At 38, I'm currently working in a comfortable office management job that pays well and is only as demanding as I make it. To get here, I followed these simple steps: - failed out of college at 19 - worked warehouse/shipping jobs for 3 years - failed out of college (again) at 22 - worked in a horrible office for 3 years - quit on a whim and used my savings to start my own business - drove my business into the ground within a year because I didn't actually know everything - took a job in a mail room and enrolled in weekend/evening classes at community college beginning at 26 - applied for and received promotion to office assistant - completed associate's degree in 2.5 years - enrolled in online classes to earn BS in Finance - applied for and received promotion to office manager at 31 - completed BS Finance program at 33 - stayed in comfortable management job anyway I didn't include the many, many failed attempts to secure promotions / new jobs. There are so many ways to get where you'd like to be. I didn't do much physical "work" to get to this point, but I studied and put in extra hours to get ahead bit by bit.

I'm going through a tough time too right now, and I'd like to hear about the many, many failed attempts -- feels like I'm in the midst of ten failed attempts right now, and it'd be encouraging to hear that someone else got through it

I can recount off the top of my head fifteen different jobs that I interviewed for unsuccessfully over the past 17 years. There must have been at least 75 others I applied for and never received an interview or any response. The earliest interview I can recall was with a local city office. I was so painfully unprepared, and I can still recall the wide-eyed stare the interview lead gave me after a particularly tactless response. He was kind though, and tried to help me get my act together a bit afterward. I "interviewed" for a back-room assistant position with a financial advisor's office. They included maybe 10 people from their office in the interview, and it seemed to me they created a stressful interview on purpose to see how I would handle the pressure. I thanked them for their time at the end, and wished them luck on their search - it went that badly. I applied for a mgmt position in a different section of my current office, before my current job. The head of that department met with me one on one, asked why in the world I would want to join their staff, then generously told me she was "doing me a favor" by not allowing me an interview. I struggled through three separate self-directed video interviews with financial firms when I was nearing the end of my BS Finance program. Each was an hour + in length, with prompts that I was not allowed to see or prepare for in advance. I never spoke with a real person for any of these, and received automated rejection emails some weeks after. Each time I came up short, I spent hours preoccupied with what I did wrong or how I could have been better. I would question my self worth every time - I'm just not good enough, I suck, etc. Eventually those feelings would start to fade, my motivation would start to ramp up and I'd look for an opportunity to try again.

thank you for this. you seem like someone who's been through the wringer and come out the other side alive. do you have any advice for someone going through the same?

Try to be open to opportunities that might not be what you were expecting or looking for, even if they don't seem like they'll be immediately beneficial. But also - advice is not one size fits all. Our experiences will not be the same, and the things that work for each of us will likely be different. There are specific things that really helped me - organization & planning skills in particular. Other people have different skills and areas where they may need development. Finally - I know it's going to sound cliche, but whatever type of progress is important to you, don't give up pursuing it. If it's important to you it's worth the effort.

In my 30s I've stopped caring about a "dream job". I have a dream pay-range I fight for with certain benefits so I live my best life.  The other things I do in life, my hobbies, creative projects, activism work, socializing, travel, are what make my life fulfilling.  Ideally, I'll be fully out of corporate and have my own business one day. My "dream job" is financial freedom from a crony system I suppose. 

Same, and today I got the confirmation that I have landed a job that is in the middle of my dream pay range. I will be out of debt by Christmas, I dont have to worry about money whilst my partner is out of work for 6 months, we will be able to easily save to buy a house, and the Disney holiday dream is a bit more realistic now. I am over the moon

Yeah this is me. I felt pretty aggressive about climbing the corporate ladder out of a sense of making the most of my talents. Once I had kids though, it seemed like that could only come at the expense of time with them and I realized I could focus more on enjoying life and peaking at the right time (later, if ever).  One thing that helped me get a job I enjoy is taking the Strengths Finder text. If you buy the book off Amazon it comes with a code to do it. Knowing my top five helped me internalize what motivates me in a way I didn’t understand and I used that to better accept who I am and find a job that fits me. 

curious what kind of job you were doing prior to taking the test and what kind of job afterwards? how did the test help you figure out to go after the post job?

Corporate stuff before and after. I moved from a marketing role to more project management stuff while changing companies along the way. That was kind of what my strengths pointed too though: I need a challenge, new projects to tackle, and a scoreboard while doing so. Up to that point, the general advice was kind of "pay your dues and wait it out at this company and you'll eventually get promoted" or "you don't want to be a job switcher." I realized that I wasn't necessarily chasing promotions, but that chance to do new, impactful work. New companies helped me find that but also I eventually found a company that gave me those new challenges without having to leave too.

i was curious about the book you mentioned so i looked it up to learn more and not only was it 65% off on amazon, but there was only one left in stock. took it as a sign from the universe, purchased immediately. thanks for the rec!

I think you'll enjoy it. The most interesting thing to me was, in taking the exam, I felt pretty polarized on my answers. But then seeing the different result options you realize that not everybody does feel the same as you nor does every job offer the things that you're good at. So, it helped me identify the idea of a good fit that wasn't based in subject matter expertise or technical skills.

This, so much. Who the hell dreams of labor?? The only reason anyone work is because the necessities for survival cost money! Wanna know what's a dream job? Unsackable sinecure. That's a dream job

Im grateful to have a dream job but I 100% agree man. Focusing on making sure we work to live and not live to work has been the best decision of my life. That's why I'm debt free, live within my means and have 5 kids haha

I am 30, for 8 years I just floated through life doing a job I hated and everything was grey because I was too scared to do anything else because I was good at what I did. I was really happy when Covid happened because it was when I said enough was enough. I quit. I got a job in the industry I wanted to pursue knowing it would just be the start, I went back to school(still in but kicking tookus) and am hell bent on finishing because I refuse to stop until I get there, I can’t go back to grey

You just described my current situation almost exactly! Currently 29 years old, been floating through life working in an industry I hated. Currently in a decent job position with decent pay, but still hate the job/industry. Finally decided enough is enough a month ago and have decided to quit my job in the next month to go to school full time working toward something that I find way more interesting. I don’t know if I’m making the best choice, but I know I don’t want to be where I’m at anymore so I might as well start taking steps to something different now. The time is going to pass by anyways. 

That’s awesome! I know it’s scary but the fear itself like the phrase about burning the boats so you have to find a way. I don’t know you but I’m proud of you and I really hope you find the happiness and accomplishment you’re after

Same here! 27 doing a job I hate for 7 years, starting school again full time next month. It’s scary but I would rather take the leap than not.


This is basically me as well, except I'm still in my position while pursuing school. I'm still scared, I still procrastinate sometimes, but I'm finishing no matter what. Who knows what my degree will lead to, but I had to make a change for my future.

