Had to put my life on hold for my wife's residency/fellowship
TLDR I had to move to NYC for my wife's career and there's no job market for me here. Between unemployment and no social life, I'm really unhappy.
I met my wife at the beginning of her third year of med school. At the time I was just starting my bachelor's degree after spending four years in the military. We really hit it off and we both knew from the beginning that this was the real deal. She landed a residency in NYC while I still had two years left of school. Long distance actually worked out well, she had crazy hours at the beginning and as an engineering student, my academics got pretty intense during my last two years.
After I graduated I moved to NYC to join her. I knew there wasn't much engineering in NYC, but I figured with a degree from a top engineering school and my military background I could at least get something. I spent a year applying to everything I could find. I only got one interview for a small engineering company two hours away. I was really excited to finally get something, but I quickly found out it was a dead end job and they were only offering 50k/yr.
I had enough GI Bill left for grad school so I've been doing that for the past year. I get a generous housing stipend and it's at least keeping my career on ice, but it's so boring. The engineering schools in NYC are a total joke. I once wore a shirt from my undergrad to class and when my professor noticed he stopped teaching to ask me if I went there. When I said yes he stared at me for 5 seconds in astonishment before going back to the lecture.
I tried to find a part time job just to get some human interaction but it's extremely competitive unless you have connections, which I don't. I had a phone interview for a barista position since I have experience working in a coffee shop but they turned me down because I don't have any bartending experience. That place doesn't even serve alcohol wtf?
She told me once that the thing she admired most about me was my drive and ambition. But I've reached the point where I don't really care about anything anymore. I've turned into a lazy sack of shit because, aside from taking care of my wife, my life has become completely meaningless. She's agreed to leave the city after fellowship, but that's two years away. I feel like a 50s house wife, minus the cushy suburbs and antidepressants.
I just needed to vent. Rant over