u/Neat-Pineapple-960

One month away from a Stern MBA. Got laid off from public accounting in November of 2025 2/3 of the way through the Langone MBA program at NYU. Worked a tax preparation job to keep the lights on until April 2026.

May 2026 - now: working at a grocery store making $16.50 an hour while paying ~$2838 a credit for MBA classes at NYU through a mixture of draining my bank account and taking on federal unsubsidized loans. Moved out of NYC and back to my parent's house in the midwest to avoid becoming homeless.

For context - I have a bachelor's degree in Accounting. Graduated in May 2022 and worked at three different places since then - a huge bank in an audit role, a tax role in public accounting, and a temporary tax prep role after the layoff.

Now, being literally 1.5 months away from finally being done, I have no job lined up. I have over $80,000 in debt from this stupid fucking program. The outcome was extremely different from what I expected when I first began it.

I'm seriously leaning on joining the military or going back to do an accelerated bachelors after this is over. It's become extremely obvious that accounting (in any role or function whatsoever) is not for me. I wasn't able to even keep a job in it for more than 20 months at most. The public accounting role could have worked out, but the NYU classes during it made it extremely hard, especially in NYC with it being a client-facing role (evenings and weekends).

This MBA was a huge mistake. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm stuck with all of this debt and I've been making $16.50 an hour at a grocery store (and waking up at 4 in the fucking morning 5 days a week) because of this decision and everything it did to scar my path so far. I wish I were joking but I'm not.

I've already pre-enrolled in courses at a local community college to begin the pivot out of business altogether. I'm 26 so it's either that I change my pre-MBA background, continue to struggle and watch the interest get higher on my federal loans, or join the military. Literally.

I regret going to NYU. I gave so much to this fucking program: I sold my car, I haven't taken a vacation since June 2022, I've never been in a relationship, I lived in a shitty part of Manhattan for 1.5 years, the list goes on and on. This part-time MBA was a horrible mistake.

I got picked up for Space Force on the 26OTS03 board.

However, I had a recent incident back in June where I was prescribed Lexapro (an antidepressant). I had a lot of life-changing events happen between November 2025 - June 2026:

1. Laid off from a job in NYC in November (loss of financial stability)
2. Father got cancer (I found out in May 2026)
3. Moved back home with mom and dad for financial issues while completing an expensive MBA at a top 10 school, part-time

A lot of difficult things all happened at once, and it was very hard to handle. This led to some serious depression which triggered the incident in June. Now I'm worried about it making my path to becoming an officer impossible. Which sucks, because I invested a LOT into this path, including even building out an officer package for another branch.

Advice would be appreciated. I got the good news yesterday, but I don't want to put my hopes up. I'm not lying to the MEPS doctor.

(I never picked up the SSRI prescription - I know I don't need it).

I currently have $78,000 of federal unsubsidized graduate student loan debt. I am an MBA student at NYU with no job offers. I will graduate in December of this year.

Over the past 3.5 years - I worked for three different employers - a very large bank as an internal auditor for 20 months before performance issues required me to voluntarily resign, a public accounting firm in NYC for one year in tax before getting laid off, and a tax preparer position for ~5 months.

Now, with my accounting bachelors (3.484 GPA) and NYU MBA (3.5 GPA), I have no job. I've been applying like crazy and I'm not getting any traction. Doing a bachelors in accounting was a very bad idea. This career does not match my passions or personality. I chose it at the time while in high school before AI was a thing, before Covid hit in 2020, and during a time when I genuinely had no idea of what I wanted to study in college. However, at 17, I did highly consider a career in medicine. I have an ENFJ personality type (this is from a test I took on my team at that bank back in 2024). The best days I ever had at any job were the ones where I did something meaningful for others, rather than simply stare at a screen and build financial models in Excel.

I learned the very hard way that this career is not the right fit. Since I graduated in 2022, I can best describe my 3.5 year career as a persistent struggle. I keep trying to convince myself that accounting/finance is for me, but it isn't. I even attempted the CPA exam twice and did not pass.

I want to get another bachelor's degree very badly. This time, with something aligned with my passions. I see Nursing being a strong fit. I am a very empathetic person by nature and I want my work to have a meaningful impact on others - not simply making a corporation rich. In high school, I loved science (biology and chemistry in particular). In undergrad, I got As in Human Nutrition and Biology - I loved the subjects. However, I remember my accounting courses being a grueling grind against something I truly did not have a passion for.

