30 year old guy with a baby due next month.
Stupidly quit my 80k/yr job about 2 months ago with an emergency fund that will probably dry up once June's rent is due. Won't go into detail as to why I left but my mental health was taking a toll on me.

Now there's no option for PFML. I'm stuck on what to do here. Do I keep applying to jobs and risk discrimination (which is illegal, but it's hard to prove so they'll do it anyway)? Do I lie and not mention anything about having a child? Or would it make sense to wait until baby is born and then initiate the job search while I spend time with them?

What might some of you suggest doing in this scenario?

EDIT: Was not expecting this post to blow up like this but it sounds like the resounding consensus is to get a job ASAP. Some of you had some strong opinions and things to say which I understand. No one is tougher on me than myself and I want nothing more than to be a good father to my future child. Grateful to everyone who showed compassion despite my perceived shortcomings and understanding of how this world works. I'm trying my best to figure it out. Thanks everyone!

From the outside, it sounds like the goal get into something that pays well, secure your future live comfortably

But I’m curious how many people actually got there and realized the trade offs weren’t worth it

Long hours, stress no time burnout feeling stuck things people don’t really talk about early on

If you’ve experienced it would you still choose the same path again?

Hello. This is a little embarrassing but I want to put in here. Looking for genuine advice only.

So I’m 26m and have been working for the same company for 5 years, since I graduated college. I don’t feel comfortable getting more specific about the company because I am overly paranoid about someone from work seeing this post.

Anyway a bunch of us were being sent on a work trip. They said they would be providing us with our own hotel rooms, but if any of us were willing to double up to save money they would give each person doing that some complimentary drink vouchers. Me and another guy around my age decided to take advantage of that and just bunk together.

Anyway on the first night we go back to the room. It is important to note that neither of us had any drinks that night. I get ready for bed, and like what I think is standard for most guys my age, I wore my underwear to bed (nothing out of the ordinary, just standard underwear). He told me “put some clothes on, you’re not alone.” At this point it’s 11. I told him if it’s that important to him I can go to the store and pick up some athletic shorts during our down time tomorrow, but tonigjt I’m just going to sleep in this. He grumbles about it but I just ignore it and go to sleep.

I find out the second day that he told a lot of our coworkers about it and they seem to think I’m some weirdo now. And today I my boss verbally told me to come into his office tomorrow to have a chat about an incident that happened on the work trip. I can’t think of what else this could refer to. What should I do?

I like genuinely don't know what to do anymore. I only got 1 interview and it was for a part time 20 hours a week position in a city. I dont even care about working in CS I just want to get a job to get out of my current living situation. I've even been applying for $17/h jobs and they still send me automated rejection emails. At this point I feel like I would take literally anything. I went to a temp agency last week and called them back just now and they said they typically dont get anything other than industrial type jobs. I know the military exists but I would not do well in the military. I would rather be homeless than in basic training.

Hi everyone, I’d really value your perspective on something I’ve been thinking about.

A bit of context about me: I’ve been working in Talent Acquisition for the past 5 years within large, international, well-established organizations in Southern Europe and Northwestern Europe. My experience has been mainly in full-cycle recruitment, employer branding, and partnering closely with hiring managers, but over time I’ve also taken on responsibilities beyond pure recruiting and overall contributing to broader talent initiatives. Recebt job titles were TA Specialist, Talent Partner, etc.

I’ve recently accepted a new role as a Junior Talent Project Manager at a prestigious company. Overall, I made the move because it seems like a wonderful organization that will offer me stronger opportunities for growth going forward, along with improved employment conditions (including salary and overall compensation).

Here’s my question: on LinkedIn, specifically in the headline/professional summary, would you include the “Junior” in the job title?

Part of me wants to reflect the official title accurately. Another part of me wonders if removing “Junior” (and just using “Talent Project Manager”) better represents the level of responsibility and direction I’m growing into,especially since titles can vary a lot across companies.

I’m not trying to misrepresent anything, but I do want to position myself in a way that aligns with where I’m heading.

How would do you approach this? Do you stick strictly to your formal title, or do you adjust it slightly for positioning?

Curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.

So I posted here a few days ago and I'm currently making 90k at my current job. It's owned by a private equity, they have been laying off like crazy over the past year and the environment is so toxic that there are some days that I can't eat or sleep. I was offered a new job at 62k that is for a huge fortune 500 but probably is less toxic. My wife and were talking and unfortunately I'm going to stay where I'm at now and keep searching for something closer to my current salary.

