u/immaculatetoasty

I’m 27F and I left my first marketing job (4 years, a toxic startup) in March. I have a BSc in Food, Nutrition & Health because I thought I'd go into public health, but I learned quickly that I don't like policy or anything related to public health anymore. I recently got a contract role in events at a large nonprofit through my fundraising experience. I took it on a whim because I'm lost and don't really know what skills I have. I'm good at it, and I like the structure and focus, but I know I don't want to stay long term.

Marketing alsonnever felt interesting or fulfilling to me, but people keep placing me in those roles and I keep ending up back there. I don't want to manage people, and every promotion path I see leads to a manager role in a corporate setting.
I've thought about being an RMT or doing occupational therapy because I like helping people one-on-one, but the thought of touching strangers makes me uneasy. I've also thought about freelancing or working for myself, but I don't know what I'd pitch. I don't feel like I have special or well-developed skills, and my degree barely relates to either of my past jobs.

Here's what I've noticed about myself recently, mostly from conversations with friends:

1. I get really excited when friends pitch business ideas. I love helping them build a plan, even if it never happens. I helped a friend start her sticker business and gave her advice. She’s doing very well now and am lowkey jealous she’s so happy and fulfilled.

2. Corporate life drains me. My friends describe me as whimsical, playful, and imaginative, but at work I'm quiet and logical. I feel like I'm pretending, and I can't picture myself in suits in big meetings or being a “girl boss”

3. My uncle once told me I have great ideas but I quit everything. It stuck with me. To me, it doesn't make sense to keep going if I don't see it leading anywhere. I also realized that I don’t finish a lot of projects :/

4. I've been called a jack of all trades multiple times. I can do a lot of things, but I don't have a niche, and that bothers me.

5. I'm comfortable financially, but I can't take another big leap like quitting my job. The next move has to make sense, whether that's going back to school or starting something.

6. I research a lot but struggle to act on it. I've been trying to be more actionable, but it often ends in frustration.

What career do you think might work well for me? Or what should I do to go into a road of self discovery?

TL;DR: I'm 27 and I don't want to climb the corporate ladder, manage people, or stay in marketing or events. I like helping people on a more personal level and helping friends turn ideas into plans. What careers or paths fit that?

I started a new job last week in events helping coordinate multi-million dollar generating galas for a big charity. I took a pretty big pay cut, it’s part time and contract based. My family keeps telling me to get another job quickly mainly because of the pay.

My worry is that I’m going to be burning down bridges because a lot of the people in my new company are well connected to affluent and influential people in the city.

I’m really not sure what my career path is still going to look like. I don’t really have a goal, I just stumbled on this opportunity. I thought I wouldn’t find myself working for another charity but a positive side to this gig is that it’s entirely different to my previous position, with a very large charity, and it’s kind of like project management. There’s a lot more rules, a lot more people to work with compared to my old job. I am at the very “bottom” of my team though doing some runt work of driving around and picking stuff up.

Do you guys think that I should stick with the job till end of the contract or find another job? Do you think this job would be valuable and regarded highly for future employers?

For context: Before this, my first job out of university was in marketing for another charity. I stayed there for about 3.5 years before I quit because I felt like I wasn’t growing anymore and couldn’t see any advancement. I quit without a job lined up (for other reasons i wont go into) and found this opportunity a couple months later.