real estate, I barely made any money. spent a lot of time and effort going to inspections and helping with different things, and I don’t even think I got paid for most of it. So I’m stuck between missing the grind and appreciating the security I have now. Any advice?

I'm an inhouse lawyer at an energy company.(1 year) (It is not a global brand like EY, EY looks better in CV) Got an EY offer (Tax/Corporate Law, Senior-2) — better brand, hybrid work, but ~15% lower net pay and confirmed heavy overtime culture (weekends, midnight hours). My current company countered with a 30%+ raise to keep me... I have a mortgage and want stability for the next 5 years. Everyone I know is shocked that I'm leaning toward staying. Am I making a mistake, or is turning down "Big 4 prestige" for more money and stability in my current company actually the smart move here?

Hi, I think I would be a great candidate to manage a door system. I can tell when people are going to walk in my door from a mile away. I also have a bachelors in ornithology so I should be qualified. However I can’t seem to find the position at any of my local supermarkets. Does anyone know what the word for this profession is so I can find it more easily? Thank you.

I am in my mid-20s, and I have three (3) degrees: (1) Master of Public Administration, (2) Bachelor of Science in History, and (3) Bachelor of Science in Political Science. I have worked in mental health, local government, and other nonprofit development. I worked on or volunteered for federal, state, and local political campaigns (approximately 5-8). I make more than the average mid-20s-year-old, but I work two (2) jobs. I don't intend to complain or sound ungrateful-- I have been fortunate. I mention these things because there's a missing piece... I don't feel content with what I do. I feel lost and unsatisfied. I started a new job recently, but it doesn't "hit the spot." I have been told by mentors and others to "wait and see" and "give it time." When I think about the next career decision, I don't know what I want to do. I have considered a career in the private sector, but I hear horror stories from friends and relatives who work in it; also, an MPA is geared toward the public sector, not the private sector. Other careers I have considered would require a double-digit pay cut, and I don't think I would enjoy them in the end. I have considered going back to school, but I am not sure what to study, and I don't want to take on additional student loans (without knowing for sure that I would enjoy whatever field).

Do others have similar feelings or stories? Is this what the mid-20s feel like? How do you overcome these feelings? Does anyone have career advice?

I completed my BA in 2023. After that, I joined a paramedical course but left it after around 2 years. Now I’m really confused about what to do next.

I want to build my career in the IT sector, but I’m not sure which path is realistic for someone from a non-CS background.

I’m considering:

AI Engineer

Generative AI/LLM Engineer

Software Developer

Data Analyst

Or any other IT role you’d suggest

I’m willing to learn and put in the required time. I just don’t want to make another wrong career decision.

Please give me some genuine advice based on your experience. What path would you recommend and where should I start?

Basically, I need to make a lot of college decisions soon. and I’m torn between two large choices. something meaningful to me that would make my career feel important is to work with animals, like conservation-related areas. but pretty much no job in that field pays well, and I’m not certain my interest would last more than 10 years (I’m pretty good at science, but I don’t really enjoy it). Also I’ve heard most jobs relating to animals are not as amazing as they seem (apparently problems with nepotism, favoring people who come from wealthy backgrounds, being hard to ‘move up the ladder’, etc). The other thing I could do is advertising, because I love design, solving problem/coming up with ideas, and other general stuff involved with that career area. However I don’t feel that it would be meaningful at all. Most people hate ads, and it’s rare when ads actually do something good for society.

I don’t know, maybe I should find meaning outside of my job? like continue with volunteering as an adult? any advice would be great. thanks

I'm currently a pre x-ray major, and I'm hoping to get in next fall at my local CC, but I'm scared I may not get in again after I got rejected last year. So, I'm thinking of starting some accounting classes next spring, with the goal of getting my associates at my CC then transferring to a uni to finish out the 4 year, but not too sure if that would be a good gameplan or if I should look for some shorter options or other ideas.

Just wanted to throw that out there, and would love to hear any suggestions, and thx!

Originally posted in careerchange sub but.. wont let me post. Maybe can find some ideas here

I'm gearing this more for my fellow Canadians because.. well we seem to have such a unique economy and system from everyone else in the world.