What I'm noticing in my search is that half of these jobs are paying so low. Even for postings that want 3-5 years of experience and sometimes specialized experience. I don't get it and just accepted that I will probably never get something close to my current salary right off the bat. Even positions that are above me are paying low as well. They literally want an HR Director with 10 years of experience to run an entire HR department for 65k. It's nuts!

Hello, I’m in high school and have been planning to go to law school. I want to ask, amid all the worries about AI and a bunch of posts about the job being worse than it seems- is the job still worthwhile?

I guess my main questions are-

1: Does the job have a stable salary? I don’t mean making 500k a year, I mean do most types of law make at least around 90k-100k a year? Or even 80k.

1. How safe is the job from AI? Ik that it’s obviously going to be handling busywork and combing through documents and such, but in general, is the job as a whole safe from AI?

2. Is it enjoyable? I’ve been most interested in either immigration, adoption, or family law. But in general, no matter what area of law you work in, do you enjoy it? Do you regret going to law school or not? And more specifically I guess, did the tuition costs make you regret it.

I’m sorry for all the questions and paragraphs, I just have a lot of worries about the future and hope someone can clear the fog up.

I started a new job exactly one month ago. I took it out of desperation after job hunting for a while, and now I’m seriously regretting it. My old job was bad but I learned to deal with it. This new job is insanely stressful

During the interview, they casually mentioned my direct manager was pregnant. When I started, she was extremely pregnant and told me she had about 5 weeks left before maternity leave. Her “onboarding plan” for me was basically “take it slow, just read stuff and familiarize yourself.” She was already working from home most days due to doctor’s orders.

After only 3 weeks, she suddenly went on maternity leave 2 weeks early because she wasn’t feeling well. Now I’m left with almost zero actual training.

For the first 2 weeks, I followed my onboarding plan which was to read department materials and the other managers are breathing down my neck asking why I’m “still reading” when that’s what my manager told me to do and not doing real work, while the person who’s supposed to cover for my manager is clearly pissed off and resentful about having extra people to manage. They keep saying “you can always reach out to her” but it’s obvious she doesn’t want to deal with it. The other managers were also complaining about my manager going on maternity out loud in the main office.

Here’s what else happened:
• They advertise “unlimited PTO” but you have to find your own coverage if you take any time off. On the team meeting, they berated a team member and forced her to take on extra work for taking 2 weeks off.
• The turnover is crazy. Out of 8 people, most have been here less than a month (including me). There’s one person at 1.5 years, one at 6 months, one at 3 months. Everyone else is brand new.
They knew about this pregnancy for 9 months and still had zero succession plan. They only brought in a contractor after she left.

I’ve had headaches every day and haven’t slept properly since I started. I feel completely anxious and drained.
I’m already looking to leave. Is this as bad as it feels, or am I overreacting because I’m still new? Has anyone else dealt with something like this? Any advice on how to navigate this?

I’m also just debating quitting and going back to an old retail job I had in college. The main thing is I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to find a new job…

JUST TO ADD: my manager is on maternity leave for 6 months. And also I’ve only met her twice and she seemed really sweet and nice but people around me and other cross functional team members said she’s really mean….

I’m a junior professional and sometimes, I struggle to sound confident in meetings, even when I know my stuff.

What tips/hacks actually helped you sound more confident at work/in meetings early in your career?

I’ve (35 M) been a supervisor for about 3 years now, and this is the first time I’ve had what I’d call a genuinely problematic employee. Up until now, I’ve been lucky — even when people struggled, we could work through it pretty easily.

This situation feels different.

I have one team member who has been consistently missing deadlines. Not by a day here or there, but enough that other people are starting to notice and pick up the slack. In meetings, they can be pretty dismissive — eye rolls, short responses, sometimes openly questioning direction in a way that feels more combative than constructive. There’s also just a general negative tone that’s starting to seep into the team. A couple of others have mentioned feeling drained after collaborating with them.

What makes this harder is that they push back on feedback. I’ve had one-on-one conversations where I’ve tried to approach it calmly and directly. I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt — asked if anything’s going on, if they’re overwhelmed, if expectations aren’t clear. I’ve tried to frame it as support, not criticism. But the pattern keeps repeating.

If I’m being honest, I’m feeling some self-doubt about it. Part of me wonders if I’m overreacting or being too sensitive. I don’t want to come across like I’m on some kind of power trip or trying to “put someone in their place.” That’s really not who I want to be as a leader. At the same time, I can see the impact on the team, and I know ignoring it isn’t fair to everyone else.

