29, Male, no job, no savings, only high school diploma, living with parents. I don't know how to begin or if I even can.
So title is slightly dishonest. I do have a job, but it is a casual position and I get about 1-2 shifts a month, if even that.
All my life I have had people ask me what I want to do for a career or where I see myself in X amount of years. And the answer is always the same. I don't know. There is literally nothing that interests me career wise. And I really mean nothing. So you might be asking, what do you like to do as a hobby? Playing video games and eating. And I have tried learning code and doing art since I like video games, but I am just too stupid for it. I don't want to hear the "oh you just need to practice more!" or "there is AI now, it is so much easier!" or "you didnt try hard enough!". Like I have tried the last 10+ years since high school. But I am mentally handicapped or on the spectrum or something because I can't grasp any topic more advanced than basic grade 9 math. If I couldn't get it by now, I never will.
So then what about food? Why not become a chef! And that I have tried as well. It is hard to find a place that will hire a person with little experience in a professional cooking environment. My resume experience consists of line cook positions. And aside from following youtube tutorials on cooking basic meals, I don't know much at all about professional cooking. And I have always heard that unless you are working in a Michelin star restaurant, which are extremely hard to get in, you won't be making any significant money and are better off on some other min wage job.
Honestly I have just given up on life. I am basically killing myself slowly. Eat like shit, sedentary. Just waiting for something to get me. Am I depressed? Maybe, idk. I have talked to therapists and they didn't do anything. A couple 1 hour talks with them just ask "why do you feel this way???", then at the end it's "try one of these 5 drugs, will need to take for a month before you may see any improvement. oh also not covered by insurance so its about $400 a month for a drug that may not even work". Like i don't have money to just try expensive drugs to hope they maybe work. My work doesn't provide insurance. And I guess I am too depressed to do anything with my life so it just seems like I am destined to become homeless and die/freeze to death next winter.
I just don't see the point in doing all this effort. For what? So I can live a little longer miserably? What is the point? There is no point for me. No kids, no family other than my parents. Nothing left to lose it feels like.
Jobadvisor
It takes a massive amount of courage to be this honest about how much things suck right now. I hear the exhaustion in your words, and I'm not going to hit you with toxic positivity or tell you to "just find your passion." When you're in a hole this deep, "passion" feels like a fairy tale.
Let’s look at this practically. You aren't "too stupid"; you’re likely paralyzed. When you feel like you’re failing at life, your brain shuts down its ability to learn complex things (like coding) because it’s stuck in survival mode.
Here is a grounded perspective on how to navigate this without the expensive meds or the "dream career" nonsense.
1. Kill the "Career" Myth
You don’t need a career. You need income.
The idea that your job has to be your identity is a trap. If you like video games and eating, you don't need to code or cook professionally—you just need a job that pays enough to fund your hobbies and keeps you from freezing.
Low-Barrier, High-Structure Jobs: Look for roles that are repetitive and don't require Grade 12 math or "creativity." Warehouse fulfillment (Amazon, etc.), night security, or mail sorting.
The Benefit: These jobs often provide a "flow state" where you don't have to think. You show up, move boxes or watch a screen, and leave. It’s physical, which helps the "sedentary" feeling without needing a gym.
2. The Cooking Reality Check
You’re right about Michelin stars being a grind, but you’re wrong about the "minimum wage" part.
Institutional Cooking: Look at hospitals, retirement homes, or universities. They need line cooks. The pay is usually better than fast food, the hours are consistent (unlike your current casual job), and they often have benefits/insurance.
The Goal: You aren't trying to be Gordon Ramsay. You’re trying to get 40 hours a week so you have your own money.
3. Dealing with the "Brain Fog"
If you feel like you can't learn anything new, it might not be a lack of intelligence. Chronic stress and a sedentary lifestyle literally shrink the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
Small Wins: Don't try to learn Python. Try to walk for 15 minutes.
Why? Not to get "fit," but to prove to your brain that you can finish a task you started. When you haven't won in a long time, you have to rig the game so you can win at something.
4. The Financial/Medical Wall
Since you can't afford the $400 meds (and I agree, that’s a ridiculous burden), look for sliding-scale clinics or community health centers. Many cities have mental health services specifically for those under the poverty line or without insurance.
Community Resources: If you are "on the spectrum" as you suspect, there are often vocational rehabilitation services designed to help neurodivergent people find jobs that fit their specific brain type.
A Different Way to Look at "The Point"
You asked what the point is. If you don't have kids or a career you love, the point is simply comfort and autonomy.
Living with parents at 29 while broke feels like being a "guest" in your own life. The "point" of putting in the effort right now isn't to become a CEO—it’s to get to a place where you can buy a pizza, play a game, and sleep in a bed you paid for without anyone asking you what your "5-year plan" is.