Here's the problem. Right now, I'm making ~16.50 an hour working at a grocery store while finishing my MBA. I am 26 years old. I moved back in with my parents to save money on rent and groceries in my current situation.

Even in the small chance of me getting very lucky and securing another accounting position, there is a high chance I will not be able to keep it. This career is absolutely not for me. I want to make this career change before it's too late. I've heard about a great ABSN program in my hometown, but I have not completed the science prerequisites yet. I plan on taking them this coming fall and in the spring next year.

Advice will be appreciated. I know this is a unique situation but in my mind, with the right choices going forward, there is hope. My priority right now is to complete the required prerequisites before I apply to the program.

Just got the decision today. Absolutely thrilled. The original plan was Pilot or bust, but after a lot of self-reflecting and evaluation of my long-term goals, a commission as an officer in any branch is an incredible honor.

Being a civilian with no prior military experience, this is a big step in my mind. My MBA will also be complete in December so finally seeing a path outside of my accounting background for the first time is beyond exciting.

Congrats to those who were selected today. Most importantly, thank you to everyone who provided incredible advice to me over the past year. I haven't forgotten y'all. Here's to new beginnings!

128 applications, a NYU MBA complete in 4 months, a bachelor's in Accounting with 3.5 years of experience at well known companies, and I cannot even get a first round interview.

Wtf is going on?

I'm also sending connection requests to NYU alum and very few are actually accepting. People on here keep saying "network, network, network".

First of all, I don't live in NYC anymore. Like a previous post said, I got laid off. How the fuck am I going to pay Manhattan rent without a job, at 26 years old, and in the Langone part-time program? How would I go to NYC job fairs? Also, in my hometown (far away from NYC which I was forced to move back to), how am I going to network with NYU alum who do not live here?

I really don't know what to do. I'm so fucking tired of waking up at 3 in the morning to go and work a job that doesn't even require a high school diploma. I'm fucking tired of this shit man. I should have enlisted in the military after high school, gone to do a trade instead, or gotten a bachelor's in something other than accounting. Fuck this. What a fucking struggle. I really genuinely have no idea how to escape this hole I'm in.

Edit: Aside from federal unsubsidized loans, I've been paying for this program OUT OF POCKET, FULL STICKER PRICE since January of 2024, minus one small ~7.5k scholarship I got in December 2025. I am 26 years old as of this post. I put my ENTIRE LIFE on pause because of this program and now I cannot even get an interview.

Edit #2: This all has a big domino effect - no job = no way to pay down MBA debt, no way to maybe have a family in the future, no way to end my loneliness, no way to get back out of mom and dad's house, and worst of all, no way to end the mistake of starting this program.

I am literally willing to put my life on the line - RIGHT NOW, and SERVE - to escape this hole I am in.

I'm going to NYU Stern lectures while being surrounded by classmates much older than me, employed in jobs making $100k+ per year, while I'm here living in mom and dad's house at 26 and working a job that literally pays ~$17 an hour after working at a huge bank and a public accounting firm in NYC. My career took a sharp U-turn for the worse and I'm literally fucked right now.

I'm not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I met with my Stern's OCR office yesterday and I got generic advice - reach out to alumni on LinkedIn, arrange coffee chats, read this book about career strategy, the job market is tough right now, etc.

I've sent out connection requests and most of them are ghosting me. I have ~122 applications outstanding for roles that match my experience, skills, and degrees and I'm not getting an email for an interview.

Through all of this, my dad has cancer (he has a surgery soon), I'm single, I don't have friends, and I barely get out of bed every morning. This has without a doubt been the toughest 2-3 months of my entire life. I'm really not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Before I applied to NYU, and while I was working at that bank, I was debt-free, I did have friends, I had a good job, the job market was a lot better, and I was getting interviews. What's hilarious is that I only had one year of professional experience at that time and only a bachelor's degree but I was literally getting more interviews than I am right now.

It feels like to matter how hard I work, no matter what dreams I have, what aspirations come to me, etc, shit just crumbles down into flames. I'm spinning my wheels extremely hard and not gaining meaningful traction.

I know a lot of you said arrange coffee chats/network but I really and genuinely do not think this is going to get me an interview. In fact, I reached out to a Stern alum last summer who referred me for a role at another big bank and after applying, of course, I was rejected.

I don't know when my situation will improve. I'm trying to stay strong but day after day, it's just not getting better at all. I'm doing everything I can to keep my head above water.

