Major life/career shift. What would you do?
Lots of context left out, I’ll be active in the comments. This is a major decision for me and any advice is genuinely appreciated.
28M living in the South, feeling stuck - looking for career guidance after a rough few years
Background: finance degree, hated desk work in my remote commercial insurance job. Pivoted to car sales (weird childhood dream job)— loved it, made $20k+/month, but left after a toxic GM situation and an even worse experience at a “top-rated” dealership I moved states to pursue a role at (harassment, bait-and-switch on a finance role). Around the same time, a bad breakup, losing my friend group (ex decided to start dating my best friend and entrenched herself in the group), and a family cancer scare all hit at once. Then I moved home and got my real estate license. Closed 2 deals this year. The day to day of this job is miserable, but I see how it could be quite enjoyable for me if I could “crack the code”, which may just be spending more time doing it. I like the flexibility and freedom, it’s an industry where honesty and negotiating skills are highly valued (to a select group I’ve yet to identify, most people just pick the person they’ve seen the most I.e. family members or advertisements).
The honest problem: I don’t lack ability. Every job I’ve had, I’ve gone deep on genuinely understanding the industry, found opportunities for evolution, and performed well. What I lack is structure and a clear goal. I do well when I have both. Very frustrating to have unlimited freedom due to being a 1099 in real estate, but feeling like the day to day is draining to the point that I don’t want to wake up and do anything (work-wise) the next day. I also genuinely dislike my hometown. I find the people to be extremely small-minded and selfish. After traveling out west several times, I find it feels much more like home to me socially and culturally. But maybe it’s a small town problem and I need to live in the city. I REALLY like the idea of having driven, intellectually curious people nearby and spending time in nature. It took me 20ish years to meet the people that I’m no longer friends with.
What I’m weighing:
• Stick with real estate and build it properly. Learn the ropes, potentially join a high volume team/builder. Move west and start over with the knowledge acquired.
• Banking (entry-level, work up)
• Business consulting
• Return to auto (familiar, proven income) and save to relocate
What matters to me: talking to people, solving real problems, eventually having autonomy and financial freedom. I love the outdoors. I think like an engineer. Money isn’t the top priority, but I need to know the ceiling is high if I go down a particular path/build up skills. AI is weighing on me and is a consideration with certain paths, but trying to not let it discourage me from building myself up.
What would you do?