So I'm 40. Single. No Kids. Renter. Nothing overly important going on and Ive been a heavy equipment mechanic for 22 years. I cant physically do it anymore and that's an understatement to what my doctor has told me. Switching to other trades is simply not an option. Last year I managed to go back to school for a semester and a half for an environmental related diploma but I quickly started burning out and running out of money since I still had to work full time and my body just cant handle that many hours a day anymore. Part time in my industry just... isn't a thing and most companies simply wont allow it. I picked environmental related program because I always dreamed about working some sort of conservation related job.

I have tried management roles.. there isn't any nice way to put how much i disliked that!

I make about 6 figures .. so I know that whatever I get into im going to be taking a pay cut.. but im trying to find something that is relatively secure with potential to move into a mediocre role OR have good potential for self employment within the next 5 - 10 years.

I have strong interests in the outdoors - but the job market for anything of interest is extremely competitive and very education intense

I have looked into IT related roles - modern equipment is surprisingly complex - featuring networking, software, data analysis, programming - but I dont see many entry level opportunities and anything that seems to show some decent progression is locked also behind stronger educational backgrounds.

I always loved the food industry. But anyone I know in it is not doing overly well!

Anyways... I know im still young and spry enough to BEGIN again. I just dont know what is out in the world for someone who has to look elsewhere due to physical conditions

Thanks!!

Hi all,

24M, graduated from a top 20 CS program in 2025 (UMD) with a bad GPA.

Worked previously as a waiter at a couple places over the years, am currently working a front desk (non technical) making $20/hr. Had 1 internship for a nonprofit doing web dev. US citizen, in Maryland.

Have tried the software dev job cycle for stretches over the last few years applying to internships in college and then full time during my last year / post grad, but basically never got anywhere with it, and was never able to sustain the leetcode/projects/networking/application grind for long enough to land anything. Always discouraged at lack of results. I basically put SWE job hunting and any self-learning for coding/projects on hold the last 5 months and just working/chilling/taking a break from it all.

Open to any ideas on paths forward, potential pivots, careers that would hire entry level STEM degrees, I've just been pretty lost and discouraged and no idea where to go from here. Software didn't seem to work out as a career path, and I'm hesitant to double down and try again harder at the same thing and just try to do better, especially given the apparent state of the entry level software market (from my network working in tech, a lot of them recently got laid off from Microsoft, google, etc. and the rest say their teams aren't hiring entry level devs anymore)

That being said, if breaking into software isn't a viable path forward, not sure what I should try to do next, since I have a CS degree and that's where my relevant projects/experience is at. Generally very discouraged / overwhelmed with despair when thinking about the future, or reading possible prospects , job boards, etc.

We had a major reorganization in our department and I found out that I would be losing my direct report because it didn't meet the threshold for the new standard which is three direct reports. My immediate bosses were going to assign another person with a third in the near future. This appeased HR but I would need to have sign off from my executive leader and then CEO. My executive leader was on board but they won't take the request to the CEO. Why? Because I am a remote worker and the RTO policy that was implemented this year was that remote workers would need to have the CEO signoff. I thought this meant promotions or lateral job movements, but apparently that means that major scope changes to existing jobs. My executive doesn't want to take this to the CEO since no has yet and they don't want to be first. In the meantime, I am being cockblocked.

The changes would set me on the right direction for a promotion within the next year or so. My boss and his boss are being great and I know it isn't their fault. They are offering me to change my workload and scope within reason to what I want to do. They are trying to make the best of this. But this puts me in a major bind. I don't know if this is a temporary thing or not. I am assuming it is going to be the way it is for at least a year or two before get a final answer. I could wait it out but with the re-org, my bosses are going to re-org the team and I am going to miss a chance to get to the next step in my career. No guarantee if and when this gets lifted, and if it does, I am not at the front of the line for a promotion.

