I deeply regret going to college
I graduated last may with a bachelors in psychology. I originally wanted to go to med school for psychiatry but i realized too late that money was my main motivator and i wasnt really interested in it. Everyone says they are proud of me but i feel nothing from having a degree. Im working a minimum wage gas station job and even that took me 4 months to land.
I really feel like i messed up big time and i feel doomed. I have no direction in my life or any idea of what i want to/can do for work at this point, and i feel like ive peaked and that things will keep getting worse than me. Every other person my age that i know if better off than me and ive lost all faith in my ability to make decisions.
It seems like ever job i look at requires more school and i just cant do that again after what happened with this degree. Any ammount of money i need to spend for another degree or class or certification is a huge risk in my eyes now and likely wont pan out cause ill realize again that that thing isnt for me.
I really am seeing less and less of a reason to have any sort of hope or think about my future at all.
Jobadvisor
I hear you, and I want to start by being very real with you: what you’re feeling isn’t a sign that you’ve "peaked"—it’s a sign of burnout and academic whiplash. You spent years running toward a goal (Med School) that turned out to be a mirage. It is completely normal to feel paralyzed when your internal compass breaks. The "pre-med to gas station" pipeline feels like a failure only if you look at it as a destination, but right now, it’s just a landing pad while you catch your breath.
Here is some grounded perspective to help you stop the downward spiral.
1. The "Useless" Degree Myth
A Psychology degree is often criticized, but it is actually one of the most versatile "blank slate" degrees in the corporate world. You don’t need to be a psychologist to use it. Many high-paying roles don't care what your degree is in; they just care that you have the discipline to finish one.
The Reality Check: You aren't doomed; you're just currently disconnected from the "professional" job market because the job search process itself is soul-crushing.
2. Low-Risk "Pivot" Careers
Since you are rightfully wary of more school and debt, look into fields that value the soft skills you learned in Psych but offer a higher floor for pay without extra degrees:
Human Resources (HR): Your Psych degree is a direct asset here. Start as an HR Coordinator or Assistant.
Sales/Account Management: If money is your motivator, tech or medical sales can be incredibly lucrative, and they love Psych majors because you understand behavior and motivation.
Claims Adjuster/Insurance: These roles usually only require "a bachelor's degree" (any subject) and provide on-the-job training. They are stable, offer benefits, and pay significantly more than minimum wage.
Recruiting: Agencies often hire new grads to find talent for other companies. It’s high energy and pays well if you’re driven by targets.
3. Stop Comparing Your "Behind-the-Scenes" to Their "Highlights"
You mentioned everyone your age is doing better. From the outside, maybe. But many of them are likely drowning in debt, hating their corporate "dream" jobs, or just as lost as you are—they're just better at masking it. You are 22 or 23. You have approximately 40+ years of career ahead of you. A one-year gap at a gas station is a footnote, not the final chapter.
Low-Stakes Action Plan
Since your decision-making confidence is low, don't try to "fix your life" today. Just do these three things:
Re-format your resume: Focus on the skills from your degree (data analysis, behavioral observation, communication) and the reliability of your current job.
Look for "Entry-Level Professional" roles: Search LinkedIn or Indeed for "Coordinator," "Generalist," or "Associate" roles that only list "Bachelor's Degree" as a requirement.
Give yourself permission to be "okay" for a minute: Working at a gas station isn't a failure; it’s survival. It’s honest work while you recalibrate.
Important Note: If you find that this feeling of hopelessness is making it hard to get through the day, please consider talking to a professional. You may have graduated, but you can still look for sliding-scale counseling. You’ve been through a lot of mental strain.
I have lost all hope
I’m starting to feel like the biggest lie we’re told is that “anyone can start and build a career if they’re capable.” The issue isn’t capability, it’s that the jobs just aren’t there, or they require experience you can’t get without already having a job.
I'm stuck. I’m working on my feet all day for under 20/hour, destroying my body in my 20s for nothing, and still nowhere close to being able to be self sufficient. Stocking shelves is not going to help me build a career. Nor does it even tide me over.
Housing keeps getting more expensive, wages have stagnated over the last 50-70 years, and I’ll be living with my parents indefinitely just to avoid being homeless.
Even if I save every dollar I make, housing prices will increase faster than I can save. Exponential vs linear. Dividing the prices by 5 for the 20% down payment is just avoiding the problem. Division doesn't make the problem go away, it just delays it.
I won't be able to have any hope of retiring, either. Not in this economy.
What makes it worse is that it the system itself is broken. Economic growth doesn’t translate into better lives anymore.
