u/ravens-plaits

Honestly, I'm exhausted and burned out from working in food service, and I'm making basically nothing. I feel tired and suffocated, while at the same time I see people here venting about being bored in their office jobs, working maybe a few hours a day, and making close to 120k.

I'm asking seriously: how does someone get into that kind of work? What experience do you need, what degree, what certificates, or what connections? Any advice would make a difference for me.

Until a few days ago, I (32f) was working as a marketing coordinator for a real estate agent. I'll call him Mark (41m). He's fairly successful at his job, and recently he hired a business coach who sends him goals every two weeks. Some things are normal, like: "Read this report about seasonal shifts in housing demand," but then he'll come out with nonsense like: "Coach says I have to take Monday off because burnout starts in the chair." Annoying, but mostly harmless.

Then the latest assignment Mark got threw me off. A few weeks ago, he said the coach wanted him to "build management instincts." I asked him what that meant in practical terms, so he gave me a new task: post fake job ads. Basically one ad for every role in the office. Mark said he wanted 40+ applications every day, and he would interview "people who looked promising."

To be clear: we don't have any open roles. Not one. Mark's coach is somehow convinced that interviewing actual people for jobs that don't exist will make Mark better at running a team. If anyone understands that logic, please explain it to me, because I still don't get it.

I asked Mark if he was joking or what, and told him that people are struggling to find work right now. His response was basically: Coach says strong leaders are always looking for talent. First reason I might be in the wrong: I felt like I couldn't refuse a direct order without getting fired, so I made the listings, but I removed the salary details in the hope that applicants would notice something was off.

The applications started flooding in, and Mark did interviews with a lot of people. I could hear parts of the calls and meetings, and they were being treated like normal interviews. Not once did he say we weren't hiring. One of the applicants was a woman around my age who spoke to me while she was waiting. She told me she had worked an extra rideshare shift the night before and paid a neighbor to watch her son so she could make the appointment. Meaning this fake "opportunity" literally cost her money. Another applicant was an older man, and when I walked him out, he quietly asked me: "Do you think someone my age still has a chance here?" I was about to cry, but I was also so angry. I told him: "There is no job. I'm sorry they weren't honest with you. They have no problem wasting people's time." He looked at me for a second and left.

Apparently someone heard me, because I got pulled into Mark's office and he started yelling. He was completely fine with lying to applicants, but lost it because I told one of them the truth. He said he could fire me for that, so I told him: "Do it, because I'm not going to help you give people false hope." Mark kept insisting that the roles could exist someday, and that the interviews were helping him become a better manager, so it wasn't wrong.

Second reason I might be in the wrong: I quit on the spot, without giving notice. I have another job, so I won't be totally screwed, but Mark told me not to expect a reference from him. I've always given notice before leaving a job, so I feel guilty in that sense. But I know that if I had stayed, he would have made me keep bringing him resumes until my very last hour there.