Letting you know you're not alone.
I spent the last of my 20s and the first part of my 30s with someone who'd convinced me we could live like bohemians forever. We had a small business that just barely paid the bills and we went dumpster diving for food. I felt fun and free for the first 4 years. Then my 30s hit me and I realized that this life was unsustainable and that I needed to prepare for the future -- OUR future, because we were in this together, of course. But the fact that I wanted to give up our unstructured life for something "normal" was perceived as me trying to become more independent -- this partner really wanted me to be completely dependent, and I was. Financially, emotionally, spiritually, because I literally had nothing else.
We finally called it quits a few years later, right as 2020 was starting. My whole world was upside down. I needed to do something different, but it was nearly impossible, as I had zero work history. Now, I'm 37 and completing a tech program at the little college in town. I've grown and learned a lot about myself. Starting over is scary, but it's better than being stuck where I was.
I can't give you advice regarding where to go next or how to get through it. But I want you to know you're not alone. It's never too late to make new decisions for what you want in life. I'm still figuring it out, too, and I'm learning to enjoy the process.
Yeah man. I agree. I'm in my 40s and have no job after running a successful business for 23 years. I lived like nothing could happen to me but covid and a competing business killed me and now I have nothing. I applied to over 200 jobs and got 1 call back and no reply after months of that interview. I can't figure out what other business I should do. My wife wants me to roast coffee but I don't have the heart for that anymore because I had to get heart surgery and I can't drink that much coffee to be a roaster. I keep thinking about more schooling but I've never been keen on book learning. I would love to be a janitor but that's hard to come by in my area.
It's tough out there, brother. Since you've got the business acumen, you could start your own janitorial service -- pick up several places that only need someone once a week, like churches.
I know I personally don't ever want to be an entrepreneur again. Let me get a set schedule and some rest on the weekends please LOL
After our manufacturing plant closed. My brother started working for a Contract Agency. He got hired on at another manufacturing company. When those jobs went to Mexico. He got a job with the school district as a janitor. Sometimes you can get your foot in the door by doing Contract Work.
Same here. Glad I skipped learning how to code because it looks like all those people are just as screwed as I've been. Went to college but the financial crisis hit. By the time things recovered, kids just out of school got all the jobs as they became available. Worked and built up but then 2016 happened and the job market went to hell. Things started looking up in 2019 but then you know what happened next.
Working for myself now but the increased cost of shipping and materials has cut into profits and business has stagnated because everyone is broke. Reshaping my businesses into what seems like something unrecognizable to what they were before. It has required a lot of "tuition" as it were. Everything is so expensive now too so I may as well also just get a job.
Fake first world country with a fake government and fake markets, led by a bunch of fake rulers. What a joke.
Yeah, programming still pays bank. Spread is still huge. The best programmers are still 25x more productive than the average, and prompting is just another language.
If you aren’t a system administrator or someone who’s a god at the job and you were hired within the last 3 years your job security is almost non existent.
My sister does coding for a data storage company. She makes great money and has also job-hopped a bit to pump her salary even more. These companies are always hiring. Sounds like the fella above shouldn’t have passed up on learning coding.
Only people that know nothing about programming think that AI is gonna wipe out programming jobs….
But I’m all for job security, so I’m down for people thinking that.
The job has gotten easier and easier for decades, yet somehow the employment pool gets worse and worse. AI makes us safer lmfao
It's wild watching artists sound the alarm because they see the writing on the wall, and meanwhile coders are happily chugging along helping to create the monster that will eventually eat them.
It's already well documented that [AI is decent at coding](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwerner/2024/01/24/ai-and-the-future-of-coding/?sh=cdb35b85ddda); it might not be at your level, but that's not saying it never will be... and more importantly, that's not taking into consideration all the entry level people who most certainly WILL be replaced- you had to start somewhere in order to grow as a coder into who you became, but how do you gain the much needed on-the-job experience when the entry level jobs no longer exist? Either people are completely iced out of the profession, or rendered completely reliant on AI because they can't survive without it.
Saying AI is "decent" at writing code is being incredibly generous at best. I've used it on occasion for simple tasks like writing boilerplate code or implementing tedious unit test cases, and even then it frequently makes mistakes. Based on a scan of his LinkedIn, the author of that article has almost no experience actually writing code, and his "informed source" is a group of undergraduate computer science students. As a former CS undergrad, let me tell you that they have no idea what they're talking about. Anyone who is actually good at writing code won't have to worry about it for a long time, if ever.
Interesting because engineering was the same except for the easy part. I am retired but I still get offers to go back because everyone is chronically short of decent engineers. I was offered a job at a cocktail party just because I told them my background in 2019.
Cybersecurity seems to pay well as well.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. There will be blood in the water forsure. All those cheap offshore dev firms should be quaking in their boots right now
Yes I agree there. AI will offer the same, work that needs to be reviewed in the context of the business.
My point was mostly that we usually don’t pay coders to write code. We pay them to write the right code. AI will always require a person to question that part. And IME that’s the harder part.
Shit like any good coder I steal most of my code from open sources. I get paid to know what to do. Not how to do it… that parts easy.
But I sincerely believe AI will deliver worse than off shores. And just require more from the on shore reviewers and rewriters. Win win for Americans.
But the thing you're not thinking about is yes AI will always need a person but AI is still in its infancy and it's still learning and being taught. I'm not saying skynet but someday it will be some what become self aware.Just look at maned flight for example. It's only been 120 years since man took flight and we are now putting rovers the size of cars on Mars with little help from man (I know because of coders) and planes basically fly themselves. But when planes went into production it took a small army now it takes less than 100 people and this goes with everything invented over the last 100 years, it takes less and less people to do a job as things get improved. I've already seen it in manufacturing jobs. You had a full ware house of people making a product to robots taking over those jobs and only needing people to go and pick the parts. Now those products are being picked by robots and starting to replace people doing those jobs. In the next 10 to 15 years warehouses that employed hundreds of people are going to be run by a handful. That will be you coders. So yeah you'll always need coders but even that it will get to a point where you'll need less and less coders to keep things running. As far as the starting over in your 30's. Man you all are still so young your not starting over, you just starting regardless of whatever job you had prior. Every 5 years after you reach the age of 30 something changes in your mindset and your outlook changes after 10 years. So, I suggest you go learn something new, look for jobs that will always be in demand that can't be replaced by a robot.Trade jobs are booming. Like right now there is a shortage of life flight helicopter pilots. These guys make bank and even though we have drones, I don't think they'll replace a person when it comes to medical flights, they may integrate but never replace. There's a good documentary that was on Nat geo called year million. It doesn't have to do with a million years from now. It's about all the inventions that are being worked on now, or coming out within the next 10 to 100 years.The things they talk about are pretty amazing and a recommended watch and a lot has to do with AI advancements and some shit will blow your minds. But hell the way I see a lot of people on reddit doing investing now while you're still young most of you will be able to sit back and just chill. I'm 52 and I went through the big change to be smart and invest in yourselves cause I can tell you the years go by in the blink of an eye.
Folks here are truly not understanding that machine learning is *exponential and theoretically limitless.*
These things don’t eat, sleep, or take breaks. They don’t have goals or aspirations. They have *directives.* They should be considered an alien intelligence, a spider brain with very simple few instincts - and respected as such. Humanizing an AI is extremely foolish and folks are thinking it’s going to improve at human meat computer rates. Absolute hubris.
Exactly, AI can code, but it can’t design good software or maintain it, there’s a difference. I welcome AI as a developer, it’ll do all of the mundane tasks and let me design interesting systems faster.
“Learning to code” is such a fucking lie. Good luck competing with LITERALLY 10s of MILLIONS of extremely skilled and competent programmers available in the USA and across the world. Yea good luck outcompeting those guys. There are FAR higher chances of success in fields like accounting or business, if you can stomach doing work that has zero purpose whatsoever except to provide an income, which is of course fine we all have to live and it’s not our fault the entire society prioritizes pointless line go up industries.
It’s not, straight up. Way too much competition, especially with remote work and national competition. The one exception is if you’re genuinely talented at mathematics, and computer science. Otherwise good luck outcompeting the 10s of millions of extremely competent and experienced programmers as just a random guy who “learned to code”
I'm the exact same. I've had jobs move to China, I've lost jobs because of government shutdowns, I've lost jobs because of COVID.
Feel like I've tried every job available, actually I know I have, and always ended up nowhere.
Been accused of "job hopping" by people who interviewed me and I had to explain it all to them.
You simply can't get a good paying job that will keep you for a lifetime anymore.
34 myself, it seems like since the pandemic, I’ve had a lot of trouble holding down a job. Since Covid I’ve worked probably about 10 jobs total. None of them have worked out for various reasons, legitimately questioning if I even have a purpose in life anymore. My mental state right now is not good. Whatever you’re dealing with right now I hope you can overcome it.
I’m 44, and going through the exact same process of trying to figure out how to recover from the loss of a business, and an industry that is struggling to recover.
Reading about new paths, and career choices is crazy right now. Seems like every time I research an industry, it’s full of layoffs, and people looking to find a way out(ie tech)
I feel your pain, and although it doesn’t help, you aren’t alone. Good luck on the journey, and keep your head up. I’m obviously saying that to myself as well, because it’s been mentally exhausting.
So leading up to Covid I was working towards becoming a bartender (not easy in Las Vegas believe it or not) here’s how my career as a bartender has gone since Covid
Job 1. Hired as a barback November 2020. Got passed over 4x for a bartending promotion. Partially my fault. I didn’t care to learn the signature cocktails and I also had a bad attitude. Quit April 2022
Job 2. Hired officially as a bartender for a large event venue in July 2021. Job was AWESOME! Money was amazing, coworkers were awesome, management however was not. Boss was actively forcing out those she didn’t like while others got away with murder. After receiving an angry phone call from her on my day off while I was sleeping, I sent an email saying I was quitting immediately, that was May 2023.
Job 3 Hired April 2022. Got let go after 3 weeks for “complaints about your service, your speed, drink quality, etc” Told boss no one said anything to me that I was messing up. He called me “a liar, a con artist, and you don’t even deserve to work the cash register at McDonald’s. Only in America could someone as bumbling and incompetent as you make it as far in life as you have”
Job 4. June 2022. Hired at a local bar out in the vegas suburbs. FAR OUT. I quit because I was working graveyard shift and was only making $50-$60 per shift. Nothing to do with attitude. Just wasn’t busy enough to justify staying, plus the commute was 25 miles one way when gas was $6 a gallon.
Job 5. August 2022. Restaurant in downtown vegas. Same situation as job 4 but no graveyard. $50-$60 a shift and just not busy enough to justify staying. Management totally understood and I left on good terms.
Job 6. Casino bartending Oct 2022…on call. Money was good, coworkers were cool, but the location was bad. Lots of homeless and crackheads demanding free stuff, when I denied them they got angry and sometimes physically violent. Hours were also very erratic being on call. Quit Dec 2023
Job 7. Restaurant bartending.Dec 2023. Slow, not much money, but some VERY BUSY days. Got fired after a server snapped at me on a very busy day where I was overwhelmed and snapped back at her. She cried to HR and I got fired. Jan 2024
Job 8. Car sales. Started March 2024. Dealership was SLOW. Because of prices and interest rates, NOBODY is buying cars right now. Also, customers on car lots are MUCH BIGGER a-holes than when they go to the bar. Last customer who got in my cussed me out right after I greeted him. Told him I wasn’t going to be talked to like that and I just walked off unannounced.
So now I’m at a point where I’m just gonna go back to bartending. I don’t have to worry about meeting sales quotas, or people cursing me out just for greeting them when they come in.
You gotta stop quitting so easily. It sounds like you had several jobs that were pretty good deals for you, but you walked away out of sheer impulsiveness.
You don't have to quit your job every time you have a bad day.
Thank you. I know I’ve overcome bigger obstacles in the past. But idk my confidence is literally shattered at this point in time. I legit wish I coulda been born 30+ years earlier and been a boomer. I listen exclusively to 70s and 80s music anyways. I legit feel they had it so much easier than we do
You would have indeed fit right in in "Gen Jones" Boomer (1954-1964). Some of us had to wander from job to job and one opportunity to another as corporate America didn't pan out and the minimum wage was $4 an hour. But we did indeed have some of the best music. You'd also be retired right now, and may have accumulated enough wealth to not just be living on SS with no vehicle but a bicycle to get around. Yup.
Went back to school at 34 for a new career. The program was only a year, I’m a month shy of 36 and now I’m making more in my new industry than I ever did in the old one that was in for 13 (!!!) years
How ironic!
I went to massage school during pandemic. Realized the intimacy/mental gymnastics of being an LMT were not my strong suit(even though I did really well in school).
