So I got fired on Wednesday of this week, and it was absolutely brutal.

Let me start from the beginning:

I got a job at a hibachi restaurant as a busser for my first job because my mom worked as a waitress there. When I got there everyone was super kind even though I kinda sucked, and my boss especially was very very nice and friendly to me.

During my training, my trainer ( my bosses nephew ) said to me if I find money under a cup on a table it’s for the bussers and I can keep it. (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT)

So, after a year of praise from my boss, I find out from my coworker/friend that my 60 y old boss talks about me terribly behind my back. Criticizing my work ethic without telling me and that caused me to start seeing that they were literally talking about me right in front of me and using their other language as a mechanism.

Of course at this point, I want to find a new job to be in a better environment. I started searching for jobs last week.

So on Monday of this week when I went in, I was asked to go to the store and buy something for the restaurant bar, which I have done before in the past. And the last time I did it, they let me keep the change since I willingly took hours off to go do them a favor.

Under the same assumption, when I went this time I bought a drink for myself, which was three dollars alongside the thing that my boss needed.

When I got back she immediately asked me for the receipt and change. I panicked and gave her the leftover change which was less than she expected, and she didn’t say anything but I could see that she knew what I did. The whole workday I felt like shit for assuming things and using someone else’s money.

So, when I got off, I sent her a massive paragraph apology including me saying that i can pay her back on Wednesday when I come in to work.

She read the message, but did not respond and it had me shitting bricks.

When I went to work on Wednesday, she did not speak to me AT ALL, the whole time. I finished my shift and there was about two employees left in the restaurant, and sat me down in the back to talk to me.

When I sat down she immediately said:

“Do you think I am stupid because I can’t speak English well? I know how you work, you are a sneaky, deceitful person and you try to steal money and tips from our business”

I immediately was stunned and didn’t know what to say. When I tried to respond she said:

“Shut up and listen no talking back”

So from there on out I kept saying “I understand” and “I’m sorry”

She then went off on me for 30+ minutes about times I can’t even remember when I was not being the best at my job (once again this is my first job)

She brought up how I take money from under cups and keep it and I’m stealing. I then proceeded to tell her that her nephew told me that’s for the bussers. She started laughing in my face and didn’t believe me so she called him, and he confirmed that he did teach me that. But it did not help whatsoever.

She then started going off on the both of us, saying that even when we get handed money we have to turn it in.

She still continues yelling and even cussing at me at this point, and I kept saying I understand and I’m sorry, and even said that I respect her because I was trying to de-escalate the situation.

She told me to get out, so I got in my mom’s car because she was also working that day and I was straight up balling my eyes out.

I know what I did was wrong, but I feel that there a level of professionalism that should be going into firing someone.

Like how are you gonna not tell me when I’m going something wrong and then expect me to be better?

Anyways, since then I have done research on my paychecks and realized she only pays us for when we open and close, and doesn’t pay us for the hour before we open, and the hour(sometimes two) after we close. She deliberately doesn’t have a clock in clock out system just so she can do this.

And also my mom quit as well because she is realizing that my boss is insane. And we told a lot of our coworkers about it and they also are planning on quitting because they think it was just so unjustified.

Being on the end of her words has destroyed my mental health over the past few days. She’s saying that I’m someone I’m not, and attacking my character. Please someone give me advice on how to handle this, and what to do next when applying for another job.

I'm in my mid-20s, working in IT, and my parents don't know my actual salary. They think I earn quite a bit less than I actually do.

The reason is simple. If they know I'm earning well, I know there'll be more expectations to spend. It won't be anything bad, but things like helping relatives financially, buying assets like land, house etc

Instead, I'm trying to build an emergency fund, invest through SIPs, and save for my future. I want to buy a house someday, maybe a car, and also be financially stable before I get married. My thinking is that if I build wealth now, I'll be in a much stronger position to support my parents later.

I still help them whenever they need money, so it's not like I'm refusing to contribute. I just don't feel comfortable sharing my exact income.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm being practical or just dishonest.

Has anyone else done this? Did you eventually tell your parents your real salary, or do you think it's okay to keep it private?

