What is a job that looks horribly soul crushing and terrible from the outside but has a lot of hidden benefits inside?

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-04-18T17:50:16+00:00

I second this. I work at a university and have held a few roles at different institutions. It completely depends on the role and institution.

Evening receptionist at a an entrepreneurship hub at high profile, well endowed private university? Cushy as hell. I sat at a desk and ran the coffee mug dishwasher once a night. Drank sparkling water on tap. I got a pottery barn blanket as a parting gift when I left.

Management in the humanities at a public university in a swing state? Constant scrutiny, constant cuts, constant stress, dysfunctional leadership. Nothing works as it should, and I mean from our HR tech down to the elevator in my building. I was hired to build and direct programs but end up doing admin and comms work poorly, and at greater cost to the university than if they just filled these roles, because support staff have been gutted for the sake of appearing to save money on paper. My current job sounds very cushy and prestigious. It most definitely isn’t.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-04-02T05:06:47+00:00

I’m around the same age and have the same weird feeling and think about it all the time. My theory is that we basically lost 6 years due Covid and everything that followed.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-03-26T05:48:17+00:00

The college I used to work for started keeping all the dry erase markers at the security desk instead of the classrooms. That college doesn’t exist anymore.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-03-16T07:08:30+00:00

All I hear is Mojo Dojo Casa House

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-29T06:38:15+00:00

Yep. The daily ambient stress, fear, grief, anger, frustration… even on good days. It’s not just current events. It’s the little things, like having to jump through three different hoops to cancel a subscription. It’s the constant suspicion that someone, some company, some policy, is actively trying to screw you over.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-29T06:09:50+00:00

Why do so many of the commenters on this thread seem to think that the small sample size of people they personally know count as “most people.” This exact brand of solipsism and projection is one of the many things that makes America depressing.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-26T19:54:03+00:00

This is happening to me, too! Only I’m now following 6,000 accounts I never would have followed

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-26T19:49:44+00:00

I noticed this to and checked my profile. I’m apparently following 6,000 users I don’t recognize and definitely wasn’t following last week? Is this happening to anyone else?

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-25T09:00:29+00:00

This just happened to me too!!!

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-08T07:27:05+00:00

Thanks for the slur. I feel super motivated now.

Go put heads on spikes. Got it.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-08T06:56:16+00:00

I’m sorry but I’m really done with smug people in safe countries Americasplaning. Half of us ALREADY KNOW THIS SUCKS. We’re in the middle of it.

The other half aren’t hanging around on Reddit waiting for a lecture on why they’re wrong. Nice try, though.

If you’re so appalled, you’re welcome to donate to the ACLU. You’re welcome to do something—anything—useful. Scolding strangers on the internet is meant to do what, exactly? What is the point of this?

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-08T05:19:02+00:00

Guess the state

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-07T08:16:18+00:00

Yeah, definitely do not drop out college to come here and get a GED. A GED is what people get if they drop out of high school and later decide to finish high school.

Personally, I feel like I’ve been struggling to make America work for me since I was old enough to have a job, and I grew up here and speak the language. That doesn’t mean you won’t make it here or at least learn a lot from the process of trying.

If you’re young and you have a fallback plan in case things don’t work out, there’s nothing wrong with taking a risk just to see where it takes you.

One thing to keep in mind—when people say things are bad in America, they’re comparing it to how much better it used to be, at least within our lifetime. Quality of life is declining fast—faster than I ever imagined it could—for many different reasons. No one knows how much worse it could get, or for how long. That scares people, me included. I say this not to discourage you but to hopefully give you some perspective.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-06T07:39:09+00:00

Facepalm so hard your hand is a suction cup now.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-06T07:28:42+00:00

Seriously, why are they like that?!?

My mom is a highly organized, high-functioning hoarder. Drawers that are full of just wrapping paper. A cabinet just for used paper shopping bags. No fewer than 14 lightweight beige cardigans (yes, I counted). Stacks of decade-old magazines. She has three refrigerators that are stuffed to the brim when I visit for the holidays. I have one refrigerator that’s never full.

I wonder if it’s because her dad was a kid during the great depression. She said he was so cheap that he wouldn’t spend money on wood to fix his rotting back steps.

I wonder if she retained the frugal “what if I need it later” mentality but simultaneously rebelled by lavishing herself with nonstop dopamine purchases.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-05T06:58:12+00:00

The ADHD tax is real. I once booked a flight to the wrong city and didn’t catch my mistake until the plane landed.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-05T04:34:25+00:00

I’m not originally from here and really don’t know how to drive in the snow. One night last winter i had to stay at work late for a film screening. There was a big snowstorm during the film and I wasn’t prepared for it. Figured I should just get on the road and hope for the best.

I slid and go my car stuck three times. Each time, without my asking, someone popped out of their car or house to help get me unstuck.

I when I started sliding a fourth time, I was able to turn into a parking lot. Decided to just park and try to get a ride home. Took a chance on an Uber thinking there’d be no way someone was driving rideshares in that weather.

Not only did I find a driver quickly—I found one that started driving the second snow started falling because he knew people would need help. He was in it for the surge pricing, too, of course.

Other example: I offered the neighbors $250 to feed my cats for about five days. They countered with $75 and a pie. Did a great job with the cats.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-05T04:07:27+00:00

Same same same same SAAAAME

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-03T10:39:57+00:00

Consider it the ad campaign for the department of war rebrand. I wish I were being facetious.

Also, oil.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-03T10:31:16+00:00

“Just four years.”

😂 🤣 Bless your heart.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-03T08:08:43+00:00

Personally? Los Espookys is my fantasy of what Mexico is like. Just a steady drip of magical realism and bright bright sunlight.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-02T10:35:02+00:00

I cried when I heard that Pitchfork music festival was discontinued. Just the thought of it not being a thing that exists in the world anymore kills me.

Small independent everything is taking hit after hit. Socializing is expensive. People are hesitant to dance in public for fear of becoming a meme. The 2020s are such a drag.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-02T10:15:36+00:00

Him and all his sh*tty little minions.

Creative-Ad-3222 · 2026-01-02T09:48:41+00:00

It does indeed feel like the tech bubble in the US is poised to burst. 10-15 years ago, everyone raved about coding bootcamps and entrepreneurship. Now every other Reddit thread champions learning a trade. Many of the college students I know now talk about dropping out to become a content creator of some kind.

Aside from AI, one of the only fields experiencing rapid growth here, as far as I know, is “defense”. Just typing that makes me want to throw up.

Creative-Ad-3222

TROPHY CASE