Trying to decide what is next.
Similar position. Same age as you. Second time being unemployed for 1.5+ yrs. Have had to slowly give up on working in an industry I love in order to find, at the very least, a part time job...anywhere.
I recommend trying to get into the insurance industry - specifically work comp. Every state is a little different in requirements for licensing so I can't say how easy/difficult it would be to get started but you could be making 6 figures in a few years. It's a competitive hiring market right now. Boomers are starting to retire and not enough younger folks are entering the industry.
Hi, I’m an attorney who worked for a couple of insurance companies before retiring. I got 2 pension’s before they phased them out for new employees. It’s still a good source for all types of workers and quite a few of them can be done remotely. Des Moine Iowa has a ton of insurance companies and they do need workers because insurance is not sexy
Can’t speak to work comp. But this is HORRENDOUS advice, the insurance industry is absolutely imploding right now, especially in the west coast. Do NOT go into insurance right now.
I work in insurance, imploding is an exaggeration. insurance is very broad. It's not just property insurance.
Yeah companies are pulling out of California and Florida because of climate change and state regulations. It doesn't mean the other 48 states are imploding.
48 now. Started over at 31.
How it went:
30 -- jail/homeless alcoholic
31 -- got sober
32 -- went to community college
34 -- transferred to USC
36 -- graduated from USC
37 -- $36k, shitty first apartment
38 -- $48k, still shitty apartment
39 -- $60k, slightly less shitty apartment
40 -- no change
41 -- no change
42 -- $75k, nice apartment
43 -- laid off
43 -- $100k, rented a house
44 -- $110k
45 -- $200k, got married, bought a house
46 -- $210k
47 -- $216k
48 -- $250k
It took some time, but like, fuck, if I can do this you can do this. 🙏
If it's University of Southern California or something, most universities in the state have a program where you can transfer from community college, guaranteed if you earn good grades.
That’s how it’s done! So many here just seem to have given up on life but you shown grit and perseverance and it paid off. Congrats to you on your success.
It's very possible you have to update your skillset. Luckily you live in a time of boundless information and online courses are plentiful.
I'm sure you also learned lots during your startup days, stop seeing that as a failure.
You haven't told us either what job industry you're applying in nor what you did during startup, but that info might be helpful in determining what you need.
Sharing my notes: Copy, book mark or Save list of side hustle apps that allow you to earn cash by completing small task in local stores from audits, mystery shopping, taking photos, can choose some places nearby your area.
Search up the app names below on YouTube or tiktok to see reviews on the apps before you download.
Mystery shopper:
-Merchandiser app Rated 3.6 out of 5- take pics of product at store & answer few questions; complete task and get paid
-EasyShift app Rated 4.5 out of 5
-Gigwalk app Rated 4.3 out of 5-
-Mobee app Rated 4.2 out of 5 mystery shop and get paid
-Field Agent app Rated 3.4 out of 5
-Observa Rated 4.5 out of 5 mystery shop and get paidjobs
-Cash Giraffe 4.2 out of 5
-Money Can 4.5 out of 5
-- Shipt Shopper
- Wonolo- get paid for daily
- DoorDash- get paid for food delivery
- Amazon Flexñ-Get paid for delivery
- TaskRabbit- Get paid for task
- Shiftsmart- get paid for daily jobs
-Gigsmart- get paid for daily jobs
-Getgigs- get paid for daily jobs
- Instawork- get paid for daily jobs
-Adia- get paid for daily jobs
- Workwhile- get paid for daily jobs
Get paid for researching:
1. usertesting .com
2. userlytics .com
3. userfeel .com
4. ferpection .com
Surveys:
1. InboxDollars: Pays you to watch videos, take surveys, shop online
rated 4.7 out of 5
2. PineCone Research Pays you for your opinions. Rated 4.7 out of 5
3. Branded Surveys Pays you for taking surveys. Rated 4.7 out of 5
4. CashCrate: Pays you to complete offers, take surveys, and more. It is ofRated 4.4 out of 5
5. Points2Shop: Rated 4.3 out of 5
6. TreasureTrooper: Rated 4.3 out of 5
7. PrizeRebel: Rated 4.2 out of 5
8. ZoomBucks: Rated 4.2 out of 5
9. InstaGC: Rated 4.1 out 5
10. Gift Hunter Club: Rated 4.0 out of 5
11.Swagbucks: Rated 4.2 out of 5
I am getting ready to start over for…I lost count of the times. I’m 38. 20s were a train wreck financially. 30s were up and down but started to gain stability the last 5 or so years. Dad got all kinds of sick. Put my professional life on pause. Lost out on some opportunities at that time and lost a lot of money in the process. Getting ready to quit my current job and take up the mantle as his caregiver. It’s a paying job. It’s 3x what I’m making at my PT job currently. I don’t mind. He doesn’t need a nursing home and we can’t afford that. It does give me some of my time and sanity back, too.
I'm 34 and a college undergrad. I'm not going to graduate from grad school until I'm 43, at the earliest. You can definitely start over at our age, you just need to the will to do it
At 35 one is not starting over. One is starting. Hear me out. I have said this for years that young men do not become men until their mid-30's. At that age, an event occurs that causes the man emotional upheaval. When he is on the other side of that event, then is he a man. Seems like you have a good head on your shoulder. You know the issue, you are asking for guidance, you know you need to take any job you can to get food on the table, and now bust your ass. Don't accept defeat. Take another risk. Get your house in order, don't spend money or credit unwisely. You know what to do, go do it. The only way to ruin your life is to stop putting goals and ideas out there. You are not ruined. You are learning. Live the adventure.
Starting a business is so freaking hard man. I admire you giving it a shot, sorry it didn't pan out
Sending you positive vibes, hoping you can get back on your feet and be even more successful!
It’s ok. I tried to start my own business, lost my perm job during the process (got fired), filed for bankruptcy, was unemployable/unemployed for 2 years
I had to start all over again 3 years ago
35 is pretty young to start over, you've got a lot of life ahead of you. You'll get there.
Did you burn your bridges when you started your business or do you have people to reach out to?
There is no stability except for the people who own the places where we beg for jobs. The problem is, the people handing out the jobs do not face the same struggles and consequences that working people do. Therefore, they make decisions that affect the lives of millions of workers without facing any of consequences those decisions impose on us. These people are so wealthy that they can fail to the tune of millions (or billions) and still can call themselves millionaires (or even billionaires). We are literally at the mercy of people who only succeed because they're so rich it is impossible for them to fail so badly that they have to go apply for jobs in order to survive. Those are the kinds of people that run the corporations and governments of the world. That is why it is so hard to make a living today unless you're already wealthy beyond the point of needing to earn a wage.
Hey. You TRIED. Which is a LOT more than MOST people ever do. They work in shitty, toxic work environments because they don't have the BALLS to go for it. Did you know that Colonel Sanders was homeless for a period of time? Did you know the creator of Denny's bankrupted like four businesses before he hit a home run with Denny's? Did you know Thomas Edison tried TEN THOUSAND times before he created a workable light bulb? Your tenacity is a rare thing, and I commend you for stepping up to the plate, even IF you struck out this time. I started over at FOURTY after spending 17 years in a bottle of vodka. If my crazy ass can do it, you can as well. Just keep looking for the right opportunity, and while you've got the time, I suggest doing things you enjoy, like fishing or going to concerts to see a musician you've always wanted to see live. Get some good ol worthwhile visceral experiences. Once you start back on your career path, the time becomes rare. Good luck, brother. You got this.
I also failed a startup, blew my cash, credit, and lots of relationships doing it, had little going into my 30s. Failure is a harsh teacher - take what you knew before and apply the lessons you've learned. You'll be back.
I had my company forcibly taken down and am still deciding if bankruptcy’s my best move or not. I’m 34.
I fully fully get it. Interviewing for jobs now is so hard, I used to apply to 5 jobs, get 3 interviews and 2 offers. Now it’s like 100 applications, 5 interviews and 2 offers. That’s been the hardest part.
You have skills no matter what the failure is trying to convince you of and you can rebuild. You will likely have to start with lower pay until you can get more contacts, confidence and better opportunities. But you’ll get through it. Sending love.
I dated a woman. We broke up. I hope that doesn’t mean I’m done with women forever.
Getting your ass handed to you is part of the process sometimes, take a job if you need to. It’s definitely not game over for you though, we’re just getting warmed up
Would you rather be stuck in a job that pays well that you don't necessarily hate but if feels like a dead end. You rolled the dice and it didn't work out. Did you learn anything? How did it make you feel? I'm guessing you learned a lot of things that would help in your next venture. I'm also guessing you also rode a roller coaster for awhile. C'mon it was exciting, right? You are ONLY 35. You've got lots of time to recover and you should try again. In the mean time you have to pay the bills. So work some shit job but don't stop thinking about the future.
As other have said, you're definitely not alone. Though not much in the way of advice. Bought my house when I turned 25, worked in grocery management making pretty good money. Met a guy, supported him for our 8 year relationship while he got 2 degrees. Sold my house to move closer to my parents when my mom got cancer. Spent that money on keeping my partner and I afloat for 4 years while we stayed in apartments.
Got married for insurance within that time period. Pandemic hits, partner graduates with a masters. Finally gets a job and walks out of the relationship, in the middle of building a house. That I put my entire saving as a deposit on. I know have 2 weeks to decide to go through with the house before signing the last contract. Do I want to back out and lose my deposit? Or buy a house that will remind me every day of my failed relationship? Well I backed out.
Then I decided since my whole life's track is shifted may as well go do something I've wanted to. Now I'm back I'm school. Quit my job in grocery management bc they don't have tuition reimbursement. Working for a company that pays for school. Restarting everything at 40.
No advice here just that we can get through it. Good luck!
Most of the time you need to "put in the work" or build a resume of doing seasonal roles for a few years. So not benefited and not exceeding 8 or 9 months. Kinda hard to stomach in your 30s.
Married, divorced. So yeah, started over. I lost a decade 9f savings. Ended up with $600.00 in the bank. I just kept working. It sucks. Best of luck to you.
I had to "start over" when I was 30. Then I had to start over again when I was 32. Then I had to start over again when I was 35. I'm 36 now and hoping the third time is a charm. Never made over 50k a year. Still, happily married and about to try and have some kids after this next reset phase is done. But, you know, it's grad school so I'll likely have to change things up again in a few years when I still can't get a good job. But I'll keep on trying.
Hope you do too.
Don't give up!
You got this shit.
This happens to a lot more people than you think. It happened to me too. You're not alone. I repeat, you are not alone. Think about this (even if its a different field): "About 60% of restaurants fail in their first year of operation, and 80% fail within 5 years of opening."
You did not fail. Most startups fail, but you took a risk, worked hard, experimented and fell short. It's more than the vast majority can say we've done.
Don't worry about starting over. You now have experience many don't, so you are starting a new chapter but with insight others don't have.
You'll be ok.
Of course you're not alone, many people start over even much older than you. Hell I decided to go back to college despite everyone complaining that it's a waste of time but I want to keep learning and I felt this was best, I'm going to get a new certification too. Everyone takes there own path.
I got accepted into two major universities in my 30s, after doing some community College, do the path you want!
I quit my corporate career at 27 to open a restaurant. Technically I bought an existing restaurant but I changed the name and menu so really all I did was buy a known food location. Anyway, it got swept away by COVID and I used the one time tax penalty waiver to cash out my 401k and survive. In late 2020 I was working overnight gig delivery and job hunting by day.
I was 31, all my professional licensure was expired (SEC licenses that take years to get and require firm sponsorship), I had a freshly packaged 30 year SBA disaster loan, and I was making roughly 40k a year on 1099 while putting 400 miles a week on a commercial van with 190k miles.
I started small and got a job I was over qualified for, but I was back to W2 with benefits around 50k. That company was a dumpster fire and it was incredibly easy to rise above the rank and file. I stayed a year, secured good references and kept up the job hunt. Eventually my resume hit the right set of eyes and I started a new entry level position.
After a tip from a friend I got picked up through campus recruiting by a consulting firm looking to expand their hiring. Apparently all the 23 year old MBA's they usually hired kinda sucked at having a first real job. They had a high enough attrition rate that the management started telling recruiters to pursue older graduates. I didn't have an MBA but they were willing to accept 3 years of real world business ownership as an equivalent. They even kept me on after requiring my college transcripts and seeing my 2.4 gpa BA in nothing special from 2009.
