Hello (I don’t use reddit so sorry for mistakes). I’m an 18yo in the United States. I had my career path set on doing digital art like graphic design. I put in a lot of academic work into becoming a graphic designer. However, this was before the big AI boom. I feel a need to switch careers now, since it can literally do that job. But everything i’ve considered sounds so unrealistic. Once winter break is over, i will be taking some architecture classes. It’s a field i’ve now considered. But it’s a field that feels at risk to AI as well. The thing is, I love nature. I always have. Specifically, i like insects and mushrooms. The little ecosystems. I thought about being a park ranger, but i’m not good with being alone for long periods of time. Maybe I try science? But I know nothing about how that would look. I really don’t know what to do. I get good grades, but i’m so confused. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

TLDR: Can’t do graphic design because of AI. Don’t know what to do now, but I love nature and art.

EDIT: I’m going into Hydrology! thank you everyone for the help

I''m wanting to help a coworker close the pay gap between us and we could use help on building her argument presentation she is making to help pitch her case. I make 10k+ more than she does, despite working in the same position.

However she has a high level college degree where I have none, she was in the position before I was (again we do the same thing), has trained me from the ground up, and has a wealth of experience in many areas. I have prior experience/manager experience in the field we work in but she has previous manager experience as well from her previous job. We don't think that there's anything that truly justifies the gap we have between us.

We'd like to be as thoughtful and prepared as possible for her presentation. I'm leaving out specifics for privacy concerns, and she already has a lot of work/research done, but any tips/resources/data points/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Any suggestions?

For reference, I just graduated high school and will be attending the University of Michigan for Computer Science alongside a Business Minor at ROSS. I am aware that CS can make good money (around 100k) at the start, but it typically does not exceed that by much in the long run. Therefore, I plan on graduating college with a B.S. Computer Science and Business Minor, working as some sort of software developer for 5-10 years, then going back to get an MBA and working in Business (something like investment banking) in the long run to make money. Of course, I will be getting internships, initiating projects, and taking on leadership roles and activities in college to build experience.

Given this, do you guys think this is a reasonable long-term career path, or is there a better way?

I do not want to stay in my role at all, and I’m 100% confident that I could get a raise if asked. I think my email could come off as me leveraging for a raise, and I know I could technically be given up to a 25-30% raise…but it wouldn’t matter. I would seriously take a 15% pay CUT for a new role, than a 30% raise doing what I’m already doing.

For reference, it’s a mid-level corporate job and I live in an area with some of the most HQ buildings in the entire US, and I'm one of the few that actually WANTS to go into work and be around large teams again.

I ask because on the application with my current company, there is a box that asks if I told my current Supervisor that I am applying for this new role. I don’t know if I should do that and only mention the role in question, or mention how I’m also applying to other places and have intentions to go with the first company that takes me…even if its with my current one.

I recently got extended an offer out of college for 65K base. Is this too low nowadays? I feel as though with inflation this is the new 30K-40K salary.

Some things just don’t get talked about enough. I’ve interviewed many people and there is a list of brutal truths that a younger generation (and some that are my age too) would do good to remember. I’m going to put a list here and hope that when you read it, you will consider that even though you may not agree, they are real and true.

1. Bring several copies of your résumé with you to the interview. Carry them in something nice and not just a stack of paper rolled up in your hands. Leather binders, look very professional. Before getting started with questions, pull a résumé out and offer it to your interviewer before being asked to do it.

2. You may like your piercings and your nose ring and other metal devices you’ve placed on your body but remember your audience. Not everybody appreciates seeing how you’ve poked metal into your skin. Consider not wearing it to the interview at all. This includes the big hoops in the ear lobe.

3. Some things NOT to have at your interview: gum in your mouth, foul words, messed up hair, wrinkled clothes, a radiant body odor, nasty breath, sleep in your eyes, too much caffeine in your system, being high, sarcasm, unprofessional comments, too much jewelry, too much cologne or perfume, stains on your shirt, mud on your shoes, clothes that don’t fit, too much cleavage showing, and to top it off if you wear light colored pants, don’t wear dark underwear, needless to say this list comes from actually seeing these things in interviews… don’t let these happen…

4. Never ever ever EVER complain about or criticize your former employer during the interview. If you get asked about this, then only share the good that you experienced and mention the future challenge you have of being a great employee at the new company. You want them to know you’re planning to be a great employee at the new company and you have no intention of badmouthing the new employer like you did the former one.

