I've been on the fence about whether I should apply for a role at an AI company. I've read the job description, and the total compensation and responsibilities all look good. However, after doing some research into the company, I discovered that it's main product is AI generated porn.

Would having a company like this on your resume be considered a red flag when applying for future roles, particularly at established companies?

Would you work for an AI generated porno company?

I'd love to hear from anyone who has worked in this industry or has insights into what it's like, particularly regarding workplace culture and long-term career prospects.

I'll be upfront, I might be a little melodramatic right now because my "Next Steps" plan just completely fell apart.

I won't say the specific field but what you need to know is it's niche enough that absolutely no hard skills transfer to other jobs. All our software is proprietary, all our processes are unique to the industry and my company has a monopoly in my country. Soft skills galore though and if I left I'd have a glowing recommendation.

I'm just about to turn 30 and this job is livable, wage wise. I have decent insurance, can save a little. But it's got a very very narrow bottle neck. I've probably got about 2 promotions in the next 10 years and that's it. There's no where else in the country I can go.

My original "Get Out" plan was to self fund a 1 year nursing degree. Get my foot on the door and hope for some kind of internal support, or pathway to RN once I had some experience. I cannot get any type of public financial aid since I've maxed out the lifetime allowances for University.

I could fund 4-5k for the equivalent of an associates. I cannot fund a bachelors.

Unfortunately it seems everyone else had the same idea. Nursing degrees are booked out for the next 2 years. I really feel like I need another plan.

Here's what I'm looking for in a career. I don't need all of these to apply, but more than 1 would be nice.

Something that uses my body and mind. I don't mind a desk job but I want an excuse to move. I also want to feel clever and useful.

Something with very little ambiguity about what you're supposed to be doing at any given point in time. I can work like a mule but I suck at looking busy.

Something that is an overall next positive to society would be nice.

What I've got going for me.

A random handful of certificates and half finished degrees. Hairdressing, support work, HSK level 1 with slightly higher conversational skills.

I'm good with computers. Not amazing but I can write a basic script or make a pivot table. (Also I can rotate a PDF)

I'm really fit. Lifting 20kg+ would be fine.

So uh, wtf should I do with my life to put together a career.

HR told me that I got laid off due to my performance but the truth is company is taking a lot of losses due to AI and are letting people go by restructuring teams.

Should I sign? Would that look good to future employers? That I resigned and have to follow that up with probably a made up scenario. Or not sign and have future employers know that I got laid off due to restructuring, given my organization accepts that and does not include the performance part.

EDIT: I have been offered 6 weeks pay if I sign the resignation letter.

Hi guys, I'm a young father (senior software engineer, 1 kid). Feeling kinda hopeless nowadays because of the difficult times finding jobs. Was laid off few months ago because of AI. Freelance business also stopped because of that exact same reason.

I've sold everything to survive, gambled my money to start a small food business.. It doesn't work. People are just too broke to buy stuffs. I have nothing left to sell, if I fail now I'd be dead.

Been applying hundreds of job vacancies, its all silence. I think it's because I didn't have bachelor's degree. So I took one, will start in a few days. But honestly, I don't think this is the right choice knowing that I have a wife and a kid to feed. But I cannot get a job without a degree anyways so I thought I'll just do it and figure out a way later.

Applied for student pass on Github and Google AI, now I have access to AI for free until my graduation but honestly, I no longer enjoy building apps, I see no reason why building one when everyone can just build for themselves.

I don't know what to do. Wife's having sever mental health issues so she can't work. Me too, I had bipolar so that's making it even worse sometimes. The remaining runways that i have are more likely to hold just 1 month. Everything collapsed. Everything's fucked up. What should I do?

Had a frustrating exchange at work today.

A manager emailed me asking about the cause of a recurring issue.

I responded based on what I understood the question to mean and explained the circumstances behind it.
They replied saying that wasn’t what they were asking. Apparently, they wanted to know why certain information wasn’t being updated quickly enough and what could be done to prevent delays.

The thing is, their original question didn’t actually mention the timing of updates or expectations around them.
I don’t mind being corrected, and I’m happy to clarify things. But I find it frustrating when someone asks a broad question, expects a very specific answer, and then acts as though their intention should have been obvious.

Has anyone experienced something similar? How do you handle managers who communicate this way?