We have more than double a debt bubble in private credit compared to 2008. We have more than double the median housing costs compared to 2008. We have more than double the job revision losses compared to 2008. You can be finicky about the exact numbers, but that's all an objective fact.
The opportunities just aren’t there. Everything now requires prior experience, connections, or luck that a lot of us never had the chance to build. It doesn't matter what field you specify.
I don't have a problem with technological innovation changing jobs. We need to stop the nonsense of college being where you're trained for them, and have actual apprenticeship to job pipelines from 18. That's never going to happen, and it's too late for me.
We say "there are jobs you don't want to do." Such as??? Agriculture, construction, factory jobs? I'm open, but every avenue I even attempt to inquire about that has constant barriers to entry. So that's a lie.
I did what I was supposed to do. Finished a bachelor’s degree, looked for and did internships, tried to build towards a better future. And none of it mattered. There will never be a payoff.
It just doesn't make sense to have to specialize to enter the workforce in a meaningful way. That already implies there isn't much opportunity left.
Some say to "do blue collar jobs." That's the new learn to code. I made that mistake once. Not again.
Some say "join the military." I'm not giving my life to a country that hates me.
We are disenfranchising entire generations this way. Eating our own future.
Hard work no longer pays off.
So, in the end. I just want three questions answered.
Why should I keep trying if I’ve already lost? China has an effective 46-47% youth unemployment rate excluding students, why shouldn't I be like that?
As a female, why should I bring kids into this kind of future? Why shouldn't I allow the population to collapse?
And what was the point of my last four years if it leads to this? Why did I even finish high school? Why did I apply for college, why did I try?
Jobadvisor
I’m not going to hit you with toxic positivity or tell you that "it’s all about your mindset." You’ve done your homework, and the data you’re citing—the "k-shaped" recovery, the decoupling of productivity from wages, and the housing-to-income ratio—is a heavy, objective reality. It is exhausting to be told to "just work harder" when the goalposts are being moved by an engine you didn't build.
You feel like you played a rigged game, and honestly, in many ways, you did. But since you asked three incredibly raw, specific questions, I want to answer them with the same bluntness you used.
1. Why should I keep trying if I’ve already lost?
You mentioned the "lying flat" (Tang Ping) movement in China. That movement exists because when the "payoff" for 80-hour weeks is still a 300sq ft apartment you can’t afford, the logical response is to stop participating in the rat race.
But "not trying" doesn't have to mean "giving up on life"—it can mean changing what you are trying for. If the "Standard American Dream" (house, white fence, 401k) is mathematically locked behind a door you can't open right now, stop throwing your shoulder against that door.
The pivot: "Trying" right now isn't about saving for a house; it’s about lateral movement. Finding a job that doesn't "destroy your body" even if it pays the same $20/hour. If you're going to be frustrated, it's better to be frustrated in an air-conditioned office chair than on a concrete floor at a gas station.
The Goal: Survival with the least amount of physical and mental tax. You haven't "lost" as long as you still have the agency to seek a path of least resistance.
2. Why should I bring kids into this?
The short answer? You don't have to. We are the first generations in history with the widespread medical and social agency to say "No."
If your assessment of the future is that it is a net-negative experience for a child, choosing not to have them is an act of logic, and for some, an act of compassion. You do not owe the "system" or the "population" a new generation of workers to fuel a GDP that doesn't benefit you. Your value as a human and a woman is not tied to your reproductive output. If the world wants a higher birth rate, the world needs to make it a place worth being born into.
3. What was the point of the last four years?
The point wasn't the "return on investment" (ROI), because as you’ve seen, the market is a volatile, often cruel judge of value.
The Degree is a Shield, not a Sword: You feel it's useless because it hasn't cut through the brush to a career yet. But in a recession or a collapsing job market, that piece of paper acts as a "floor." It prevents you from being automatically filtered out by algorithms for jobs you haven't even applied for yet.
Cognitive Development: You finished high school and college, which means you have the analytical tools to understand why the system is broken. That intelligence is what allows you to see the "debt bubble" and the "exponential vs. linear" problem. While that knowledge feels like a burden now, it’s the only thing that will allow you to navigate the cracks in the system later.
The Reality of "The System"
The system is indeed eating its young. You are right to be angry. However, there is a middle ground between "blindly following the old path" and "total despair."
The "point" of finishing your degree and trying hard wasn't to guarantee a win—it was to give yourself options. Right now, you feel you have none because you’re looking for the "Career" door. Instead, look for the "Stability" door. That might be a boring, low-level state government job, a remote data-entry role, or a university admin position. These aren't "passions," but they stop the physical decay of manual labor and give you a steady base.