u/Suitable_Call_1203

I’m genuinely tired of asking for advice about opportunities and seeing the same response over and over again.
Someone asks how to get a job? “The job market is extremely competitive.”
Someone asks about internships? “Internships are ridiculously competitive nowadays.”
Someone asks about PhDs or academia? “You need an outstanding profile. It’s incredibly competitive.”
Volunteering? Competitive. Graduate schemes? Competitive. Entry-level positions? Somehow, even those are competitive.
So what the hell ISN’T competitive anymore?
Genuine question: what is someone supposed to do, then? Not everyone can have publications, prestigious internships, exceptional grades, years of experience, and a dozen extracurricular achievements before they’re even given a chance to start their career.
I understand that competition exists. I’m not expecting opportunities to be handed to me. But when the answer to practically every question is just “it’s too competitive,” that doesn’t actually help anyone.
Are there genuinely any fields, career paths, or opportunities where an ordinary person with a reasonable background can still get started without having to be in the top 1% of applicants?
I’m interested in anything: tech, trades, academia, public sector, volunteering, or completely different career paths. I’m not looking for a shortcut or an easy life. I want to know where realistic opportunities still exist.
If everything is competitive, then where are people supposed to begin?

I’m genuinely tired of asking for advice about opportunities and seeing the same response over and over again.
Someone asks how to get a job? “The job market is extremely competitive.”
Someone asks about internships? “Internships are ridiculously competitive nowadays.”
Someone asks about PhDs or academia? “You need an outstanding profile. It’s incredibly competitive.”
Volunteering? Competitive. Graduate schemes? Competitive. Entry-level positions? Somehow, even those are competitive.
So what the hell ISN’T competitive anymore?
Genuine question: what is someone supposed to do, then? Not everyone can have publications, prestigious internships, exceptional grades, years of experience, and a dozen extracurricular achievements before they’re even given a chance to start their career.
I understand that competition exists. I’m not expecting opportunities to be handed to me. But when the answer to practically every question is just “it’s too competitive,” that doesn’t actually help anyone.
Are there genuinely any fields, career paths, or opportunities where an ordinary person with a reasonable background can still get started without having to be in the top 1% of applicants?
I’m interested in anything: tech, trades, academia, public sector, volunteering, or completely different career paths. I’m not looking for a shortcut or an easy life. I want to know where realistic opportunities still exist.

Hi everyone,

I've been invited to the final interview for a fully funded PhD position in Cybersecurity for Embodied AI at Örebro University (Sweden), within the WASP programme.

My background is in Computer Science, and I'm currently finishing an MSc in Advanced Computer Science at the University of Leeds. Most of my experience is in embedded systems, IoT, sensors, telemetry, and cyber-physical systems, rather than traditional cybersecurity research.

The process so far included a written application and a recorded interview. The final stage is a 20-minute discussion with the supervisor about my potential contribution to the research environment and my career goals.

For people familiar with PhD recruitment:

• How many candidates are usually left at this stage?
• Does this type of final interview generally mean you've already passed the main technical screening?
• If the interview goes very well, how much can it affect the final decision?

Just trying to get a realistic understanding of where I stand.

Thanks!

Me (M22) been friends with a girl(F23) in my friend group for about 11 months, mostly hanging out in group settings. Over the last couple months a bunch of small things have added up and I can't tell if I'm reading too much into it or if there's something real here.
Some context:
• In a group game (truth-style, picking who you'd choose as a bf in the friend group), she picked me when asked privately.
• I found out separately that months ago she told a mutual friend she liked my hair/face, and another time she called me the most stylish guy in the group in front of others.
• She watched me play football once and told her best guy friend afterward that I played well and didn't get tired, unprompted.
• At a party a few weeks ago, we were both drunk, her elbow accidentally hit my eyebrow, she apologized and kissed my cheek.
• Days after that, in front of me and a mutual guy friend, she said out of nowhere "you have nice eyes."
• We don't spend much one-on-one time together, almost always in groups, but lately we've been sending TikToks/reels back and forth daily, she replies pretty consistently.
• She's never had a boyfriend before.
I like her, and I've been overthinking basically every interaction since these things started stacking up. My gut says the signals are real, but I don’t know if this is actually something or just normal friendly behavior from someone who's naturally warm. She’s not doing that much to another one in the group as well.

We haven't had a real one-on-one conversation yet where anything deeper came up.
Would appreciate honesty.