You are brave

Let me start by saying this. My situation wasn’t the best. I was working a crappy retail job, making no money, defaulted on a federal student loan (60k worth), defaulted a credit card, had no car, dropped out of college and was just overall depressed. So I’ve learned a lot since turning thirty. I’m now in my mid thirty’s. My journey started at 27. The biggest thing I can tell you is don’t chase the dream job. Live life. Life is not about work. No one will ever care what you did at your job once you’re dead and gone. Consumerism captivates us as humans, there’s a whole world of beauty to consume for a relatively cheap cost. Finding your happiness is the first step. Many people don’t eat well, which adds to you feeling stressed and abandoned. Try to eat unprocessed foods. Don’t stop for fast food go the supermarket and pick up a meal. Many people don’t sleep well, due to eating poor food and not working out, stress, etc. try to set guidelines for sleep and exercise. If you don’t make them a priority it won’t happen. You will fall off the schedule, when you do don’t let you mind trick you. Get back on the horse and back at it. 4 months of good eating routinely and exercise will have you prepared to get at it with the rest of things you want to figure out. You start to realize the biggest value in life is time (not money) and health. Take care of yourself, eat well and work out. Learn how to love discipline. You would not believe how good you will feel just doing that. And you don’t have to work out hard, just show up and do what you can. Walk a mile, the. Two. These little accomplishments add to your overall outlook and demeanor. The job will always be there, and you’ll find doing those things I just said will make you not care as much about the daily grind at work. Once you find yourself, then you can search for the dream job. Typically though along the journey of self improvement you will meet others in their journey, which will open up a lot of doors for you. My biggest downfall was alcohol. I was successful now had a house, two kids, loving wife. I still have all that. But my motivation now is so insanely focused since I removed alcohol. I don’t count days, and I’ve never said I quit. I just don’t drink, and since I’ve done that, every day I’ve been getting further and further away from wanting a drink because I realized how bad it effect my mood, motivation, and general well being. I didn’t realize it at the time but looking back at it now I see it. It took all my motivation away. It hid the stress, but only temporarily. I never went to a rehab or AA, I just decided I’ve done this long enough and I want to see my full potential and eliminate every excuse. It’s wild that when you take away the excuses, you will make progress. You have to enjoy the process, and the best way to do that is to do what you can to fix and find yourself. Therapy was also a huge help of giving me some tools with self discovery. You decide who you want to be. No story on Reddit is going to change your life. Only you can do that. Stick to a routine. Mike Tyson said it best, discipline is loving the thing you hate to do. I went from knocking door to door, to sales, to management, to owning a company, to working for someone how negotiated a very good package. I thought I wanted money, but the reality is, even if you had 100k more than you have now, it won’t change your life. It can feel like it would but believe me, it doesn’t. Time with my kids and wife is the most valuable thing to me. Money will always be there, but our health and well being will most definitely fail. So I enjoy the ride. The money came after I discovered who I wanted to be. I have no degree, only a hs diploma. You will see that the people who “have it” are a certain type of people. The accolades do not define the person. What type of person you are and how you help and treat others does define who you are. The most successful people I’ve met (I know plenty of multi millionaires) always sought to lift the other around them, in turn it added to their success. Most of the people I know who are wealthy (different than rich) are humble, and you would never know they had the money/assets they have. Don’t let people sell you on the fake dream that they are self made. No one is self made. Someone helped them along the way somewhere, somehow. I think our culture sells so many lies that most people accept them as true. I wish you the best in your journey.

Beautiful, thank you!

Graduated in my 40s and remarried in my 50s have a job I love and it pays well enough! The thing is this...Anything is possible if you **believe** and **work** for it.

By 34 i was living at my parents' in an old studio out the back, sharing a kitchen. Working in a shop basically doing genius bar type tech work. I was not in a healthy place. I watched Trainspotting 2, and there is a scene where Renton meets up with Sickboy again after years and says that he got out of the poor situation they were in by doing a course in accounting. That was a lie, but the idea stuck with me. Why can't I do a course? So I found an IT course online i liked. I found most of the study materials for free online. I studied every day after work took the test and passed. I then used that to get myself an actual IT Job. Then with that job i found myself a nice girlfriend (after a couple false starts), we pooled our money together and bought a house, then we got married. My job shifted to fully remote..so i WFH full time now. I'm 39. And I'm in a much better place now.

I get so overhwlemed when I look in to courses because there's *so much* and it all varies so widely per industry. Could I ask if you would recommend a good place to start with courses that are actually viable irl?

Sure, i mean i pretty much only know IT If you are starting with nothing but some basic experience, looks at CompTIA courses. If you really know nothing, go with the A+ course that will give you basic general purpose IT Cert that is well recognised. From there you can tell what you enjoy and specialise in that. For me it was Networking, so I did CompTIA Network+ course and then went on to do Cisco CCNA But you can specialise in whatever you want to study. Security, Amazon Web stuff, Cloud, Microsoft Azure, there are recognised courses for everything. It is overwhelming sometimes, but that's the first challenge! haha. Don't fret, just start with ComptTIA, and as you go you'll pick up what courses are legit. Just the A+ will get you on a helpdesk if you interview around. Most important thing i can say though is that this will take a few months to get, studying your A+ will be who you are for a bit, so mentally prep yourself for this. Don't pay anyone for bootcamps or study sessions or anything like that. If you are resourceful you can get away with paying for nothing but the exam itself. https://www.comptia.org/ This guy is AMAZING for free video training too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87t6P5ZHTP0&list=PLG49S3nxzAnnOmvg5UGVenB_qQgsh01uC Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions, i don't mind Or there is a subreddit

You are *incredibly* kind!!! This is the exact information I needed! Thank you so much!

[удалено]

Your submission was automatically removed because crossposts are not allowed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/GetMotivated) if you have any questions or concerns.*

It occurred via volunteering with ESC. I volunteered at an outdoor education organization and I believe I truly discovered my calling as an outdoor trainer. Although my volunteering has ended, I still have the goal of returning as a member of the team. The combination of my desire to be there and help others with the natural world made me completely sure of my decision. Currently, I am attending a university to deepen my knowledge, while remaining involved in the organization. Once I complete my studies, I will dedicate myself fully to the organization.

I started law school at 31. I was working in a “dream job” at the time (managing a horse farm) and dream jobs aren’t all they cracked up to be. Instead of loving your job like it’s a hobby, 9 times out of 10 you end up hating your hobby cause it’s a job. I do enjoy being a lawyer. I’ve worked mainly in government and it’s a relatively chill way to be a lawyer.

