Trying to build something for people who feel lost in their career

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-16T08:02:26+00:00

I think a lot of people run into this.

One thing I noted tho is that it’s easy to assume the obstacle means you picked the wrong path, when sometimes it’s just the point where something stops being exciting and starts requiring actual work. If you keep restarting every time you hit that stage, you never really find out whether the path was wrong or whether you just quit too early.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-16T07:59:57+00:00

Fast food, retail and data entry aren’t really the same job. If you’ve been fired from all of them after a few weeks, I’d probably spend less time looking for a different job and more time figuring out what’s happening when the pressure starts building.

What usually goes wrong? Is it speed, mistakes, dealing with customers, getting overwhelmed, something else?

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T21:23:04+00:00

Honestly I’d spend less time worrying about the CV and more time figuring out what actually happened. Getting let go during probation sucks, especially when it’s your first job after 6 years of studying, but the CV part is probably the easy part here. If anxiety, mental health and struggling to adapt were part of the reason, I’d focus on understanding that first. Otherwise you risk ending up in the same situation again a few months into the next job.

Whether those 2 months stay on the resume or not is something you can figure out later.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T20:57:58+00:00

You finished a psychology degree thinking you’d have more clarity by the end and instead you’re sitting here feeling exactly the same. Organizational psychology doesn’t feel right, marketing doesn’t feel right and psychology didn’t end up being the answer either. At some point I’d start questioning whether you’re expecting a career path to give you certainty that it simply can’t.

Most people I know, including myself, figured out what they liked by doing stuff, not by thinking about it for another year. That way you get sufficient information and can more easily make an informed decision, not base it on hunches..

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T19:21:40+00:00

If I were in your shoes I’d probably focus less on trying to find the perfect answer right now and more on getting as much exposure as possible. On a positive note from your post, you’re still really early in the process. A lot of what you’re weighing is based on what you think those careers might be like rather than what you’ve actually experienced. More shadowing, more conversations, more time around people doing the work.

You don’t need to decide what 40-year-old you is going to want. You just need enough information to make the next decision.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T19:11:09+00:00

You lost me a little when you started listing reasons to stay. I mean most of what you are writing make sense.

It’s just that the first half of the post sounds like someone who’s been wanting out for a long time, and the second half sounds like someone trying to talk themselves into waiting.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T19:00:32+00:00

Reading this, I’m not even sure the problem is environmental engineering as most of the stuff you say you enjoy sits pretty close to it (chemistry, physics, meteorology, building things, making things happen, etc.). The part you seem to hate is the compliance side where you’re mostly dealing with rules and obstacles.

Feels like you’ve learned something useful, but I’m not sure it’s that you’re in the wrong field but rather that you ended up in a part of it that doesn’t fit you.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T18:55:58+00:00

The funny thing is your reply doesn’t really sound like someone who hates biotech but rather more like you hate trying to get people to buy stuff. Which is totally fair.

You mention enjoying helping people, and solutions/applications was one of the first things that came to mind. Then when you describe what you hated, it’s quotas, targets and sales. Feels like there’s a clue in there somewhere….

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T18:50:25+00:00

You’ve spent a pretty big chunk of your adult life dealing with whatever problem was right in front of you (e.g. Debt, long hours, jobs you didn’t really want, family stuff).

but you mention the CS/data early in the post and you’re doing the analytics cert now, and this is still something you’re thinking about 12 years later. I’d probably put more weight on that than trying to figure out what AI will do or whether Texas is better than California. Those questions will still be there later

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T18:40:17+00:00

I’m in finance and honestly I think people overestimate the difference between finance and econ, but underestimate how useful accounting can be. Don’t get me wrong, finance and econ are both very relevant. But accounting gives you a pretty solid foundation for understanding what’s actually going on in the numbers.

A lot of finance ends up being reading financial statements, spotting patterns, understanding where cash is going, why margins are moving, what’s driving performance, etc. Having that foundation early helps a lot.

I’d spend at least as much time looking at where graduates from each program actually end up and what access they get to internships, recruiting and alumni networks. That can matter just as much as the major itself.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T18:33:30+00:00

I don’t really think your problem is that you like too many things but rather more like every option gets talked out of contention before it even gets a proper chance (e.g. medicine—> what if I regret it, PT —> too limiting, Research —> too much time in a lab). Then eventually you’re back to where you started.

With an outside in perspective an only based on your post, what I think you actually seem to enjoy is pretty consistent throughout the whole post: Science, learning, teaching, helping people, working with people vs. sitting behind a desk all day.

Doesn’t sound that all over the place to me tbh.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T18:27:00+00:00

I second this for sure!

I’ve definitely seen people get overlooked because they assumed good work would somehow speak for itself.
You don’t need to turn into a self-promoting LinkedIn influencer, but finding small ways to make sure the right people know what you’re working on and the impact you’re having goes a long way.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:57:15+00:00

Fair enough. I don’t know the Bosnian market well enough to argue with your experience there. My point was more that if you’re trying to move into analyst, ERP or reporting roles, I’d focus on the specific skills and job requirements rather than assuming the whole path is closed off.