I have 10 years with the company and overall, my work-life balance is great. I am remote and paid very well. I love working with my team and the work is great. I have gotten excellent reviews for several years and been awarded stock awards on top of that. I asked to be submitted for my case to be pleaded to the CEO but doubt they will do it. If I give my remote status, I can't ever get it back and going into the office is not sustainable. I live too far away.

I am updating my resume and going to start looking for other roles, but how should I approach my job in the meantime? I have taken extra responsibilities and project on top of my current role with the hopes it would show off my skills and position me better for work. My boss still wants me to manage my direct report even though they won't report to me in the system. Going back to an individual contributor and giving up the extra duties feels kind of childish but I see the logic in it if I am not going to be considered for promotions. I could take the blank check they are giving me and carve out work that would look great on my resume but I am not sure if need it.

Hey all - This is the official 2026 salary-sharing thread for the community and to understand career prospects in USA.

The goal is simple: share real compensation numbers so others can benchmark themselves, negotiate better, and understand what different roles and industries are paying.

I took inspiration from a great 2025 salary thread from last year; shared in comments.

Data roles are the main focus (Data Science, Data Engineering, Analytics, BI, etc.), but CS/IT and other tech-related roles are absolutely welcome too.

Please include hard numbers where possible. Throwaway accounts are completely fine if you want to stay anonymous.

Salary Template

Title/Role:
Tenure length overall:
Location:
Remote/Hybrid/On-site:
Base Salary:
Company/Industry:
Tenure length in Company:
Education:
Prior Experience :
Relocation/Signing Bonus:
Stock/RSUs:
Annual/Recurring Bonus:
Total Compensation:

Feel free to add anything else that you think would be useful (company size, HCOL/MCOL/LCOL, YOE, etc.).

And of course, discussion is encouraged so feel free to ask questions about compensation, negotiation, career growth, or how different roles compare.

Let's see how careers are shaping up and what 2026 is looking in this crazy economy :)

September 2025-Present- I’ve been taking classes to apply to ABSN programs but I need a fallback plan. I do not have these courses on my resume as I believe it would raise questions.

Jan 2025 - September 2025 - business operations associate at startup.
Here, I had tasks in office management, compliance, Bizops, investor relations and HR. Got burnt out quickly, was threatened with a PIP.

Aug 2024-Oct 2024 - professional development contract employee at top law firm
Short contract, just helped them welcome new attorneys and log CLE hours

Nov 2022 - March 2024 - office coordinator at hedge fund
Dabbled in admin tasks, had mostly reception and office management duties.

May 2022 BA in English

I really wanted to break into communications and media after college but that never happened. I feel like my college internships which were art related are irrelevant now.

I do not want to be an executive assistant unless that leads to different roles. What would you suggest I do?

I am 28 and live in a VHCOL area and would like something that can help me live comfortably. That is a main reason why I am pursuing nursing. It will take 2 years. I am applying to nursing schools this winter, but want to see what my options are. Should I stay the course, or pivot again? I don’t want to come across as someone who can’t make up their mind.

Hi All,

Feeling so lost 26 male. I hate my Desk job and i don't want to move up the ladder pay is shit and i feel like most of the job at my company will get replaced by Ai in the next few years, honestly im counting days to be able to leave.

Been thinking about Join Air force and doing my electrical apprenticeship while getting the army benefits and a new experience in life, as i couldn’t land an apprenticeship in Melbourne. I don’t care too much about making insane money i just want a career I’m proud of.

Saying that what career path do you recommend for someone who enjoys being out door and in the sun and working with my hands i don’t really enjoy talking to people a lot.

Someone others i have considered besides electrical is either roofing, fencing, Arborist ( crazy low pay) and landscaping but landscaping seems so saturated and not enough of money to be able to support my self.

I thought at 26 i would have things figured out but i don’t while everyone around me has already started their graduate jobs and moving up. I have Diploma in counseling but couldn’t land a job for a year kinda gave up as you need to go back to uni to do master and ….