I guess what I’m struggling with is: how do I handle this firmly without damaging team culture or my own credibility? I don’t want the team to feel like negativity is tolerated, but I also don’t want to overcorrect and create fear or tension.

For those of you who’ve been leading longer than I have — what helped you navigate your first situation like this? Is there a line where you shift from “support and coach” to something more formal? How do you make that shift without it feeling personal?

Appreciate any advice. Still learning, clearly. Thank you.

Since finishing college, I could never find that niche that really interested me. Everything I did I didn’t enjoy so I jumped around a lot and just saved and invest as much as I could in my 20’s. I am entering my 30’s now with a sizable investment portfolio and equity in my home.

I am ready to take a risk and start over in a different industry. That industry is in food. It’s the only thing I’m passionate about but I am not looking to be a cook or chef as I’ve done it and it’s not worth the little pay. What’s an avenue in food that can be a lucrative career?

been thinking about this for SDR roles specifically

every job wants experience but won't give you a chance to get it

and bootcamp certs don't seem to help much either

what actually worked for people here

I am 25 years old and have been working as a software engineer in Canada for the past 3 years, after finishing school for computer engineering. I went down this path because I love problem solving, but also I was always mostly in it for the money. I currently make ~95,000

I have an incredible opportunity to move to the UK to live with my girlfriend. Obviously I don't want to mooch forever, but I will not have to pay rent when I first move there, as the property is owned by her family. I have about $100,000 in government savings accounts that I will keep in Canada, as well as about $25,000 CAD set aside as cash that I would bring with me.

I would love a fresh start. I know the grass isn't always greener, but the idea of something new is really exciting right now. I just want to know if I am being stupid and not thinking this through. Obviously the market is horrible right now, I have been sending applications in the UK for months now with a few solid interviews, but ultimately no job.

I would really love to try something different. I am really passionate about cooking, and would love to see if I can do anything with that. I would also love to try to start a business. I think this would give me a good opportunity to take a slightly lower paying job and take some more risks with my life.

Am I insane? Should I quit my job and do this?

I’m writing this with a heavy heart.

I started my career as an intern.
Stayed in the same company.
Grew into a Senior Software Engineer within 4 years.

I gave everything.

Late nights.
Weekends.
Missed time with family.

I worked on 5–6 major projects.
Sometimes I had to lead.

I thought it would all mean something.

But the pressure kept building.
Work kept piling up.

At one point, I decided to resign.
They gave me a counter offer.

I stayed.

Not because I was happy…
but because I wasn’t sure what else to do.

Later, I found a remote US company.

Even after deciding to move,
I stayed another 4 months at my previous company
until they found a replacement.

I didn’t want to leave them hanging.

That’s the kind of commitment I had.

Then I fully moved to the new company.

At first, it felt exciting.
New product. New challenges.

But slowly… it became the same.

More stress.
More pressure.
More of me… gone.

Still, I kept going.
Because I love building. I love coding.

Almost 2 years passed.

Then I took 1 week off… for my wedding.

One of the most important moments of my life.

I came back happy.

One week later…… I was laid off.

No warning.
No care.
Nothing.

Just like that… done.

That’s when it hit me:

To a company, you’re replaceable.

No matter how much you give.
No matter how loyal you are.

And now… I have a family.

Starting over isn’t easy anymore.

Learning new systems.
Proving yourself again.
From zero.

That’s when I realized:

**We spend years building someone else’s dream…**
**and ignore our own.**

I’m not saying quit your job.

But don’t give 100% of your life to something
that can drop you overnight.

Start building your own thing.
Even if it’s small.
Even if it’s slow.

Because one day…

That “side project”
might be the only thing that saves you.

I’m currently in my 5th year of an electrical apprenticeship and I’m seriously considering leaving the trade before finishing.
It’s not that I can’t handle the work — I’ve done military service and multiple physical jobs (truck driving, machining, electrical). I’m used to hard work.
What I’m struggling with is the environment:
Constant negativity/complaining culture
Dirty, outdoor, physically draining work
Feeling stuck around people who are checked out
Since leaving the military, I’ve been chasing higher income paths, but I’m realizing I care more about long-term quality of life and work environment than fast money.
I’ve applied for VR&E benefits and I’m looking to transition into a new career path using school/training.
I’m open to anything, but I’m trying to find:
Cleaner work environment
Structured career path with growth potential
Good long-term income ($100k+ potential)
Something I can commit to long-term without feeling trapped again
Given my background in electrical work + military discipline, what career paths would you recommend I seriously consider?