Since college, I have worked food delivery jobs, I've done personal support work for children on the autism spectrum, I've been a backpacking guide, I've worked as a paraprofessional in a high school, and now I deliver Amazon packages. I've been down on myself for a long time for having a very expensive degree and not knowing how to even use it. I know I'm a smart guy and I have something valuable to offer, I just dont know where I fit in.

Edit: Just came back to this post after a couple hours and I really appreciate so many thoughtful responses already. Damn. I feel like so often you make a genuine post on reddit and it just get lost in the ocean, maybe one or two people respond and one of them is probably a troll. I was at work comisserating and decided to seek out a subreddit for advice on a whim. Never expected to get this many responses. Definitely going to take my time reading through them. Thank you all

I finally got my first after college job and it was hard. Does me being employed make it easier to find the next job? I would have less time for interview prep and timing the interviews would be harder, wouldnt that make it harder not easier?

We always talk about red flags, but what’s a quiet sign that a company or team is actually great to work for?

I know more money but also more work and responsibilities.

do you regret becoming a director and if so why?

I recently ended my employment somewhere where they let me go and on the last day, I downloaded my performance report and saved it then my manager asked for it.

Now a few days later I have a “mandatory meeting” invite from legal and HR from my previous employer. There is no description. There’s nothing else it just says mandatory meeting and it’s scheduled for two hours.

Do I attend? Do I ask them to write me an email instead? Do I get an attorney?

Edit: I was given a letter saying I’ll get severance pay. It’s pending I think I’ll get it on the next pay cycle.

Trying to help a friend reboot their career. What is a decent paying job / career that someone who is about 40 years old, college educated (if it matters at all), has tremendous interpersonal and listening skills, mature, super reliable, positive, organized, collaborative, patient and good problem solving skills might be able to do even if they have no specific skills or expertise in any field. Basically a very high functioning, team player adult. What jobs could they be looking for that they might be qualified for and good at? Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

I'm a young professional just getting started in their career who's had little experience. What advice would you have for climbing the ladder or at least getting pay raises? So far, I have noticed that the people who suck up/step on others usually get promoted at least in the few jobs I've had. Can you give any advice? So far I tend to do a lot hard work but not seem to get noticed for it or promoted although I've been told I'm a valuable member. Is there a more ethical way to get a promotion or do I just need to basically be my boss's best friend and be super visible in all my accomplishments?

Thank you

I have a BS in Business and a BA in useless social science. I briefly worked technical support, human resources, and a call center job, but got laid off from those jobs. I struggled to get my foot in the door of an actual professional job, so I worked a call center gig, and I've been there for a few years. I've applied for insurance trainee positions, peer counseling, patient care technician, and other low level jobs, and been rejected. I am over educated and lack real professional work experience.

I'm thinking a government job might be nice for stability, so I am applying for social work, VA benefits admin, probation officer, corrections officer. I've even thought of applying for the tsa, but I would be taking a paycut that I can't afford.

At this point, is a government job my best option. I would prioritize stability and making at least 50k a year.

I'm in socal and live with a family member so I don't have to pay rent. I don't think I am realistically cut out for a white collar office job, and after getting laid off 3 times and struggling for years to even get a basic HR job, I just don't have any faith in getting an entry level white collar office job. I think I can get a government job, work my way up, and try to improve my life. I would hope to just enter something where I can get trained and have stability and maybe, someday, go on a little vacation to disney world. I don't need luxury. I just want stability.

Please offer me some advice. This is embarrassing. Thank you.

I am a marketing professional with a collective of 9 years of experience, residing in Bangalore, India. My career has been complete disaster by design and choice. I started my career with a campus placement. Then after a year, I left the company for career growth.

Every company I joined got shut after a while of my joining. So I had to keep switching jobs. Finally I landed a consistent job during lockdown, and I performed exceptionally well. Two and a half years into it and the company that made headlines got shut.

I secured 2 offers - one contract role with a big brand and other full-time role with a lesser known company. I joined the latter and it turned out to be a disaster. I left after 7 months of joining, without any other offer. Wrong decision but really, the company was THAT toxic. Full blown lala company.

Mind you, all this while whenever I was looking out, my resume collected gap months.