Me (M22) been friends with a girl(F23) in my friend group for about 11 months, mostly hanging out in group settings. Over the last couple months a bunch of small things have added up and I can't tell if I'm reading too much into it or if there's something real here.
Some context:
• In a group game (truth-style, picking who you'd choose as a bf in the friend group), she picked me when asked privately.
• I found out separately that months ago she told a mutual friend she liked my hair/face, and another time she called me the most stylish guy in the group in front of others.
• She watched me play football once and told her best guy friend afterward that I played well and didn't get tired, unprompted.
• At a party a few weeks ago, we were both drunk, her elbow accidentally hit my eyebrow, she apologized and kissed my cheek.
• Days after that, in front of me and a mutual guy friend, she said out of nowhere "you have nice eyes."
• We don't spend much one-on-one time together, almost always in groups, but lately we've been sending TikToks/reels back and forth daily, she replies pretty consistently.
• She's never had a boyfriend before.
I like her, and I've been overthinking basically every interaction since these things started stacking up. My gut says the signals are real, but I don’t know if this is actually something or just normal friendly behavior from someone who's naturally warm. She’s not doing that much to another one in the group as well.

We haven't had a real one-on-one conversation yet where anything deeper came up.
Would appreciate honesty.

Me (M22) been friends with a girl(F23) in my friend group for about 11 months, mostly hanging out in group settings. Over the last couple months a bunch of small things have added up and I can't tell if I'm reading too much into it or if there's something real here.
Some context:
• In a group game (truth-style, picking who you'd choose as a bf in the friend group), she picked me when asked privately.
• I found out separately that months ago she told a mutual friend she liked my hair/face, and another time she called me the most stylish guy in the group in front of others.
• She watched me play football once and told her best guy friend afterward that I played well and didn't get tired, unprompted.
• At a party a few weeks ago, we were both drunk, her elbow accidentally hit my eyebrow, she apologized and kissed my cheek.
• Days after that, in front of me and a mutual guy friend, she said out of nowhere "you have nice eyes."
• We don't spend much one-on-one time together, almost always in groups, but lately we've been sending TikToks/reels back and forth daily, she replies pretty consistently.
• She's never had a boyfriend before.
I like her, and I've been overthinking basically every interaction since these things started stacking up. My gut says the signals are real, but I don’t know if this is actually something or just normal friendly behavior from someone who's naturally warm. She’s not doing that much to another one in the group as well.

We haven't had a real one-on-one conversation yet where anything deeper came up.
Would appreciate honesty.

I’m Azerbaijani and I realized that most of what people on both sides hear about each other comes from news, politics, or social media.
If you could ask an ordinary Azerbaijani anything about life, culture, society, language, education, daily routines, or anything else, what would you want to know?

I’m from Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani is mainly spoken only in Azerbaijan and parts of northern Iran. Because of that, my language feels very closely tied to my country and culture.
I’ve always been curious about people whose native language is spoken across many countries, such as English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Arabic speakers.
What does it feel like knowing that your language is spoken by millions of people from completely different countries and cultures? How do you feel when you hear different accents or regional versions of your language? Does your language feel connected to your country, or does it feel like something much bigger?
For example, how do people from England feel when they hear American, Australian, South African, or Indian English? Or how do people from Spain feel about Latin American Spanish? Or French speakers from France hearing Canadian, Belgian, Swiss, or African French?
I’m curious because my experience is very different. When I travel abroad, I never expect to find another country where I can naturally use my native language, so I wonder what it’s like for people who do.

Coming from Azerbaijan, I genuinely struggle to understand how casually illegal border crossing is discussed in some Western countries, especially online.

Where I’m from, borders are taken extremely seriously. Our border guards are often literally military personnel, especially near places like the Iranian border where there have been armed smugglers and shootings before. We even have a saying that basically means “the border is honor.” So culturally, the idea of thousands of people just crossing illegally and some part of the society reacting with “it’s not a big deal” feels very strange to many of us.

I do feel sympathy for people escaping poverty, war, or terrible situations. But at the same time, I think respecting a country also means respecting its laws and borders. If someone wants to live somewhere permanently, become a citizen, and be part of that society, shouldn’t legality matter too?

What surprises me most is not even the migration itself, but how divided people are about whether borders should actually be enforced. In many countries, crossing illegally would be seen as a major violation immediately, regardless of politics.

I’m curious how people from different countries see this, because I think culture and geography probably shape opinions a lot.

I’ve been thinking about something and I rarely see it discussed openly.

In countries like United Kingdom, United States, and France, birth rates are falling and populations are aging. That means fewer workers in the future and more pressure on the economy.

At the same time, these countries continue to accept immigrants.

Isn’t immigration basically a way to compensate for the fact that fewer children are being born locally? Like filling the gap needed to keep the economy growing and the system running?

If that’s true, why don’t politicians or media talk about it more directly?
Is it because it sounds too controversial, or am I oversimplifying how it works?