I (23M, American) feel completely paralyzed from a career perspective because I have no idea what the hell to do. If I choose the wrong degree program, I have to pay back all the debt with nothing to show for it. Even if I get a job, there’s no telling how long that will last. Everything keeps changing so fucking fast and it seems like any field I could go to college for could cease to be viable by the time I finish. On top of that, I have chronic health conditions to worry about that limit what I can even do.
(Edit: Basically I have POTS and a neck injury, so it’s hard to do physical labor and I suffer from dizziness, brain fog, and fatigue from being up for an hour or so. I don’t know my exact limits yet, since the severity of my condition varies by day and there appear to be ways to partially recover from the fatigue without having to lay down.)
I think stuff like urban planning and designing walkable environments would be cool, but I’m not sure if that’s a viable path in 2027 and beyond. I also used to be interested in programming, but ever since AI and mass layoffs hit the scene, I’ve become disillusioned and stopped pursuing that path.
I used to feel like the world was stable and I could pick a career based on my passion and be fine. But ever since 2020, everything has felt increasingly more uncertain. The world seems to be losing its collective shit and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
Is staking your sense of stability on your career the wrong way to think about this? Should I be trying to find close friends or some kind of supportive community that could act as a safety net? Or is everyone too hyperindividualist to look out for each other?
Do not take in student loans, period. Trust me im 40 with 300k in student loans still. Havent used my college degree in ten years since i left my degree profession to make more money.
Just keep practicing coding, learn how to use AI to take care of simple but tedious tasks. You’ll be fine i was in the same spot as you at your age and now i make $100k, only regret sre the student loans. Should have just worked those four years instead.
For the time being, it’s still relatively easy for US citizens to move to a prosperous society. If things continue on the current trajectory, then at a certain point waves of refugees will start flowing outward, and with nationalism on the rise globally it’s likely to become more difficult on the medium- to long-term.
Join the union building trades my dude. Wake up early, make six figures, and get paid to be trained. We dont go into debt for education. We go into debt buying boats and shit.
I think stuff like urban planning and designing walkable environments would be cool, but I’m not sure if that’s a viable path in 2027 and beyond
Without knowing that much about the field, I would think that urban design should stick around long into the future. Those projects take decades to complete, and there’s always new cities and developments.
Even if the US is currently drinking the stupid juice when it comes to what makes a good city, either that will change soon or you can apply your skills to projects outside of the US
I’ve worked with many people who like stability, and those who embrace change. It really depends on one’s personality.
Problem is that the world of work has changed. There are very few guarantees any more. In that case you have to decide if you want something that appears stable on the surface, but can be rug-pulled in a hurry. Or if you just accept that everything will change and adjust your expectations and life plans.
The former allows you to go deep and acquire expertise in one area. The latter gives you breadth, but may mean you won’t get deep into a single field.
This might seem a bit abstract, but it really means one needs to do a gut check when planning a career.
A third option is to just wing it and see what comes along.
An important thing to note is that AI is actually not capable of replacing jobs. It can streamline some jobs in a limited capacity.
The perception that AI is replacing jobs is a lie that’s spread by both employers and AI companies for various reasons.
The AI companies want to spread it because it makes their products look better to employers. It’s just marketing for them.
Employers are claiming that AI is replacing jobs because they overhired during and after Covid lockdowns and the industry is correcting for the oversaturation now that the economy has gotten tighter. But layoffs from reduced profits looks really bad to shareholders, and the company wants to look good to keep the stock up. Because of thus, they’re trying to spin the narrative that AI’s increase in productivity let them reduce positions despite it not being true.
All that being said, the job market is tough. If you’re good at math, engineering is usually a good pick. There’s been a shortage of mechanical engineers in a lot of the US over the past decade. These are jobs that pay well, and if you’re competent and willing to move you shouldn’t have trouble finding a job. That being said, the areas with the biggest shortages tend to be rural, though they’re often still within 1hr of a city.
The big catch for engineering is that school is damned hard. For my degree, I consistently needed 18-20 credit hours of classes each semester to finish in 4 years. Between that, studying, work, and hobbies that can be a difficult proposition. Plus, you still need to have soft skills like communication. You’re going to have a harder time getting a job if you can’t hold a conversation.
Man, I remember when I was 23, good times! Yeah, gonna be real things like work, school, and all that productive stuff won’t make you feel stable. I spent a lot of my time wondering about that phrase that happiness is what you make of it.
When I was like 19, I felt I had no path forward and my dumbass served 6 years in the US Army. I had a near death experience in Iraq when I got fucking blown up and you know what went through my head? Was it the incredible team meetings when I was an NCO, the great grades I had in school, the awesome days of work when I got a lot done? No, it was the time I spent with friends, getting so drunk I passed out in a field, going to gaming tournaments, bowling, and all that. So what’s gonna matter in the end isn’t going to be anythong ‘productive’ at all.
Work and school are oh so much fucking applesauce. And hell, making more friends does help with jobs. I got my job now, as a civilian, because of the friendships I made in the Army.
…I feel like I old man rambled. Yeah, get out there and make friends. Literally just talk to people. Out of nowhere. Hell yeah.
You’re going to have to say more about the chronic illness for any career advice.
Edited. Basically I have POTS and a neck injury, so it’s hard to do physical labor and I suffer from dizziness, brain fog, and fatigue from being up for an hour or so. I don’t know my exact limits yet, since the severity of my condition varies by day and there appear to be ways to partially recover from the fatigue without having to lay down (salt water, compression socks, bouncing my legs).
I think stuff like urban planning and designing walkable environments would be cool, but I’m not sure if that’s a viable path in 2027 and beyond. I also used to be interested in programming
Sounds like drafter or IT support may work. 2 years education and you can start, so nothing too expensive if you’re worried about that. Not physical and up your alley.
I thought having a government job was stable. I still have it but it’s getting harder everyday. TR ru.p is fucking up a career i spent 10 years of my life on.
That’s the neat part…
Meditation.
There was never any stability in the world, but in times such as these it becomes painfully apparent.
The only place of stability is within.
That ironically also leads to the highest stability without.
I chose my career on a combination of a set of desires combined with wanting a decent paycheck. It worked out well for me.
I guess the best thing that you can do is target something and give yourself options if your primary goal doesn’t work out. For instance, you seem to have a desire in urban site planning, which is something that a degree in civil engineering can help you get. You may be able to get into the field you want, or you can pivot to someone else in the industry. It is also common to use the degree in adjacent fields or even as a way to show you can deal with numbers without being scared.
Certainty is an illusion. You’re looking for certainty in an uncertain universe, which is a red flag for anxiety disorders. Not diagnosing you, just a friendly notice.
You can’t live your life from the past. Planning ahead and charting your course is important, but then you need to actually get your head back on your shoulders and live your life. Sometimes there is no optimal solution, and you need to choose the “least bad” option and hope for the best.
Give yourself a little credit; you made it this far. Trust yourself that you’ll be able to pivot and survive, even if something goes wrong.
I’ve had severe Hyper-POTS for decades, and the most important skills I learnt was staying within my limits and adapting on the fly. What do you do if you have a flare at the office, what if you’re eating lunch with coworkers, etc. You can’t plan ahead for every contingency. Your condition will ambush you at the worst possible time, and you need to adapt.
If you ever need any POTS related advice, send me a DM. Happy to help or just vent. Also check out !chronicillness@lemmy.world
In terms of debt, have you looked into financial aid yet? Given that you have a condition, that can likely help you. If you also go to a school within the state you’ve lived in, it will also be cheaper than being someone from out of state.
I got a union job and made the bed in my car nice and comfy
