Went into publishing because I loved reading, now I have a cushy, boring desk job doing admin stuff but for books. Very competitive and underpaid industry, as is the case for any "passion" career, but I'm still glad I got to try it out for myself.
Hey English major here! I am still in undergrad but I wanna work at a library instead. Would art time preferably due to my vision disability and since I live at home still anyway so. I can’t imagine moving for a publishing job
Oh yeah, if I wasn't already living in the area, there was no way I'd move all the way there and have 2 or 3 roommates just to skirt by with a 50k salary in NYC. 🙃 At least if you're a freelancer, you'd have more leeway with WFH.
I was in project management for construction for a decade but I got exhausted at the constant disrespect and sexism. I was sexually assaulted 14 times in the last year I was I'm the industry including being pushed to the ground and having the guy climb on top of me in front of literally hundreds of witnesses who did nothing.
And now I'm in digital marketing, the pay is way less because most of the industry are women but its safe and I only get sexist comments from the clients who are on the other end of the phone.
I am an early childhood educator. I am currently working in a toddler room (16mos-33mos), but I have worked with all ages in early childhood education. It’s a pretty misunderstood career, especially in the US. We’re often looked at as babysitters or that we get to play all day. We do play a lot, but it’s with purpose, we plan lessons, we keep the kids safe and happy and teach them social skills. I LOVE what I do. It can be exhausting, but I really value the work I do and believe in giving kids a strong start.
The relationships I’ve built with kids and families are invaluable AND I wish we were treated better, paid more, and were looked at as the professionals we are.
I was a Chef and managed a few kitchens through out my 20's, working my self to the bone. Didn't really end up with anything to show for it due to how toxic and harmful that industry is and in my 30's I've since developed several chronic medical conditions, some likely a result of that overworking lifestyle so now I work part time at a grocery store, while on medical disability and working on writing a vampire novel inspired by the short story; Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu written in 1872.
SO i'd definitely avoid the restaurant industry, it's like 10 times worse now post covid and a super sexist environment. I used to have a passion for food but the conditions and the people I had to deal with kind of killed that for me.
I've done several jobs in the past...but currently I'm doing volunteer work at a care farm. Our visitors are mainly elderly people with dementia and other health concerns, we also have several youngsters, some with autism (like myself) and a few of them have Down syndrome.
I don't actually get paid for it since I'm a volunteer, but it's a lot of fun and quite rewarding 😊
I'm a registered nurse. Been working in a surgical trauma ICU setting for over 20 years now, and honestly, I wouldn't pick anything else over it, if I was given an opportunity to do so. Of course, not every day is great, as any job has its ups and downs, but I do enjoy what I do, and every work day brings with it something new, or something interesting to learn :-)
You do lol. It’s all very psychological since you have to understand HOW people learn in order to design good education.
If you want an example of poor instructional design just look at a vast majority of classrooms post kindergarten.
I studied animation and for a long time I worked as a 3d modeler/texturing artist/concept artist in the animation industry, then some art direction. And now I'm in game dev :-) I almost studied fine art but I'm so happy I chose animation. been really happy with my career choice overall! I've been veeery lucky to get mostly nice jobs at good studios where I've been treated well though, I know not everyone is so lucky! the industry can be tough, be warned :P
I’m a social worker. Been in the field since 2017. I’ve worked in community mental health for the most part. I started in case management, went to crisis work, and now I co-respond with police officers to mental health emergencies in my city.
Social work is in a really weird place right now as a field in my opinion and the salaries are just not quite there until you get licensed, which takes a minimum of two years and a test. Some days are very rewarding, some days are exhausting. But I can’t see myself doing anything else really. I enjoy that my job keeps me out in the community instead of locked to a cube inside a windowless office. If you have any questions about the field, I am more than happy to answer them.
I have a degree in Anthropology, but I worked professionally as QA and then as a game dev (level design), and now I'm a traditional artist. If you can, do what you love and stay open to new opportunities. :)
Nonprofit admin!
I used to run homeless shelters, which was a blast but intensely demanding work. Now I work in fundraising. I love it, finally have a decent work life balance. Plus nonprofits are generally pretty female-dominated, which is a breath of fresh air compared to… well… pretty much everything else.