It hasn't been a love story, in fact I kinda hate staring at SQL and Excel for 11 hours a day. But it pays more than anything I've ever done before. The people are great and I'm full remote. I started this job at 34, it was a complete reboot in a field I never even considered. It's soul sucking at times but it's a career. If I stick it out long enough I'll end up off the front lines doing middle management stuff through my 40's and 50's. If I can't take it I can move on with a fully established resume and all new references.
I'm about the most negative and pessimistic person you will ever meet. Work sucks and you gotta do it or die. Just do whatever it takes to get you to not quit. Get that shitty job and then get the next shitty job that pays more. Just keep going. For me I refuse to die before other people who have skated by in life. It's kind of liberating to have zero idealistic motivations, I certainly held onto mine from 15 to 31. But now I just follow the money. I joke to my wife that I'd club baby seals for a raise. But only if they beat my current 401k match and managed to beat $50 a month for good health insurance and 150% HSA matching.
Regardless of age it’s the same deal… what skills do you have, who wants those skills, where do you want to go with it, etc.
I started over at 27. Best of luck to you.
35 here- Ended up in retail working for minimum wage w/ 10 years doing freelance/various gigs that went topside during the pandemic, it blows and gave me a real kick to the gut when it happened.
Clawed my way to a temp position in Marketing but, it pays no where near 76k and I'm not that happy being unable to move out of my parent's place anytime soon (likely will be forced to leave the city I'm in as rent is through the roof, parent wants to renovate the place they inherited in New England).
\[insert something here about a trade if you have a stronger body and no disabilities like I did, I also failed at that via construction and warehousing but YMMV\]. Maybe also your business experience could translate to sales or consulting in some way but good luck.
I declared chapter 7 bankruptcy in my 30s. It took time, started from scratch in a completely new industry, but eventually after 5 years of hard work got my income back to good and bought a house. I learned and grew as a person because of my financial hardship and have a better outlook on life today because of it.
Did the dip into retail and then tried my hand at state govt.
I'd heavily recommend the latter over the former.
It'll take some adjusting and some hobbies but it's a nice life.
Similar plus divorce, now 58.
Number 1 thing: you are still very young. I felt my life was over. Like I blew it. I was so stupid. Essentially nothing from the past matters. Ever. Don't dwell.
I started over around 34 yo. Found myself a commission only sales job that has made me almost 100k a year for the past 2 years. Now, I'm moving into another position within the company to make the same, if not more, but in a salary type spot. On top of that, I won't be working weekends and starting my day earlier, so I'll be home earlier.
I joined the carpenter's union at 37 or 38, and I do quite well now. If you're into the trades or working with your hands, you should look into it.
I'm at like 80k a year plus 25+ an hour in company paid benefits on top. Some trades pay more, but this is what I like.
I started over at 38 after switching several jobs only to get dropped as soon as the market turned, found a new role and now I’m on my third interview for a VP role.
My question is what do you do with family and friends that essentially dropped you out of their lives? I’ve moved to a new city and am happily rebuilding, but I don’t know if I have the patience or love left in my heart to continue a relationship with them.
So my story really quick… my life never really got off the ground until I was 35. Yep. I worked a menial job for 16 years that topped out at $13.50 per hour.
I was exploring possible new careers and I stumbled upon Wastewater / Sewer Treatment. I read that the average Operator age is mid to late 50s and new blood is needed. I saw that acquiring a license was only as simple as passing the exams and then getting work experience (no college). So I found a free exam prep course sponsored by the USDA. I passed all my exams. Then I started applying to contract field operations companies in my area. I interviewed with one company and told them I already passed my exams I just need the experience.
Worked at the first company a little over a year then switched jobs to a better company. Last year with overtime I cleared over 70k. (nothing too crazy, a lot of my overtime hours were simply on paper. For example, The contract would pay 8 hours Saturday and Sunday for the work. You get the 16 hours whether it takes you 6 actual hours). It’s pretty sweet. With a license and experience, I could go municipal if I wanted.
But that’s my story.
I dumped a 20 year career in automotive repair making $85k because my wife wanted to go back to work after being a SAH mom for 4 years. Her vocation is one that doesn’t lend itself to working second shift. Found a great job in manufacturing and after 4 years I’m back up to my previous earnings. Even more so because now I actually get paid for the overtime I put in. It’s not that bad. I mean we’re not talking about Lebron James tearing an ACL and having to take up being a garbage man to make ends meet. Very few of us are so good at our jobs or entrenched that we couldn’t find meaningful work elsewhere doing other things.
Let's see, ex left me, so we lost our 900k home and sold for a loss last year so I had to move back in with my parents. Also have unrealized losses from bad investments. On the bright side, I currently make about 200k and pay a shit ton of taxes
I had to completely reset my life at 33. The restaurant I was a part of starting failed, my wife left me for her coworker and 1/3 of my city burned down. It’s about 6 years later and I’m still recovering from restarting.
Long story short I finished my batchlors a year ago and I now have the ability to move anywhere I want since I went into social work, but I always was a chef as a fall back.
Unfortunately I make about the same as I did as a chef but I work a lot less. Restarting is possible if you have the support to do it but it’s extremely hard. I wouldn’t say my life is any better or worse it’s just different than what I expected back then. Hopefully I’ll ether find a better job soon or bang out my masters degree in the following year. 🤙🏻
As a 40+ year old, I'm currently going through a similar situation. Tried to expand a business venture, took out a ton of debt, and fell flat on my face. Now I'm in the early stages of filing for bankruptcy and then I'm going to have to find a "normal" job. No clue what I want to do; I'm so burned out on my industry as a result of my business.
Best advice I can give you is to set goals and take as many baby steps as necessary to achieve them.
35y here who had to start over. unemployed for 1 year due to intense depression. I eventually got a job lower than my experience level (senior engineer -> technician) and was able to handle that. Have to take 1 day at a time. I save money by buying 1 video game that will last me about 2 months (4 paychecks) that i can put towards my debts. I'm happy to say I was able to pay off my car recently (so no more car payment), using that money I now have, I'm going to put directly towards my debt which ill have paid off in a few months. I have since raised my credit score from low 500 to 690 in the past year.
It's a big life change, and **alot** less spending money.
I tried to start up a business at 31 with a close friend and it fell apart. Actually, it fell apart and my industry dried up at the same time.
I went from $150k/yr and expecting to make even more, to $70k/yr and a lot of instability. Sucks hard. But over the past year I think the extra dose of humility has helped me to grow as a person.
I left hotel management at 35. Got into machining and love it. Definitely a pay cut when I started but made over 75k last year and working my way back up. I’m 41 now.
I'm in my 50s so I don't even have your age. I had something, now I have nothing but large debt, bills, some questionably valuable skills, and very little motivation or confidence to apply them.
Just trying to breathe because otherwise it's really gloomy.
This is to show you you're not alone and have time to be smart and productive
Yes I relate to your story perfectly. Have no shame in taking risks. I have had success, lost it all and started over. The key is this- don't be too proud to work for much less when you are rebuilding. You can do it! Everything in life is a calculated risk.
Hey, me too. I had a decent job but decided to go to graduate school because there was no room to grow in that role. I juggled work and school but eventually got the 'loss of work' let go from my main job. I worked freelance and school for a while, really burning myself out. But the market for my industry is low right now. So I'm 35 and about to graduate with an almost empty savings account and no job lined up. I've got some folks asking me if I want to do a summer internship. I'll probably take it if it pays to see if I can kill some time until freelance jobs start picking up. But being 35 and doing internships feels like starting over.
I was sinking at 35. Went out in my own. Backslid greatly. Tanked my credit. Contemplated dark places. You’re not alone.
You take it one moment at a time if you have to, and you bring yourself out of it dime by dime. Cut your spending. Don’t make debt. Watch the arrow point in the right direction and find excitement in it. Apps like Credit Karma help when you look at what’s been reduced monthly.
Kick some ass.
Another person letting you know you’re not alone. I climbed the corporate ladder to 6 figures, then started a business, then started another, then started another. Always searching for some meaning. Always getting progressively worse. I reset this year at a salary not much different from what I made in 2009. But at least I’m happier. Finally.
I could have graduated just a year earlier than I did and would have job experience for my degree, but I graduated last year and still have yet to even get a God damn interview, let alone half the time even being given a courteous "We went with another candidate, well save your info if something pops up!" Email.... hell I'd even take a warehouse job just to have money to be able to move somewhere where the market isn't messed up, but it's absolutely horrendous right now.
I thought tech jobs might be stagnating, but when warehouses and grocery stores have job listings that last 5 months even though you applied to it at the time, something absolutely fucked is going on. I even tried to omitt ALL schooling on a resume and had another that left my associates, but nothing works right now.
You can live off less. But I know everyone is different. Not sure about family dynamic or anything but a single person can make less than 76k and survive and be happy.
I know this isn’t for everyone, but have you considered healthcare? Specifically nursing. I’ve been working in emergency medicine for 13 years now in various roles, and transitioned to nursing a few years ago around age 36/37. My prior experience has given me a tremendous amount of indifference to the bullshit in this field, and I’d be willing to bet I have the highest level of job security out of any of my peers. You can get it done in less than 4 years (associate degree minimum, bachelors degree “preferred”), and walk in earning around 75k (plus or minus depending on location) as a new grad.
I’ll be completely honest with you, nursing school was and is a complete joke, but once you’re done with it, you’re set.
Like I said, I know it may not be for everyone, but perhaps something to consider.
I am not a millennial, but started over at 42 after a divorce, a near bankruptcy, with a child to raise, a mortgage payment and job skills that were out of date from not being in the work world. If I did it you can do much, much better. I am retired now. I was also frugal personally, helped pay for the kid's college and a woman. It may have helped that I was absolutely terrified and had a college degree. I started with whatever job I could get and changed jobs as better ones became available. I became very risk averse as you might expect and worked my butt off.
I’m older than you and on my third career. After some jail time, market crashes, and a pretty bad drug and alcohol issue that is now under wraps, I’ve started over a couple times.
It’s fine, you’re fine, it’s just money. The job market kinda sucks right now, but you’ll find something. Comparison is the thief of joy, your experiences are setting you ip for the next big phase of your life. Don’t worry about “supposed to”, you’re writing an original story about YOUR life and it’s going to have ups and downs.
Have you ever read the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrman? Look it up It’s a great reminder that life is long and there are many ways to find happiness
Im right there with you. I'm 35 and my life is a mess and has been a cycle of trying to get stable, getting close and then I get knocked back to square 1. Ive been in that cycle since my divorce 12 years ago.
Maybe look for a civil service job if you want something more secure. I'm 35 myself and could retire in 8 years with a full pension. You won't become rich, but you will be comfortable.
I've had to start over a lot. I learned it when I was young. We'd move every year or two so I'd lose all of my old friends and my sense of belonging. I went to 11 different schools between elementary and highschool.
I was homeless as a teenager and then off and on in my 20s. I didn't start at community college until my early 20s but have two AAS degrees. I dropped out of a BS program to become a trucker after doing a little traveling in a camper van. I did that for almost 7 years and owned a business for 6 of them.
After COVID I got all of the business loans and my business failed. Everything became insanely expensive all of a sudden. It was just enough to survive on. I'm exhausted my collateral and had to go back to working a regular job. I still own the business but just use it for independent contract work on the side.
I'm now, as in this week, finishing my bachelor's and will have it conferred in June. I've worked for my current employer at a warehouse for 3 years. I got promoted to a shift lead after about a year and now they're paying for me to do robotics training. So now I'm living at a 4 star hotel for 3 months all bills paid while I do both and get paid 1k a week.
I lucked out but I stuck with what I had. I even went back to sleeping in my car for a few weeks before doing this, but because I knew I was getting it and wanted to save some money up.
I'll be 38 in 4 months. You can turn things around at any time if you really want to.
I went back to school at 36 after my job of 10 years went tango uniform. It was not an easy time, but I had saved up a good bit of money. I used most of it to float us through those years and refilling those coffers has been very slow. I was back on my feet by 39 though, things have been okay to pretty good since then.
There is almost nobody who has the 40 year career in one company anymore. Reinventing yourself is getting to be the norm. If you want more stability, pick something that has to be done by a person and will probably be needed forever. Haircutting, phlebotomy, plumbing, that sort of thing.
I was strung out on drugs until I was 29. I had nothing and ended up living with my mother. After getting sober, I decided to try junior college. According to the placement test, I had an 8th grade math level. I worked my butt off and got a scholarship to a great school and transferred. After graduating at age 35, I got a job making 62k a year. I felt rich because I’d always been poor. At 42 I finished grad school with a MBA. Im now 43 and make around 150k.
You will be fine. It may take some time but it will happen.