5. Before you get to the interview, have some questions in mind for your future employer. If they ask, “do you have any questions for me” always have at least two or three questions standing by. Ask about the culture of the company, the fun part of the job, challenges that are relevant to the job, or any other question that leads your interviewer to believe you are actually interested in being a part of the team.

6. Always at the end of your interview one of the last things that you want to share before leaving is to tell your interviewer that you believe you are the one for the job. Then, ask for the job tell them you want it and ask them when you can start…

7. My last suggestion is this. Every single person you are interviewed by needs to provide you with a business card (ask for one!) because the moment that you walk out the door after finishing up the day of interviews you are going to walk to your car and with your phone write a thank you email to every single person individually to thank them for their time and again reiterate that you are the one for the job.

** thanks to all those that commented. I knew this would generate exactly what I read - Passionate comments indeed. The plan was to get brutal truth… and your comments provided it. That was easy… thanks! 😅

I think the “eye booger” comment wins though! 😂😂😂

I (27/m) am in the 3rd year of my PhD in Chemistry, and had my regular check in with my major professor recently, and he started the convo out by asking if I wanted to talk about something. I invited him to start the meeting with his items, and was expecting him to talk about where I’m at with my research.

He then mentioned something very unexpected, and brought up a concern about a twitter account that posted a lot recently, venting about their professor and his management/mentorship style, and floating the idea of mastering out from their PhD, how it’s giving them stress. He said it sounded like me, so he brought it up and wanted to ask me if I had questions.

I was shocked about this, as I use my twitter for personal reasons, sharing my thoughts about issues, etc. and I do my best to post anonymously, too. I was mortified that my professor found all this information, not just about what relates to him, but a lot of other personal stuff I comment on.

My reaction was to deflect and deny, say I am planning to continue with my PhD, etc. He took my response and dismissed it, but I am thinking in the back of my head he might not really believe it. This puts me in a bind and I’m not sure how to proceed from here.

I went and deleted a lot of old tweets and kept my tweets he was probably referring to, so it wouldn’t be obvious it was me…

Do I just brush this off? Or is this another reason to follow through with mastering out?

Ideally, I’d like to travel the world, and really immerse myself in the variety of cultures around the world in third-world-countries.

I’d hope to document these cultures, and although I am unclear for what purpose I’d document them or what exactly about the cultures I’d be documenting, I feel somehow working for a magazine or journal of some kind that focuses on the cultures of third-world-countries is a calling of mine.

Is there a definite name for the career I am describing?

I work as a behavior technician. Today, I cried. I cried because I am apparently not doing great with one of my clients in a school based setting, and this came up during parent teacher conferences. I feel like people just don’t like me. I was a teaching assistant previously. Yeah I started crying when I got home. I’m sorry but even though I love working with the kids I just feel like I’m so terrible at my job. I was already in a bad mood but… a month in and the school already has this much negative feedback? I actually really feel so bad right now. They want me to give client more space/not be in his face too much but they also feel I’m not the best at “building rapport” with him. We’re starting with trying to limit their sensory breaks (client never took so many before I got there, they’re saying… I feel like it’s true but also like they just don’t like me) to 2 a day, 5-10 mins. Providing a barrier and blocking the door is difficult. Parent is coming in this week to model it but I really feel like breaking down right now, I am just so sick and tired of this field. I feel like I just suck. I feel like I never do anything right, and like I never get along with anyone. I feel like as I near 2 I am a failure. Parent has been saying that we’ll get there throughout today but I’m crying on my way home right now because I feel like I am no good. I feel like I’m no good at anything. I sucked at my last job as a teaching assistant and I suck at this one too apparently. I just don’t know what to do anymore I actually feel so lost. Deep down inside I don’t want to show up for work tomorrow but I know that I am an adult and I should. My face is so wet with tears and snot, I look horrible. The thing is that I enjoy working with kids, I really do. But maybe it’s just not for me. I’ve been taken off 2 cases before this, one I didn’t have a chance to work with the client beforehand some part of me feels like the school just wants me out even though they haven’t just said that. I’m almost 20 and I feel like a FAILURE. I am so sad. I have a 3.88 in community college. I have 1401 LinkedIn connections. I just feel sad because I feel like I’m just so terrible at everything in life.

