Is it normal not to know what to do now? I just graduated and I’m lucky enough that I can take my time to decide what to do, but I’ve always been jealous of people that have always known what their purpose is. I just get lost easily to be honest, I changed careers and I don’t regret but what’s next? you know …

I'm 18 and honestly this past week has completely fucked me up mentally.

For some context, I had already gone through a pretty rough JEE journey. I prepared for years, took a drop, and still ended up shit. That hurt like hell because I genuinely put years into it. Eventually I accepted that JEE wasn't working out and started looking at private colleges.

I got admission into IILM Greater Noida for BTech CSE. I visited the campus, paid the registration fee, and decided to go. I was already nervous about moving so far from home, but I thought maybe this was finally the start of something new.

Then everything went sideways.

I went to Noida, stayed there for basically a day, and while returning toward home my iPhone was lost in Delhi. A phone might sound like a material thing, but it had a huge amount of my personal photos and memories on it. I'm still trying to figure out what can be recovered.

Then the IILM hostel situation became another mess. I had initially been given one hostel arrangement, then it was changed to another, with different occupancy/accommodation than what I had originally booked. There was a lot of miscommunication and management issues, and I eventually cancelled my admission and started looking at colleges in Bhopal instead.

Now I'm in Bhopal and I've taken admission in OIST for BTech IT.

And honestly, I don't even know if I made the right decision.

That's the part that's eating me alive.

I keep thinking:

Did I make a huge mistake cancelling IILM?

Should I have just stayed in Noida and dealt with everything?

Is OIST actually a decent place to build a career from?

Should I take a partial drop and try JEE 2027 again?

Or should I finally stop chasing JEE and focus completely on BTech?

I feel like I've spent the last few years trying to fix one thing after another, and every time I think I've finally chosen a direction, something happens and I start questioning the entire decision.

The worst part is that I don't even know what I'm supposed to feel anymore. My parents are stressed, I'm stressed, I've lost something extremely important to me, I've changed colleges, and I'm suddenly supposed to make another huge decision about my career.

I know I'm only 18 and technically my career hasn't even started yet. I know people will say "you have your whole life ahead of you," and logically I understand that.

But when you're actually living through it, it doesn't feel that simple.

I just want some brutally honest advice from people who have actually been through college/JEE/career decisions.

Should I stick with OIST IT and focus completely on building skills, or should I attempt JEE 2027 alongside college as a partial drop?

And was cancelling IILM actually a terrible decision, or am I just regretting it because everything happened so quickly?

I'm not looking for fake motivation. I genuinely want honest perspectives from people who have been in a similar situation.

The task I’ve been given is to find a job right now (today) that pays me $40,000+ a year
They sent me to college and then forced me to drop out by withdrawing funds with one semester left before graduation which led to me being homeless and working under the table in a laundromat in Chinatown (I am no and never have been Chinese)

I’m supposed to have a career by tomorrow so that my mom can stop asking her church to pray for me every Sunday morning

What do I do?

What happens to people who simply can't find a job after college?! Do they take minimum wage jobs and stay in them?! Do they go into trades like trucking, construction, etc?! Do they go into their family's business?!

I’m stating University soon with a Business program. Does anyone have any advice for me? From note taking to social skills, anything and everything would be appreciated!

Recently for the past 3 months ish, ive been feeling really lost and kinda confused about life... I dont know what my purpose is and I dont know what to do. I started a year long internship, and I worked really hard for it, and now I am here, its great, like its a great place to work and everybody is really nice and they have great amenities but. I just keep dropping the ball.... Like I feel like I am always messing up or misunderstanding something and just making mistakes around every corner, and I just feel so bad because I feel like everybody has expectations of me, and I have expectations of me but I am just not living up to any of it. I dont know I just feel so dumb and useless. Has anyone ever felt this way before?? How did you push through it?