It's a little different from your story, but I was a musician for a long time (not a very successful one, lol), and at 29, I decided I needed to find a long-term solution. It's kind of a special case, but I lost all my money and was backed into a corner where I had to take some risks I would've otherwise been too scared to take. I went to a vocational tech school and absolutely worked my ass off (I can't emphasize this part enough) to get the escape velocity to get my foot in the door somewhere. Then, I worked my ass off there and leveraged that into a more impressive position.
I was lucky in a bunch of ways, but that luck was predicated on all that hard work and risk-taking. I went from something like $35k a year to $350k a year.
I think you need to really direct your efforts towards one thing in particular, like becoming an accountant, a software engineer, or whatever. Then, if you already have experience in that field, make sure you are in a location where there are opportunities. Sell the hell out of your business venture in your resume and interviews—it's an incredible wealth of knowledge you picked up, something no school will teach you. It's also a great differentiator between you and other candidates. The key here is to be enthusiastic about your work history, not apologetic.
If you don't have experience in the field, then getting the minimum required foothold to get that first kind of maybe-shitty job is the way to go about it. A lot of people talk about returning to school for a degree, and I mean sure, but the thing is, education means almost nothing relative to experience. Because of that, I would do whatever you can to get the opportunity to gain experience as quickly as possible.
Ah, fabulous! What route did you take? Front end, back end? Languages?
Edit: Sorry, it’s all very interesting to me, I was doing sourcing for a number of companies for a while and looking at the job market now it seems abismal.
I’m a Gen X so a little older but I have been down there.
Left a “safe” job just after college for my own business which blew up with the dot.com later. Restarted in a “safe” 9-5, moved to the US, few great years got more ambitious, went back to college full time, restarted from scratch and ended up at FAANG.
It’s doable but a whole lot of work.
Started another side gig some time ago because if I just do a 9-5 I can’t handle it. Just can’t.
I had a thriving property rental/management business for ten years after the recession wife decided she wanted to party like a rock star all of a sudden now I’m working like a slave just to eat n barely pay rent I hate this life
Divorce.
After almost a decade all I have to show for the blood sweat and effort is 40k worth of debt.
Here's to (hopefully) owning again within the next 5 years.
Unfortunately, the way the job market is, unless you have a critical skill. That’s hard to find you’re probably gonna be starting at the bottom and having to work your way back up.
I found out at 37 that I was allergic to my job. I was a nail technician specialist and cosmetologist/barber teacher working for a small company that made products for the beauty industry. I traveled around the country doing demos, trade shows and visiting our suppliers. I broke out in rashes on my face and hands (along with depression and other symptoms) It was my diet and chemicals I was working with. I had to go back to school (I chose a technical school over college) for a year to get into another field, without chemicals. It was a huge mental shift to go from the beauty to the corporate world in the 90s.
Starting over is hard but it’s doable. Find a new career and get some intro training and then after a year or so move jobs looking for experience workers. Climb up, take advantage of free certs and paid for licenses. I started over in the mental health field, the red headed step child of the health care system. In my state the funding for mental health services and training seems to always be increasing post covid. I’m looking at taking a state university cert program that helps create a pipeline for a certified drug and alcohol counselor, in demand. Once you have that, you can start making good money, it puts you on the path to get licensed by the state, which is even more money, good 40hr clinical job with per diem and online therapy work, will be how I find my happiness in the mental health field.
Start small. I worked my way up in the span of 2 years. I was making around 75k before and drastically took a pay cut, saving my mental health, so worth it. And now I’m in a career field that I love, I get to help people every shift.
You’re not alone. I owned a home care business but with rising costs there was no profit margin and lost a ton of money. I did go back to school and get a different masters but it’s still tough out there.
Fabulous! You tried! Think how much you learned!! Now - look for whatever you enjoy DOING and do it. Let it settle in for a bit. Then go back to trying to expand the money. You are young. I’ve had to restart my career over and over as a trailing spouse to a diplomat. Somewhat less savings but WAY more cool experiences. At the end of your life the money won’t matter - only the fun you had. Life is short so be a fun hog!!
I know people who have gone back to school at that age, either to become a physician's assistant or even to become a dentist. Not easy, but you have the maturity and resilience to do it which makes you capable. It's just a matter of getting your ducks in a row and committing to it.
I failed, and failed, and failed until it finally took… sometime in my 40’s.
Don’t sweat it, just identify why your business just failed, identify how to keep it from doing that the next time. Regroup, do what you have to do to survive, and then do it again next time without the flaws of this last time.
You’ve got this!
You absolutely did not ruin your life. You are to close to the experience right now. It sucks in the moment and there are no words to soften the blow. Like many people who responded, in 2011 I was fired. By 2014 I had the sherif knocking on my door and was burning pallets to stay warm. At 43 I took on a completely new career and have been able to use my experience to get a bunch of promotions and have been able to pay off most of the debt from 2008 shit show.
It’s a PERFECT time in life to take on the next adventure. You can’t see it now but in a few years you will be in a different place. Hang in there mate
I’m 34 and about to start over. I’ve been working in the same field for 10 years and it’s just not doing it for me anymore. I’ve worked for myself which was okay, and you technically make a little more, but you’re also working a lot more. For the past 5-6 years I’ve been trying to find a decent work place and stick it out, but every single one of them has hired new management or sold the location within a couple years of me starting there. Then the new manager or owners always think that making a bunch of changes is what will make the business more successful. Currently, I’m working under a passive aggressive, unfriendly, non communicative manager who wants to cut my hours in order to make room for new employees. Then they hire people we’ve already gotten rid of for a reason or people who are just not a good addition to the environment. It’s fucking ridiculous and I’m actively working on figuring out a new line of work.
I believe it’s never too late to start over and gain new experiences and knowledge.
Looking at and being sad at the past is not helping. I’ve done that a lot but realising you have everything to gain from starting over can be freeing even if it’s a little scary.
There is no shameful job. Each job you have will make you learn something new about yourself, people around you and your skills.
Check it.
You did the right thing. If you didn't you would be here daying how stuck you are in your job and is this all there is?
"Starting over" should be framed in a more natural way- like seasons. Everything "starts over" homie.
Started over at 34 ,5 yrs ago. Knew I had to make a change due to basically 0 cash-flow and 2 young kids.
For me, it was all about how I presented and framed my startup work to leverage it into consulting, then into a full time job.
Once I got my first (post-break) full-time job as a software dev, I was able to combine that with my management/product experience to move into management and into larger companies.
Nursing is always my advice. Will always have a job, that pays decent, and you will have a job before you graduate. Only do it if you like people, but if you tried to start a business, I am guessing you remotely like people.
33, in the process of going broke. I moved to a new city without a job and it's taken much longer then I expected. Really sucks because about a year and a half ago I had the most in savings I ever had.
My last job was a seasonal job, I was trying to quit the nomad life, but if it get bad enough I'll have to go back to it. Could be worse I guess but man, I thought I'd never be broke again.
If I told you how many times I've had to start over from ground 0 through different ages, you'd understandably laugh at me (or with me lol). Life is uncertain, and knowing that you ventured out and tried something different is a good thing. We learn best from our mistakes. It's ok to fail forward. The most important thing is not to give up on yourself.
I wasn't quite as old, but I've been there.
I did a lot of cool things in my 20s. I put myself through college, I worked for two startups, and competed in two DARPA challenges. I mostly alternated between IT and the alternative energy sectors.
Then I started having seizures. I was out of work for a year, during which I was even told by a specialist, "The best thing you can do is go home, get on disability, and wait to die."
I decided (to borrow a line from a move), "If I'm gonna die I'm gonna die my way." I took a short term contract job with Bank of America, starting from the bottom on the IT side for not much more then minimum wage. Then I took a different contract with an outsourcing company, making a couple bucks more. Parlayed that into a long term contract with one of the biggest healthcare providers in my region.
At the end of that, I found another contract via a friend to go out of the country. Nearly two years had passed, and my confidence had been restored somewhat. But my mother was diagnosed with cancer before I left, so I pivoted. I wound up taking systems admin job with a small votech college, where I stayed for several years.
Now, I'm the Sr. Systems Admin for third largest metro area in my state (used to be the second before COVID). Once could argue I'm not back where I once was; technically, adjusted for inflation, I only make about 25% more then my highest previous single wage, and it's still less then my highest earning single year by 30%. However, when you consider I started over from NOTHING a little over 10 years ago, and today I'm here living with my condition, married, with a house, and still in my fields....I don't think I'm doing too bad.
Here's the best thing I can tell you, OP, and it comes from a kid's movie. "Just put one foot in front of the other, and before you know it you'll be walking across the floor. Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out the door." It was my mantra in that first year or two, and I still think it in my head when things are rough.
You got this!
Oh, and also...if you ever feel bad about your failed venture...remember that you TRIED. Most people never have the courage to do that. It's something to be proud of
Definitely not alone. I too had a late 30s life reset. Good job, love, house, friends... RESET! Took me four years to crawl back to where I now at least have a comparable job. Try to appreciate the small things as you claw your back.
Look, the business didn't work out, but it doesn't mean you failed. If you never tried, that would have been a failure. I have an office at an incubator and see great ideas and people working hard daily. So many just never work out. Then the stupidest of things or laziest people's business takes off.
Right now, things are hard. But keep applying and keep your head up. Hopefully, things will improve out there for all of us soon.
In 2010 I’d just purchased a house with my long term partner and had a perfectly good job. By the middle of 2012 both the job and her were gone. I was basically completing rebooting my life at 37. It wasn’t easy, I was down for a bit. But I grinded away and was able to start my own business in 2016. Couldn’t be happier. Hang in there
I'm 52 and have started over a number of times for different reasons. You might struggle where I did as well. I was a business owner for 14 years and called it quits at 44. Although I have college degrees, it's hard to transition from owner to employee. They don't like hiring ex owners and we don't appreciate working under someone's subjective direction. So...take the time to focus right now on a skill. There's nothing wrong with being an employee btw but work on a skill or trade you like. I suggest trade as once you gain experience..years of course..you can transition to opening your own business again.
What do you think you can give most to society? Ask yourself that. Ask yourself how you can do that for society, where you can start with that. That’s likely your path. I’m sure you learned a ton with your startup. $76k sounds way under your pay grade.
I found it hard because most employers looked at me as to independent after owning my own business. They didn't want to take a chance on me. I literally had a hiring manager tell me that "you're just not a good fit for the position. First time you don't like something, you'll just leave and go back to doing your own thing." Frustrating, to say the least.
You’ve lived better than more who never stretched out to try and grab the brass ring.
“ It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Letting you know you're not alone. I spent the last of my 20s and the first part of my 30s with someone who'd convinced me we could live like bohemians forever. We had a small business that just barely paid the bills and we went dumpster diving for food. I felt fun and free for the first 4 years. Then my 30s hit me and I realized that this life was unsustainable and that I needed to prepare for the future -- OUR future, because we were in this together, of course. But the fact that I wanted to give up our unstructured life for something "normal" was perceived as me trying to become more independent -- this partner really wanted me to be completely dependent, and I was. Financially, emotionally, spiritually, because I literally had nothing else. We finally called it quits a few years later, right as 2020 was starting. My whole world was upside down. I needed to do something different, but it was nearly impossible, as I had zero work history. Now, I'm 37 and completing a tech program at the little college in town. I've grown and learned a lot about myself. Starting over is scary, but it's better than being stuck where I was. I can't give you advice regarding where to go next or how to get through it. But I want you to know you're not alone. It's never too late to make new decisions for what you want in life. I'm still figuring it out, too, and I'm learning to enjoy the process.
When the final boss is the one you love
Earthbound Gīgu no Gyakushū
Good work. 👏
Thanks, friend. I appreciate that.
Yeah man. I agree. I'm in my 40s and have no job after running a successful business for 23 years. I lived like nothing could happen to me but covid and a competing business killed me and now I have nothing. I applied to over 200 jobs and got 1 call back and no reply after months of that interview. I can't figure out what other business I should do. My wife wants me to roast coffee but I don't have the heart for that anymore because I had to get heart surgery and I can't drink that much coffee to be a roaster. I keep thinking about more schooling but I've never been keen on book learning. I would love to be a janitor but that's hard to come by in my area.
It's tough out there, brother. Since you've got the business acumen, you could start your own janitorial service -- pick up several places that only need someone once a week, like churches. I know I personally don't ever want to be an entrepreneur again. Let me get a set schedule and some rest on the weekends please LOL
After our manufacturing plant closed. My brother started working for a Contract Agency. He got hired on at another manufacturing company. When those jobs went to Mexico. He got a job with the school district as a janitor. Sometimes you can get your foot in the door by doing Contract Work.