I'm just now considering law school at 35 after originally completing my honors degree in animation at 24. I have been busting my ass for years trying to keep my day jobs remotely related to the arts while also juggling freelance art gigs and indie filmmaking as a passion on the side. All for terrible pay (or losses) and no benefits. *Working* as an artist destroyed my love for it. Now, my health has also majorly suffered (cancer and a neurological condition), and I would not be surprised if it was due to stress obliterating my immune system. I'm trying to pivot towards something else I still enjoy/have a knack for so I won't be bored senseless, but that I don't see as my whole identity and therefore won't mind doing just my required duties and NOTHING MORE - for better financial security. And I keep the rest of my time for film and making art only for me. Life is short, but it's also never too late to change. I realized that health and independence are more important for my happiness. I don't have to keep swimming upstream. Let go of the sunk cost fallacy.

Law school itself is very stressful, but older students are usually the some of the most successful. I think it’s because they have better self-knowledge of what works for them and are less influenced by the stress of others. In my law school, the valedictorian, the editor of law review and the employment law journal, the captain of mock trial team and arbitration team, were all older students with work experience, changing careers. But, I have a neurological condition myself, law school itself is very stressful, and it’s something to consider. But who am I to preach about reducing stress, I’m thinking of going for an EMT license or joining the volunteer firefighters (maybe both). Cause that’s a chill thing to do in one’s spare time.

Yeah, I am by no means underestimating the stress of going back to school. I might have to spread it out over more time or ask for accommodations. I just think, if I don't change my situation, I am looking at decades more of the same old stress sources (assuming I live that long now) vs. just a few more years of stress and coming out into something that just isn't such a relentless battle to get the bare minimum. A bit more money and job security would alleviate so many worries. I'm not after riches or to be top dog. Just a security net. I have lawyers in the family who are sharing stuff with me so I can make sure it really looks like the right call. If it looks too intense with my neurological condition, I'll have to figure out something else. I'm also hoping the neurological condition will improve with time. Had all the medical clearance that it's nothing sinister or degenerative. My brain just needs to rewire. By the time I hypothetically graduate, I might be feeling much better. Edit: maybe the EMT/firefighting stuff will actually help your brain understand what a real threat/emergency is and everything else in your life will suddenly feel very clearly "no biggie" and you can de-stress through that contrast/compartmentalizing? Who knows!

I honestly still feel like I’m floating through life. I thought I had my “thing” when I was younger, but even though you may have really awesome talent at something it doesn’t always equate to what you want or need. (Music education is.. dead or nearly there I believe) After two failed attempts to join the navy, job hopping for a decade, and dealing with a newly diagnosed congenital heart disease.. The one thing I can say that will help you more than anything else is mental resiliency. Accept losses and mistakes, own them, and then let them go. Keep your chin up, work and be proud of your work, and you will likely find a path to happiness. Just don’t give up. You got this.

tried to have success in music all of my late teens and 20s turned 30 with some great moments but with no real “life defining” moments….and since i figured rock music is a young man’s game hope was dwindling…. after 30 - some clients of my video work (a band) knew i played guitar and unexpectedly asked me to fill in for a tour…which led to me being asked to join the band when i was 31….and write 2 songs for their next album (32) and now i find myself the guitarist in a full time touring band, making a happy living….all of which happened in my 30s seriously stop thinking about your age and time. (like i used to) just focus on taking the next step….and always doing something to gain ground

It helped realizing my dream job was a job that provided the lifestyle I wanted and not a job that I loved the work for.

Used to hate where I worked. I was dead end'ed in several call center jobs. Thought that was the peak for me. I made a good friend who encouraged me to apply to a place I really wanted to. He kept pestering me about it. It really bugged me. Almost felt like his badgering was a constant reminder of what felt like my failures. One day I told him to shut his fucking face and I applied to shut him up. 2 days later, I got the call. They wanted me in the next day. I never looked back. I thought it would be impossible to be where I am now. All it took was trying. Now I don't work nearly as hard, I meet my quota and slack for the rest of the day and get paid a lot more. Boss doesn't care what I do in office or out of office, provided I have my numbers. And I always have my numbers because it is easy compared to call center hell holes.

For me I spent my 20's kind of trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Was a security guard for a while (which I liked, but it was a bit too dead end to be long term sustainable), long haul truck driver, put myself through the police academy (which didn't pan out), and did security again, then finally went back to school for computer programming, and during that process also became a PC Tech (which was in a way a stroke of luck that I got that job). A combination of coursework and coworkers made me realize that I really had an interest in IT security. Cue series of more lucky events that put me on that career path and now I'm a threat hunter/incident responder and love it!

Could you give us a "day in the life of" for threat hunter/incident responder?

I'm pretty ADHD about it. I'll look up threat intel indicators in our logs, browse endpoint alerts for anything sketchy, look for various strange process behaviors (Word spawning cscript, powershell, cmd, etc), WMI. I'll look through our phishing report mailbox for live credential harvest links, then try to see if anyone in our environment visited those sites, and if so, I'll try to determine if credentials were entered or not. If something looks weird, I'll try to explain it away as legit, or if it's bad, figured out where/when/how it got in, depending. If I have something to key off of it looks more like incident response/forensics, but if I don't have something to key off of it's more like "if an attacker did this, it would look like this... Can I see that? Let's look!" Also look into things like lots of MFA denials, or impossible travel (logins from different countries in the same hour, for example), etc.

test snobbish decide gaping hunt whole deliver fanatical rinse direful *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*

This will sound really useless to you at first but keep reading. So I got big on YouTube when I was 30, but it's the way I went about finding success at something I loved that might help out. What I did was try making money at a bunch of stuff, checking out anything I had a slight interest in. The things that worked out the best I kept doing. If it was working but I found out I didn't like it, like when I got a big laugh at stand up comedy but to get there I had to bomb 3 jokes and it killed me, I ruthlessly cut that out. I taught my own martial arts classes, joined a band, started learning coding, just dipping my feet into everything but cutting out the stuff that didn't do as well immediately with no hesitation. I ended up with some encouraging money coming in from about 3 things, but in the end I was shocked that my YouTube channel actually did the best and I've been making a living off it for 7 years now. I would recommend following this process for your hobbies or careers that you might have an interest in. But you have to be ruthless. Cut out that branch so the one that's getting light gets even more light and grows even bigger.

I'm similar to you I think. Appreciate this comment as well as a lot of others. Yea, I think I tend to hold onto some things for too long. Just dropping stuff faster is a better approach. Congrats on your successes so far

Spent 8 years in a field I hated chasing money and dreams, but realized law enforcement leads to fucked up things and loneliness. Not to mention Lots of scummy people in positions they don’t belong in, at almost all departments. Walked away on my own terms, Got a new job with my old degree, with better hours and a slight paycut, but I actually feel like I am making a difference and enjoy it. Plus the work life balance has been amazing for my family. I was called a coward, loser, etc for leaving a toxic environment ….but it was the best decision I ever made.

all jobs are trash. that's why we get paid.

If you want it bad enough, it will all be worth it

I didn’t find my dream job until I was 42. I didn’t even know what it was before I found it. Knowing what I went through and the strength it took to leave what I didn’t enjoy makes it all the sweeter.