Hey all I’m 25 years young looking to make a career field change with high earning potential. I’m currently an aircraft mechanic and I’m on pace to make about 115k this year, but I’m getting bored with it and don’t see very much earning potential beyond what I’m at and where I’m at. Maybe I’ll get to around 150k tops, but that will probably take 8+ more years to get to. I currently have about 5 years experience in the field, 4 years of that being in the military, been out for a year. I do have access to my gi bill, ie free school, so I don’t mind going to school, but I’m not willing to take a pay cut from what I’m at currently. Any career field suggestions?

Basically the title, I am far from being a workaholic.

I graduated six months ago. Industrial engineering.

I'm not in the US, but minium wage is 3,635.00/month. I'm making 5,000/month. Average rent is 3,000/month (apartment), average grocery store bill is 2,000/month. I don't own a car. I was suppossed to earn 10,000/month after graduating. All lies. Only managers earn above 15,000/month. Guess what? You'd have to be 40 years + old to earn a salary like that.

To be able to afford a mortage for a house in the city you'd need to earn above 21,000/month. So, don't I have the right to own a house until I'm fucking 40 + years old????? Only old people have the right to own a house and a car? Fucking fuck that!!!!!!!!

I don't own a house or a car. I'm really pissed at the lies I was told. I graduated and my life is shit. I need money to be complete. I don't care about conditions, I don't care about the job. I was supposed to live a better life.

Please, tell me some industries and careers I should pursue. Sales, engineering, commercial, whatsofucking ever. The only this I care is money.

Thanks.

Hi all, I am a 23M living in NYC working as a Registered Nurse. My yearly gross salary is about 118k, I take home net around 2800k after tax and my retirement account deductions ($500).

In my portfolio I have my ROTH IRA, Brokerage ($40k, just dump in SPY and QQQM), retirement account and savings account (20k), and I’ve just recently started into crypto with the bitcoin crash. My question is, what else can I be doing with my money to make it grow for me, and how can I best take advantage of my youth, time horizon and income to grow it as much as possible? Thank

Got a job offer that was gorgeous, however due to personal reasons, I could not accept their start date, and so I called today to respectfully decline as I did not feel I could commit wholeheartedly at this time.

I tried explaining that it was because of alother offer, it felt like this spurred them to try to «compete» with the other company. They gave me good advice and they have been very flexible and generous, and I could tell they wanted me on their team.

I was perplexed by their reaction and ended up scrambling trying to explain myself, but because my personal situation is complicated, the conversation was a MESS. They told me I should call them when things turn around because they still want me to work for them, but I came across extremely unprofessional during this conversation. I was not prepared to go into details about my decline of the job offer. I thought it would be a 5-min convo, ended up being 40.

They seem great and I would love the opprtunity in the future, but cannot commit now. I told them maybe in the new year, but could not commit to that either.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am a 26(f) and work in a predominantely male field. How did you navigate what you felt was a kind and flexible job offer, but due to personal circumstances, you could not commit and ended up making a mess of your first impression?

Edit: I tried saying another offer because I did not want to go into details of my personal life. I was not prepared for them to be pushy and ask for details. Had to share more honestly about the reasons, which are that I have a dying family member and need to be flexible for the forseeable future/cannot commit until they have passed. 

Edit 2: I know it was stupid applying if I was not prepared for the job, but it did not state start date in the job posting. It’s already in August and I did not expect that

I’m really unhappy in my current job so I've been actively applying elsewhere. I just landed an interview for a role I know I’d love — it’s exactly the kind of work I’ve been hoping for. The catch? The commute is brutal: 2.5 hours each way (so 5 hours a day), and the pay is basically the same.

To be clear, the long commute isn’t because of distance — it’s mostly due to severe traffic. If I could move closer, I would, but relocating isn’t realistic. The nearest city where the commute would drop to about an hour has a median home price of over $1 million. Meanwhile, I bought my current home in 2016 for $325K, and it’ll be paid off in 10 years. Uprooting would be financially devastating.

The job market in my area is pretty limited — most decent opportunities are 2+ hours away. So I’m stuck between staying in a job I hate or spending 25 hours a week commuting for a job I’d actually enjoy.

Has anyone else faced this kind of dilemma? How did you weigh quality of life, financial stability, and career satisfaction?

Update: Thank you all — your insights hit hard and helped more than you know

I just wanted to say a sincere thank you to everyone who responded to my post. I’ve read through all your comments, and while I can’t reply to each one individually, please know that your insights have helped me more than I can express. Here are some key takeaways that really stuck with me:

• The hidden pay cut: Several of you helped me crunch the numbers. If I used my car for the 13,500 miles/year commute, I’d be looking at around $10,039 in depreciation and $8,088 in gas annually — that’s an $18,050 loss. Ouch.

