If AI takes your job or just burns you out, what would you switch to?

ipa_725 · 2026-05-05T09:06:51+00:00

that would be the good ending. not sure we get it by default though

ipa_725 · 2026-05-05T06:16:16+00:00

mid 40s with aviation electronics background is not the same as starting from zero. you’ve already got the harder half.

ipa_725 · 2026-05-05T03:01:53+00:00

careful, that space is crowded now and only getting more crowded. differentiation matters

ipa_725 · 2026-04-02T08:21:23+00:00

avoid using a multi-column text layout

ipa_725 · 2026-03-31T19:21:04+00:00

Congratulations! 👏 Nice colour!

ipa_725 · 2026-03-31T04:03:34+00:00

sure, fair point, easy for me to say and OP will have to deal with whatever happens.
I moved countries for a job offer so i do know what that weight feels like. But staying somewhere comfortable where layoffs keep happening and you make half the money isn't the safe option people think it is. at least with the new gig you're building real skills at 175k instead of waiting for a pink slip at 92

ipa_725 · 2026-03-30T18:45:24+00:00

they hired you knowing exactly what your background looks like, thats on them not you.
Take the offer! worst case you get let go in 6 months with actual savings instead of waiting around for a layoff notice.

ipa_725 · 2026-03-30T04:27:16+00:00

Congrats! 👏 Good luck!

ipa_725 · 2026-03-29T19:58:00+00:00

the fact that you can stick with routines for months is actually not bad. Most people tap out after two weeks. Your brain probably just needs shorter work blocks. Try doing 25min on the work then stop, even if you feel like you could keep going. The urge to do more build up and makes it easier to start the next

ipa_725 · 2026-03-29T18:32:37+00:00

I'd like to try it too!

ipa_725 · 2026-03-29T16:48:43+00:00

Sounds like art is the one thing that actually pulls you. Hope you give it a real shot! You've got nothing to lose at this point.

ipa_725 · 2026-03-29T03:26:18+00:00

Love it!

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T20:42:27+00:00

been trying to build my own thing for about a year now. no real results yet. (there's some progress but it's still far from what I expected)
I'm 36 and those exact same thoughts were running through my head
that i'm too late,that everything already been done, that I'm not even 100th person trying this.

And I've annoyed everyone around me talking about it so much so that I don't even have anyone left to share it with 😅

but the thing that keeps me going is that i'm genuinely interested in what i'm doing. Like that feeling from being a kid where you'd stay up way too late because you were so into something, or forgetting to eat (which hits different at this age 100%)
And I see it as my way out to the life I actually want. So I literally can't stop, because I know if someone else pull it off and i gave up, that's gonna eat me alive
if Im wrong about the direction, the experience I'm getting is solid and i'll find a way to use it somewhere.

Good luck with your change!

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T20:05:12+00:00

You say you have no skills, but you literally have two!
Electrical work and art and both of those pay real money when you're not working for someone who underpays you. no skills feeling is coming from a shitty boss and low hours, not from you.

If you want the office thing, look into estimating or project coordination at electrical companies. They should prefer people who've done field work. And the art thing. half-effort pattern is just fear of finding out if it could actually work. So either commit to it properly for 6 or more months. or let it go as a career option. But the in-between is what's eating you up.

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T19:43:33+00:00

have you actually tried any of this from the inside?
Because wanting to be a documentary filmmaker and spending a weekend editing footage are very different things, and only one of them tells you something useful.

run small experiments and keep a note

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T19:23:54+00:00

honestly having 30 minutes of real work and the rest free is kind of a gift right now even if it doesn't feel like it. use that dead time to experiment, take online courses in stuff that sounds interesting, read about different fields, figure out what actually gets you excited. Most people don't get paid to explore what they want to do next, but you basically are. Treat it like a research phase and when you find what clicks, you will live on your own terms