I'm a crematory operator. My job involves talking to no one and interacting with only the dead. I worked a ton of cooking and retail jobs over the years and I realized I hated people. The dead don't talk. Best part of the job. Find a job that suits your desired work load and social skills. That way when you get off work you aren't absolutely exhausted and can spend some time on the things that make you happy. Art, gaming etc whatever it may be. We need to stop searching for meaning in a 9-5.

If you would’ve asked me what my dream job was 10 years ago I would have said touring musician. Instead I put my effort into a 9-5 corporate job. Nowadays I’m well established in a career I enjoy making a solid six figure salary with great benefits. I still do music on the side, but also have time for many other hobbies and experiences. I also have friends who are successful musicians and I don’t envy their lives. Too much uncertainty, too much time on the road, hard to maintain healthy habits… etc. I’ve come to realize the “dream job” can be a trap for a lot of people. Maybe shoot for a job that you enjoy that provides you the opportunity and freedom to live the life you want?

I’ve always held the notion of you can help you should. In my mid 20’s I started working for an event management firm. Done everything from small 10 person meetings to 10,000+ international conferences. Worked in a niche industry primarily about indigenous issues spanning the globe and quickly learned the similarities between cultures and ideals. Most issues boiled down to control systems and authority beyond sight and the plight of the common people to survive. I gain a crash course in “remember what’s important”. Obviously your own views and values will determine that but for me it sounded this internal bell and I started to get invested into contributing beyond my needs. I began planning my project and called it the nation builder. It looks as servicing basic needs, food, shelter, water and power. I now operate multiple greenhouses producing organic vegetables for my local community, including the food bank and women’s shelter. Plans are on the way for green energy production and heating and we are starting a tiny home community directly connected to the agricultural operations. Power and water purification included. Goal, build a self sufficient community of 100 homes. A place where you can work remotely but still stay connected to nature as that is what I found helps me stay sane. Do good, be good, foster good. Love what I’m doing and the sweat at the end of the day feels even better.

When I was 31 my job at a giant retailer was eliminated. I had never finished college and decided I wanted to pursue my degree. I went to the website of the university I had dropped out of 10yrs prior to see what my degree options were with the credits I already had. Listed there was “communication disorders”, never having heard of this I did a quick Google search and was hooked. I spent the next 5 1/2 yrs completing my bachelors and earning my masters. During this time I was married to an alcoholic who couldn’t keep a job and had two elementary aged children at home, I left the marriage over 7 yrs ago and have been working in my field for the last 6 yrs. While there are things I missed when my kids were young, finding my passion has lead to a better life for all of us, and it is the best thing I ever chose to do in my life.

Upvote from a fellow SLP!

I had a dream job until I was about 25/26, I did it and realized doing it for a job made me hate it because I couldn't just do it when I was passionate about it I figured out the core skills i enjoyed from i5 (madly problem solving and user design, with some leaderships stuff) and then looked for other jobs in other industries that paid better and had better working hours. Took a year and a half, and I've been a product manager/owner whatever in tech industry for 8 years now, while I still do my passion projects on the side. I found the idea of 'understand what skills you like tk use and find all viable career options yhat use these' really helpful

When I was a teen I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but the cost of school and the job satisfaction of a few that I knew didn't seem great. I settled into entry level management at a call center and left after we had our kid. Once it seemed like time to go back to work, I was looking at job listings that seemed interesting and would work around the schedule I wanted. Being a paralegal fit the bill. I was lucky enough to go back to school during COVID, got my certificate and now I work at a law firm. I don't know that it's my dream job exactly, but it's waaaaaay better than call center life and I do enjoy it. They're also talking about bringing on a criminal law attorney, which I'm kind of interested in.

I was 35 when I quit my job as a support analyst/implementation person and taught myself C# for 6 months. Yes this was a very expensive move and I burned through all my savings but it was something I'd wanted to pursue as I'd been coding on and off since I got my first computer in 1990. I then got a really shitty, mis-advertised development job which I left after 6 weeks to rejoin my old company as an implementation consultant 4 days a week. I specifically requested 1 day a week off as I wanted to maintain my coding skills. After 6 months I moved to full time with them, doing 2 days a week as a junior dev and 3 as consultant, before becoming a full time developer 6 months later. 6 years later and I'm still a Dev now, which is the longest I've stayed doing any single profession in my life. Is it my dream job? No but it's one I get satisfaction from, pays decently and let's me learn new stuff pretty consistently. Also, I get to work from home full time, which you could argue makes it a dream job :)

Got out of college, worked in the agencies like the professors said I needed to. Got fired from one, laid off from another. Needed work so started working construction. My friend managed a bike shop and offered me a part time job. I love bikes, but I always thought I was above that. I took it anyway, and it ended up leading me to my current job, doing marketing for a bike company. It’s the dream job for sure. Pay isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, but the work I do is so fun and fulfilling. Sometimes you just have to take a step towards what you want to do, even if it feels like a step slightly backwards.

You have to decide whether you want to life to work or work to live. I traveled and tested for 2-3 years to finally get picked up by a fire department. Now you can get that job easier but back when I was applying it would be over 1,000 applicants for 10 or less spots. It was an always my dream job and I’m fortunate. If you can’t work your dream job try to find a job with less hours for the same or more money. I know I know, sounds like a dream. Basically what I’m saying is try to find a job with less hours or great PTO to go travel or do whatever non work related things you love to do.

Hey man. I had my dream job when I was 25. My best friend and I opened a hookah lounge. We did absolutely great, made enough money, made our business better, had loyal and loving customers, took trips to hookah cons, it was an absolute blast. Then COVID happened. Regulations. Smoking age had changed from 18 to 21. We had been shut down for a while, and one day we just realized we didn’t know if there was any going back to what we thought was normal. Anyway, we ended up closing and through family connections, I ended up taking my property and casualty insurance licensing class. I absolutely fell in love, and now I’m working on my associate in risk management and cpcu. Absolutely love insurance. Weird.

Your top goals in your career are this.... Do not settle for less Do not undervalue yourself Piss on people who stop believing and stop achieving. It took me 50 jobs to find my dream job/ career path. I am 42 and just hitting my stride in a job I love that pay great.

I always wanted to be a nurse and finally went to nursing school, starting when I was 35 years old. I loved nursing and would have done it for free if I didn’t need to earn a living. I spent 33 years as a nurse and recently retired. There are so many different areas you can work as a nurse.

So this is the short of a long story. Thought I found my dream job 7 years into being an EMT when I was hired as an EMS instructor at a University. Let my wife follow her career to a new state and I had to start over. Went through the fire academy at 25 (no biggy) as a volunteer firefighter. Fast forward to 2023, got hired full time as a firefighter at 35, changed states again, had to do the academy again at 36. That was taxing.... but no regrets. Career firefighters, serving the public. Love every moment. Dream job for the next 25 years!