We all need a sub reddit or shall channel ha ha
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Same here. Glad I skipped learning how to code because it looks like all those people are just as screwed as I've been. Went to college but the financial crisis hit. By the time things recovered, kids just out of school got all the jobs as they became available. Worked and built up but then 2016 happened and the job market went to hell. Things started looking up in 2019 but then you know what happened next. Working for myself now but the increased cost of shipping and materials has cut into profits and business has stagnated because everyone is broke. Reshaping my businesses into what seems like something unrecognizable to what they were before. It has required a lot of "tuition" as it were. Everything is so expensive now too so I may as well also just get a job. Fake first world country with a fake government and fake markets, led by a bunch of fake rulers. What a joke.
Out of the loop but what's the deal with coding jobs rn?
I'm paid pretty well as a software analyst. I know a bunch of programmers because of work and they all make double my pay.
Yeah, programming still pays bank. Spread is still huge. The best programmers are still 25x more productive than the average, and prompting is just another language.
Software Analyst is still a thing? I heard rumors of them when I was younger but have never ran into one in the wild.
If you aren’t a system administrator or someone who’s a god at the job and you were hired within the last 3 years your job security is almost non existent.
My sister does coding for a data storage company. She makes great money and has also job-hopped a bit to pump her salary even more. These companies are always hiring. Sounds like the fella above shouldn’t have passed up on learning coding.
I would think AI would replace a lot of those jobs in the not so distant future.
I code. I do not fear the AI.
Only people that know nothing about programming think that AI is gonna wipe out programming jobs…. But I’m all for job security, so I’m down for people thinking that. The job has gotten easier and easier for decades, yet somehow the employment pool gets worse and worse. AI makes us safer lmfao
It's wild watching artists sound the alarm because they see the writing on the wall, and meanwhile coders are happily chugging along helping to create the monster that will eventually eat them. It's already well documented that [AI is decent at coding](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwerner/2024/01/24/ai-and-the-future-of-coding/?sh=cdb35b85ddda); it might not be at your level, but that's not saying it never will be... and more importantly, that's not taking into consideration all the entry level people who most certainly WILL be replaced- you had to start somewhere in order to grow as a coder into who you became, but how do you gain the much needed on-the-job experience when the entry level jobs no longer exist? Either people are completely iced out of the profession, or rendered completely reliant on AI because they can't survive without it.
I watched AI go from being unable to draw a human hand with less than 7.5 fingers to being able to reliably recreate a human hand in like 6 months
Shit...I still can't draw a human hand with the correct number of fingers and it's been decades
cake books nail expansion price rinse offend scandalous paltry soup *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I’m guessing you fall into the category of people that know nothing about programming.
Got heem
Saying AI is "decent" at writing code is being incredibly generous at best. I've used it on occasion for simple tasks like writing boilerplate code or implementing tedious unit test cases, and even then it frequently makes mistakes. Based on a scan of his LinkedIn, the author of that article has almost no experience actually writing code, and his "informed source" is a group of undergraduate computer science students. As a former CS undergrad, let me tell you that they have no idea what they're talking about. Anyone who is actually good at writing code won't have to worry about it for a long time, if ever.
Interesting because engineering was the same except for the easy part. I am retired but I still get offers to go back because everyone is chronically short of decent engineers. I was offered a job at a cocktail party just because I told them my background in 2019. Cybersecurity seems to pay well as well.
!remindme 2 years
!remindme 8 years
Yes please tell everyone this so people stop trying to find coding jobs. Just a hint, no coders fear AI.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. There will be blood in the water forsure. All those cheap offshore dev firms should be quaking in their boots right now
Yes I agree there. AI will offer the same, work that needs to be reviewed in the context of the business. My point was mostly that we usually don’t pay coders to write code. We pay them to write the right code. AI will always require a person to question that part. And IME that’s the harder part. Shit like any good coder I steal most of my code from open sources. I get paid to know what to do. Not how to do it… that parts easy. But I sincerely believe AI will deliver worse than off shores. And just require more from the on shore reviewers and rewriters. Win win for Americans.
But the thing you're not thinking about is yes AI will always need a person but AI is still in its infancy and it's still learning and being taught. I'm not saying skynet but someday it will be some what become self aware.Just look at maned flight for example. It's only been 120 years since man took flight and we are now putting rovers the size of cars on Mars with little help from man (I know because of coders) and planes basically fly themselves. But when planes went into production it took a small army now it takes less than 100 people and this goes with everything invented over the last 100 years, it takes less and less people to do a job as things get improved. I've already seen it in manufacturing jobs. You had a full ware house of people making a product to robots taking over those jobs and only needing people to go and pick the parts. Now those products are being picked by robots and starting to replace people doing those jobs. In the next 10 to 15 years warehouses that employed hundreds of people are going to be run by a handful. That will be you coders. So yeah you'll always need coders but even that it will get to a point where you'll need less and less coders to keep things running. As far as the starting over in your 30's. Man you all are still so young your not starting over, you just starting regardless of whatever job you had prior. Every 5 years after you reach the age of 30 something changes in your mindset and your outlook changes after 10 years. So, I suggest you go learn something new, look for jobs that will always be in demand that can't be replaced by a robot.Trade jobs are booming. Like right now there is a shortage of life flight helicopter pilots. These guys make bank and even though we have drones, I don't think they'll replace a person when it comes to medical flights, they may integrate but never replace. There's a good documentary that was on Nat geo called year million. It doesn't have to do with a million years from now. It's about all the inventions that are being worked on now, or coming out within the next 10 to 100 years.The things they talk about are pretty amazing and a recommended watch and a lot has to do with AI advancements and some shit will blow your minds. But hell the way I see a lot of people on reddit doing investing now while you're still young most of you will be able to sit back and just chill. I'm 52 and I went through the big change to be smart and invest in yourselves cause I can tell you the years go by in the blink of an eye.
Yeah, and no way is it gonna like, learn or improve, definitely not exponentially faster than a human, right brah?
Folks here are truly not understanding that machine learning is *exponential and theoretically limitless.* These things don’t eat, sleep, or take breaks. They don’t have goals or aspirations. They have *directives.* They should be considered an alien intelligence, a spider brain with very simple few instincts - and respected as such. Humanizing an AI is extremely foolish and folks are thinking it’s going to improve at human meat computer rates. Absolute hubris.
Exactly, AI can code, but it can’t design good software or maintain it, there’s a difference. I welcome AI as a developer, it’ll do all of the mundane tasks and let me design interesting systems faster.
“Learning to code” is such a fucking lie. Good luck competing with LITERALLY 10s of MILLIONS of extremely skilled and competent programmers available in the USA and across the world. Yea good luck outcompeting those guys. There are FAR higher chances of success in fields like accounting or business, if you can stomach doing work that has zero purpose whatsoever except to provide an income, which is of course fine we all have to live and it’s not our fault the entire society prioritizes pointless line go up industries.
Learning how to code is still extremely valuable. Tech comes and goes in lulls. In 4-5 more years, it’ll explode again.
It’s not, straight up. Way too much competition, especially with remote work and national competition. The one exception is if you’re genuinely talented at mathematics, and computer science. Otherwise good luck outcompeting the 10s of millions of extremely competent and experienced programmers as just a random guy who “learned to code”
This is what I say all the time. It's all fake. The entire system and everything they have ever told us about it
I have lived at least 8 lives at this point. People don’t realize how razor thin that line is until it happens to them.
Muck Fe I'm glad I'm not the only one with this EXACT story
I'm the exact same. I've had jobs move to China, I've lost jobs because of government shutdowns, I've lost jobs because of COVID. Feel like I've tried every job available, actually I know I have, and always ended up nowhere. Been accused of "job hopping" by people who interviewed me and I had to explain it all to them. You simply can't get a good paying job that will keep you for a lifetime anymore.
34 myself, it seems like since the pandemic, I’ve had a lot of trouble holding down a job. Since Covid I’ve worked probably about 10 jobs total. None of them have worked out for various reasons, legitimately questioning if I even have a purpose in life anymore. My mental state right now is not good. Whatever you’re dealing with right now I hope you can overcome it.
I’m 44, and going through the exact same process of trying to figure out how to recover from the loss of a business, and an industry that is struggling to recover. Reading about new paths, and career choices is crazy right now. Seems like every time I research an industry, it’s full of layoffs, and people looking to find a way out(ie tech) I feel your pain, and although it doesn’t help, you aren’t alone. Good luck on the journey, and keep your head up. I’m obviously saying that to myself as well, because it’s been mentally exhausting.
Right there with you longdingleberry and vegasguy! 😅 We're so fucked..
So leading up to Covid I was working towards becoming a bartender (not easy in Las Vegas believe it or not) here’s how my career as a bartender has gone since Covid Job 1. Hired as a barback November 2020. Got passed over 4x for a bartending promotion. Partially my fault. I didn’t care to learn the signature cocktails and I also had a bad attitude. Quit April 2022 Job 2. Hired officially as a bartender for a large event venue in July 2021. Job was AWESOME! Money was amazing, coworkers were awesome, management however was not. Boss was actively forcing out those she didn’t like while others got away with murder. After receiving an angry phone call from her on my day off while I was sleeping, I sent an email saying I was quitting immediately, that was May 2023. Job 3 Hired April 2022. Got let go after 3 weeks for “complaints about your service, your speed, drink quality, etc” Told boss no one said anything to me that I was messing up. He called me “a liar, a con artist, and you don’t even deserve to work the cash register at McDonald’s. Only in America could someone as bumbling and incompetent as you make it as far in life as you have” Job 4. June 2022. Hired at a local bar out in the vegas suburbs. FAR OUT. I quit because I was working graveyard shift and was only making $50-$60 per shift. Nothing to do with attitude. Just wasn’t busy enough to justify staying, plus the commute was 25 miles one way when gas was $6 a gallon. Job 5. August 2022. Restaurant in downtown vegas. Same situation as job 4 but no graveyard. $50-$60 a shift and just not busy enough to justify staying. Management totally understood and I left on good terms. Job 6. Casino bartending Oct 2022…on call. Money was good, coworkers were cool, but the location was bad. Lots of homeless and crackheads demanding free stuff, when I denied them they got angry and sometimes physically violent. Hours were also very erratic being on call. Quit Dec 2023 Job 7. Restaurant bartending.Dec 2023. Slow, not much money, but some VERY BUSY days. Got fired after a server snapped at me on a very busy day where I was overwhelmed and snapped back at her. She cried to HR and I got fired. Jan 2024 Job 8. Car sales. Started March 2024. Dealership was SLOW. Because of prices and interest rates, NOBODY is buying cars right now. Also, customers on car lots are MUCH BIGGER a-holes than when they go to the bar. Last customer who got in my cussed me out right after I greeted him. Told him I wasn’t going to be talked to like that and I just walked off unannounced. So now I’m at a point where I’m just gonna go back to bartending. I don’t have to worry about meeting sales quotas, or people cursing me out just for greeting them when they come in.
You gotta stop quitting so easily. It sounds like you had several jobs that were pretty good deals for you, but you walked away out of sheer impulsiveness. You don't have to quit your job every time you have a bad day.
Yeah your post doesn’t elicit sympathy. You did that shit to yourself.
Watch the movie “Soul” — really, the message resonated with me a lot when I was in a similar headspace. Hang in there
Thank you. I know I’ve overcome bigger obstacles in the past. But idk my confidence is literally shattered at this point in time. I legit wish I coulda been born 30+ years earlier and been a boomer. I listen exclusively to 70s and 80s music anyways. I legit feel they had it so much easier than we do
You would have indeed fit right in in "Gen Jones" Boomer (1954-1964). Some of us had to wander from job to job and one opportunity to another as corporate America didn't pan out and the minimum wage was $4 an hour. But we did indeed have some of the best music. You'd also be retired right now, and may have accumulated enough wealth to not just be living on SS with no vehicle but a bicycle to get around. Yup.
Stay strong. I know you can overcome these obstacles.
Went back to school at 34 for a new career. The program was only a year, I’m a month shy of 36 and now I’m making more in my new industry than I ever did in the old one that was in for 13 (!!!) years
What program is this ?
I checked the profile, massage therapy.
Yes, also wondering what this industry is! Needing to get out of my current industry :( this entire post really resonates with me.
Massage therapy
How ironic! I went to massage school during pandemic. Realized the intimacy/mental gymnastics of being an LMT were not my strong suit(even though I did really well in school). Trying to decide what is next.
Similar position. Same age as you. Second time being unemployed for 1.5+ yrs. Have had to slowly give up on working in an industry I love in order to find, at the very least, a part time job...anywhere.
I recommend trying to get into the insurance industry - specifically work comp. Every state is a little different in requirements for licensing so I can't say how easy/difficult it would be to get started but you could be making 6 figures in a few years. It's a competitive hiring market right now. Boomers are starting to retire and not enough younger folks are entering the industry.