I’m genuinely curious whether I should have asked for clarification before responding or whether the original question should have been more specific.

I’m curious which sales industries offer the greatest advantage to an exceptionally attractive woman, assuming she’s also intelligent, competent, ambitious, and genuinely good at sales.
I’m not suggesting that looks can replace actual skills, but let’s be realistic—physical attractiveness can influence first impressions, trust, attention, and people’s willingness to engage.
In which industries could this translate into a significant competitive advantage and, more importantly, higher earnings?
Luxury real estate? High-end products? Medical aesthetics? B2B sales? Something else?
I’d especially love to hear from people with actual sales experience. Where do you think the combination of exceptional looks and strong sales skills would be most financially rewarding?

So, I’ve been working at my company as a sterile processing tech for almost 9 months. Up until recently, all of the new hires from this year were making the same amount. I’m currently in the class to get certified, and will be getting a $1 raise after that’s completed. About a month and a half ago, we got another new hire. She is 18y/o, and has no prior experience. She was started out $0.32 higher than the rest of the new hires. This is something that has been bothering me, and I would like to address it with my boss. However, I hate confrontation and conversations like that, and tend to get super nervous, and clam up. There’s another matter I would like to address in addition to this one. Our department used to be separated by dispatch, and processing. A few years ago, they merged the departments, and all new hires were forced to cross train between the two. Employees from before the merge were not forced to cross train. As a “hybrid” employee, you’re required to do more work, because if you’re scheduled in dispatch, and all the work gets done, you’re required to go to the processing side and start working. That’s not required of the employees not cross trained, because they don’t know how to do both sides. So any of the longer standing employees are just supposed to do little tasks on the processing side, but that rarely even happens. I have absolutely no problem doing both jobs, IF I’m being compensated for it, as I am more valuable to the department. I don’t have high hopes for getting anywhere with the second thing, but would still like to address it. I am actively looking for a better career opportunity, because I have realized this management is going to be a consistent headache, but I do like my job, and would like to try to come to some resolution, if possible. I’d love to get some advice on how to address it, and what to say. I don’t want to come off as whiney, and right now, I’m so frustrated, everything I want to say would either be whiney, or angry. I plan to talk with my boss about this on Friday. I appreciate any advice!

I’d make it more raw and personal, so people understand how overwhelmed you feel and why you’re reaching out.
Title: I’m 22 and feel like a complete failure. How do I turn my life around?
I’m 22F, a trainee pilot, and I honestly feel like I’m ruining my own life.
Over the past year, I’ve made some really bad decisions, been careless about my career, and let my laziness and procrastination get the better of me. I’ve been terminated from two flight schools due to disciplinary issues, and now I’m struggling to get into another one. The constant changes in flight schools have also put my family under a lot of financial pressure.
I’ve lied to my parents about exams I’ve failed, disappointed them more times than I can count, and I feel terrible about everything I’ve put them through. I think I’ve reached a point where nobody really trusts me anymore, and honestly, I don’t blame them.
The worst part is that I genuinely love aviation and want to become a pilot more than anything, yet my own behaviour keeps getting in the way. My peers have finished training and are moving ahead with their lives while I’m stuck at home, struggling to clear exams and figure out my next step.
I procrastinate, barely get things done, and then spend my days feeling miserable about how badly I’m doing in life. I’ve lost almost all my confidence and self-respect. Sometimes I genuinely feel like a hopeless case, and I hate that I’ve become this person.
I know I’m responsible for my situation, and I’m not looking for excuses. I just want to know how to change when I’ve spent so long repeating the same mistakes.
Has anyone ever been at this point in their life and managed to turn things around? I could really use some honest advice, or even just hearing from someone who’s been through something similar. I really want to do better, but right now, I don’t know where to start.

I'm three weeks into a new job and all I can think about is how I made a mistake. I was burned out from the intense "always on" culture and upset that I was passed over for promotion. But I enjoyed the work and had worked there for nearly 6 years, had so many friends and relationships, and a good reputation. Now I'm at a new firm and I feel devastated. I was excited about this role because of better work life balance and exposure to hyped up tech clients, but I already feel like this work is less interesting to me and I'm really missing my old company - the people, the nature of the work, even the intensity that I claimed I wanted less of. I feel like I'm realizing over and over again what I gave up and I'm feeling sick to my stomach. I'm thinking about reaching out to my old manager.