The thought of pouring all of this fucking money into this program and not getting any ROI out of it is killing me. I'm just getting older by the day and my career is in a really shitty place right now. I seriously don't know what to do. I really don't know how much longer I can try to fight.

I already took the OAR and ASTB. Scored very well (59 8/9/8).

I already went to MEPS too back in April. My medical was approved.

The original plan was to submit my SNA package in November. However, something happened.

I've been going through a tough time since my corporate layoff in November 2025. Financial difficulties, being forced to work contract work, having to move back home with mom and dad, etc. It's been a quick and forceful loss of stability and momentum which caused mental health issues. As soon as I came back home, I heard that my father has cancer as well. I was placed into an involuntary 72 hour hold and received a Lexapro prescription at the end of May this year. I never picked up the prescription because I know I do not have clinical depression and I do not need medication. It was just the combination of unfortunate things that led to a sudden and rapid loss of stability and progress towards my goals.

I heard that I could see a second psychiatrist, have them evaluate me, and write a letter (similar to what people do for food allergies if they have them - OFCs). Would this be an effective solution?

I still have dreams of being a pilot in the military. At this point, any branch. I already took the AFOQT and the TBAS for the Air Force as well. I'm building multiple paths in case one of them does not work out.

Advice on this would be appreciated. I just want to know if there is a way forward after this incident. I know waivers are given out all the time but this one sounds serious. Like I said above, I am not depressed. It was just the pressure from finishing my masters, getting laid off and losing financial stability, and having to move back home as a last resort.

Before I ask this question, I would like to give more context regarding the very unfortunate career path I've had so far with an Accounting bachelor's degree:

-Got a really good offer in internal audit at a bank as a full-time analyst after very fortunately getting an internship during my junior year of undergrad. Worked that job from August 2022 - April 2024.

-Started the MBA at NYU in January 2024. The new commitment made my performance dip at my internal audit job. Things were not looking good. Difficult conversations were had. I voluntarily left to avoid more trouble in April 2024. It was a low point and a gigantic setback.

-Worked at a grocery store (April 2024 - October 2024) to keep the lights on and pay tuition before I moved to NYC to start a role in public accounting. Woke up at 4 in the morning every day, for months, just to pay NYU for the hopes that my future would turn around.

-Moved to NYC (October 2024), worked in public accounting, lived paycheck to paycheck and paid all of my f*cking money to NYU for the hopes and prayers of landing something better eventually. November 2025 - I got laid off. Everything burned to dust again just like in April 2024.

Notice the pattern here. I work hard, I pay all of my hard-earned money to NYU - what did NYU give me back? What doors did the MBA open?

I'm thinking about going back to school to get another bachelor's in a field that is not being HIT HARD BY AI (Construction Management, Nursing - those two seem very attractive to me). After the MBA is done in December.

I keep applying to jobs but it's just not working out. There are way too many candidates with bachelors degrees in Accounting, many of them have CPAs, and the competition is just absolutely fucking insane right now. I did not think I would be working entry-level Accounting jobs years after starting my MBA at NYU. Heck, I didn't even think I would be unemployed AGAIN after the blunder between April '24 - October '24.

It seems to me that the biggest problem was thinking that an Accounting bachelors would be a good fit. I'm very seriously considering getting another bachelor's but in a field like Nursing that provides a career of stability, really good money, prestige (not a stupid school on a resume, but a stable job that actually pays well) and could potentially open doors in the future when also combined with my Stern MBA.

This Accounting bachelor's really does not seem to be cutting it. I think going back to school, for a field I am more passionate for, while paying down my MBA student loans would be a potential idea. Not set in stone, but I've had serious thoughts about this. If this can save my career, give me a job I can keep for more than 2 years, and not get outsourced or replaced by AI, I think it might just be the next path forward out of my current struggle.

The funny thing through all of this is that I am actually a very genuine and down to earth person. I always take pride and happiness in helping people, I've always been very nice, I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I consider myself someone who is attached to their faith as a source of guidance and strength.

I think Nursing would be a very strong fit for me. Especially with how good the medical industry is doing right now (and how well it was doing during Covid too). Some thoughts on this would be good. I am really not feeling very enthusastic about the future ROI of not just my Accounting bachelors, but also my part-time MBA from NYU. Seriously.

I know as a fact that if I did a bachelor's in Nursing instead, my path would have been a lot better. A lot more stable. A lot more $$$ would have been made. Much better ROI.