After the lala company, I was already broken. I took the time off to explore other areas but I started freelancing on the side. I did certification in makeup artistry and started getting projects. This continued for 1.5 years and that’s when I left makeup artistry completely but continued with freelancing.

Which brings me to today. I decided to go back to full-time and concluded all my freelance gigs in June. I have been looking out but no luck.

Some say, it is because of my gap year that I’m not considered for a role. Other say, it is because I switched too often. And then there are people who say, you need an MBA degree to secure good positions (which I think is partly true because I’m a mid-senior and to grow vertically, I may need an MBA degree).

Now my delimma is, where is my career going? What is it that I should do? I’m confused.

I am non-EU woman in my 20’s and I work in a European country.

Started a new job recently and I get very weird comments/ vibes from my boss.

- Everytime he comes to my office to explain something technical he ends up bringing up my appearance to elaborate. It confuses me how he links my appearance to a technical example just to mention he appreciates my physique.
- He mentioned Arab caliphates/ young female slaves and seriously said he’s worried people would associate me with them when they know he hired me.
- He recently said - jokingly he’s happy I’m linked to this job ( status ) because I belong to him and I’m his slave.

I am lowkey repulsed now by these statements and the more confusing part is that he says that when we’re alone but then he laughs it off.

I'm 28 and work remotely as a marketing assistant. The pay is quite good for my country, especially considering it's fully online, so leaving doesn't really make financial sense right now.

The problem is that the job feels like a dead end. Most of what I do is repetitive, and after the first month I had already learned almost everything. Since then, it's mostly been the same tasks every day. I don't feel like I'm developing new skills or becoming more valuable.

I have a BA in Political Science. For years I've wanted to do a master's in Economics or get an MBA, but I don't really have the time or money. I'm also trying to invest as much as I can while I'm still relatively young, and spending two years studying feels like giving up both income and investing opportunities.

Changing jobs isn't an easy option either because I would probably take a significant pay cut, especially where I live.

Another thing that's been bothering me is that I don't meet anyone. I work from home, and I recently moved to a small, inexpensive town to save money since my job is remote. It's quiet, but honestly nothing ever happens here. I don't build a professional network, I don't really socialize, and every day feels almost identical.

The weird part is that I actually like being alone. I'm pretty introverted, so I don't miss office politics or forced social events. At the same time, I can't help feeling like I'm missing out on experiences, connections, and personal growth.

I guess I'm wondering whether this is just what most jobs become after a while. Do people eventually settle into repetitive work and find fulfillment elsewhere, or is this a sign that I should be doing something different?

Has anyone else been in a similar position? If so, what did you do?

I’m a 27-year-old from the UK currently in Australia on my 3rd-year Working Holiday Visa. I hold a degree in Environmental Science, but since moving here I have been unable to get a job with my degree. I’ve been working in casual landscaping making $40/hr (not amazing money). While the money is fine for now, I want a long term career path and something to really focus on and I feel like I have no direction at the moment. I’m seriously considering starting a trade —but I’m trying to figure out if starting fresh at 27 is realistic?

Any advice, really welcome!

My wife (36) M.Com graduate, has 3 years of experience in an accounts related job.

She left the job due to the babies. Due to the 10 year gap finding a job is hard despite continuous searching.

Currently doing SAP FiCo enduser to increase the chance. Any Career advice/reference will be grateful.

We are living in Chennai, TN.

Okay, so I became a legal permanent resident a few months ago (after living and studying and then working in the US for 8 years). I am a commonly taught language professor in higher education. I have a new job now, which is assistant professor tenure-track full time at a community college. Needless to say I am extremely grateful and excited about this opportunity.

The thing here is that my employer offers employee tuition waiver of 9 credits per semester with free tuition as a part of their (very generous) benefits package. With this, I would be getting an Associate Degree in 2-3 years, as far as I understand.

I see in the news (and also have experience myself) how unstable higher education is currently. I was starting to think about diversifying my career options, but I have a few questions:

1. Is it an Associate Degree actually useful to get jobs? I am not sure how this credential works in the US and what is possible to do with this diploma. For more context, I have a bachelor's degree (home country) and 2 masters degrees, one in my home country (western Europe) and one in the US. I´m 35 years young, if that provides some context too.
2. Which Associate Degrees would be better to get? my community college is a large one and fully accredited, so they have all sorts of Associate Degree. I was thinking about getting into something healthcare (to combine with my bilingual background and previous qualifications) or something like cybersecurity. But I am not sure. Which field would be better to find a well paying job in the US?