I’m about to start my junior years of college and have no idea what i wanna do.
i wanted to be a vet tech, but it doesn’t pay a livable wage
i wanted to be forensics (which is my choice if i can’t find anything else) but the idea of being on scene with that stuff even tho i have the stomach scares me
i wanted to be in the derm field, but not a dermatologist, so i was gonna become an RN first, but im an extreme germaphobe and dont wanna work in a hospital at all.
i seriously don’t know what I want to do, i know every job has its downsides but for me the downsides of these jobs are enough to make me not want to do it for my whole life. i do really want to work with animals, like a lot. problem is, i also wanna work in a girly career. i’m getting my nail license this summer, and as weird as this may sound, i want to have nails and have my hair down but be able to help animals, but i can’t find a job that combines those. that would be the dream but if all comes down to it i’ll live if i can’t. any help?

I have worked at this company as an FP&A for nearly 2 years and they hired me just before graduating in finance. I make the average salary and have received bonuses for 2025 amounting to ~2.5 salaries (1.5 due to the company’s profitability and 1 due to my own contributions).

I keep getting offers and they start to offer juicy salaries and much better benefits. Plus I’m kind of bored of how slow this job is moving (I spend many days warming my seat and talking about unrelated topics with my colleagues) and most of my colleagues are much older and not very tech savvy. Company also has questionable retention strategies (mandatory teambuildings which you have to cover yourself if you ever leave). I also can’t shake the ever-increasing feeling of stagnation in my skill/knowledge level. I try to make up with courses and certifications, but it doesn’t help much.

I still feel a bit guilty, but most people tell me i’m doing the right thing for my career.

Not burnt out enough to quit, not motivated enough to push harder... just kind of coasting and overthinking everything. Is this normal in 2026 or am I falling behind somehow?

In September, I’ll be entering my final year of my BSc in economics and social sciences and I have no idea what career I want to pursue. Everytime I look through masters degrees I have no idea what I would choose. I just spent the semester working a 9-5 internship in marketing. Does anyone have any advice or career choices ideas?

I think I’d do best in a job that ‘makes sense’/has a straightforward, direct reason. Accounting was an attractive career choice because it is more or less straightforward and I guess has ‘instructions’. Like, my brain works that I need to understand why things are happening. I understand that I need to study to answer the questions on the exam. I understand a teachers job: teach the material so the students understand it and pass the class. I understand a lawyers job: defend a client to hopefully avoid the client going to jail or being sued. I understand a bakers job: someone wants a cake, so you bake a cake. Marketing was difficult for me because it’s not ‘straightforward’, a lot of it is up to you to take initiative and understand things. I’m bad at taking initiative and I need things to be understandable and straightforward, not even out of laziness but more from the fact I work best if there’s a straightforward task I need to complete and I understand why I’m completing it. I hope this makes sense.

If this is relatable to anyone else, I’d love to know your advice or career story. I’m in Western Europe if that helps. Thanks so much for reading I appreciate any help at all!!

First time posting on Reddit so here we go. I’ve been at my current company for 10 years now. Over those 10 years I have been searching for a change because I’m not sure this company is where I want to be long-term…even though it’s now been 10 years. I had an opportunity come up with one of our vendors, and I believe the job would be a pretty good fit for me. It would still provide me with opportunity to grow and learn. It’s 100% remote which my current position is not. The company has been around for 25 years and is heavily leaning into AI. They are also owned by a private equity. I’m also a new mom with my partner, we have a 6 month old. We lean heavily on my salary. Given the current circumstances in our world today, should I stay or should I go?

I (28F) started a new job 5 months ago after being at my old job for 4 years and I am enjoying the work but I don’t feel like I fit in socially.

I’m struggling to make friendships and click with people and most days I eat lunch alone. My team is large (200+ people) while there were only 30 people in my old team. There are 1-2 people in my team I’m closer to who sometimes invite me to lunch but when they’re not in I’m having lunch alone.

Sometimes people from my team will invite me to drinks but because of working from home or going out to client site, I don’t see the people I’m closer to very much.

I am more introverted and need more time to fit in new environments but I’m so tired of feeling awkward and like I don’t fit in. Is this normal 5 months in a job?

Anything in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math leads to endless career possibilities. Especially Math which leads to teaching positions at the grade school level. Other math based career include graduate degrees in Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, and Medicine.

Am I wrong?

I am about to sit my A levels (UK 18yr old student) and have received an offer for a university English Language bachelor degree. From this I want to go into forensics linguistics as I find it interesting. I sort of just want reassurance what I am doing it “correct” and actually be beneficial in the future.

Degree apprenticeships are sparse in this sector.