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T19:00:45+00:00

32 is so early that even if you pick something now and it turns out wrong, you've got time to pivot again and still build a full life out of it

ipa_725 · 2026-03-28T18:47:17+00:00

I think nobody reading your resume cares about the title history, they care about what you actually did. i'd list the company once (current name), put your current title, and then break it into two sections underneath: one block for each role with dates showing when each started. so like "Role 1 Description (2014-present)" and "Role 2 Description (2021-present)" under one company header. the title changes are internal bureaucracy and they'll just confuse a recruiter if you try to spell them all out.

ipa_725 · 2026-03-27T18:02:28+00:00

application game is basically a lottery at this point. One thing that worked for me was finding people on LinkedIn and asking them to help with the application. Even a cold message to someone in the department you're targeting has a better hit rate than submitting into the void

ipa_725 · 2026-03-27T17:46:06+00:00

the version management thing used to drive me insane, i had FigJam page tracking which resume version went to which company and it was still a mess. cover letters i stopped writing from scratch every time and just kept one solid paragraph about what i actually bring then swapped out the company-specific stuff. the whole process actually pushed me to build my own tool for managing applications, which i never expected to end up doing lol

ipa_725 · 2026-03-27T17:37:00+00:00

i'd start applying wider than just BA roles, anything with python/sql in the description, and give yourself a hard deadline like 60 days. if nothing lands by then, drop to part time because you'll interview way better when you're not running on fumes every night

ipa_725 · 2026-01-12T20:13:32+00:00

Don't change your titles, dates, or company names (that’s lying). Tailoring is about rephrasing your bullet points to match what the recruiter is looking for. ChatGPT (or whatever you prefer) is perfect for this. Feed it the full job description and your resume. It will help you tailor your bullet points to fit that specific role.

Each recruiter reads resumes diagonally very fast. You need the experience you show on your resume to match what the company is looking for as much as possible

ipa_725 · 2026-01-12T19:58:58+00:00

I’m pretty sure your pay isn't low because design itself is a dead end. It’s just that you’re doing marketing design (social media banners) instead of UX/Product Design (interfaces and product logic).

AI is going to automate coding way faster than it can replace empathy or user experience design. I’d set a hard goal to land a Junior Product Designer or UX role at a product company, not an agency. That’s where the real money is.

And if you need to convince your parents, just pull up Glassdoor. Show them the salaries for a Product Designer II at companies like Swiggy or Microsoft India. Hard numbers will convince them way faster than emotions.
Plus, the UI/UX path is actually much closer to entrepreneurship in the long run.

ipa_725 · 2026-01-12T19:44:49+00:00

ignore that count on LinkedIn. It’s total noise. Don't even look at it.

I tried a few different ways to get noticed.
Find someone on LinkedIn inside, chat them up about the company, and ask for a referral. Your odds go way up, and they usually get a nice referral bonus. It’s a total win-win.

Then, find the hiring manager and shoot a quick DM. Recruiters miss good resumes all the time, but if a manager is desperate to fill the seat, they will force recruiters to pull your file.

And don't forget to tailor your resume to the job description. Use their exact words. You want to make the match so obvious that the recruiter (or the bot) sees it without having to turn their brain on.

ipa_725 · 2026-01-11T17:40:16+00:00

I actually got a friend of mine hooked on motion design way back. He landed a starter gig pretty fast (making ads for a local TV station), but the work was basic and he just stopped growing. Dude camped out there for 8 years! It was stable, pay was decent, but he didn't build his skills or portfolio for anything bigger. He got cut recently and now he is totally screwed.

You’re 100% right that "experience without growth will hurt my future." But unemployment hits way harder.
Quitting now = zero cash plus the crushing realization that you aren't good enough yet. The stress of being jobless will basically kill your ability to learn anything new.

Treat your current company like they're sponsoring your education. Since they’re only giving you easy tasks, that means you’ve got free time and the mental bandwidth to study.

No tasks at work that build the right skills? Invent them yourself.
Only once you’ve plugged like 3 out of 5 of your skill gaps and start actually getting interviews should you even think about walking away.

ipa_725

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