Hi all, I have a bachelors in Psychology but I realized quickly after I don’t want anything to do with the field. It’s a bit too emotional for me. I’m currently working for a corporate company in an entry level position testing equipment. I love baking & food and I love business and I’m looking into something that is related to those fields. I wish I got a bachelors in business instead. I’m looking into going for an MBA or a dual masters degree with a masters in food science & MBA combined. Is this something that is worth it to pursue? I mention it to people I know but they say what if I come out of the degree still unsure of where to apply or work after?

I’m currently a rising college senior recruiting for full-time jobs, and honestly, I’ve been struggling to figure out what I want my career to look like.

For context, I’ve interned across consulting, banking, and engineering, but none of them ever felt like the right fit. A lot of my friends finished their internships thinking, “I could genuinely see myself doing this,” and I’ve never had that feeling. I’m fortunate to already have a return offer, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something out there that would make me happier.

I’m trying to find a job where I feel fulfilled by the work, make a decent amount of money, and have enough WLB to enjoy my life outside of work (I know that’s a really hard reach for a first job lol).

But I’ve also never felt particularly drawn to traditional corporate life. I’ve always imagined myself doing work that’s high-impact and creative, and sometimes it feels like corporate environments just suck the life out of me. So while I’m recruiting for consulting and big tech, I’ve also been seriously considering startups.

The problem is that I have no idea how to figure out which startups are actually worth applying to, or how to muster the courage to take the risk of stepping away from the more traditional path. I’d especially love to hear from people in tech/startups about how they approached this.

It’s also complicated by the fact that my partner and I are trying to close our LDR, so I’m balancing my career prospects with theirs and trying to figure out where we should live.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been in a similar position, and maybe some reassurance too:

1. How did you decide between startups and a traditional corporate path?
2. How did you figure out what kind of work/environment was actually right for you?
3. How did you find a company or role that ended up being a good fit?

I’d especially love to hear how people navigated this uncertainty when they didn’t have a clear sense of what they wanted to do after graduation.

Hi everyone, I’m kind of stuck between going into software engineering or IT and could really use some advice. My end goal is cybersecurity, either as a cybersecurity analyst or engineer. My original plan was IT support → system administration → cybersecurity. I’m hoping to move through the first stages relatively quickly, ideally spending around a year to a year and a half in IT support before moving into system administration, because I’d like to reach a more livable salary of around $50K–$60K as soon as I reasonably can and then work up from there. While I’m searching for an it support job, I’m starting to learn and prepare for a system admin job in the meantime.

The problem is that getting an IT support job has been really difficult in the current job market. I’ve been trying to get my foot in the door, and honestly, it’s becoming pretty demoralizing. Because of that, I’ve started considering software engineering → DevOps → cybersecurity instead, mainly because I feel like I could reach that $50K–$60K range faster through software.

The problem is that I genuinely don’t enjoy software development. I struggle with the creative/abstract thinking that comes with coding, and looking at hundreds or thousands of lines of code can become overwhelming for me. If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to be a software developer. The main reason I’m considering it is the money. However if people who actually enjoy software development and are good at it are struggling to find jobs right now, I’m worried about my chances when I’d be entering the field mainly for the salary.

I’m also concerned about AI potentially reducing the amount of junior-level software development work and possibly affecting entry-level salaries. If that happens, then the main reason I’m considering software engineering disappears, and I could end up spending all this time preparing for a career I already know I wouldn’t enjoy.
So I’m really torn. I want to go into IT because I think I’d actually enjoy it more and it leads toward the career I ultimately want, but I also want to be financially stable relatively soon. I don’t know what to do.

I was at my old job about 5 years and while I had my ups and downs, I was a mostly-high performer on a team that specialized in dealing with some of the more complex issues/cases within my department. It was a little monotonous and boring, and I really wanted more stimulation/challenge at the time (and I really wanted to raise my income as well, as I’ve got a dependent now).

My old job was wfh, decent pay, great benefits low stress although boring. My new job is in office (20 mile commute, 35-45 minutes usually) 20% higher pay, slightly less in benefits, very high stress and very complex and difficult work. They never trained me, they believe in “trial by fire”

My question is would it be weird or crazy to reach out to my old boss and express interest in coming back?? I left on good terms. Only thing is I have not seen any openings in our department on the website. It’s a pretty large department around 70 people so I’m hoping someone will leave or get promoted or potentially the department grows.