I'm having a really hard time mentally with this and would appreciate any advice from others who have been in this situation.

I’m really stuck on what to do. I was unemployed for months and at the end of the august I finally was able to get a job. Fast forward to now I’ve received another 2 offers, one I have declined but unsure what to do about the other. I don’t want to leave my current job as I’ve practically just started it but also don’t want to decline the other offer I’ve received as it could be a great start for my future career. There’s also the possibility that I may not like the job If I was to leave my current role but deep down I do really want to give it a go and would be disappointed with myself if I never tried. Has anyone else been in a similar situation ? The offer is 20 hours and I could ask my current job to cut down my hours a little but I’m not sure how that would go.

I was with the same company for 11 years, but this year has been difficult personally and professionally. I had to put both of my parents in assisted living in January. In March my best friend passed away from cancer. The company I worked for has been struggling for a few years and the prospect of closing their doors seemed always looming. I finally decided to take a job offer in Florida. I was in Texas at the time. After a couple weeks there I discovered that they were doing some things that I did not morally agree with, so I came back to Texas. I had multiple job offers there, but I still felt drawn to Florida. I ended up taking a couple of different job offers in Texas but only stayed a short time before moving on. I got another offer in Jacksonville, and while I loved the job, I hated the city. I tried to convince them to let me work remote but they were not interested in that. I went back to Texas and worked remotely for them for a little while until they found a replacement. I got another job offer in Texas and one in Orlando. I worked the job in Texas but didn't love it, so now I'm back in Florida. I'm sharing a completely dark room with no noise. The other 2 young guys like that environment, but I hate it and now I want to go back to Texas. I have a couple of other prospects as well, but I feel like I'm burned out and I want a career change. I have a specific skill set in my industry and while it is not difficult, no one seems to want to learn it, so I find myself in demand. Not in demand enough to be highly paid, but enough to not lack for interest. It's a small industry though and I'm afraid that I'm starting to burn through my options.

Should I change careers and find something more satisfying or just appreciate that I have many opportunities in a sometimes tight job market?

I’ve been at a company for over two years and have my performance review next week. I checked in with my boss recently about a role that isn’t filled in our department currently and asked about the opportunity to advance. Her response was that she wants to wait until we implement a new AI software because it may “change our needs” and also said higher up approval for promotions and structure changes are going to take much longer because of leadership changes. Is this just a way of saying “you’re not getting promoted”? Any tips on what to say in my performance review?

I’m looking for advice on jobs / career post agency recruitment as opposed to advice on my current role. I also know that the current market is dire at the moment and staying put seems like the safest option, but I’m feeling pretty miserable.
I started agency recruitment late (29) and have been at the same company for 7 years, with 6 of those years recruiting to the same market (NHS corporate services) which is fine, but not the most lucrative. The company is fine and I don’t have any real issue with them as a whole in terms of how I’m treated, though there has been talk of a management position for the last 3 years now which can only be achieved by reaching a team billing target which is pretty unreachable so I’m kind of stuck as an unpaid “team leader”.
I’m starting to feel really stuck there, with people joining the company 15 years younger than me, but because I’ve been pigeon holed into a market I don’t really feel I have much to offer elsewhere and don’t really know where to start.
I’d be happy with a job paying around £38k (or less if there’s room to move up fairly quickly) in anything that isn’t agency recruitment. I know internal recruitment would be the obvious choice, but my lack of experience would be against me there.
Has anybody got any advice or success stories where they moved into something corporate post- recruitment?
I’m female, live in London, happy with on site working, have a house and a partner that earns a decent salary. My degree is in classical music so pretty useless, and I was a teacher before recruitment which I wouldn’t go back to.
Thanks in advance!

I am looking for advice on my current situation. Quick bit of information about me. I graduated with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice in 2014. I’ve always wanted to go to law school, but never had the guts. Twelve years later, and a ton of FOMO, I’m looking to pull the trigger.

I’m 34 andI’ve got three kids, and am working full time as an industrial maintenance tech at a chemical factory, a job which I hate. I realize my situation doesn’t make me an ideal candidate for law school. I am currently considering UD’s online hybrid program.