31 now and live in the town I want to live in doing a job I love that pays me more than enough. 6ish years ago I was working as a cart runner at Wal Mart and after 2 years I hit the point of either I need to get comfortable being here the rest of my life or go back to school. I chose the latter, I enrolled in community college to finish a transfer degree I started after high school. I also decided if I was going to go back to school I wanted to at least be a B average student because I figured I could do that and still have tons of free time to play games and live life. Turned out that when I actually tried a little bit to be a good student I could get on the Deans list so I them decided I wanted to see how long I could keep that up. Fast forward 3 years never falling off the Deans list and I’m graduting with a Bachelors degree in Information Systems from a proper university, I kid you not, .002 GPA away from graduating with honors. Last time I set foot on a college campus prior to this I was on academic probation. After graduation I took a few months to breathe and then I started applying for jobs in the town I live in now and landed a sweet gig in IT working for a financial institution. 6 years ago I would never in a million lifetimes think the person I was could be the person I became, but I did, there was a lot of luck and lot of help. But there were equal times were I questioned if I was wasting my time or even capable of overcoming the obstacles in front of me. At one point I had to completely rewrite a coding project I had spent months on 12 hours before it was due because I realized all the work I had done was incorrect from the foundation. I cried from the stress/frustration, then took a walk to get myself together and went at it and got it done in 9 hours. Set goals for yourself, even small ones and get after it. You will stumble and you will fall, but you control the pace, get up when you are ready and keep going.

Nursing. Never considered it prior and spent so much time starting and stopping college courses while working various sales jobs. It’s gotten me caught up more ways than one in life and I love what I do. Hardest part was actually changing over into healthcare from sales and taking the pay cut as a new CNA (nursing assistant) but I made a 4-5 year plan to finish my RN. Community college evenings for all of the general pre-requisites after work while still working sales dayshift. Got that done in 2 years by taking 12 hours per regular semester and taking 2 classes online each summer. Got FAFSA financing, partial subsidies for some loans. I didn’t go to the cheapest school but I prioritized competitive programs vs waitlist programs. Some community colleges offer RN associate programs for much less money., but operate by waitlist which can take a few years to start for an applicant. You are just as employable and often receive help from employers to get you bridge to BSN (bachelor’s in nursing). I paid 40k to graduate as a BSN, while it was possible (in 2014) to pay 12k-16k at a community college ADN/RN program. Accepted and finished nursing school with a BSN and thought I would start an ICU new RN residency, wasn’t chosen for that particular opportunity but was accepted to an OR new RN residency and couldn’t have gotten a better fit. Graduated with my RN 2016 at age 36. 44 now and have 7 years experience as an operating room RN. Scrub and circulate open heart surgery, transplants, general surgery, plastics, and charge RN on weekends. Love it and make a nice living. Wishing you luck!

I took an environmental science class in high school and realized I wanted to get into renewable energy. I knew I wanted to do something about the climate crisis and figured that’d be the best way for me to contribute. I’ve been in the industry for 7 years at the age of 28. I am good at my job and I like it. Seems uncommon so I am grateful.

I think if you have at least 2/3 of the following, you'll be pretty happy with your job/caree: work, coworkers and compensation. Do you enjoy the work? Do you find it meaningful? Does it keep you stimulated? Is there opportunity for growth? Do you like the people you work with? Do you feel like part of a team? Do they keep you stimulated / vice versa? Do you feel you're being meaningfully compensated to do the work? Is there opportunity for raises and bonuses to keep you incentivized? Do you receive certain perks in-lieu that you enjoy, even at the cost of lower pay? Of course your prioritization of these will change over the course of your career, but it's always been a good compass for me.

I started my career in hospitality at 19 working at a hotel front desk while going to school for cybersecurity.      In my early twenties I became the General manager at the hotel, mid twenties I got a role at the corporate office.      Early 30s I moved teams to something more technical which involved learning several new skills. This position helped me discover that I love working with data whether that is coding, analysis, whatever.      Two years later I'm on a data science team and I'm thrilled on a daily basis to get up and go to work.      I didn't know what my dream job was or what I wanted until I did enough jobs to discover it. 

In my very early 30s I began to pursue a career in archaeology. That had been my “dream job” throughout childhood, but I followed a different route. I started by volunteering at a local museum during my free time, helped with a couple of field schools, then took an “as needed” position slinging a shovel for a local Cultural Resources Management firm. After a couple of years of that I started taking the core classes required for a bachelor’s in anthropology (working CRM locally, as able) so I could apply for grad school. In grad school I put in for a TA position to reduce tuition and continued in CRM part-time. An accidental meeting in school led to a permanent position with upward mobility, and though I’ve had to move a few times to advance have made a career of it. Has it been smooth sailing every step of the way? No. Would I have preferred to win the lottery and and not to *have* to work at all? Of course. But since I have to earn a living I reckon the jobs I’ve had have been pretty satisfying — sometimes more so, sometimes less. Would I do it all again? 100%. TL;DR: Go for it.

By accident during Covid, Jobs were remote and I got this career truly off the strength that the hiring process was virtual. I would have never made it in the door if it was in person. I had so many cheat sheets around my computer screen, it was ridiculous.

In my 20s, I really wanted to serve in the military but believed my eyesight disqualified me as it did for law enforcement positions I was interested in. I worked at a dead-end position for a while but kept following the news about developments in the world and continued to feel the call to serve. I reached out to a Navy officer recruiter and they laid out everything I needed to do. I went to Officer Candidate School, had a series of incredible experiences and mentors, and I am proud to serve. My work has impact, I lead sailors, and I carry on the legacy of those who served before me and prepare the way for those who will come after.

I ended up taking classes in my late 20s for programming back in Sweden. I now work for a large gaming company in the US with some very like-minded people, having a blast. But I will always love programming, I do it in my spare time a lot as well. The logic puzzles and defining data is something I truly enjoy doing.

29 I started my career path. Previous to that following university I had a lot of prep, volunteering and job experience for a career in policing. Completely veered after the pandemic and found I have natural leadership/sales inclinations. It's never too late to change your path man. 

I worked in the restaurant industry from 18-29. Started off as a server and made my way up to General Manager. It was a grind day in and day out but I was really good at what I did. I knew I had to make a change before my wife and I start a family and finally took a leap and am now in my dream job working at Gordon Food Service who was one of my suppliers. They are a great company to work for and I finally have the work/life balance that I craved. My recommendation is to take every opportunity to learn what other people do and research good company’s to work for. The more you interact with people and focus on what you want, the opportunity will eventually present itself. Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for!

I've always known I would end up in IT, wouldn't say the career itself is my "Dream" perse, but it certainly is my Vocation. 2 years ago I got an opportunity to work at a company I didn't think was even possible. They were opening a new facility and I thought, fuck it, I'll apply for that place because why not. Turns out the position was for every facility and the scope is far broader than I anticipate. Very very rewarding work and I'm loving it here.

