u/Vast-Wrongdoer-2421

I was sitting at my desk a little while ago when my manager asked me to come with him into a small meeting room. He said they weren't satisfied with the way things had been going, including my recent absences, and that the company had decided to end my employment with them. In less than 40 minutes, my laptop access was shut off, some documents were put in front of me, and someone escorted me out of the building.

It all happened so quickly that I still don't feel like I've fully processed it. I'm 35 years old, and this is the first time in my life I've been fired from a job. I had been working there for about 14 months. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can admit that it probably wasn't the best match for me. I really did try hard, and I put a lot of effort into the role, but I wasn't able to reach the level they wanted from me.

This is my first afternoon without a job, and I feel completely lost. I'm scared, anxious, stressed, embarrassed, lonely, and I have no idea what the coming weeks are going to look like. I understand that the obvious thing is to start applying somewhere else, and I know I'll get to that stage, but right now even opening my resume feels incredibly heavy.

I'm sure a lot of people here have gone through something similar. If anyone has advice, a perspective, or even a "this happened to me and things worked out in the end" kind of story, I'd be very grateful.

Right now I have a job with an 8-minute commute round trip. I accepted it because I'm still a new parent, and my partner's job sometimes keeps him very far from home. Before this, I used to work in the city, and my normal commute was about an hour and 35 minutes each way by train when everything was running smoothly.

The new job has honestly turned out to be less than I expected. I make 88k and pay about 1,050 a month for health insurance. And after daycare expenses are deducted, there's basically no room to breathe. I knew the salary when I accepted, but I didn't understand how difficult the health coverage would be. The job itself is still very demanding, and the retirement plan isn't impressive. Some of my more senior coworkers have honestly told me they think I should go back to my old employer because the retirement benefits there are much better. I've been with that company for 14 years, and I need to reach 18 years to qualify for full retirement benefits, which would be 32 years of service.

My old job was very heavy. It made me feel like I was working in urgent care - constant pressure and always something happening. But the pay was better. I was making 118k, the health insurance was almost no cost, and the 401k was much stronger. I keep thinking about reaching out to my old manager because I left on good terms, and I'm fairly sure he'd be happy to bring me back.

The part holding me back is my daughter. There have been mornings when she needed me at 7:10 a.m. And I was still able to get to my current job on time. That would never have happened with my old commute. I would already have been on the 6:08 or 6:31 a.m. Train by then.

And then I start thinking about how much less present I would be for them. I'd wake up around 5:10 in the morning, and on the best days I'd get home around 4:30 on 4 out of 6 workdays. There would also be late nights when I wouldn't get home until close to 7:30. For context, both jobs are about 190 workdays a year.

If I go back, it would put a much bigger burden on my husband. I'd probably need to get morning help so he isn't stuck handling everything alone. He recently changed his job to be more local, so now I'd be the one going back to the big commute again.

My husband says he'll support me in whatever I choose. But I feel like this decision comes back to money every time. I basically have nothing left after bills, and I'm not saving for retirement the way I should be. I'm not asking my partner for money, even though he offered to pay the health insurance if that would help.

Am I crazy for considering going back to the longer commute for better pay, better benefits, and a stronger team? I miss not feeling financially trapped. I also have a side hustle that brings in about 750 a month, and I still feel buried under expenses. Is being close to my family worth this financial loss? We can't move closer to my old job.

I recently started a new job. I left a remote job that was very comfortable, and moved to an in-office position paying 30% more a year. It also came with a title promotion, which was a big reason I accepted it.

I've only been at the new job for about a week, but I have this strange feeling somewhere between regret and sadness about the decision I made. Now I have a 35-minute commute each way, rent I have to pay ($1500/month), people constantly walking past my desk, coworkers looking at my screen while I'm trying to work, and I miss being at home with my family.

For anyone who has gone through something similar, how did you get past the regret and adjust to the new situation?

Hi everyone. Honestly, I don't understand this whole "nobody wants to work these days" thing when so many people around me can't even get a response.

For the past 3 months, I've been sending applications for admin/office jobs. I have 8 years of solid experience, a certificate in the field, and plenty of good references. Out of about 60 applications, I only heard back from 6 places, and interviews were scheduled with 3 of them. After that? Nothing. No rejection, no update, nothing at all, just silence.

The part that bothers me is that it's not just me. My roommate kept applying for about 5 months until she finally got an interview that turned into a job, and a lot of people I know are dealing with the same thing. They apply, follow up, tailor their resumes, and still barely hear anything back.

I've never struggled this much before to find a job, so it's really frustrating. Is anyone else going through this right now? Are you doing anything that has helped you get responses from employers? Thanks in advance.