Seriously - is a part-time MBA worth it right now? What doors does it open? Are people only getting it to move up in their current jobs? What if you got laid off?

Why not just go back and get another bachelor's in a field that AI is not fucking over? Like nursing, construction management, etc?

I am months away from having an MBA from Stern and I am STRUGGLING. I'm waking up at 3 in the fucking morning every day to work a shitty fucking job at a stupid fucking grocery store. On top of that, they keep moving me around to other departments and treating me like a slave.

Why did I go to Stern? Why am I paying $~2,924 per credit? Why did I put myself in debt? Why am I applying to jobs with the EXACT experience that aligns with my top banking audit experience (and public accounting experience) and still getting ghosted or rejected?

Seriously man - WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW? Are there just way too many people or something?

WHAT VALUE DOES AN MBA FROM NYU, OR ANY OTHER "PRESTIGIOUS" SCHOOL BRING?

Warning - this is going to be a rage/frustration post.

Before I begin, I would like to say that I decided to go and get an MBA at the age of 23 while in a comfortable job with a pretty great company. At the time, I thought ahead for the next 10+ years, and I knew that a master's degree would be a lifelong investment.

I applied ONLY to NYU's part-time MBA program, and fortunately, I got in. At the time, I was really happy - I was excited to start taking classes, meet new people, get a better job (that was my mindset at the time), and essentially improve my life for the long-term.

Little did I know the Hell I was about to enter.

As soon as I began the program, I left my comfortable job at that really great company because #1) it started becoming really hard managing that and a grad program at the same time and #2) I fortunately got an offer in public accounting in New York at the time which I used as a backup for both moving there and finally getting out of mom and dad's house at 24. Fast forward - after working for one year in that role (and after managing that AND NYU MBA classes at the same time), I got laid off. It felt like I just got hit by a bullet in the head. I was in a HORRIBLE place mentally at that time. Then I fortunately got a temporary tax preparer position to keep the lights on while living in NYC and taking in-person MBA classes at NYU.

Now, since May, I have pretty much been unemployed. I'm working a temporary job at a grocery store while also living back with mom and dad just to keep my head above water and afford tuition. So my question is - after leaving a job at a GREAT company, getting laid off, and having to basically commit financial suicide (and sacrifice a social life for 2.5 years, opportunities to meet people, maybe even get married, etc), was all of this really worth it just for a piece of paper from that stupid f*cking purple school? Is all of this really worth a $150,000 degree if I cannot get a good job afterwards? I've basically took on federal student loans and paid for the ENTIRE program out of pocket so far aside from a $~7.5k scholarship I was fortunate to get in December of 2025.

Now I am back with mom and dad, at 26, working at a grocery store, and I do not have an offer lined up after my MBA is complete in December. I'm also single and I've been fighting intense battles of loneliness, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In fact, I recently had an incident where I was held for 72 hours in a facility after expressing suicidal thoughts to a helpline.

Is there really a light at the end of the tunnel? Was all of this shit I dealt with really worth the NYU MBA? What good came out of it? Am I stuck in debt and did this university stick a fist up my ass? I really could use some supportive comments. I'm watching high school friends get married, full-time MBA colleagues get great jobs at fortune 500 companies (at lower ranked schools than NYU - some are people I knew from undergrad). The list of pain goes on and on.

Edit: I am also a virgin, never been in a relationship, lived alone in Manhattan for 1.5 years with only one friend to do things with, I’ve been going to the gym consistently since May 2017, the list goes on and on and on. I’m in an extremely unique situation and it’s genuinely been very, very hard to find hope. The suicidal thoughts just get worse and worse.

Edit #2: I just heard two days ago that my dad has cancer. He is 75 years old.

I’m curious on the timeline of next steps after going to MEPS. I went on April 10th and passed everything. For background - I did Lasik out of pocket back in November. I provided all post-op documentation to my recruiter, but when I went to MEPS, the doctor told me the second post-op was missing from the system. I let my recruiter know when I got back. Right before leaving MEPS, I was also told I may need a waiver for my vision.

It’s now been 6 months since I had the surgery. It’s also been ~6 months since I took the ASTB and the OAR, and I was happy with my scores. I’m just curious if this is a normal timeline. I don’t want to miss the upcoming boards. Going for SNA.

I also recently made the personal choice to move back to my hometown, so hopefully I can still work with my recruiter that I began the process with almost a year ago.