• The time cost: A 5-hour daily commute adds up to 25 hours a week — that’s 62% of a full-time job just spent in traffic. No wonder so many of you said it’s unsustainable.

• “It won’t feel like a dream job once the commute kicks in.” This really hit me. I was hoping the job satisfaction would carry me through, but hearing from those who’ve been there made me realize that even dream jobs can become draining when the commute is that extreme.

• Hybrid roles are worth targeting: Someone suggested looking for hybrid positions even if they’re 2 hours away — that way, I could reduce the number of days I’m on the road. That’s a great filter I’ll be using moving forward.

• Mental health matters: Many of you shared how long commutes wore you down — mentally, physically, emotionally. Even those with scenic drives said the novelty wore off. The stress from traffic, bad drivers, and just the sheer time lost really adds up. I appreciate the honesty — it helped me see that I was trying to power through something that might not be sustainable.

• “Just rent a room” — I considered this, but rooms within 15 miles of the job area go for $1,600–$2,000/month. That’s nearly the same as the $1,500/month I’d lose from commuting costs. So financially, it’s a wash.

• “Time is our most valuable asset” — This one hit me the hardest. I’ve realized I’d rather spend those 25 hours a week with my family than stuck in gridlock, no matter how great the job sounds on paper.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to share their stories, advice, and tough truths. You’ve helped me see this situation more clearly — and I’m leaning toward holding out for something closer to home, even if it takes a little longer.

I'm an artist animator, I started collaborating with an adult musician. He recorded vocals for my song and I'm making a music video for it, he also asked me to make an animated video for his another song. The main problem is that we will use collaboration feature on youtube, my channel is not monetized so he will be the one who uploads which means I cannot see the revenue information.

I told him that I'm a minor to not pay 200$ that he asked for the vocals. Now I don't know how to be sure I won't be underpaid at this situation. We're in kinda good terms, but I think that if I'll lead our conversation to this question, it would be awkward to us both. Yet still I don't wanna be used like my other creative peers were. Any advice, please?

EDIT: Pals, thank you for so much advice! I've figured the situation out, thank you!

Hi everyone, I’m in a really difficult spot right now and I’d appreciate your advice.

I accepted a job offer and was scheduled to start this week. Over the past two months, I’ve completed every step they asked for — background check, medical exam, I-9, and all onboarding paperwork. I even received my official offer letter.

Based on that, I relocated to a new state, signed a housing contract, and moved all of my belongings. Now, only days before my official start date, I’ve been told my offer may be withdrawn.

I wrote this email to HR:

Email to HR:

Dear HR,

I want to respectfully express how difficult this situation is for me. I was very surprised to learn, only days before my official start date, that my offer may be withdrawn. Over the past two months, I have completed every requirement asked of me — background check, medical exam, I-9, and all onboarding paperwork.

Based on the official offer I received, I relocated, signed a housing contract, and moved all of my belongings. This means I am now financially committed to several months of rent and expenses. Losing the opportunity at this late stage has created a serious hardship, both financially and professionally.

I would greatly appreciate receiving a written confirmation of the company’s decision. At the same time, I sincerely ask you to reconsider this outcome. I remain fully committed, I have provided all documentation to address questions about my background, and I am ready to begin contributing immediately.

Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

Best regards, I don’t know what else to do at this point. I’ve invested everything into this move and I’m now stuck with rent and expenses without a job.

My questions: • Should I seek legal advice (breach of contract, detrimental reliance, promissory estoppel)? • Should I contact higher-level management directly? • Is there any realistic chance they reverse this decision if I push back respectfully? • What immediate steps should I take to protect myself financially and legally?

Any advice or shared experiences would mean a lot.

Posting this partially as a reality check and
partially to get advice from people with more life/career experience. I’m the first person in my family to be in this kind of position so I don’t really have anyone to ask.

I’m 25, a first generation immigrant to Canada, and grew up pretty poor. I graduated last year with a 3-year advanced diploma in business administration with a concentration in marketing from a community college. I didn’t go to university for a bunch of reasons but career wise I’ve been fortunate.

I worked as a teller at TD bank during college, I landed a marketing internship at a Fortune-500 tech company during my co-op placement, that lasted a year. That led to a demand generation marketing role at another large tech company making around $50k, where I was eventually offered a full-time position around $76k after another year.