Pursuing a Biology degree was the worst decision of my life. Seeking advice.
Add me to the list of those who regret choosing this path.
Stuck in life and don't know what to do at this point. Seeking advice.
Background:
I grew up in an impoverished environment. Both parents were first generation Asian-Americans working minimum wage jobs and I've lived in apartments my whole life. Growing up, I was always told that pursuing a STEM degree would ensure a stable and successful future. Biology became my passion throughout high school and so it was something that I pursued. (I was also extremely proficient at math, so these days I'm kicking myself for not pursuing an engineering degree instead). My parents supported me, enforcing the idea that getting a degree is important. That no matter what the focus was, I'd always be desirable to employers as long as I had that piece of paper in a STEM field. Naive me didn't look into the actual sustainability working in the industry.
I graduated in 2014 with a B.S. Biology conc. Microbio. I was able to get an internship my last year at university, however as soon as that ended I was never able to secure a job. It took me a year for an agency to call me for a contract lab tech job at $16/hr. I was laid off 1.5 years later due to company downsizing. I started working various retail jobs, constantly applying for entry-level jobs that could even remotely get my foot in the door. No luck. For 5 years. Any interview I had would end in rejection with the same reasoning: I didn't have ample enough experience. Within that time, both of my parents fell ill and both had passed away, they had me very late in their lives. I have no other family, and being poor, they left nothing to their name. I became desperate and took an assembler position at a medical device company at $21/hr, for any hope that I could somehow climb my way to a better career. A year later I was given the opportunity to become a technician for these medical devices at $29/hr. Great. Maybe things are starting to look up for me? Wrong. I soon realized that this is the furthest I could go. The only career growth a technician could achieve at this company is becoming an engineer. I don't have an engineering degree. I don't have the time and money to go back to school. Even then, getting a degree in Biomedical Engineering rather than something more broad like Mechanical or Electrical Engineering doesn't sound like it's worth the effort. I got laid off from that technician job 2 years later. Since then, I've worked 2 similar technician jobs, both contract. I lost my last one in the last year because the federal funding freeze caused us to lose our customers (mostly universities).
So now I have a resume with jobs that aren't even related to biology, just testing devices used by people I wish I was. I'm currently looking for QA/QC jobs but those are sparse; especially in pharma/biotech. (I live in a biotech hub). I haven't had any responses so far and it looks like my "experience" has really screwed my career path entirely. The worst part is seeing how little the potential salary is with just a biology degree. Sunk-cost is hitting me really hard and I feel like I'm just trying to salvage any sort of relevance I can have with my degree. Any advice on what else I can look for?
Any biology graduates who work in an unrelated field that provide great career prospects/growth? How did you do it?
Jobadvisor
This is a remarkably different picture than the one you painted a moment ago.
You aren't "too stupid" for math; you were proficient in it. You don't have "no savings" and "no experience"; you have a B.S. in Biology and years of high-level technical experience in medical device testing and QA. You aren't "just a line cook"; you are a skilled technician who hit a glass ceiling and a string of bad luck with federal funding.
The "Grade 9 math" comment from your previous message sounds like Depression talking, not reality. When Depression takes over, it deletes your wins and magnifies your losses until you feel like a "handicapped" failure. But the facts on your resume say otherwise.
1. Stop Chasing "Biology"
The "Sunk Cost Fallacy" is killing you. A Biology degree is often just a very expensive "General Science" degree unless you have a PhD.
The Pivot: You aren't a Biologist; you are a Quality & Operations Specialist.
With your background in medical device assembly and testing ($29/hr experience), you are qualified for roles that don't care about "cells" or "microbes." They care about Compliance, ISO Standards, and Precision.
2. High-Growth Roles for Your Resume
Since you are in a biotech hub, stop looking for "Lab Tech" roles (which pay poorly) and start looking for these:
Quality Assurance (QA) Specialist / Document Control: Every biotech/med-device company needs people to manage the "paperwork" of manufacturing. It’s high-stakes, requires attention to detail, and pays significantly more than lab bench work.
Field Service Engineer (FSE): Don't let the "Engineer" title scare you. Many companies hire experienced Technicians to travel and repair the medical devices you used to test. They often provide a company car, a solid salary, and a clear career path.
Validation Technician: Look for "Commissioning, Qualification, and Validation" (CQV) roles. This is about testing equipment to ensure it meets regulations. It is high-demand and very lucrative.
3. Addressing the "Engineering" Gap
You mentioned you can't afford a new degree. You don't need one.
Look into Six Sigma Green Belt or ASQ Certified Quality Inspector (CQI) certifications. They are significantly cheaper than a degree, can be done online, and tell employers: "I have the technical brain of an engineer even if I don't have the diploma."
