Stuck in the Helpdesk trap after my Canada PR fell through. Got my AWS cert, but a bike accident killed my momentum. How do I restart my DevOps transition?
TL;DR: Moved to Canada at 18, got stuck in a Service Desk role for PR, but a company merger ruined my PR chances. Moved back to India working the same job remotely (14.4 LPA). Tried pivoting to DevOps, got my AWS SAA-C03, built projects, but a bike accident and severe work burnout completely derailed my job hunt. Waking up everyday feeling stagnant. Need advice on how to get back on the grind.
Hey everyone, I really need some advice or just some harsh truths on how to get out of this rut.
Here is my timeline and how I got here:
- The Canada Phase: I moved to Canada when I was 18, finished my Software Engineering Technician diploma, and took a Service Desk job because the employer was willing to sponsor my PR. I grinded away at that same job and even got my Provincial Nomination.
- The Setback: Out of nowhere, my company restructured and merged with a US-based firm. Suddenly, I didn't meet the PR conditions anymore and couldn't secure it before my work permit expired.
- The Move Back (Sept 2025): I had to move back to India. The same company offered me a remote offshore Service Desk role paying 14.4 LPA. The money is fine, but I am still stuck doing the exact same helpdesk work.
The Pivot to DevOps: I started feeling incredibly depressed about being stuck resetting passwords and taking tickets while my peers were working on real technical projects. So, I decided to take control. I enrolled in Imran Teli’s Udemy bootcamp, grinded hard, and passed my AWS SAA-C03 in March 2026. I built out some solid portfolio projects (setting up Terraform, EKS, and CI/CD pipelines) and started applying.
I actually got a local offer near my house! But it was for 30k INR/month with a massive 2-year bond. I turned it down.
Where it all went wrong: Right after that, I got into a bike accident. It took me a full month to recover, and it completely shattered my momentum. When I finally got back to my remote job, the call volumes had skyrocketed. I've been so stressed and drained from my shifts that I completely stopped studying, stopped tinkering with my projects, and stopped applying.
Where I am now: I want to restart this journey, but I feel terrible every single time I wake up for this monotonous job. I see other people growing and learning, while my brain feels like it's turning to mush.
Any advice on how to structure my time, or just some words of encouragement to get back on the horse, would be massively appreciated. Thanks for reading.