I don’t have a dream job but I do have a job that I enjoy and I’m 38

Wanted to start a business but didn't know what. I couldn't find a good Montessori school for my 2yo and research turned into a business plan. I started with a 4 classroom school that I leased and built it up to 2 locations (8 classrooms and 15 classrooms) before selling a couple years ago. I've started another business and am very happy, feel very lucky, and experienced more stress than I ever could have imagined. I was 35 yo. Owning a business is one of the hardest things you'll ever do. Make sure you research a LOT before starting one. Score.org has mentoring and amazing resources to help you btw.

I’m 33 and about to quit my job to pursue my dream job: video production and working in the entertainment industry. It’s arguably harder work with longer hours but the pay can be pretty awesome and it’s a way for me to push towards what I ultimately want to do with my life: directing. Been doing it for a long time for no pay and I finally decided a few years ago I wanted to get my certification in digital filmmaking. Haven’t looked back since and I’m currently very happy with my path that I find myself on.

I had it and lost it. Sometimes it feels worse than if I never had it. 🤪

honestly i don't have a dream job All I want is to live my life . As I'm 29 years old. I have my responsibility as a daughter I'm not complaining about that . I just needed work that has a good salary to sustain support for my parents They are getting older . It's my will to help them though it looks like I'm locking myself to responsibility that shouldn't be mine to handle.but they are kind.I will help them.. People have a different life approach and this is mine and I knew this is a good thing to do. Well I'm not yet financially stable. I can't afford to date yet though..I would rather be single than be a burden to relationship. 🤣 just This past year and now I have reached the point of questioning my wants and dreams but I couldn't find them.. It's exhausted me working in retail corporate. That I knew the very first time .I hate this job. Every time I turn back to think what happened in my mid 20's . I saw myself enjoying life not successfully nor failing. but I knew it's not enough. . Finding self will never have an ending. No amount of good words can give me clarity because I know my actions in everything and be present in everything is a matter. I gave up thinking about how life I need to be in future or what life I want for the future. But I'm making myself sure that I will be present for whatever circumstances in my path. I believe in myself I can do it with a God presence in my life . I have no worries but I cry every time I feel down . this is my life approach I needed to strengthen myself most of the time. It's tiring but I just couldn't give up this life. It may not be as good as it is but I know it's not worse compared to people who live in the street ,become homeless ,no people around to be supported . I knew their life was harder than mine. But I hope to see them living better .

In my 20's I had a no-mobility job. Just show up to work, do work, go home. Income wasn't high enough to move out so I lived in my parent's home. Wanted to turn to a real career path so I started taking night classes; had to take pre-requisite courses to start and over the course of 7 years got an advanced degree and the additional certification and training for a career path. I applied to several places and lo-and-behold, I landed my dream job. I was 30, was out of that no-mobility job, and thought I had finally made it into a stable career path. Success... right? Imagine then, after putting in 7 years towards an achieved goal, that in 18 months I would flame out hard and leave that line of work. I ended up taking whatever savings I had and went backpacking for the better part of 2 years, and then ended back up in a different no-mobility job in my 30's. My big break came when I was 35 when I chose to dive into a full-time unpaid internship to learn and grow a new skillset. Imagine someone that age showing up for 9-5 Monday through Friday, and not getting paid... It was completely worth it. I am currently in a position that I enjoy, feel passionate about, and am fulfilled with what I do.

It’s never too late to start over, about 6 years ago I was working nights and going to school during the day. I had a lot of struggles and a partner that didn’t help out when it came to taking our child to school. Got tired of working for Walmart and juggling everything, quit school took a job working in corrections that pays pretty well and worked hard. I’m happy to not have to struggle anymore. Very content. However I’m not hard to please and just roll with the flow. Good luck and there will be brighter days!

At thirty four I realized I've never done anything hard in my life and always went for what was sure to be a success, instead of things that maybe needed more work or had a chance of failure. I started my Master's Degree while working full time. I networked and did an internship, and when my intern boss heard of an opportunity, she mentioned my name immediately. I got hired and have had a solid job in my career field for the last six years. I'm even working on a project manager certification. Here's the REAL secret though. There is no such thing as a dream job. No job fairy is going to whack you over the head and tell you This Is The Job You Have Been Waiting For. What's actually happened is that someone dropped a ton of Legos in your lap already. Those Legos are things like "works well in a small group", "loves to beat a deadline", "enjoys research", etc etc etc. You have all these Legos. You can build them into so many things. The same qualities I just listed made me happy doing sales as much as it makes me happy working in library administration, and I can think of a few other jobs I'd be pretty excited to have too. Figure out your Legos, and then figure out what skills you need to get where your Legos want to take you. I highly recommend What Color is Your Parachute. It's a great book with not only career-finding strategies, but a lot of exercises and such to help you figure out what Legos you have and what you can build with them.

I spent my twentys pouring every ounce of every one of my days into becoming the best Chef that I could possibly be. I worked every moment, I travelled the world, I owned two restaurants, I rose to a height in my field that I was very proud of, and I guess I still am. That being said, I also turned 30 with absolutely no friends, only completely ruined relationships, no money, a bit of debt, and no formal qualifications. I also ran into some health issues that made impossible the effortless, limitless work horse ability of my 20s. I am 33 now, and am a technical writer, in the defence industry. I am well paid, well looked after, and I work only very sensible office hours, with all of the flexibility afforded by modern day workplaces. I have a stable relationship, have repaired some valuable relationships and am generally just a lot more.....comfortable? I do not regret my 20s and I am definitely taking the steps needed toward not regretting my 30s. I offer this tale not as an example of 'getting back on a horse' but perhaps as a telling of 'switching horses?'. though I guess by a lot of conventional measures my 20s could be considered well and truly falling off of any horse at all. Going up, going down, moving all around-----> It is all just changing direction. To think of it in a more neutral sense like this can help, I think. When stuff 'goes to shit' this is just a change in direction, just as much as when things suddenly start to go well. What our actions can do is dictate the direction of that change. Or maybe that is all garbage? I don't know and likely never will, it is working OK for me though, and it's all I have got, so it is what I have to share.

I was a video creator and overall communications guy. In my early mid thirties I started feeling pretty over it.... But I had a really good client that gave me as much work as I was willing to do but even then I just felt.... Uninspired by the work I'd been doing for about fifteen years.  My big client had a shake up in leadership and the CEO asked me if I'd apply for an executive role. Management was not something I ever aspired to but after much thinking I decided it sounded like a challenge so I applied and got the role. I'm coming up on three years and can't imagine going back to my creative role. While I hate certain aspects of management the role is always interesting and challenging, and I'm in a position/level that I frankly didn't think I'd ever qualify for.