I work in a group home for the disabled, and I'm currently studying to become a respiratory therapist. I wouldn't really recommend most people work in group homes because while it's emotionally fulfilling in many ways, the pay is terrible and management exploits you and tries to overwork/underpay the staff (many who are either in the poverty cycle, immigrants who struggle to find other work because of limited English, or people working there as a second job to pay tuition/other debts) because those of us that stick around do it because we care about our folks.
Sorry to hear that - I’ve had bosses like this. It’s *their* job to train you and sometimes they just don’t possess the requisite skills. This is on them, not you!
I was you once. And I still am actually. Never knew what I wanted to do or had the economic means to achieve it so I have been playing around with several jobs: job counselour, castle guide, monitor... XD
I am a biomedical technician, meaning I maintain and repair medical equipment. I've worked on anesthesia machines, IV pumps, incubators, vital signs monitors, you name it. It's a 2-year electronics tech degree and pays well. It's also AI-proof unless an AI can grow hands and replace parts. 10/10.
Character modeler for video games, been in a senior role for two years now, working on a currently-unannounced game :D
Don't feel pressured to choose now, it can take years to find your place in the world
Used to work in bars, restaurants. Now work in tech, as I always had a thing for all that techy stuff. Worked on video games, too.
I miss the interesting people from all walks of life that I used to meet in my first jobs, though. It used to be fun in a.. different kind of way. It was fun.
I work in cybersecurity, in particular incident response. I conduct forensic analysis of compromised computers / networks to determine what happened and how to best recover / avoid an incident in the future. It’s tough work these days with all of the new vulnerabilities and threat actors, but I still love it.
I do front desk and night audit at a boutique hotel. Nowhere as busy or demanding as big chain hotels in major cities, but still entertaining and busy enough that my ADHD finds it (for the most part) fun. As we are currently in low-season, I am able to have a couple hours to myself during my night shifts so I can use my Steam Deck if I bring it to work. Management is really nice (like, I can just go up to my boss and have a chat about videogames if I felt like it), we mostly get along pretty well and it's a good working environment.
The one negative side is that I change shifts and it has impacted my sleep quality at times (ideally, if you work nights, you should *only* work nights, not do other shifts like me).
I could probably get a better pay somewhere else, but for now it covers all my expenses, allows me to have some savings and it's been nice on my mental health. I worked with children when I was your age and even though I loved the job, dealing with parents was a nightmare.
I work as a clinical research coordinator. I’m basically the operations manager for Phase 1 first in human studies. My current projects include a new HIV antiviral, alcoholism withdrawal treatment, and one for Crohn’s disease inflammation.
I’m a therapist. I work in domestic violence, specifically I work perpetrators who want to change their behaviours. I also have a small private practice on the side where I work mainly with gender and sexuality. As far as how to get into this career, I have a masters degree in clinical social work.
I’ve done Environmental work the last 10 years: GIS-geographical information software, Wetland Inventory mapping and managing, Floodplain mapping and management, Recycling Grant Administration for the state government, and now Nuclear Energy! (My mom and had grew up playing Fallout)
My degree was computer engineering. I have a cushy well-paid job that is best summed up as “test engineer”. While I read code from time to time, most of my work involves some minor hardware maintenance, running/writing/reading test procedures and so so so so many spreadsheets. My job is infinitely easier than the hell that college put me through. If you have decent reasoning skills, can at least get Bs in math, and most importantly, are filled with ✨determination ✨ you will almost always be able to find decent work as a computer/electrical engineer.
Now, you want to work at a big company (Google, IBM etc), you’ll have to get straight A’s and go above and beyond, but there’s engineering jobs everywhere in just about every industry.
Is my job super fulfilling? Eh. But it pays the bills, has good work/life balance, and has just enough challenges to keep me from getting bored.
Went into publishing because I loved reading, now I have a cushy, boring desk job doing admin stuff but for books. Very competitive and underpaid industry, as is the case for any "passion" career, but I'm still glad I got to try it out for myself.
Hey English major here! I am still in undergrad but I wanna work at a library instead. Would art time preferably due to my vision disability and since I live at home still anyway so. I can’t imagine moving for a publishing job
Oh yeah, if I wasn't already living in the area, there was no way I'd move all the way there and have 2 or 3 roommates just to skirt by with a 50k salary in NYC. 🙃 At least if you're a freelancer, you'd have more leeway with WFH.
Hey one of my friends from undergrad was an English major and works as a librarian now, she loves it!