Training for my old position takes about 3 months + another 3 months to ramp up to speed. So I think they would save a ton of money and time if they hired me vs anyone else without experience in the company.

How would I even approach that conversation??

As the title says, I now have a lot of time to kill at work where I could be doing some work to improve my resume, and I think that this field would be a good one for me.

I've already got a master's degree in IR, and live in the far east. Are there any particularly worthy skills or liscenses to develop that would help me to find a good job in this area? I'm flexible with regard to what the subject is and ready to put in the work to do it.

I'm a supervisory PM at a small company but most of my day to day is closer to a foreman for a very specialized type of work. I have a job lined up in January (government) but I'm not sure if I should give more notice because:

Everyone internal is either 1-2 years minimum from being able to fill my role, or capable but has their plate full. Qualified outside hires exist but are hard to find.

My gut says it will be ok, and that my boss will have to split it with whoever has time, and they will get the work done but be stagnant on growth/bidding/etc.

I have an opportunity this fall to train the person I see best fit to replace me, but I don't want to make it obvious that I'm leaving by my boss seeing me show her everything and include her every day as a shadow. I also can't trust her to keep it on the DL that I'm leaving.

This is my first time in a management role and I've heard different advice on 2 weeks being enough or not. And I am aware they could fire me or I could die and it would be a similar situation.

BUT,

I don't want to burn the bridge because it's a small world and I'm staying in it as an industry advocate. If I give two weeks, it would give them about 3.5 months to get their shit together (permitting and equipment readiness) before the actual spring work would start.

So for context, I am a hospitality professional with 8 years of Hotel experience 4 of which were in a senior management role my title is Front Desk Manager, but I am second only to the GM of a boutique hotel in a Midwest tourist destination, and having the second largest amount of employees on the property behind housekeeping anyway in my personal life I got married and bought a home and now I'm finding it extremely difficult to relocate to where my home is full time. (Currently only spend half the year there) an now I have been looking on and off for about 8 months with some success mostly interviews (lots of ghosting)

I haven't landed anything yet the area I'm living in half time doesn’t have a lot of what I'm used to work wise, but being a hotelier I can do it all I effectively am looking down the barrel of either changing industries or commuting 1:30 to 2:00hrs each way for work (been taking about potentially get a studio or shared bedroom closer to where ever I end up getting a job at) the closest place I had a interview was 45 mins away so given the situation any advice?

i am a forensic science student looking for a good morning (5-11am 5 days a week) job. i have open availability on the weekends. i was wondering if anyone had suggestions on what to do for work? i applied as a unit clerk and a few other things, id love to do something with peds but ive heard they’re very competitive. just let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas on job titles or opportunities as im trying to figure it out still

So my senior lead dev put in his two weeks notice about a month ago and now I am basically the only person left who understands how the logic flow actually works in our main legacy system. We are talking about a massive spaghetti monster that has been built over eight years with zero documentation and a lot of hacky fixes that somehow kept us afloat during the last high traffic season. When he left everyone just shrugged it off like it was no big deal but now every single bug or minor update falls on my desk and my slack notifications are basically a war zone from 8am to 10pm. The mangement team seems to think that becuse the site is still running everything is fine and I can just absorb his entire workload without any compensation change because we are a family or whatever corporate nonsense they are pushing this week.

The reality is that if I decided to walk out tomorrow or even just took a sick week the entire production enviornment would probably catch fire within forty eight hours because no one else even knows where the config files are stored or how the CI pipelines are actually triggered manually when the auto scripts fail. I am currently doing the job of two and a half people while still getting paid my original mid level salary and it is starting to get old really fast. I know I have a lot of leverage right now but I do not want to come across as a total jerk who is shaking the company down the second things get difficult even though that is exactly what they deserve for not having a backup plan. I need to figure out how to frame this as a market adjustment or a lead role promotion instead of just saying pay me more or watch the servers melt.

