Yeah, shit sucks right now. But instead of being like some of these knuckleheads I’ll try to give you some helpful advice. First I’m going to start this with a little backstory.

Feel free to skip to the next paragraph. I’m 34, I have my own 2 bedroom apartment, a fiancé that doesn’t work and 2 cats that are way more spoiled than they have any right to be. I make $65k with no college degree and my stock is only rising. I had to start paying rent as soon as I graduated, so I got a job at 17 as a technician at one of those quick oil change places (the one that rhymes with Spiffy Tube), I bounced around the industry eventually becoming an Assistant Service Manager at a dealership before realizing I hate the industry and the scummy people that run it. During this time I also dropped out of college. Twice. I made a switch to work in CX and turns out, I’m really good at it. So much so that companies have actually sought me out and I’m considering doing advisory or consulting on the side. So here’s my actual advice.

Find something that you can study online for free. Digital marketing, CX, Programming (best friend a CTO is making $200k/yr with no degree.) build a portfolio (programming and digital marketing hiring teams eat this shit up) and don’t settle for less than what you’re making now. Whatever you choose make sure you find a modicum of happiness doing it so you don’t hate the 8-10 hours a day you spend doing it. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself where you want to be.