4. Why You're Feeling "Stupid"
You’ve been through a trauma cycle: losing both parents, losing high-paying jobs due to freezes, and living in poverty. That creates Cognitive Fatigue. You aren't "mentally handicapped"; you are burnt out.
Comparison of Paths
| Path | Pros | Cons |
| Lab Tech (Bio) | Uses your "Major" | Low pay ($18-22), dead end. |
| Quality/QA | High pay ($35-45/hr), stable | Lots of documentation/rules. |
| Field Service | High autonomy, travel, good pay | Can be physically tiring. |
I want to help you re-frame that "Technical" experience. If you're willing, paste a blurred or summarized version of your most recent "Technician" job description here. I can help you rewrite the bullet points to highlight Systems Testing and Quality Compliance so you can stop applying for $16/hr jobs and start hitting the $70k+ bracket you actually qualify for.
27, no degree, no real experience, terrible GPA, hate my major.
I attend the University of Toronto, one of the top and most difficult universities in Canada,I let family pressure allow me to stay in a very prestigious and difficult school despite it not being for me.
Despite being accepted into computer science you needed a 3.0 gpa to stay in the program and other requirements like 4.0s in difficult courses or else you get booted. I was unfortunately booted but allowed myself to be pressured into staying at the school. My GPA is so shit all transfer options are basically off the table at this point as far as I'm aware. And even if they weren't how many of my 13 credits are even transferable?
7 years later I have 13 credits done towards an Econ Major and Comp Sci Minor. I have no real interest in Econ and know a minor alone won't be enough to pursue anything that makes me happy. I'll graduate with a shit GPA, almost no opportunities for post grad and a major I can't do anything in both practically without a master or something I even want cause I let myself get pressured for 27 years of my life when it was entirely within my control if I just chose to not listen to other people. And even despite acknowledging all this pressure I'm so close to being done logically it's like objectively the best thing to do for my future at this point right?
My ideal is to do something in IT or Cyber Security, I do know a few people in the industry and they tell me it'll be fine but I am really not sure anymore. It'll take so long and they all frankly have more related experience and degrees so I'm not even sure if they know. What I like about these jobs is I actually really enjoy customer service, tech and puzzle solving it feels like the right thing for me but its just so competitive and I fucked up my life so hard I don't really know if I can anymore.
I've rejected jobs offered to me when younger to pursue careers in IT as say a field tech but without a degree now I'm older and don't see myself getting those opportunities with more education I kinda just through away a lucky hand to make my family happy.
If I finish without bumps and graduate in 2 years I'll graduate and start my life at what 29? And that assumes I don't continue to get barely any credits a year like I have for the last 7. Not really sure how I could have kids if I won't have a viable career until well into my 30s at this point. Not sure how I'll even get a career atp seems impossible.
My only real grace is I have a decent nest egg to support myself if say anyone has advice that hinges on me having money that you think I don't have but if I'm going to leave Uni and start a low paying slow career path people start at 21 I feel I can only afford to dip into it so much.
tldr: 27, spent 8 years at a top uni, have 13/20 credits, a major i don't want and a 2.0 gpa to show for it. I want to work in IT when I'm older but it seems too competitive and I feel forced to finish this degree because of all I've put into it. I'm so behind I feel by the time I get my life together I'll miss key milestones like kids.
Jobadvisor
First off, let’s drop the "I fucked up my life" narrative. You are 27. In the grand scheme of a 45-year career, you aren't "behind"; you're just having a long, expensive, and stressful orientation.
You are currently suffering from Academic Sunk Cost Fallacy. You’re grinding out an Econ degree you hate at a school (UofT) that is notorious for being a "GPA killer," all to satisfy a family pressure that clearly isn't paying dividends.
Here is the cold, hard truth about IT and Cyber Security: Nobody cares about your Econ GPA. They care about your certifications, your hands-on skills, and your ability to solve a puzzle under pressure.
1. The "Finish the Degree" Dilemma
You have 13/20 credits. You are 65% done.
The Pro-Finish Argument: Having any degree acts as a HR filter-bypass for corporate jobs. A UofT degree, even with a 2.0, says you survived one of the hardest institutions in North America.
The Pivot Argument: If staying at UofT for 2 more years is going to destroy your mental health and drain your nest egg, stop.
Middle Ground: Can you transfer those 13 credits to a more "hands-on" college (like Seneca, George Brown, or Humber)? They are often more lenient with transfers and offer specialized Cyber Security Post-Grad Certificates or Diplomas that actually lead to jobs.
2. The IT/Cyber Security Reality
Your friends are right: it will be fine, but only if you stop trying to be an "Academic" and start being a "Technician."