I just feel like I wake up everyday to go to my 9-5, and I just keep making mistakes and I feel like the dumb intern who does stupid things, and I look at my peers around me and I feel like everybody just has it figured out. And obviously I know thats not true, but sometimes like man looking at linkedin or just like my engineering friends makes me feel really dumb, unproductive, and like stupid... I dont know its like everybody is so obsessed with productivity and tech and jobs and all these corporate things and I just feel so away from that??? If that makes sense? I feel like well I do like electrical engineering when I am studying, and I liked my courses, I thought they were super interesting.... But now I dont know... All this stuff about getting a huge tech job, and doing a million personal projects, and hackathons and it feels like everybody has to have a million things they have done, and be super smart...... Am i just dumb? Or like I dont know... It all just feels weird...

And I feel like I am ungrateful, because I have this internship, and the content is pretty interesting, and everybody is so nice, and there are so many cool things there and its a great opportunity. But for some reason I come home everyday sad. I don't know why. People would kill for an opportunity like this, and I know I was dying for this a couple months ago. But I just keep messing up. I feel like a screwup and I just keep making mistakes and I dont know how to fix them. I just always am on edge if I am doing everything right or if I messed up. I come into work and I feel so scared and nervous. I am scared to ask questions, or hand things in. And I spend so much time making sure things are right before I hand it in, and somehow I keep making mistakes. Its been 4 months already, I dont know I feel like by now people say they are settled in, and make big contributions. But i havent done anything like that. I am so intimidated by everyone and everything. Everything feels so big and I feel so small.

TLDR: I just feel like I keep making mistakes and losing out on an opportunity Ive always wanted. I wake up everyday confused and lost about my life and what I am meant to do with it. I feel really intimidated by my coworkers and my peers and just the general state of society and tech right now. I feel like every body is moving at 300x speed and I am stuck on 0.5 speed. I just feel stuck. And stupid.

If anybody can help me out with some advice or their experiences or even if someone else feels this way, I would really appreciate it.

I am planning on taking a gap year. I just graduated high school and have no clue what to do with my life. I have no clear career goals, so I figured a gap year would be nice to keep the pressure off of me. I heard from other people that taking a gap year can be difficult because when it’s over, you’ll be 1 year behind in everyone, you might not be as motivated to go to college, etc. I am curious to know if you had any mental challenges after a gap year and how it affected you.

Hi, I’m 16F and I recently started homeschooling, and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my future. Am I actually going to college?

Honestly, I really don’t want to. I feel like I’d just be doing school all over again, and I haven’t found anything that I’m interested in enough to spend years studying.

I was watching a podcast with Kid Cudi, and he was talking about how he moved to NYC, followed his dreams, and eventually made it in the music industry. It honestly made me think: what if I took that kind of risk too?

What if I just went for it and tried to figure things out along the way?

I really want to become a music producer. I know I still have a LOT to learn, especially when it comes to production programs and actually developing my skills, but I keep thinking about what would happen if I just committed to music and chased it instead of going to college just because I feel like I’m supposed to.

Obviously, I know it’s not as simple as “just follow your dreams,” and I’m still trying to figure out what the realistic path would look like.

Has anyone here taken a similar path or decided not to go to college to pursue something they really cared about? What advice would you give me?

Dating/Hookups After College

I’m graduating college early this year, and something that’s been bothering me lately is that I feel like I completely missed out on the social/romantic side of college.

I’m 20 right now, turning 21 soon, and I’ve never been to a college party, hooked up with anyone, been in a relationship, or really dated at all. I’m a commuter, so I’ve always gone to class and then gone home. I never really had that traditional college experience where you live on campus, meet people at parties, go out with friends, etc.

I honestly would like to experience some of that stuff. I’d like to date and hopefully have a relationship, but I’d also be interested in casual hookups at some point. I mean that respectfully—I’m not looking to treat anyone poorly or make everything about sex. I’m just curious about what it’s actually like to start experiencing dating and casual relationships when you’re 21+ and no longer an undergraduate.

I feel like I’m running out of time. Also Ill be going into a School Counseling masters program.