Any advice is appreciated. I am fully aware that I may be barking up the wrong tree, so please feel free to be critical of my situation.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm 27 F, recently joined a mid sized company(let's call is A) in gurgaon and received another offer from an MNC(let's call it B) with a location Chennai.

I am on my probation period at company A and the work culture and everything feels good but company B is like my dream company. My hometown is Mumbai so it doesn't really make a difference like that.

The highlight here is that all the other designers left like 2 months ago and currently I am the only newly hired designer here, it's been 1.5 month since I joined.

Should I tell in this company that I am leaving for a better offer or should I fake some reasons?

I'm 22, a B.Pharm grad and currently doing an apprenticeship in QC in a different city. the stipend is 16k/month, and I don't like this job. I'm literally working in a factory, no phone for the full shift, wet labs, all seniors are egoistic and arrogant old people, and it's 16k. and it's not even like tech/IT career where i will working hard or developing skills and will get better job with better pay

even my next/first job will consider me a fresher because I'm doing an apprenticeship, and internship/apprenticeship doesn't count as experience. so even my next job won't be high paying, and neither will the switch after that. it's a very slow process to increase income, and at one point you hit the ceiling (in pharma, the income ceiling is very low). even switching is not an option.

and your own body will also want to settle at one point. i talk with some experienced people in the industry, and this is what they tell me. at the beginning, we decide that we'll switch, but after 7-8 years, your physical and mental health are exhausted, you have a family and responsibilities, and you just want to settle. you don't think about salary, income goals or anything else.

even i thought of going with RA, but I feel RA is not high paying. it's high paying within the industry, but not high paying overall.

and what's really happening with me is that, in my final year, i did a lot of research and thought, okay, i'll go with RA. but then everyone started trying to get into RA. at first, it was on linkedin, so i ignored it because it's linkedin, and people who use linkedin know what kind of app that is.

but then almost all my friend circle started saying, I'll do M.Pharm in RA, I'll do this course in RA, etc. then, during my apprenticeship, even other new joiners were saying they wanted to get into RA. even my roommate, who has 4 years of experience in QA, said he wants to get into RA but it's very difficult.

for big companies, you need big credentials on paper and a strong academic background and experience. in small companies, they usually pick loyal employees who already know their systems or hire people who have experience across different areas of the pharma industry, because these are the key skills RA roles need. entry-level RA is just next to impossible because most placements happen through campus(this is what 4 years exp guy told me and it's not i am making stories)

and now, seeing all this, the work culture, salary growth and everything else, idk what to do.

i'm so invested in pharma mentally that it's become impossible to even think about going back, finding something else, working on it, and seeing if it can generate better outcomes than pharma.

so just need advice whatever you can say

I currently work as a Research Associate at a preclinical research org. I want to pursue a career in the same field, but I don’t want to be in the lab my whole life.

I originally wanted to pursue a PhD because I wanted to become a Medical Science Liaison, but I am not longer sure that’s a PhD is right for me, so now I’m trying to think of other career options in pharma. I want to keep interacting with the research and drug development from a more desk-job standpoint.

I am considering applying to get my Masters in things like Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Research, Drug Development, etc to give me a push from where I am into those kinds of positions. I’m just wondering if people think it’s worth it? Both career wise and monetarily.

My biggest concern right now is the money and if getting the MS will help me get to where I want to be and into a position where I am then actually able to pay off any student loans I acquire.

I work at a small company in a team that is gaining responsibility fast, but not growing in size. I thought I was working extra hard to be up for a promotion, since our teamlead was moving up at the end of the year.

A few months go by and quite suddenly it is announced our team will be merged with another, and a new hire will be made teamlead.

First, i’m on board, the role seems more senior than what I was aiming for and I will make a smaller step up, at least I thought. Because the ad went out and I see a lot of overlap with the work I thought I would be doing.

So then I get a bit bitter and angry, right? I worked my ass off and now my ideas and work are being handed over to someone else, and I can sit on the bench doing work I haven’t done in a year.

Some other teammates set a meeting with the CEO, because they are also uneasy with the plan. We all brief our feelings about the plan, I get a little passionate and say i’m very worried about the merge and that a part of my job will go to this new person.