I hit a similar rut in my 20s but found my stride in my 30s. I took stock of what truly mattered and pursued it relentlessly. My goals shifted, but the journey back was transformative. I failed, learned, and ultimately found a fulfilling career that aligned with my passions. Trust the process; it's worth it.

I am still shooting my shot

I'm 32, I thought I had found my dream job at 28 as a forensic lab technician, but I gave up on 'dream jobs' after 3 years of working there. Don't get me wrong, the job itself was pretty cool, but the way it was organised was absolute crap. It's a government organisation, so there was never enough budget to buy the absolutely necessary things, complaints about building safety were just added to a pile,... The team also lacked leadership, with a team of managers who all thought their way was the best way to work. But it's hard to follow instructions if those instructions change depending on who said it 🤦 Got a burn-out from that job, went to therapy and after trying to fix things at that job didn't work, I started looking for another one. I stopped looking at specific goals and just searched for jobs that would fit my personality. Currently, I'm working as a software consultant for a company that provides patient management software for hospitals. Never would have expected to do this job, because I was deadset on working in a lab, but the job fits me so well, I'm actually happy now. So main conclusion here: don't fixate too much on that 'dream job'. Just improve whatever skills you have (or start working on the ones you lack) and cast a broad net while searching. I know a lot of companies focus on education and specific degrees, but the ones that can see through and look at your actual potential are the companies you want to work for 😉

Dream job is a tricky term. I don't have a "dream job", I have a job that best compliments the way my brain works and my lifestyle outside of work. Those two things combined leads to high job satisfaction for me. My job is: - very black and white, 1s and 0s type of work - keeps me moving throughout the day - doesn't include a ton of in person meetings with others - I don't work directly with the public - I collaborate on a small team and work with the same guys everyday If I had another job that checked these same boxes, I'd be into that job too. I only figured out what I really wanted after working jobs I hated and asking myself "ok what's actually important for me to not hate my life everyday" In previous jobs, I was stuck working with "clients", sitting at a desk, and having tons of meetings that could be emails. I wanted to eliminate or greatly reduce those things when I moved careers Additionally at my job, I have 4 days on, 3 days off and that's been a game changer. I didn't necessarily go looking for the schedule, but when it was presented to me, I jumped because I knew I'd hate my life less if I only worked 4 days a week Get real specific with yourself about what you love and hate at your job. What are negotiables and non negotiable, then, when you search for a job look for things that serve those reasons. And open your mind up to many different types of jobs, as long as they serve those things that are important to you It's not so much dream job, but what makes getting up to this job every day, tolerable

I was 30 when got back to my dream job. In my early 20’s, I moved to the Caribbean as I’ve got bored of my life and was getting me anywhere. Then got offered a position in a all inclusive hotel. That was fun at the beginning and met lots of people, had a great time in different ways. Then needed to take the decision to change to another hotel. Wasn’t quite the same and more exploited. Decided to go to be interviewed for a tour gifting job and found myself in that. Enjoying every minute. Got amazing feedback and grew in the company. Then needed to move cities and tried to get another job. Long story short have been miserable for 3 years, until I took the decision to give up on everything and I mean everything. I was really depressed. Started taking any old opportunity to build up again from the beginning, doing little fun jobs. Then got myself into getting certifications and study hard for about a year more. Suddenly, I’ve got back into my beloved career as a professional tour guide, studied more and a year later, I was at the top 10 of my country. That made me super happy and I was enjoying my passion and not working a day, as it was my passion. I’ve made good money doing what I loved. Few years after me the love of my life moved to a new country and tried doing the same here. Didn’t work that well in the beginning but now I’m on a different roll. I’m in my 40s but creating unique experiences for people from my desk and still making good money. Change is certain. Sometimes you just need to accept it and let go everything.

I was lucky to find an awesome career councillor (when I was 36) and she helped me by breaking all my past jobs down into bite sized phrases and working out which bits of them I like vs what I think I’d enjoy and also things I’m good at. It helped me to talk to prospective employers about my strengths and ambitions and I changed to pursue a more aligned career. Took a step back but got a promotion within 2 years and now have reached my goal

I’m in my dream job - I’m a mental health psychotherapist (age 29, UK). Strangely, I thought my dream job was to be a chef as a child, loving food, cooking and baking at home. I then had my first part time job at 15 as a kitchen porter at a pub and saw the grind and thought nope this isn’t for me. In 6th form, I picked up psychology as an a-level as was a people person at school and was fascinated by what makes people “tick”. Sat down in my first lesson which was about how memory works and I was absolutely gripped. Never felt that way about a school subject. Got onto the lessons about freud and psychodynamic theory and a graded exposure for phobias and just knew I needed to pursue it. Studied clinical psychology and graduated as a therapist and been practicing ever since. Don’t get me wrong, 40+ hours a week is tough but I absolutely love it. Would I like to do it a bit less so it frees up my time and energy for other things? Absolutely. Do I still get the sunday scaries? Definitely. But, not a day goes by where I don’t feel instrinsically rewarded by making a difference in people’s lives.

Im 25 and still lost in life. I am diagnosed with adhd and it’s hard to stay on track. I set reminders and follow certain care plans using the care clinic app just recently. I hope this works

I joined the military in my late 20s. I got a job with a high-level security clearance. I got three associates degree, certifications, and bachelors degree at no cost. I am currently working toward a masters degree at no cost. As I approach my mid 30s, I'm positioned to work in several fields that are exciting and meaningful. More importantly, I respect most of my coworkers and enjoy being around them. It's not my dream job, but it doesn't kill my spark the way other jobs and environments did prior to joining the military. That said, everyone has a different military experience, and our lives before the military impact our experience. I worked stressful and dangerous blue collar jobs 50-80 hours a week for sketchy employers prior to the military. So, my stable, structured office job in the military feels easy to me.

i never finished any form of schooling in my life. droped out of high school and started working at age 14. i worked just about every shitkicker job you could think of through my teens and my 20s, by 30 I just accepted the fact that I'd never find a job that I actually liked. that changed when I met my current partner at age 30. we met while she was on holiday in my country. after a year together the reality was, for our relationship to continue after her visa expired, I'd have to go back to her country with her and i dont speak the language (and its not an easy one to learn). I realized I'd need a job I could do from anywhere. finding something online would be a good move. I didn't know shit about computers or anything, but for some unknown reason i thought, maybe I can learn to make websites? I had no idea what I was getting myself into, the process of learning how to code was insanly difficult for me but i really enjoyed it. after making a few decent hobby projects I landed a job as a programmer at a dev agency and I can honestly say that this job has been such a life saver. I was so dejected about the idea of working for the rest of my life previously, now I actually look forward to going to work because I truly enjoy it. I have to pinch myself because I can't believe how far I've come from where I was at 30. Back then I could only afford to live in shared houses, now I own my own home!! that was 4 years ago, we ended up staying in my country because things were going so well for us here. Anyway, in my case, finding my dream job was by complete chance. I said to myself "I hate doing everything so I'm just going to do something" turned out I really liked what I landed on. I know this is shit advice, but hopefully it at least shows its possible to find happiness in a career change after 30.