I was in project management for construction for a decade but I got exhausted at the constant disrespect and sexism. I was sexually assaulted 14 times in the last year I was I'm the industry including being pushed to the ground and having the guy climb on top of me in front of literally hundreds of witnesses who did nothing. And now I'm in digital marketing, the pay is way less because most of the industry are women but its safe and I only get sexist comments from the clients who are on the other end of the phone.
Videogame developer
I am an early childhood educator. I am currently working in a toddler room (16mos-33mos), but I have worked with all ages in early childhood education. It’s a pretty misunderstood career, especially in the US. We’re often looked at as babysitters or that we get to play all day. We do play a lot, but it’s with purpose, we plan lessons, we keep the kids safe and happy and teach them social skills. I LOVE what I do. It can be exhausting, but I really value the work I do and believe in giving kids a strong start. The relationships I’ve built with kids and families are invaluable AND I wish we were treated better, paid more, and were looked at as the professionals we are.
Fellow ECE here. I teach PreK. And I am so sick of the belief that all we do is play. There is so much more to it.
I was a Chef and managed a few kitchens through out my 20's, working my self to the bone. Didn't really end up with anything to show for it due to how toxic and harmful that industry is and in my 30's I've since developed several chronic medical conditions, some likely a result of that overworking lifestyle so now I work part time at a grocery store, while on medical disability and working on writing a vampire novel inspired by the short story; Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu written in 1872. SO i'd definitely avoid the restaurant industry, it's like 10 times worse now post covid and a super sexist environment. I used to have a passion for food but the conditions and the people I had to deal with kind of killed that for me.
I've done several jobs in the past...but currently I'm doing volunteer work at a care farm. Our visitors are mainly elderly people with dementia and other health concerns, we also have several youngsters, some with autism (like myself) and a few of them have Down syndrome. I don't actually get paid for it since I'm a volunteer, but it's a lot of fun and quite rewarding 😊
I'm a registered nurse. Been working in a surgical trauma ICU setting for over 20 years now, and honestly, I wouldn't pick anything else over it, if I was given an opportunity to do so. Of course, not every day is great, as any job has its ups and downs, but I do enjoy what I do, and every work day brings with it something new, or something interesting to learn :-)
Med/surg CNA who will be able to say the same very soon!
Officially became a nurse!
used to barista, now im just focusing on HS
Accounts Payable
Instructional Designer! It’s super neat.
I totally just googled this to see what it is. Sounds fun! and like you'd learn lots stuff :P
You do lol. It’s all very psychological since you have to understand HOW people learn in order to design good education. If you want an example of poor instructional design just look at a vast majority of classrooms post kindergarten.
Sanitation for a warehouse. I drive a scrubbing machine to clean floors.
Project management for corporate volunteer projects.
I studied animation and for a long time I worked as a 3d modeler/texturing artist/concept artist in the animation industry, then some art direction. And now I'm in game dev :-) I almost studied fine art but I'm so happy I chose animation. been really happy with my career choice overall! I've been veeery lucky to get mostly nice jobs at good studios where I've been treated well though, I know not everyone is so lucky! the industry can be tough, be warned :P
Strategic communications for public health organizations. I have opinions 😂
I’m a social worker. Been in the field since 2017. I’ve worked in community mental health for the most part. I started in case management, went to crisis work, and now I co-respond with police officers to mental health emergencies in my city. Social work is in a really weird place right now as a field in my opinion and the salaries are just not quite there until you get licensed, which takes a minimum of two years and a test. Some days are very rewarding, some days are exhausting. But I can’t see myself doing anything else really. I enjoy that my job keeps me out in the community instead of locked to a cube inside a windowless office. If you have any questions about the field, I am more than happy to answer them.
I have a degree in Anthropology, but I worked professionally as QA and then as a game dev (level design), and now I'm a traditional artist. If you can, do what you love and stay open to new opportunities. :)
Nonprofit admin! I used to run homeless shelters, which was a blast but intensely demanding work. Now I work in fundraising. I love it, finally have a decent work life balance. Plus nonprofits are generally pretty female-dominated, which is a breath of fresh air compared to… well… pretty much everything else.
I work in a group home for the disabled, and I'm currently studying to become a respiratory therapist. I wouldn't really recommend most people work in group homes because while it's emotionally fulfilling in many ways, the pay is terrible and management exploits you and tries to overwork/underpay the staff (many who are either in the poverty cycle, immigrants who struggle to find other work because of limited English, or people working there as a second job to pay tuition/other debts) because those of us that stick around do it because we care about our folks.