A few days later the CEO schedules a meeting with me and immediately says she thought I was being accusatory, not constructive and should know better, being a medior at this company.

At first I am a bit suprised, I explain I have been taking on more and more and my fear is that my extra work will be taken for granted and used just get a senior that only ads to out workload. She continues on about how my role will be smaller and more easily manageble, and my workload will shrink because most responsibility will go to the new role.

I short: I think I already didn’t have much chance at growing, but now it’s fumbled for real. Should I go and look for something else or try to mend the situation?

[31M] I recently graduated with an associate's degree in chemistry and engineering. I've been applying to jobs at a decent rate, but only recently started getting interviews. I now have an offer for a job paying $25/hour.

The catch is the commute. The schedule would be an 8-hour day Monday-Friday, with a start time somewhere between 6–8 AM depending on the shift. It's about 35 miles each way, and the commute would take roughly an hour each way. The trip home could be considerably worse.

The company seems to treat its employees fairly well, and they've told me that in 6–12 months they'll be moving to a new facility that would bring the commute down to roughly 45 minutes each way.

The complication is that I have a pest control business on the side. It isn't full-time income yet, but it's becoming more promising. This year I've averaged around $1,000/month in profit, but September was over 3x that and I'm projecting about the same for October. So there's definitely some upward momentum, although I'm nowhere near being able to rely on it for all of my living expenses yet. I also do some other side gigs to make ends meet.

I've been out of a conventional full-time job for almost three years because I was working on my degree part-time and receiving some financial support from family.

My concern is that $25/hour may not actually be enough to justify the commute once I account for gas, maintenance, depreciation, and 70 miles of driving every workday. More importantly, I'd be giving up a significant amount of time that I could spend growing my pest control business. A 2+ hour daily commute on top of an 8-hour workday also sounds pretty exhausting, especially after being out of the traditional 9–5 routine for several years.

On the other hand, the job has some significant advantages: health insurance, a 401(k), a stable paycheck, experience at an established company, and a job title that could help me qualify for higher-paying positions down the road. It would also give me recent full-time work experience after being out of the workforce for a while.

I actually have another job offer as well, but it's part-time and seasonal. The upside is that the hours are extremely flexible and it might fit much better with my pest-control business. The downside is obviously that it's not stable, doesn't provide the same benefits, and doesn't appear to be a long-term career path. It basically involves documentation, inspection, and QA at a shipping facility.

So I'm currently considering three options:

1. Take the $25/hour full-time job. Use it as a stepping stone for 1–2 years, get the experience and benefits, and continue pest control on the side as much as I reasonably can.

2. Take the flexible seasonal job. Use the flexibility to aggressively grow pest control while continuing to look for a better full-time position.

What would you do in my situation?

Is $25/hour with a 70-mile daily commute worth taking for the experience and benefits, or would the commute and lost time make it a poor tradeoff?

For reference, my current monthly expenses are around $3k conservatively.

For one PM, a layoff meant several months out of work and the longest unplanned break since school. Severance and savings covered the gap, which took a lot of the immediate financial stress out of it.

Looking back after finding another role, the PM's takeaway was how narrow your perspective can get after a long time at one company. Changing the context and the problems you work on can teach you a lot, especially in product management.

There's survivorship bias here, and the financial cushion matters. It's easier to see possibilities once you're back on your feet. Still, being pushed off a career path you picked in your early twenties doesn't necessarily mean the rest of your career has gone wrong.

For anyone who's landed again after a layoff, did your view of it change with some distance? What helped you through the stretch before things felt okay again? Wishing everyone still searching some luck.

Original reflection

About 5 years ago, I joined a firm as a Growth PM. This sounded exciting as it was a new field. Till 1 year things were good, but slowly the company’s performance started deteriorating.. investors pulled out money, the company did mass lay offs and much more. During this time they made us do sales work, gave revenue targets, we did project management, delivery, creating pocs for clients, CSM, basically everything apart from actual PM work.
I feel my role has been diluted and I haven’t been able to get many interview calls and the ones I get I don’t have concrete examples to show.
I am applying to program manager roles but I haven’t heard back from any company yet.
At this stage, I can’t take a fesher job and for my position they will look for someone highly experienced.
Today, I don’t even know what I kind of roles i should apply to. I am stuck for a while and some guidance will help.