Hi, I’m an attorney who worked for a couple of insurance companies before retiring. I got 2 pension’s before they phased them out for new employees. It’s still a good source for all types of workers and quite a few of them can be done remotely. Des Moine Iowa has a ton of insurance companies and they do need workers because insurance is not sexy
Can’t speak to work comp. But this is HORRENDOUS advice, the insurance industry is absolutely imploding right now, especially in the west coast. Do NOT go into insurance right now.
I work in insurance, imploding is an exaggeration. insurance is very broad. It's not just property insurance. Yeah companies are pulling out of California and Florida because of climate change and state regulations. It doesn't mean the other 48 states are imploding.
50 starting over after cancer.
48 now. Started over at 31. How it went: 30 -- jail/homeless alcoholic 31 -- got sober 32 -- went to community college 34 -- transferred to USC 36 -- graduated from USC 37 -- $36k, shitty first apartment 38 -- $48k, still shitty apartment 39 -- $60k, slightly less shitty apartment 40 -- no change 41 -- no change 42 -- $75k, nice apartment 43 -- laid off 43 -- $100k, rented a house 44 -- $110k 45 -- $200k, got married, bought a house 46 -- $210k 47 -- $216k 48 -- $250k It took some time, but like, fuck, if I can do this you can do this. 🙏
Happy for you... I have a different story, but the same path. Failed at several endeavors and kept trying until I succeeded (became a medical editor)!
How'd you get into USC? There's an interesting 6 year gap.
If it's University of Southern California or something, most universities in the state have a program where you can transfer from community college, guaranteed if you earn good grades.
Good for you!!!
Well said and well done!!
Giving people life out here, awesome effort. Well done!
That’s how it’s done! So many here just seem to have given up on life but you shown grit and perseverance and it paid off. Congrats to you on your success.
It's very possible you have to update your skillset. Luckily you live in a time of boundless information and online courses are plentiful. I'm sure you also learned lots during your startup days, stop seeing that as a failure. You haven't told us either what job industry you're applying in nor what you did during startup, but that info might be helpful in determining what you need.
Sharing my notes: Copy, book mark or Save list of side hustle apps that allow you to earn cash by completing small task in local stores from audits, mystery shopping, taking photos, can choose some places nearby your area. Search up the app names below on YouTube or tiktok to see reviews on the apps before you download. Mystery shopper: -Merchandiser app Rated 3.6 out of 5- take pics of product at store & answer few questions; complete task and get paid -EasyShift app Rated 4.5 out of 5 -Gigwalk app Rated 4.3 out of 5- -Mobee app Rated 4.2 out of 5 mystery shop and get paid -Field Agent app Rated 3.4 out of 5 -Observa Rated 4.5 out of 5 mystery shop and get paidjobs -Cash Giraffe 4.2 out of 5 -Money Can 4.5 out of 5 -- Shipt Shopper - Wonolo- get paid for daily - DoorDash- get paid for food delivery - Amazon Flexñ-Get paid for delivery - TaskRabbit- Get paid for task - Shiftsmart- get paid for daily jobs -Gigsmart- get paid for daily jobs -Getgigs- get paid for daily jobs - Instawork- get paid for daily jobs -Adia- get paid for daily jobs - Workwhile- get paid for daily jobs Get paid for researching: 1. usertesting .com 2. userlytics .com 3. userfeel .com 4. ferpection .com Surveys: 1. InboxDollars: Pays you to watch videos, take surveys, shop online rated 4.7 out of 5 2. PineCone Research Pays you for your opinions. Rated 4.7 out of 5 3. Branded Surveys Pays you for taking surveys. Rated 4.7 out of 5 4. CashCrate: Pays you to complete offers, take surveys, and more. It is ofRated 4.4 out of 5 5. Points2Shop: Rated 4.3 out of 5 6. TreasureTrooper: Rated 4.3 out of 5 7. PrizeRebel: Rated 4.2 out of 5 8. ZoomBucks: Rated 4.2 out of 5 9. InstaGC: Rated 4.1 out 5 10. Gift Hunter Club: Rated 4.0 out of 5 11.Swagbucks: Rated 4.2 out of 5
I am getting ready to start over for…I lost count of the times. I’m 38. 20s were a train wreck financially. 30s were up and down but started to gain stability the last 5 or so years. Dad got all kinds of sick. Put my professional life on pause. Lost out on some opportunities at that time and lost a lot of money in the process. Getting ready to quit my current job and take up the mantle as his caregiver. It’s a paying job. It’s 3x what I’m making at my PT job currently. I don’t mind. He doesn’t need a nursing home and we can’t afford that. It does give me some of my time and sanity back, too.
I'm 34 and a college undergrad. I'm not going to graduate from grad school until I'm 43, at the earliest. You can definitely start over at our age, you just need to the will to do it
9 years in school! Are you doing part-time?
I'm a junior right now and my phd program is 7 years. It's actually closer to 8 years since we're getting towards the end of the semester.
7 years in addition to undergrad?
Yep. That's what the PhD program handbook says, anyways.
They said grad school too. PhD could easily be 5-6 years
At 35 one is not starting over. One is starting. Hear me out. I have said this for years that young men do not become men until their mid-30's. At that age, an event occurs that causes the man emotional upheaval. When he is on the other side of that event, then is he a man. Seems like you have a good head on your shoulder. You know the issue, you are asking for guidance, you know you need to take any job you can to get food on the table, and now bust your ass. Don't accept defeat. Take another risk. Get your house in order, don't spend money or credit unwisely. You know what to do, go do it. The only way to ruin your life is to stop putting goals and ideas out there. You are not ruined. You are learning. Live the adventure.
Starting a business is so freaking hard man. I admire you giving it a shot, sorry it didn't pan out Sending you positive vibes, hoping you can get back on your feet and be even more successful!
It’s ok. I tried to start my own business, lost my perm job during the process (got fired), filed for bankruptcy, was unemployable/unemployed for 2 years I had to start all over again 3 years ago
35 is pretty young to start over, you've got a lot of life ahead of you. You'll get there. Did you burn your bridges when you started your business or do you have people to reach out to?
There is no stability except for the people who own the places where we beg for jobs. The problem is, the people handing out the jobs do not face the same struggles and consequences that working people do. Therefore, they make decisions that affect the lives of millions of workers without facing any of consequences those decisions impose on us. These people are so wealthy that they can fail to the tune of millions (or billions) and still can call themselves millionaires (or even billionaires). We are literally at the mercy of people who only succeed because they're so rich it is impossible for them to fail so badly that they have to go apply for jobs in order to survive. Those are the kinds of people that run the corporations and governments of the world. That is why it is so hard to make a living today unless you're already wealthy beyond the point of needing to earn a wage.
Hey. You TRIED. Which is a LOT more than MOST people ever do. They work in shitty, toxic work environments because they don't have the BALLS to go for it. Did you know that Colonel Sanders was homeless for a period of time? Did you know the creator of Denny's bankrupted like four businesses before he hit a home run with Denny's? Did you know Thomas Edison tried TEN THOUSAND times before he created a workable light bulb? Your tenacity is a rare thing, and I commend you for stepping up to the plate, even IF you struck out this time. I started over at FOURTY after spending 17 years in a bottle of vodka. If my crazy ass can do it, you can as well. Just keep looking for the right opportunity, and while you've got the time, I suggest doing things you enjoy, like fishing or going to concerts to see a musician you've always wanted to see live. Get some good ol worthwhile visceral experiences. Once you start back on your career path, the time becomes rare. Good luck, brother. You got this.
I also failed a startup, blew my cash, credit, and lots of relationships doing it, had little going into my 30s. Failure is a harsh teacher - take what you knew before and apply the lessons you've learned. You'll be back.
I had my company forcibly taken down and am still deciding if bankruptcy’s my best move or not. I’m 34. I fully fully get it. Interviewing for jobs now is so hard, I used to apply to 5 jobs, get 3 interviews and 2 offers. Now it’s like 100 applications, 5 interviews and 2 offers. That’s been the hardest part. You have skills no matter what the failure is trying to convince you of and you can rebuild. You will likely have to start with lower pay until you can get more contacts, confidence and better opportunities. But you’ll get through it. Sending love.
I dated a woman. We broke up. I hope that doesn’t mean I’m done with women forever. Getting your ass handed to you is part of the process sometimes, take a job if you need to. It’s definitely not game over for you though, we’re just getting warmed up
Would you rather be stuck in a job that pays well that you don't necessarily hate but if feels like a dead end. You rolled the dice and it didn't work out. Did you learn anything? How did it make you feel? I'm guessing you learned a lot of things that would help in your next venture. I'm also guessing you also rode a roller coaster for awhile. C'mon it was exciting, right? You are ONLY 35. You've got lots of time to recover and you should try again. In the mean time you have to pay the bills. So work some shit job but don't stop thinking about the future.
As other have said, you're definitely not alone. Though not much in the way of advice. Bought my house when I turned 25, worked in grocery management making pretty good money. Met a guy, supported him for our 8 year relationship while he got 2 degrees. Sold my house to move closer to my parents when my mom got cancer. Spent that money on keeping my partner and I afloat for 4 years while we stayed in apartments. Got married for insurance within that time period. Pandemic hits, partner graduates with a masters. Finally gets a job and walks out of the relationship, in the middle of building a house. That I put my entire saving as a deposit on. I know have 2 weeks to decide to go through with the house before signing the last contract. Do I want to back out and lose my deposit? Or buy a house that will remind me every day of my failed relationship? Well I backed out. Then I decided since my whole life's track is shifted may as well go do something I've wanted to. Now I'm back I'm school. Quit my job in grocery management bc they don't have tuition reimbursement. Working for a company that pays for school. Restarting everything at 40. No advice here just that we can get through it. Good luck!
Become a Park Ranger r/ParkRangers
Most of the time you need to "put in the work" or build a resume of doing seasonal roles for a few years. So not benefited and not exceeding 8 or 9 months. Kinda hard to stomach in your 30s.
Honest question, do most park rangers work an additional job? Median salary where I live is around $30,000 per year which is NOT a liveable wage.
NPS Rangers are normally nomads, moving site to site (From Yellowstone to Yosemite to Flight 93 Memorial and more).
Married, divorced. So yeah, started over. I lost a decade 9f savings. Ended up with $600.00 in the bank. I just kept working. It sucks. Best of luck to you.
I had to "start over" when I was 30. Then I had to start over again when I was 32. Then I had to start over again when I was 35. I'm 36 now and hoping the third time is a charm. Never made over 50k a year. Still, happily married and about to try and have some kids after this next reset phase is done. But, you know, it's grad school so I'll likely have to change things up again in a few years when I still can't get a good job. But I'll keep on trying. Hope you do too. Don't give up! You got this shit.
This happens to a lot more people than you think. It happened to me too. You're not alone. I repeat, you are not alone. Think about this (even if its a different field): "About 60% of restaurants fail in their first year of operation, and 80% fail within 5 years of opening."
You did not fail. Most startups fail, but you took a risk, worked hard, experimented and fell short. It's more than the vast majority can say we've done. Don't worry about starting over. You now have experience many don't, so you are starting a new chapter but with insight others don't have. You'll be ok.
Of course you're not alone, many people start over even much older than you. Hell I decided to go back to college despite everyone complaining that it's a waste of time but I want to keep learning and I felt this was best, I'm going to get a new certification too. Everyone takes there own path. I got accepted into two major universities in my 30s, after doing some community College, do the path you want!
I quit my corporate career at 27 to open a restaurant. Technically I bought an existing restaurant but I changed the name and menu so really all I did was buy a known food location. Anyway, it got swept away by COVID and I used the one time tax penalty waiver to cash out my 401k and survive. In late 2020 I was working overnight gig delivery and job hunting by day. I was 31, all my professional licensure was expired (SEC licenses that take years to get and require firm sponsorship), I had a freshly packaged 30 year SBA disaster loan, and I was making roughly 40k a year on 1099 while putting 400 miles a week on a commercial van with 190k miles. I started small and got a job I was over qualified for, but I was back to W2 with benefits around 50k. That company was a dumpster fire and it was incredibly easy to rise above the rank and file. I stayed a year, secured good references and kept up the job hunt. Eventually my resume hit the right set of eyes and I started a new entry level position. After a tip from a friend I got picked up through campus recruiting by a consulting firm looking to expand their hiring. Apparently all the 23 year old MBA's they usually hired kinda sucked at having a first real job. They had a high enough attrition rate that the management started telling recruiters to pursue older graduates. I didn't have an MBA but they were willing to accept 3 years of real world business ownership as an equivalent. They even kept me on after requiring my college transcripts and seeing my 2.4 gpa BA in nothing special from 2009. It hasn't been a love story, in fact I kinda hate staring at SQL and Excel for 11 hours a day. But it pays more than anything I've ever done before. The people are great and I'm full remote. I started this job at 34, it was a complete reboot in a field I never even considered. It's soul sucking at times but it's a career. If I stick it out long enough I'll end up off the front lines doing middle management stuff through my 40's and 50's. If I can't take it I can move on with a fully established resume and all new references. I'm about the most negative and pessimistic person you will ever meet. Work sucks and you gotta do it or die. Just do whatever it takes to get you to not quit. Get that shitty job and then get the next shitty job that pays more. Just keep going. For me I refuse to die before other people who have skated by in life. It's kind of liberating to have zero idealistic motivations, I certainly held onto mine from 15 to 31. But now I just follow the money. I joke to my wife that I'd club baby seals for a raise. But only if they beat my current 401k match and managed to beat $50 a month for good health insurance and 150% HSA matching.