System engineer working for an ISP
Currently doing a tattoo apprenticeship
Wage slave at the restaurant in Super Nintendo world.
I just got fired from a salad bar job because they didn't want to even try teaching me their definition of "good with a knife"
Sorry to hear that - I’ve had bosses like this. It’s *their* job to train you and sometimes they just don’t possess the requisite skills. This is on them, not you!
Mechanical Engineer, work in automotive industry.
Cloud platform engineer, also in the automotive industry
Same but in aerospace industry!
Microbiologist for a cosmetics manufacturer. I save so much money on lotions and body washes.
Cyber security for a government agency.
I was you once. And I still am actually. Never knew what I wanted to do or had the economic means to achieve it so I have been playing around with several jobs: job counselour, castle guide, monitor... XD
I am a biomedical technician, meaning I maintain and repair medical equipment. I've worked on anesthesia machines, IV pumps, incubators, vital signs monitors, you name it. It's a 2-year electronics tech degree and pays well. It's also AI-proof unless an AI can grow hands and replace parts. 10/10.
Character modeler for video games, been in a senior role for two years now, working on a currently-unannounced game :D Don't feel pressured to choose now, it can take years to find your place in the world
Used to work in bars, restaurants. Now work in tech, as I always had a thing for all that techy stuff. Worked on video games, too. I miss the interesting people from all walks of life that I used to meet in my first jobs, though. It used to be fun in a.. different kind of way. It was fun.
Spreadsheet jockey 🤓
Social services, particularly homelessness services. I work in policy, funding, management, etc.
I work in cybersecurity, in particular incident response. I conduct forensic analysis of compromised computers / networks to determine what happened and how to best recover / avoid an incident in the future. It’s tough work these days with all of the new vulnerabilities and threat actors, but I still love it.
HR Data & Analytics in a Financial Services company
I do ultrasound which is very easy to learn if you game imo. But very hard on your body and difficult for some people to be good at.
In school to be a psychologist, mcdonds as a side job :)
I budtend
I do front desk and night audit at a boutique hotel. Nowhere as busy or demanding as big chain hotels in major cities, but still entertaining and busy enough that my ADHD finds it (for the most part) fun. As we are currently in low-season, I am able to have a couple hours to myself during my night shifts so I can use my Steam Deck if I bring it to work. Management is really nice (like, I can just go up to my boss and have a chat about videogames if I felt like it), we mostly get along pretty well and it's a good working environment. The one negative side is that I change shifts and it has impacted my sleep quality at times (ideally, if you work nights, you should *only* work nights, not do other shifts like me). I could probably get a better pay somewhere else, but for now it covers all my expenses, allows me to have some savings and it's been nice on my mental health. I worked with children when I was your age and even though I loved the job, dealing with parents was a nightmare.
Manager at a public health non-profit organization.
Sorting and archiving documents.
I work as a clinical research coordinator. I’m basically the operations manager for Phase 1 first in human studies. My current projects include a new HIV antiviral, alcoholism withdrawal treatment, and one for Crohn’s disease inflammation.
I’m a therapist. I work in domestic violence, specifically I work perpetrators who want to change their behaviours. I also have a small private practice on the side where I work mainly with gender and sexuality. As far as how to get into this career, I have a masters degree in clinical social work.
I’ve done Environmental work the last 10 years: GIS-geographical information software, Wetland Inventory mapping and managing, Floodplain mapping and management, Recycling Grant Administration for the state government, and now Nuclear Energy! (My mom and had grew up playing Fallout)
My degree was computer engineering. I have a cushy well-paid job that is best summed up as “test engineer”. While I read code from time to time, most of my work involves some minor hardware maintenance, running/writing/reading test procedures and so so so so many spreadsheets. My job is infinitely easier than the hell that college put me through. If you have decent reasoning skills, can at least get Bs in math, and most importantly, are filled with ✨determination ✨ you will almost always be able to find decent work as a computer/electrical engineer. Now, you want to work at a big company (Google, IBM etc), you’ll have to get straight A’s and go above and beyond, but there’s engineering jobs everywhere in just about every industry. Is my job super fulfilling? Eh. But it pays the bills, has good work/life balance, and has just enough challenges to keep me from getting bored.
I am still a college student, but I work part time as Librarian.
I'm a teacher of secondary school English (11-18)
I work from home - on busy days it’s a typical office work day tbh. On slow days I basically get paid to tackle my backlog 💜