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?
Stay true to yourself and accept that you can’t win but you also don’t have to settle.
In the biggest picture it really is what you do now. Be mindful of the now. You can’t do anything about then. You might be able to have an effect on the next.
So make your now as better as you can and do whatever it takes to make the next the best it can be.
Do your self a favor and be honest with what you can and can’t do.
If you can, then you should do
If you can’t, then find the way that makes it so you can.
I believe in you friend. I can’t really explain how much you have against you but it’s nothing new. Make sure to figure out your priorities and set goals to make it happen while being ready to take advantage of options.
Opportunity and timing and the truth factors in life.
Make sure you take the opportunity when it comes. It will come and sometimes it comes with baggage or in the most inopportune moment