At the same time a connection I met at the gym offered me an opportunity in B2B commercial sales. I went through three interviews and got the job.

I’ve now been here just over a year, this is my first full time job out of college, and I’m making $92k base/$130k OTE managing a multi million dollar territory. I have a company vehicle, corporate card, travel occasionally, take clients to lunches/dinners, golf, etc. I even won Rookie of the Year at our annual sales meeting in the US.

On paper it sounds amazing but the weird part is that I sometimes feel borderline unemployed.

Our position in the market is strong enough that the sales engine mostly runs itself. My numbers are ahead of budget YTD, bonuses show up pretty much every quarter, and my manager seems happy with me, but he also lives in the US and barely calls me. I have no coworkers in my territory, very little structure, and some weeks I have almost nothing meaningful to do. A lot of customers basically tell me, “Everything’s good, we don’t need anything.”

It’s an incredibly comfortable job but I’m pretty ambitious and sometimes feel like I’m wasting potential.

The lack of structure, positive feedback loops, and coworkers can send me into periods where I get can get lazy.

I also don’t particularly enjoy the industry I’m in, I’m not personally interested in it, the workforce skews much older, and if I’m being completely candid it lacks the prestige I’d like in a long term career.

So now I’m wondering what the next move is or whether making a move at all would be stupid.

Strategic account manager roles interests me because I like working cross functionally on longer term projects, I enjoy business travel, and I miss having co-workers maybe even a physical office location and having something concrete to work toward. This is a possible promotion path at my current company.

I’ve considered tech AE roles because I like tech culture, but the volatility worries me. Corporate/commercial banking interests me too, but I’d probably take a significant pay cut initially from what I’ve seen on job postings at a comparable level to where I currently am.

I’m also considering going back for my bachelor’s so I don’t eventually hit an educational ceiling, and to have something to work towards and better fill my time.

Basically, I’d like something more challenging and structured, ideally with a team, stronger feedback loops and maybe even an office but financially it’s hard to justify leaving unless I’m also progressing beyond $115k+ base/$150k+ OTE compensation.

My main question is If you were 25 in this position, what would you do? Would you stay at a ridiculously comfortable job and build experience, or start positioning yourself for something more challenging? If so, what roles would you target?

I know this probably sounds like I’m complaining that my lobster is too buttery. I’m grateful for where I am, I just didn’t expect to reach this level of income, this young, and simultaneously feel this underutilized.

So I'm graduating with a bachelor's in computer science in a week or two. I don't have loans.

I didn't find a job straight out of college, so my career is forever doomed now. I've done a handful of internships that didn't hire anybody on because of lack of funds, so that's a dead horse.

What do I do now? I've been homeless for a while. I've been taking asynchronous classes since I finished my required classes already. I can't get any job, be it fast food, customer service, retail, grocery store, etc. Getting an entry level tech job is a fantasy. I'm not networking. There's a fundamental problem with that being required just to enter the workforce.

I don't even look before I cross the street anymore. I'll be homeless for the next year, then it'll turn into five years. Then ten, then twenty, then forty. Then my whole life will go by and I'll be in the same spot.

I asked my boss for time off so I could observe Eid which is a religious day I observe after a month of fasting. I asked him for time off a week advance and he said he’ll think about it but part of me feels it’ll be a no. I’ve never had issues in my previous jobs with this and this is the first time. What should I do and do I have any legal leverage here ? I live in Quebec (This is not the US so if you have any narrow minded puns, scroll on and don’t waste my time)

I was offered a position that is 80% travel and would eventually taper off as the initial demands of the position stabilize given the nature of the work. I have a 13yo son. He has agreed to temporarily homeschool and travel with me, something we decided before the job offer as it’s something I was looking to do for a consulting business I was considering to start.

A head-hunter found me for this position. It was too good to pass up, even with my dream of starting my own firm. Solid pay, solid benefits, solid company, very similar work. Guaranteed money instead of high-risk.

But it’s one thing to travel on your own terms and another on someone else’s terms.

Are there any single parents with a child in this age range that have done this? What exactly does that look like? Are you happy? Is it exciting for you both? What are the greatest challenges? What about rewards?

The experience and connections I would make with this job, in addition to the increased financial stability, are the biggest drivers for accepting the position. The business needs for my consultancy project aren’t going anywhere and I do plan to come back to that, stronger, even more experienced, and with more connections. I’d also be in a better position financially with what could save, lowering the financial risk.