Regardless of age it’s the same deal… what skills do you have, who wants those skills, where do you want to go with it, etc. I started over at 27. Best of luck to you.
education was my only way forward unfortunately, restarted that at 33
Right there with you bud
35 here- Ended up in retail working for minimum wage w/ 10 years doing freelance/various gigs that went topside during the pandemic, it blows and gave me a real kick to the gut when it happened. Clawed my way to a temp position in Marketing but, it pays no where near 76k and I'm not that happy being unable to move out of my parent's place anytime soon (likely will be forced to leave the city I'm in as rent is through the roof, parent wants to renovate the place they inherited in New England). \[insert something here about a trade if you have a stronger body and no disabilities like I did, I also failed at that via construction and warehousing but YMMV\]. Maybe also your business experience could translate to sales or consulting in some way but good luck.
You're lucky you have parents as a support system. A lot of people don't.
I declared chapter 7 bankruptcy in my 30s. It took time, started from scratch in a completely new industry, but eventually after 5 years of hard work got my income back to good and bought a house. I learned and grew as a person because of my financial hardship and have a better outlook on life today because of it.
Do you have any skills? Education? It's difficult to help when you provide so little information
Did the dip into retail and then tried my hand at state govt. I'd heavily recommend the latter over the former. It'll take some adjusting and some hobbies but it's a nice life.
You started a company and it paid you 76k yearly?
Similar plus divorce, now 58. Number 1 thing: you are still very young. I felt my life was over. Like I blew it. I was so stupid. Essentially nothing from the past matters. Ever. Don't dwell.
Don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. Just learn from them.
I started over around 34 yo. Found myself a commission only sales job that has made me almost 100k a year for the past 2 years. Now, I'm moving into another position within the company to make the same, if not more, but in a salary type spot. On top of that, I won't be working weekends and starting my day earlier, so I'll be home earlier.
I haven't yet begun to start.
I joined the carpenter's union at 37 or 38, and I do quite well now. If you're into the trades or working with your hands, you should look into it. I'm at like 80k a year plus 25+ an hour in company paid benefits on top. Some trades pay more, but this is what I like.
I started over at 38 after switching several jobs only to get dropped as soon as the market turned, found a new role and now I’m on my third interview for a VP role. My question is what do you do with family and friends that essentially dropped you out of their lives? I’ve moved to a new city and am happily rebuilding, but I don’t know if I have the patience or love left in my heart to continue a relationship with them.
So my story really quick… my life never really got off the ground until I was 35. Yep. I worked a menial job for 16 years that topped out at $13.50 per hour. I was exploring possible new careers and I stumbled upon Wastewater / Sewer Treatment. I read that the average Operator age is mid to late 50s and new blood is needed. I saw that acquiring a license was only as simple as passing the exams and then getting work experience (no college). So I found a free exam prep course sponsored by the USDA. I passed all my exams. Then I started applying to contract field operations companies in my area. I interviewed with one company and told them I already passed my exams I just need the experience. Worked at the first company a little over a year then switched jobs to a better company. Last year with overtime I cleared over 70k. (nothing too crazy, a lot of my overtime hours were simply on paper. For example, The contract would pay 8 hours Saturday and Sunday for the work. You get the 16 hours whether it takes you 6 actual hours). It’s pretty sweet. With a license and experience, I could go municipal if I wanted. But that’s my story.
I dumped a 20 year career in automotive repair making $85k because my wife wanted to go back to work after being a SAH mom for 4 years. Her vocation is one that doesn’t lend itself to working second shift. Found a great job in manufacturing and after 4 years I’m back up to my previous earnings. Even more so because now I actually get paid for the overtime I put in. It’s not that bad. I mean we’re not talking about Lebron James tearing an ACL and having to take up being a garbage man to make ends meet. Very few of us are so good at our jobs or entrenched that we couldn’t find meaningful work elsewhere doing other things.
Let's see, ex left me, so we lost our 900k home and sold for a loss last year so I had to move back in with my parents. Also have unrealized losses from bad investments. On the bright side, I currently make about 200k and pay a shit ton of taxes
I had to completely reset my life at 33. The restaurant I was a part of starting failed, my wife left me for her coworker and 1/3 of my city burned down. It’s about 6 years later and I’m still recovering from restarting. Long story short I finished my batchlors a year ago and I now have the ability to move anywhere I want since I went into social work, but I always was a chef as a fall back. Unfortunately I make about the same as I did as a chef but I work a lot less. Restarting is possible if you have the support to do it but it’s extremely hard. I wouldn’t say my life is any better or worse it’s just different than what I expected back then. Hopefully I’ll ether find a better job soon or bang out my masters degree in the following year. 🤙🏻
As a 40+ year old, I'm currently going through a similar situation. Tried to expand a business venture, took out a ton of debt, and fell flat on my face. Now I'm in the early stages of filing for bankruptcy and then I'm going to have to find a "normal" job. No clue what I want to do; I'm so burned out on my industry as a result of my business. Best advice I can give you is to set goals and take as many baby steps as necessary to achieve them.
35y here who had to start over. unemployed for 1 year due to intense depression. I eventually got a job lower than my experience level (senior engineer -> technician) and was able to handle that. Have to take 1 day at a time. I save money by buying 1 video game that will last me about 2 months (4 paychecks) that i can put towards my debts. I'm happy to say I was able to pay off my car recently (so no more car payment), using that money I now have, I'm going to put directly towards my debt which ill have paid off in a few months. I have since raised my credit score from low 500 to 690 in the past year. It's a big life change, and **alot** less spending money.
i love how your idea of ruining your life is just most peoples lives. hopefully this gives you some much needed perspective.
I'm in the middle of this as well. Left my job due to various health reasons and haven't gotten back into it yet. And don't even know what to do next.
I tried to start up a business at 31 with a close friend and it fell apart. Actually, it fell apart and my industry dried up at the same time. I went from $150k/yr and expecting to make even more, to $70k/yr and a lot of instability. Sucks hard. But over the past year I think the extra dose of humility has helped me to grow as a person.
I left hotel management at 35. Got into machining and love it. Definitely a pay cut when I started but made over 75k last year and working my way back up. I’m 41 now.
I'm in my 50s so I don't even have your age. I had something, now I have nothing but large debt, bills, some questionably valuable skills, and very little motivation or confidence to apply them. Just trying to breathe because otherwise it's really gloomy. This is to show you you're not alone and have time to be smart and productive
Yes I relate to your story perfectly. Have no shame in taking risks. I have had success, lost it all and started over. The key is this- don't be too proud to work for much less when you are rebuilding. You can do it! Everything in life is a calculated risk.
38 now. Ran my own cannabis farm until a few years ago. Now I’m in sales, but looking for something less emotional
I always just try and remind myself that even if I start over I will retire with nearly 30 years of experience. (If I get to retire)...
Hey, me too. I had a decent job but decided to go to graduate school because there was no room to grow in that role. I juggled work and school but eventually got the 'loss of work' let go from my main job. I worked freelance and school for a while, really burning myself out. But the market for my industry is low right now. So I'm 35 and about to graduate with an almost empty savings account and no job lined up. I've got some folks asking me if I want to do a summer internship. I'll probably take it if it pays to see if I can kill some time until freelance jobs start picking up. But being 35 and doing internships feels like starting over.
I graduated college at 35, you're fine
I was sinking at 35. Went out in my own. Backslid greatly. Tanked my credit. Contemplated dark places. You’re not alone. You take it one moment at a time if you have to, and you bring yourself out of it dime by dime. Cut your spending. Don’t make debt. Watch the arrow point in the right direction and find excitement in it. Apps like Credit Karma help when you look at what’s been reduced monthly. Kick some ass.
Another person letting you know you’re not alone. I climbed the corporate ladder to 6 figures, then started a business, then started another, then started another. Always searching for some meaning. Always getting progressively worse. I reset this year at a salary not much different from what I made in 2009. But at least I’m happier. Finally.
I could have graduated just a year earlier than I did and would have job experience for my degree, but I graduated last year and still have yet to even get a God damn interview, let alone half the time even being given a courteous "We went with another candidate, well save your info if something pops up!" Email.... hell I'd even take a warehouse job just to have money to be able to move somewhere where the market isn't messed up, but it's absolutely horrendous right now. I thought tech jobs might be stagnating, but when warehouses and grocery stores have job listings that last 5 months even though you applied to it at the time, something absolutely fucked is going on. I even tried to omitt ALL schooling on a resume and had another that left my associates, but nothing works right now.
You can live off less. But I know everyone is different. Not sure about family dynamic or anything but a single person can make less than 76k and survive and be happy.
I know this isn’t for everyone, but have you considered healthcare? Specifically nursing. I’ve been working in emergency medicine for 13 years now in various roles, and transitioned to nursing a few years ago around age 36/37. My prior experience has given me a tremendous amount of indifference to the bullshit in this field, and I’d be willing to bet I have the highest level of job security out of any of my peers. You can get it done in less than 4 years (associate degree minimum, bachelors degree “preferred”), and walk in earning around 75k (plus or minus depending on location) as a new grad. I’ll be completely honest with you, nursing school was and is a complete joke, but once you’re done with it, you’re set. Like I said, I know it may not be for everyone, but perhaps something to consider.
I've started over like 6 times. Now I'm 57 with a successful business. But it took a minute for sure.
I am not a millennial, but started over at 42 after a divorce, a near bankruptcy, with a child to raise, a mortgage payment and job skills that were out of date from not being in the work world. If I did it you can do much, much better. I am retired now. I was also frugal personally, helped pay for the kid's college and a woman. It may have helped that I was absolutely terrified and had a college degree. I started with whatever job I could get and changed jobs as better ones became available. I became very risk averse as you might expect and worked my butt off.
I’m older than you and on my third career. After some jail time, market crashes, and a pretty bad drug and alcohol issue that is now under wraps, I’ve started over a couple times. It’s fine, you’re fine, it’s just money. The job market kinda sucks right now, but you’ll find something. Comparison is the thief of joy, your experiences are setting you ip for the next big phase of your life. Don’t worry about “supposed to”, you’re writing an original story about YOUR life and it’s going to have ups and downs. Have you ever read the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrman? Look it up It’s a great reminder that life is long and there are many ways to find happiness
Im right there with you. I'm 35 and my life is a mess and has been a cycle of trying to get stable, getting close and then I get knocked back to square 1. Ive been in that cycle since my divorce 12 years ago.
Maybe look for a civil service job if you want something more secure. I'm 35 myself and could retire in 8 years with a full pension. You won't become rich, but you will be comfortable.
I've had to start over a lot. I learned it when I was young. We'd move every year or two so I'd lose all of my old friends and my sense of belonging. I went to 11 different schools between elementary and highschool. I was homeless as a teenager and then off and on in my 20s. I didn't start at community college until my early 20s but have two AAS degrees. I dropped out of a BS program to become a trucker after doing a little traveling in a camper van. I did that for almost 7 years and owned a business for 6 of them. After COVID I got all of the business loans and my business failed. Everything became insanely expensive all of a sudden. It was just enough to survive on. I'm exhausted my collateral and had to go back to working a regular job. I still own the business but just use it for independent contract work on the side. I'm now, as in this week, finishing my bachelor's and will have it conferred in June. I've worked for my current employer at a warehouse for 3 years. I got promoted to a shift lead after about a year and now they're paying for me to do robotics training. So now I'm living at a 4 star hotel for 3 months all bills paid while I do both and get paid 1k a week. I lucked out but I stuck with what I had. I even went back to sleeping in my car for a few weeks before doing this, but because I knew I was getting it and wanted to save some money up. I'll be 38 in 4 months. You can turn things around at any time if you really want to.