For people who graduated college and started dating/hooking up afterward:

• Did you find dating easier or harder after college?
• Is meeting people through bars, clubs, apps, friends, etc. actually realistic, or is it significantly harder than meeting people in college?
• What was your social and dating life like during a masters program?

I know this probably sounds like I’m overthinking it, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. THose things I mentioned are just stuff I really want to try and experience while at school.

I just graduated from college and I don't have anything to show for it. I was too afraid to make friends and missed out on a lot of opportunities to grow because I was cynical and stupid. I want to move to a big city to try to get back some of that life I lost. But I don't know how long it'll take, how I can build that, or what I can do. How can I make up for missing out on my college years?

For those who graduated early, what's something you guys wish you did or knew when you were still in undergrad? I'm a senior now and would like to take advice from other people so I could still make the most out of my last 2 semesters in college : >

Can be anything under the sun - career tips, things to do before graduating, self-care, study tips, to-buy or invest in, anything I have to document, etc. Medyo nasesenti na rin HAHA, can't believe it's been almost 4 yrs since my freshman year.

Hello everyone! I (22f) have been feeling a lot of emotions about not going back to college as I see my friends go back. I graduated this past Spring. And it hurts me to not be there with them. Every time I feel like I’m not sad about it anymore, I fall back into the hole of wishing for those days back. Since after graduation my life has been flipped upside down. I had to quit the job I love because my old boss couldn’t offer me full time. And I work a job that I don’t like at all.

I know life gets better. It just doesn’t feel like it right now.

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I'm a high school student going into junior year. i don't want to live the 9-5 rat race of shame. i want to live in the countryside with a small farm. i was thinking about being a vet, but i also wanna live in a van so i can travel. what do i do?

I'm 22(f), based in India and recently completed my 4 year undergraduate course in English Literature. I'm an honours student and due to the fucked up education policies, might possibly end up with a gap year. I tried to think about what I would do after masters and I have no idea what to do. I'm not really passionate about government jobs but corporate sector also doesn't really speak to me, as I hate metro cities and prefer calm environments as opposed to a high paced life. I'm a creative person with multiple hobbies, but I'm not sure how I can monetize them without losing the spark I have for them. I crochet, embroider, make art, sketches, can make clay miniatures, and am trying to be a polyglot, as I can speak english Hindi and beginner entry level japanese and spanish (via Duolingo so idk whether that counts). I am really getting scared as time passes that my confusion regarding career paths is going to lead to me being jobless in the near future. While most of my friends are preparing for govt sector exams or going into corporate, I feel stuck and not able to understand what exactly it is that I want to do or can do. I'm a diligent student and have always been a topper and an A student. In the last four years, I have suffered a lot mental health wise and experienced a brutal burnout from overworking my body and exhaustion from a toxic relationship. I moved back home two months ago after my undergraduate ended and am looking for ways to heal my mind from constantly crying and feeling depressed. I tried to get into new skills, like skateboarding and learning Spanish. I even joined an MMA class but quit due to low energy. I am trying to get myself back and at the same time very scared of taking a gap year. My parents and family want to thrust me into different career fields that they think are the best according to society. But I'm feeling caged, helpless and very very stagnant. If this year ends up becoming a gap year for real, (as I am awaiting a possible college result) then I want to do something that will give me peace, re-energize me and also count as experience for future questions about my gap year. I want to work, but am being constantly told by my sister that once I enter the work field and earn money, I will never be able to go back to completing my education. I'm in a pickle here and feeling quite lost.

Fellow redditors, please help out.

I'm now 24 and live with my mom still. We're currently moving into an apartment because of outside issues going on. It got me thinking that I should probably go back to school or invest into becoming a CDL driver due to already having experience in the courier field(since 18). I'm unsure what I should go back to school for but I know once I go back I'll only have 2 years to get whatever it is I should get. I feel like I'm approaching an age where I should have my own place and my own responsibilities soon. Does anyone know what I should go back for? I'll be looking at this post regularly.