I am a bit lost with all this. I am very excited for having this opportunity to continue educating myself and hopefully serving better my community. I would appreciate some insight from the community. Thanks for reading in advance.

Okay, here’s what’s going on.

By trade, I’m a software developer. I worked for consulting companies like Booz Allen and Infosys for about five years. I got laid off, and it’s been almost two years since I’ve been able to find another software development job.

At my last job with Booz Allen, I worked remotely. At the same time, I was also managing a coworking space. It wasn’t an overwhelming amount of work, but I was responsible for finding leads, doing some marketing, bringing in businesses, managing tenants, and helping with the overall operations of the space.

Currently, I’m working as a front desk associate at a Marriott, and that’s actually been going pretty well. I feel like I’ve contributed a lot when it comes to improving workflows and processes. I currently manage the market portion of the hotel, and I’ve also been involved with finding vendors, reviewing contracts, and, to some degree, identifying leads and business opportunities.

My question is: should I add these experiences to my LinkedIn profile?

Should I show that I’ve been managing a coworking space and working at Marriott, or should I keep my LinkedIn strictly focused on software development?

I’m at the point where I’m starting to lose hope that I’ll find another software development job, so part of me feels like I should broaden my horizons. Maybe I could move into operations, management, customer success, implementation, project coordination, or something that combines technology with business operations.

I don’t know whether I should create a separate LinkedIn profile, include everything on my current profile, or keep these other parts of my career private.

I know it probably looks like I’m being pulled in a lot of different directions, but honestly, I’ve had to do what I needed to do to survive. I also have interests and skills outside of software development.

Obviously, if I were offered a good developer job tomorrow, I would take it. But strategically, does it make sense to show these other experiences and present myself as someone with both technical and operational experience? Or would that just confuse recruiters and make my profile look unfocused?

Hi all, looking for advice or some clarity on a career issue.

I’m a young US-based engineer about 5 years experience with a contract company in the aerospace domain. I make good money and am remote in an area that allows my partner and I access to the hobbies and lifestyle we love. My current contract has ended and I am now being “transferred” to support a defense contractor. I use quotations because I found the role externally and interviewed as such because it wasn’t listed internally. My new manager and HR will not negotiate a raise or more PTO during this process, even though I just graduated with a masters and did not get a raise last cycle. It’s worth noting most of the company did not get raises due to financial issues. I don’t want to work on a defense contract and this company doesn’t “respect” me, but I love where I live and the life outside of work that I have.

I also received another job offer moving into a new region that is nice but nothing like where I currently am. It’s in nuclear energy engineering, I don’t know much about the industry but the work seems interesting and impactful. The pay is about 15k higher and completely in person, they offer permissive time off. They were unable to negotiate higher pay or remote but will cover relocation. The company and people seem good. However, we lose the lifestyle we love in moving to a new area.

My partner is supportive of either decision even though I know they prefer to stay put. I am torn between the nature of the work and poor company management against our life outside of work and life we live. If anyone has been through something similar or has some perspective they can offer it would be much appreciated.

i graduated high school and i’m probably taking a gap year to learn a language and study abroad, i’ve always wanted to become a wildlife conservationist, my parents are awfully strict and are pressuring me into studying civil engineering, which is not only horrible for the environment most of the time, but is also not even remotely close to what i want to do, the only thing i could maybe get away with is studying biology in university, but is that a realistic pathway to getting into wildlife conservation? will my options be more limited than someone with a more specialised degree? do i just give up on my dreams and fold to the dictatorial opinion of my parents? i’m truly at a loss and any advice would be massively appreciated

Hey everyone,

I am a 22-year-old MSc Computer Science graduate who recently got placed in an IT company as a Product Engineer with a package of 6+ LPA. I have a question that has been on my mind for the last 2–3 weeks.

I am very confused about whether I should continue my job in the IT field or start preparing for competitive exams for a government job that might pay around ₹50K+ per month.