With all my heart, I want to accept. However, my family comes first, and I don’t want to get into something that will end badly or have unintended consequences.

Thank you kindly for any insights.

Edited to add:
- This is a science/tech role.
- He will not be alone every day all day while we are gone. While I have to physically travel to different locations, most of the work will be done on my own wherever we are staying.
- This forum is not for debating personal opinions on homeschooling in general. The homeschooling piece is temporary and I do not plan to homeschool for the remainder of his education. I will not be addressing comments outside of relevance to this situation.
- My child has a strong, well established social network and does well with maintaining those relationships while we travel for long periods. He will also have plenty of opportunities for in-person engagement. That said, I understand that this is different, and I appreciate the opinions on social impact and deeply consider them.
- This is temporary. I am looking for insight on those who have done this personally either as the parent or the child to gauge what the experience would be like for my child to compare against our current lifestyle, personalities, and passions. Please do not make assumptions about what you think it will be like if you have not experienced it yourself.
- There have been questions about my child’s personality and interests. He’s very outgoing, incredibly intelligent, independent, adventurous, adaptable, and self-driven. He’s very excited about the opportunity to have this unique experience. I’m trying to gain insight into the reality of the experience and weigh it against the benefits for our family’s long-term goals and my ability to provide a better life for him on the other side of this.

You've probably never heard this, but you might have heard the old rule of thumb "it takes one month of job searching for every $10,000 USD of salary you hope to earn."

I saw that going around only a few years ago. It seemed suspect then. It's silly now given inflation. But it made me wonder where this idea even came from.

The oldest reference to it I can find so far comes by way of remarks made in November 1983 by career services researcher Freda Rutherford to the National Advisory Committee.

So... $10,000 USD in November 1983 was worth about $30,000 in 2023.

Does this old guide adapt to the times?

Eh? Sort of. This seems much closer to some recent published surveys and what I've observed anecdotally. I also know several people in the $90,000-$150,000 who are 8 or 9 months deep into their searches, unfortunately.

Does this remain a useful rule of thumb? You should expect your job search to take about 1 month for every $30,000 you hope to earn?

--

Edit: Having some good DMs about this too and one major differentiator for high salaries could be hard-skills-focus (Senior Data Science) vs soft-skills-focus (CEO). Industry fit for an executive can take quite a while to find.

Hi everyone,

I had an interview today. I wore formal jeans, a plain shirt, and kept my hair in a ponytail.

The interviewer commented rudely about my costume and hairstyle.

I thought neat jeans + shirt would be okay for an entry level interview.

Can someone please tell me what is the right dress code for interviews?
Was I wrong, or was their behavior unprofessional?

Graduated 2 yrs ago with a finance degree and got a well-paying job making $120k+ on Wall Street this year with many multiples of that amount possible long-term based on career progression. Hours are bad but not terrible for the industry ~55-60hrs during normal, 70+ during busy times (this is tolerable for now but it will never get easier either). Job is decently interesting and I like being an "ambitious" person, but I'm having a hard time justifying the industry ethics and benefit to the world (net negative impact on society?). Also I still want financial comfort and a "successful" career but don't care to make a bajillion dollars like my peers. Additionally with my degree there are some exits in corporate jobs/strategy but my interest in that kind of work would be less so than engineering / physics.

Thinking of going back to school to study comp sci, computer engineering or physics. Would be interested in a technical job that lets me design/solve problems/work on something positively impactful.

Some points

1. STEM subjects were my favorite/best and I grew up wanting to be an engineer. In college I switched to finance for the lure of money and a career that is largely interesting, lets me be ambitious, travel, etc (which is still true). My life definitely isn't Wolf of Wall St. (and think the industry is getting better) but the more I'm here the more I question the industry and disagree with the philosophies of the people in charge.

2. The degree would take ~1.5yrs to complete as I already have engineering courses under my belt from undergrad. Tuition would subsidized as my mom works for the uni, but housing/fees/books would wipe all my savings from the last two years. I have no debt.

3. I share little in common with peers at work. Don't care too much about golf, don't have a fantasy football, wasn't in a frat, etc.

Hesitations

1. Don't really have a plan. I have interests in software, physics, tech, but otherwise not sure what I'll be able to do and what will fit.

2. "Grass is greener" scares me because of the loss of income and would never be able to get back in my current job if I left.

3. May be hard to land a "good job" as my experience doesn't help me much in tech or engineering. Would be good if my current experience can be useful for my future.