I have been trying to document things but honestly there is so much technical debt that it would take me six months of doing nothing else just to get a decent wiki started and they keep piling on new feature requests like we have a full team. I am reaching my breaking point because I am tired of being the only person who gets paged at 3am for things that I did not even write in the first place. It feels like I am being punished for being competent enough to figure out Mike's mess while everyone else just stays in their little silos and ignores the fire. If I go to my manager and ask for a thirty percent bump he is going to say it is not in the budget but we both know that hiring a contractor to replace me would cost them triple that and it would take months for a new guy to even find the login credentials for the db.

There has to be a way to navigate this without burning bridges because I actually like the product but I hate the way the workload has shifted. Maybe I should just stop fixing the minor stuff and let a few non critical systems fail so they see what happens when I am spread too thin. It is just annoying that I have to play these games just to get paid fairly for the actual value I am providing to the stack. I am just tired of the constant fire drills and the lack of recognition for being the literal glue holding the infra together right now. My coffee is cold and I have three more tickets to close before I can even think about lunch.

I’m 22M and currently in my final year of BCA.

To be completely honest, I’ve wasted a lot of time. I had Science (Biology) in 12th, but after 12th I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my career. I was confused and ended up wasting almost a year doing nothing. 😥

Then someone suggested that I should do BCA. I didn’t want to waste another year, so I joined BCA without really knowing much about the field.

But unfortunately, I ended up wasting most of my BCA too. I barely attended college or classes, didn’t build any proper skills, and now I’m in my final year feeling like I know almost nothing. 😭

The strange part is that I used to be a topper at one point in school, but that feels like a completely different version of me now. 😢

I don’t really have much of a social life either. I don’t have close friends or a proper friend group to hang out with. I also don’t have many people to talk to, so I spend a lot of time overthinking instead of actually doing something. 😥

Now I have only one year left and I genuinely don’t know what direction to take.

Should I seriously pursue BCA/tech and try to build a career from scratch, or should I consider something completely different?

And with AI changing the tech industry so quickly, does software development still have a future for someone who is basically starting from zero at 22?

I’d really appreciate advice from seniors, BCA graduates, developers, or anyone who has been in a similar situation.

If you were in my position, what would you do with the next 12 months?

Please be honest. I’m not looking for fake motivation. I genuinely need some direction. 🙏

I’ve been at my current job for about a year. It’s my first real “big girl job” after school, and although I’ve learned a lot, I’ve realized over time that it isn’t really the right fit for me.

It’s a pretty stressful environment and definitely not a traditional 9-to-5. I regularly have things come up in the evening, last-minute issues, and a hard time completely disconnecting from work. I’ve been feeling drained for quite a while and in burn out.

Recently, I received another job opportunity that seems much better suited to me in terms of schedule, working conditions, work-life balance, and just generally what I’m looking for. I have been very excited about it

The part I feel guilty about is my boss.

We’re a very small workplace, and one of my coworkers resigned only about one or two weeks ago. If I leave as well, my boss will be left with only one other employee for a while, and that employee also has vacation coming up soon.

My trip was already planned for next week, so based on when the new employer wants me to start, I would most likely tell my boss I’m leaving shortly after I return. I’d probably be giving her around 10 days’ notice rather than the traditional two weeks.

For context, where I live, two weeks’ notice isn’t legally required in my situation. It’s more of an unwritten professional courtesy. I work in the legal field, so I know about it.

What bothers me is that I know my leaving is going to make my boss’s life significantly harder, especially right after someone else already quit.

I’m also worried she’ll think the other coworker and I somehow planned this together because our resignations are happening so close to each other. We absolutely didn’t. My coworker’s decision had nothing to do with mine, and the timing is genuinely a coincidence.

At the same time, this other opportunity genuinely seems much healthier for me, and I don’t think it makes sense to give it up solely because there’s never going to be a “good” time for me to leave.

I keep going back and forth between thinking, “This is just how employment works, people leave,” and feeling like I’m screwing over someone who has relied on me for the past year.

So, WIBTA for accepting the new job and leaving my boss short-staffed, knowing another employee just resigned and that I can only give her around 10 days’ notice?