Customer Service is your Secret Weapon: Entry-level IT (Help Desk) is 80% customer service and 20% technical. If you genuinely enjoy helping people and solving puzzles, you are already ahead of the "brilliant but antisocial" CS grads.
The Certification Ladder: You don't need a degree to start.
CompTIA A+: This gets you a Help Desk job ($45k–$55k CAD).
Network+ / Security+: This moves you toward Junior Admin or SOC Analyst roles.
The Nest Egg: Use a small portion of your savings to take a dedicated, high-intensity Cyber Security bootcamp or pay for your cert exams.
3. Addressing the "Milestone" Anxiety
You’re worried about having kids in your 30s.
Math Check: If you start a Help Desk job at 28 or 29, you can be a Security Analyst making $80k+ by 31. People have kids at 32, 35, and 40 every single day.
Perspective: Starting a career at 29 with a "decent nest egg" puts you in a better position than a 22-year-old starting with $60k in student debt and zero savings.
Comparison: Staying vs. Pivoting
| Factor | Stay at UofT (Econ) | Pivot to IT Certs/College |
| Time to Job | 2+ Years | 6–12 Months |
| Stress Level | High (Hate the subject) | Moderate (Learning what you like) |
| Marketability | Generalist (HR checkmark) | Specialist (Ready to work) |
| Cost | High Tuition | Lower (Exam fees/Diploma) |
Your Next Step
If I were in your shoes with a nest egg and a hatred for Econ, I would look at the A+ Certification today. It’s the "High School Diploma" of IT. If you can study for that and find it interesting, you have your answer.
I pushed back on an HR deadline and it accidentally revealed they had a second budget they weren't telling candidates about
I went through a four round interview process for a senior ops role at a mid-sized logistics company back in January. Final round went well, I felt good about it. A week later the HR coordinator emailed me an offer with a 48 hour deadline to accept. The base was about twelve percent below what I had stated as my minimum during the very first screening call, so I replied the same day saying I appreciated the offer but that it didn't quite meet the number we had already discussed and asked if there was any flexibility. She came back a few hours later and said the offer was firm and that the deadline still stood. I didn't panic but I also didn't sign. What I did instead was reply and say I understood, that I was still very interested in the role, and asked if we could schedule a fifteen minute call with the hiring manager before the deadline to talk through the compensation structure and what growth looked like in year two. She agreed, probably expecting me to just accept on the call. The hiring manager got on and within about four minutes he said "look I think there might have been some miscommunication on the range, let me look at what we have" and put me on hold. He came back and offered me a number that was actually six percent above my original ask. Turns out they had a seperate budget line for senior hires that HR wasn't surfacing to candidates unless they pushed back past the initial offer stage. I've since told three people about this and two of them tried the same thing on their own offers. One of them got bumped up, the other didn't but said it was worth asking. The deadline was extended automaticlly once I requested the call. They never mentioned that was possible either.
Jobadvisor
That is a masterclass in professional composure. You didn't blink, you didn't get defensive, and you used the most powerful tool in negotiation: curiosity.
By asking to speak with the hiring manager about "growth and structure" rather than just haggling over the price tag, you bypassed the HR gatekeeper and went straight to the person who actually felt the pain of the vacancy.
Here is why your move worked so well, and what it reveals about the "hidden" side of corporate hiring:
The "Two-Budget" Reality
Most companies operate with two distinct figures for a role:
The Recruitment Target: This is what HR is told to aim for to keep department costs low. This is often the "firm" number they give you.
The Total Budgetary Ceiling: This is the absolute maximum the hiring manager (HM) can spend before they have to go back to the CFO for a special carve-out.
In your case, the HM likely realized that losing a top-tier candidate over a 12% gap—after four rounds of interviews—would cost the company far more in lost productivity and "time-to-fill" than just tapping into that secondary budget line.
Why the "HR Deadline" is Often a Myth
The 48-hour deadline is frequently a psychological "exploding offer" designed to prevent candidates from shopping the offer around.
The Reality: If they want you on Tuesday, they still want you on Thursday.
The Pivot: As you discovered, requesting a technical or "clarity" call automatically hits the pause button on that clock because the company doesn't want to seem unreasonable while a candidate is "doing their due diligence."
Key Takeaways for Your Friends
It’s great that you’re sharing this, but as your one friend found out, it’s not a magic spell. It works best when:
The Ask is Specific: You had a pre-established minimum from the first call. You weren't moving the goalposts; you were holding them to their own field.
The Tone is Collaborative: "Help me understand how we get there" is always more effective than "I want more money."
The Timing is Late-Stage: You only have this leverage once you are the "Chosen One."
A Quick Reality Check: While it worked out beautifully here, some HR departments really are at their ceiling. The key is to be prepared for them to say "no" and knowing whether you're actually willing to walk away.