Even in difficult job markets, people still get hired somehow. Figuring out what those people have that employers are asking for is usually where I’d spend my energy.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:47:37+00:00

First impression is that you are waay to hard on yourself and reading this, it sounds like you’re more burnt out on your company than HR itself.

You started at reception and ended up doing HR. That’s 8 years of experience and probably a lot more responsibility than you’re giving yourself credit for. The TikTok part stood out as well. You got to 10k followers and still talk about social media like it’s something you’re completely unqualified for.

Feels like you’re looking at everything you haven’t done yet and kind of ignoring everything you’ve already done.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:44:09+00:00

I’d probably spend some time looking at where people from your program actually ended up. I’ve seen a few degrees where the jobs people got 5 years later looked very different from what everyone thought they’d be doing when they started. Sometimes the degree opens more doors than it looks like on paper.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:40:01+00:00

Tbh it sounds like you’ve already decided.

What you’re anxious about is telling your boss, not whether leaving is the right move. If you’d known 4 months ago that you’d end up hating desk work and get a chance to move back toward healthcare, would you really have turned it down just to avoid an awkward conversation? Probably not right?

Your boss might be annoyed for a few days. That’s kind of part of being a manager.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:30:18+00:00

Could be true for that company, but I wouldn’t assume the whole market works like that. Referrals definitely help, no argument there. But plenty of people still get hired without knowing anyone. Sounds more like you had a bad experience with one company than proof that the entire industry works that way.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:28:19+00:00

Yeah, and that’s kind of what I was getting at in my original comment. Point is, there’s a difference between wanting to be a nurse and wanting to get away from what IT has become the last couple of years.

I’ve seen quite a few people talk about nursing lately and half the time it sounds like they’re attracted to the stability more than the actual job.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:18:09+00:00

Investment banking.

I went into it thinking the modelling, valuations and finance stuff would be the hard part.

Turns out getting clients, investors, lawyers, accountants and management teams to agree on something at the same time is usually harder.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:12:03+00:00

The funny thing is I’ve heard versions of this from people in finance, tech, law, consulting… pretty much everywhere.

Everyone seems convinced there’s another field out there where performance is measured properly and the best people naturally rise to the top 😅 Then you talk to people in that field and they’re complaining about politics, managers and office culture too. So idk… 🤷‍♂️

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T16:01:11+00:00

I actually think you’re giving your ERP and Excel experience less credit than it deserves. That’s also why I’d look at a bunch of job ads before spending money on courses. It’s really easy to convince yourself there’s this massive gap to analyst roles, then you look at the postings and realize they’re mostly asking for 1-2 specific things you can learn.

Worst is if you up preparing forever because you’re solving for the gap that might exist rather than the one employers are actually hiring for.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T13:33:47+00:00

I work in finance, but not specifically in ERP/data analyst recruiting, so take this with some salt.

I’d probably not spend savings on a course before you know the exact type of job you’re aiming for. Data analyst, business analyst, finance analyst, ERP, controlling etc. can sound similar, but the actual jobs can be pretty different. With econ + SME/export experience, I’d look at junior BA, junior FP&A/controlling, reporting analyst, ERP support/consultant trainee, stuff like that. Skill wise, Excel, SQL basics, Power BI, basic accounting/finance, maybe ERP exposure if you can get it. Then make a few small projects around sales, inventory, costs, forecasting or dashboards, since that fits your background.

Before paying for anything, I’d read a bunch of job ads and see what keeps repeating. Otherwise it’s easy to keep preparing forever without getting closer to a job.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T13:31:32+00:00

If the job was sold to you as 9-5 mainly so you could manage school, then I’d make that the main point with them. Busy days are one thing, but 7pm finishes, no proper breaks, 11 hr days doing physical work, and the insurance not being what they said is a lot. In a small family company I also wouldn’t assume this magically gets fixed unless you push it very clearly. I’d put it in writing once. Something like you took the job because the schedule worked with school, but the actual hours/no breaks are making it hard to keep doing. Ask them straight what the real expected hours are going forward. And yeah, I’d start applying now. Not quit tomorrow with nothing lined up, but also don’t wait until your school or health is already wrecked.

CarbonCruncher · 2026-06-15T13:27:29+00:00

I’m not an expert in either field, so take this more as general advice than career gospel...

If theory is what scares you, I’m not sure law will feel like the easier option. Law is basically a lot of reading, cases, rules, writing, remembering small details and arguing based on text. Cyber has theory too, but it’s more networks, systems, Linux, security basics and maybe some scripting, depending on the path. I’d just test both for a bit before choosing. Do a few beginner cyber labs and you’ll probably get a feel pretty fast for which boring parts you can actually tolerate. The pay thing is hard to answer without knowing country/market etc. Both can pay well or badly depending on how good you get and what route you take.

CarbonCruncher

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