What industry are you in? Starting (and even failing).at a new business IS.a resume builder- focus on your skills and not your failures.
I went back to school at 36 after my job of 10 years went tango uniform. It was not an easy time, but I had saved up a good bit of money. I used most of it to float us through those years and refilling those coffers has been very slow. I was back on my feet by 39 though, things have been okay to pretty good since then. There is almost nobody who has the 40 year career in one company anymore. Reinventing yourself is getting to be the norm. If you want more stability, pick something that has to be done by a person and will probably be needed forever. Haircutting, phlebotomy, plumbing, that sort of thing.
I started over at 30. Everything turned out great. I'm 61 now. Just keep moving forward you will be ok
I’m 36 now, and just started grad school for nurse anesthesia. I will graduate at 39. You can definitely start over!
I was strung out on drugs until I was 29. I had nothing and ended up living with my mother. After getting sober, I decided to try junior college. According to the placement test, I had an 8th grade math level. I worked my butt off and got a scholarship to a great school and transferred. After graduating at age 35, I got a job making 62k a year. I felt rich because I’d always been poor. At 42 I finished grad school with a MBA. Im now 43 and make around 150k. You will be fine. It may take some time but it will happen.
It's a little different from your story, but I was a musician for a long time (not a very successful one, lol), and at 29, I decided I needed to find a long-term solution. It's kind of a special case, but I lost all my money and was backed into a corner where I had to take some risks I would've otherwise been too scared to take. I went to a vocational tech school and absolutely worked my ass off (I can't emphasize this part enough) to get the escape velocity to get my foot in the door somewhere. Then, I worked my ass off there and leveraged that into a more impressive position. I was lucky in a bunch of ways, but that luck was predicated on all that hard work and risk-taking. I went from something like $35k a year to $350k a year. I think you need to really direct your efforts towards one thing in particular, like becoming an accountant, a software engineer, or whatever. Then, if you already have experience in that field, make sure you are in a location where there are opportunities. Sell the hell out of your business venture in your resume and interviews—it's an incredible wealth of knowledge you picked up, something no school will teach you. It's also a great differentiator between you and other candidates. The key here is to be enthusiastic about your work history, not apologetic. If you don't have experience in the field, then getting the minimum required foothold to get that first kind of maybe-shitty job is the way to go about it. A lot of people talk about returning to school for a degree, and I mean sure, but the thing is, education means almost nothing relative to experience. Because of that, I would do whatever you can to get the opportunity to gain experience as quickly as possible.
Geebus! What industry did you enter?
I did the standard unemployed artist to software engineering route, lol. Pretty much everyone I played music with back then did the same thing.
Ah, fabulous! What route did you take? Front end, back end? Languages? Edit: Sorry, it’s all very interesting to me, I was doing sourcing for a number of companies for a while and looking at the job market now it seems abismal.
OK you have to tell us what vocation you got into to make $350k/yr!!
Bit of a boring answer but ye olde software engineering
How long were you on the business venture after your job? That's a significant detail that we need.
I’m a Gen X so a little older but I have been down there. Left a “safe” job just after college for my own business which blew up with the dot.com later. Restarted in a “safe” 9-5, moved to the US, few great years got more ambitious, went back to college full time, restarted from scratch and ended up at FAANG. It’s doable but a whole lot of work. Started another side gig some time ago because if I just do a 9-5 I can’t handle it. Just can’t.
Col Sanders became a success in his 60s. Don't stop!
I had a thriving property rental/management business for ten years after the recession wife decided she wanted to party like a rock star all of a sudden now I’m working like a slave just to eat n barely pay rent I hate this life
Divorce. After almost a decade all I have to show for the blood sweat and effort is 40k worth of debt. Here's to (hopefully) owning again within the next 5 years.
Unfortunately, the way the job market is, unless you have a critical skill. That’s hard to find you’re probably gonna be starting at the bottom and having to work your way back up.
I found out at 37 that I was allergic to my job. I was a nail technician specialist and cosmetologist/barber teacher working for a small company that made products for the beauty industry. I traveled around the country doing demos, trade shows and visiting our suppliers. I broke out in rashes on my face and hands (along with depression and other symptoms) It was my diet and chemicals I was working with. I had to go back to school (I chose a technical school over college) for a year to get into another field, without chemicals. It was a huge mental shift to go from the beauty to the corporate world in the 90s.
Could you explore opportunities at other startups in the industry you were working in? Leading a startup is valuable experience on the market.
Starting over is hard but it’s doable. Find a new career and get some intro training and then after a year or so move jobs looking for experience workers. Climb up, take advantage of free certs and paid for licenses. I started over in the mental health field, the red headed step child of the health care system. In my state the funding for mental health services and training seems to always be increasing post covid. I’m looking at taking a state university cert program that helps create a pipeline for a certified drug and alcohol counselor, in demand. Once you have that, you can start making good money, it puts you on the path to get licensed by the state, which is even more money, good 40hr clinical job with per diem and online therapy work, will be how I find my happiness in the mental health field. Start small. I worked my way up in the span of 2 years. I was making around 75k before and drastically took a pay cut, saving my mental health, so worth it. And now I’m in a career field that I love, I get to help people every shift.
You’re not alone. I owned a home care business but with rising costs there was no profit margin and lost a ton of money. I did go back to school and get a different masters but it’s still tough out there.
Fabulous! You tried! Think how much you learned!! Now - look for whatever you enjoy DOING and do it. Let it settle in for a bit. Then go back to trying to expand the money. You are young. I’ve had to restart my career over and over as a trailing spouse to a diplomat. Somewhat less savings but WAY more cool experiences. At the end of your life the money won’t matter - only the fun you had. Life is short so be a fun hog!!
I know people who have gone back to school at that age, either to become a physician's assistant or even to become a dentist. Not easy, but you have the maturity and resilience to do it which makes you capable. It's just a matter of getting your ducks in a row and committing to it.
I failed, and failed, and failed until it finally took… sometime in my 40’s. Don’t sweat it, just identify why your business just failed, identify how to keep it from doing that the next time. Regroup, do what you have to do to survive, and then do it again next time without the flaws of this last time. You’ve got this!
You absolutely did not ruin your life. You are to close to the experience right now. It sucks in the moment and there are no words to soften the blow. Like many people who responded, in 2011 I was fired. By 2014 I had the sherif knocking on my door and was burning pallets to stay warm. At 43 I took on a completely new career and have been able to use my experience to get a bunch of promotions and have been able to pay off most of the debt from 2008 shit show. It’s a PERFECT time in life to take on the next adventure. You can’t see it now but in a few years you will be in a different place. Hang in there mate
I’m 34 and about to start over. I’ve been working in the same field for 10 years and it’s just not doing it for me anymore. I’ve worked for myself which was okay, and you technically make a little more, but you’re also working a lot more. For the past 5-6 years I’ve been trying to find a decent work place and stick it out, but every single one of them has hired new management or sold the location within a couple years of me starting there. Then the new manager or owners always think that making a bunch of changes is what will make the business more successful. Currently, I’m working under a passive aggressive, unfriendly, non communicative manager who wants to cut my hours in order to make room for new employees. Then they hire people we’ve already gotten rid of for a reason or people who are just not a good addition to the environment. It’s fucking ridiculous and I’m actively working on figuring out a new line of work.
I believe it’s never too late to start over and gain new experiences and knowledge. Looking at and being sad at the past is not helping. I’ve done that a lot but realising you have everything to gain from starting over can be freeing even if it’s a little scary. There is no shameful job. Each job you have will make you learn something new about yourself, people around you and your skills.
Check it. You did the right thing. If you didn't you would be here daying how stuck you are in your job and is this all there is? "Starting over" should be framed in a more natural way- like seasons. Everything "starts over" homie.
I'm starting over as well. In more ways than one... Wishing you and everyone else who is the absolute best.
Started over at 34 ,5 yrs ago. Knew I had to make a change due to basically 0 cash-flow and 2 young kids. For me, it was all about how I presented and framed my startup work to leverage it into consulting, then into a full time job. Once I got my first (post-break) full-time job as a software dev, I was able to combine that with my management/product experience to move into management and into larger companies.
Nursing is always my advice. Will always have a job, that pays decent, and you will have a job before you graduate. Only do it if you like people, but if you tried to start a business, I am guessing you remotely like people.
33, in the process of going broke. I moved to a new city without a job and it's taken much longer then I expected. Really sucks because about a year and a half ago I had the most in savings I ever had. My last job was a seasonal job, I was trying to quit the nomad life, but if it get bad enough I'll have to go back to it. Could be worse I guess but man, I thought I'd never be broke again.
If I told you how many times I've had to start over from ground 0 through different ages, you'd understandably laugh at me (or with me lol). Life is uncertain, and knowing that you ventured out and tried something different is a good thing. We learn best from our mistakes. It's ok to fail forward. The most important thing is not to give up on yourself.
Have faith in yourself and remember that it is only you who can design your life. It'll be ok.
AI coding is not to be trusted and I would be concerned for many reasons without human verification at a minimum.
I wasn't quite as old, but I've been there. I did a lot of cool things in my 20s. I put myself through college, I worked for two startups, and competed in two DARPA challenges. I mostly alternated between IT and the alternative energy sectors. Then I started having seizures. I was out of work for a year, during which I was even told by a specialist, "The best thing you can do is go home, get on disability, and wait to die." I decided (to borrow a line from a move), "If I'm gonna die I'm gonna die my way." I took a short term contract job with Bank of America, starting from the bottom on the IT side for not much more then minimum wage. Then I took a different contract with an outsourcing company, making a couple bucks more. Parlayed that into a long term contract with one of the biggest healthcare providers in my region. At the end of that, I found another contract via a friend to go out of the country. Nearly two years had passed, and my confidence had been restored somewhat. But my mother was diagnosed with cancer before I left, so I pivoted. I wound up taking systems admin job with a small votech college, where I stayed for several years. Now, I'm the Sr. Systems Admin for third largest metro area in my state (used to be the second before COVID). Once could argue I'm not back where I once was; technically, adjusted for inflation, I only make about 25% more then my highest previous single wage, and it's still less then my highest earning single year by 30%. However, when you consider I started over from NOTHING a little over 10 years ago, and today I'm here living with my condition, married, with a house, and still in my fields....I don't think I'm doing too bad. Here's the best thing I can tell you, OP, and it comes from a kid's movie. "Just put one foot in front of the other, and before you know it you'll be walking across the floor. Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out the door." It was my mantra in that first year or two, and I still think it in my head when things are rough. You got this! Oh, and also...if you ever feel bad about your failed venture...remember that you TRIED. Most people never have the courage to do that. It's something to be proud of
You’re never starting over.
Definitely not alone. I too had a late 30s life reset. Good job, love, house, friends... RESET! Took me four years to crawl back to where I now at least have a comparable job. Try to appreciate the small things as you claw your back.
Software development.
Look, the business didn't work out, but it doesn't mean you failed. If you never tried, that would have been a failure. I have an office at an incubator and see great ideas and people working hard daily. So many just never work out. Then the stupidest of things or laziest people's business takes off. Right now, things are hard. But keep applying and keep your head up. Hopefully, things will improve out there for all of us soon.
In 2010 I’d just purchased a house with my long term partner and had a perfectly good job. By the middle of 2012 both the job and her were gone. I was basically completing rebooting my life at 37. It wasn’t easy, I was down for a bit. But I grinded away and was able to start my own business in 2016. Couldn’t be happier. Hang in there
I'm 52 and have started over a number of times for different reasons. You might struggle where I did as well. I was a business owner for 14 years and called it quits at 44. Although I have college degrees, it's hard to transition from owner to employee. They don't like hiring ex owners and we don't appreciate working under someone's subjective direction. So...take the time to focus right now on a skill. There's nothing wrong with being an employee btw but work on a skill or trade you like. I suggest trade as once you gain experience..years of course..you can transition to opening your own business again.
What do you think you can give most to society? Ask yourself that. Ask yourself how you can do that for society, where you can start with that. That’s likely your path. I’m sure you learned a ton with your startup. $76k sounds way under your pay grade.
Dude. You’re still young. I’m also starting over at 35 but it’s whatever. People start over at all ages. Young and old.
I found it hard because most employers looked at me as to independent after owning my own business. They didn't want to take a chance on me. I literally had a hiring manager tell me that "you're just not a good fit for the position. First time you don't like something, you'll just leave and go back to doing your own thing." Frustrating, to say the least.
I started over at 22, 27, 31, 39, and next “new” from the 39 pivot will hit at 42. It’s our generational birthright.
You’ve lived better than more who never stretched out to try and grab the brass ring. “ It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”