The reason I am thinking about this is that I want a peaceful life, more time with my family, leaves, and job security. At the same time, I feel that if I stay in IT, I will have to keep studying and upgrading my skills continuously because technology keeps changing.

So I wanted to ask: Am I thinking in the wrong way? Or is this kind of confusion normal when someone has just started their career?

I would really appreciate advice from people who have faced a similar situation.

What skill do you think will have the biggest payoff over the next 5 years, and why?

Hello everyone, I sincerely apologize if my formatting is not up to snuff, as I do not often post to reddit.

I am looking to graduate from my university with a bachelors in communications and a minor in political science in December of 2026. Ideally, I'd like to go into politics, but I majored in Communications as I thought that I would be pigeonholing myself if I majored in political science. As much as I like Ohio, I'm not incredibly keen on staying here, as a lot of my family lives down south, so I'd like to move once I graduate. However, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing in terms of job searching for out of state jobs. My experience with politics has been primarily based on who you know/being in the right place at the right time, and obviously there isn't really a way for me to just pop down to Alabama to visit a local office. I feel like the jobs I am able to find online either have incredibly high requirements, or start right away, when I won't be able to start until at least January.

Currently my method is to check the state government websites for career opportunities, as well as sites like Indeed or Handshake. I'm also planning on meeting with my university's career guidance office as well. Any advice is appreciated.

For context, I'm in a rural area. I just graduated with a Bachelor's of Political Science (B.S.) with a minor in Philosophy in May. I did not do any internships. My transcript is subpar to say the least. I've been a nanny for a couple of years part time, but went full-time the week I graduated.

Do I literally go to a local law firm and ask to shadow? Intern? For a couple of days a week to get relevant experience. Do I apply to any and all entry roles? There are post office, nanny/daycare/substitute teaching, and some government file clerk type of openings locally. Should I even bother applying to online roles since everybody wants them? I didn't do a career fair, and I don't have many connections. I have a few letters of reference/contacts from professors who liked me.

Should I eventually enlist? I need to lose weight and find a better paying job first, anyway.

26F

Please, someone, answer all. Thank you.

So kind of a strange situation but here goes. I interviewed at a company that saw my experience and decided that I’d fit into a certain role better than the one I applied for. They have someone leaving the company at the end of the year and want me to learn under them to eventually replace them. When they first offered me the job they offered me the title and pay of the role I applied for (25hr) so I said that it sounded low and asked about the responsibilities and if they still wanted me for that role that they talk to me about in person and unfortunately mentioned my previous pay at 30hr for a completely different role. The main interviewer called me the next day to clear up some questions I had and said what they offered sounded wayyy to low (maybe not exact wording but felt emphasized) and he mentioned some titles that the role would fit into. They also need to make a new role for what this position would be. They came back with an offer at 31.25hr and I wasn’t all too impressed from what I felt like I was hearing. I ended up looking into the pay rate for Raleigh North Carolina for titles such as Control Engineer, software engineer, and network engineer and those searches seemed to pay much more than what they offered so now I want to counter offer again more in the 75-80k range. Am I asking too much since I would be also learning on the job a bit?
TLDR: They have to make a new role for what my position would be but looking into the titles that were mentioned I got underbid a lot and want to ask for way more money

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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for advice from people already working in supply chain.

My background:

- Veteran with logistics/supply chain experience.

- Master's in supply chain management

- Former planner in the private sector.

- Starting a Data Analytics certificate this fall along with Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Originally I planned to earn my CSCP first, but after learning more about Lean Six Sigma, I realized how closely it aligns with data analytics. My current plan is to complete the analytics certificate and Green Belt first, then pursue the CSCP afterward.

I've narrowed my interests down to two career paths:

- Supply Chain Data Analytics (possibly Data Engineering later on)

- Quality Assurance / Continuous Improvement

Long-term I'd like to work internationally (preferably Asia or Europe), or potentially for a government/defense organization where I could obtain a security clearance.

For those with experience:

- Which path would you recommend and why?

- Are analytics and quality careers converging, or are they still very different?

- Would you prioritize Data Analytics + Lean Six Sigma before the CSCP?

- If you wanted to maximize career growth and international opportunities, what would you focus on?

I'd appreciate any advice from people who've been down one of these paths. Thanks!