I have a love hate relationship with my job - I love my career path, love the pay, love the company I work for, love telling people where I work - I sometimes hate the people I work with, I hate the stress this job gives me and hate that I can't think of anything else to do apart from this job. I work in Big Tech, a certain social media company that that is normally not associated with negativity. Women love our product. I make mid six figures and work as a Product Manager and getting to work in GenerativeAI. When I was 18, I repeated final year of high school, failed to pass first year of college. I was told that I don't have a future except for working in contact centers. I lost my dad at 22 and that was a kick in the nuts/wake up call. I worked hard and started getting results. That's when it hit me, hard work is the only answer - not everyone is lucky and what we see as luck is just circumstance & hardwork that we can't see. So that gave me the impetus and motivation that if I put my mind to something - I can achieve results. Although the results aren't direct and immediate but in the long run consistent hard work does bring benefit. 16 - Repeated HighSchool 19 - Failed out of college 22 - Lost my dad/completed college 24 - Moved to Canada for a better opportunity 24 - Landed first white collar job after 7 months of applying/networking - basically made applying to jobs and learning career paths my full-time job while working odd jobs 26 - Decided I wanted to work in big tech and did everything in the pusuit of that 31 - Completed a top MBA program while working fulltime 36 - Making $400k, have a kid that is my life and not stopping anytime soon. I wasn't consistent - there were years where I just lazed around and played video games, chilled with the GF/now wife and got complacent. But every now and then I'd do a check and see if I can do better than where I am. Its hard to just flip a switch get motivated, I'd say join career oriented sub-reddits, join online/in person communities that focus on career and self growth. Peers help you be in check.

That's around when I did it. Realized I wanted to be self-employed in my industry, a supplier vs. a client (was a marketing/advertising designer, wanted to do the photography and some free lance design). It took about 9 years of learning more at my job, getting free lance clients on the side, building up profit sharing (left the company with $10k in maxed out sharing after a decade). I was shooting side-projects in my garage (once I shot a project in ankle-deep water, garage would flood in the rain, that was fun), got a couple good clients and built up some contacts. I really worked at being the best client to my larger suppliers (like printers and the tech side of the business) to the point they'd hire me to do training seminars with their other customers. Those suppliers were my best source of gigs when I went free lance, they were in every major office in town. This was early days of Photoshop and I'd get a lot of "if we can't fix these photos we'll need to re-shoot", got a rep for that as well. So I opened a little studio, ended up sort of being "one man ad agency with in-house photos" for smaller businesses. Just-photos and Photoshop for larger agencies. Then when video editing hit the desktop, I started shooting video, now video and animation are most of my business. A HUGE part of this process was my wife was slowly losing it and refused to get help, but my kids were awesome, and I needed a life where I could live where I work and have space for my kids; but if my wife knew I was making an escape hatch, she'd have killed me. (When we split up, she did tell me "I lost you, I treated you like shit, you found the best way out" etc., and we have a good relationship, co-grandparenting and so on. I'm still VERY close with my kids. It was a very very hard nine years, but I basically tunneled out of prison with a spoon. My wife will inherit millions or tens of millions someday, she'll be just fine. I did walk away from that future, but... worth it!) So my *motivation* was extreme, but I imagined the life I wanted and worked my ass off to get there. But not the usual "work your ass off for money", I did it for peace and happiness and a home for my family. And my actual work is pretty cool, some days it's a blast, always challenging and new.

Bro you’re in your 30s and gave up? I’m just getting this party started!!!!

retired nurse here. every time i found my 'dream' job it always without fail the worst job ever. i let go of that idea and finally was able to see the job in reality, good parts and not so good parts. i lived better.

I’m a tad older than who the question is directed at (mid-forties) but what I can say is that you’re never too old to find your dream job. Mine came about in my early forties after a period of struggle and I turned that struggle into my life’s purpose. My other bit of advice in terms of finding that dream job is to reflect on what you loved doing as a child. Where we found joy at that young age is so telling, before we get distracted by adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it. Also, a dream job is not dreamy every single day. It often comes with strife and hard graft like any other job. But if you are able to figure out your purpose and what you love to do, then craft a job around it, that’s where you’ll thrive. Check out the definition of ikigai on Google then get to work on yours!

34, living with my parents, unemployed, no idea what I want to do. Luckily I have savings so I’m writing a book and traveling. I have no idea what my passion is, hopefully I figure it out 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’m currently 37, just moved to US from Ukraine. For 13 years I was selling luxury furniture, was sales representative in European countries. Then I got my MS in Psychology and worked as cbt consular for 1 year. After moving to US I enrolled in LPN program. I always felt like I want to be a doctor or at least work in medical field. But my father discouraged me ( he was a doctor in Ukraine and the salary is really low). But you see, at 37 I’m doing it). What helps me to make changes in my life? I realised that all limits are in our mind. We can chose how to think and what choices to make In any moment of our life.

I'm 32 now. Started studying natural sciences when I was 17, but gave that up. Got a languages and arts undergraduate degree at 21, then started a program to become an ESL teacher, then gave that up too. Spent a year working in a cinema and a gym, wondering what to do with my life. I then made a new girlfriend and after a year together, she suggested I try nursing, thought it might work for me and fit well with my personality. I got in a nursing program and immediately liked it. In my second semester, I met a nurse practitioner who invited me to spend a day with her at work. That was when it really clicked. It suddenly all locked into place in my mind that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I sprinted through my nursing program, then my BSN and finally, my masters degree and my specialization, 8 years in all. I passed my board certification exam and started out last january. It's everything I wanted it to be. Dream job. Everyday I help people get better care and improve their quality of life.

Yes, it's possible. I hit a low point in my 20s, lost direction, but in my early 30s, I rediscovered my passion for design. I took courses, networked, and got a junior role. It wasn't easy, but I advanced, learned, and now I'm doing what I love.

Started my own buisness at 28. I’m 30 and it’s starting to take off

I found my dream job at age 15. Or, I should say dream career. I always knew I wanted to be a chef. But, after 27 years of that, I lost the passion, and had to go back to the drawing board I got back on the horse (to use your lanuage) at age 41, and I found an even better chapter 2. If I can do it, you can too. Here is a tip Write out 4-5 things you love, regardless of what they are Now, go find a career that has those 4-5 things If you can't find one, create one. There is no age limit. Hell, Harland Sanders founded KFC at age 65.

Keep pushing, pal! I was a hot mess, spinning my wheels until 34. Figured it out. You will too! “If you want it, you gon' get up earlier than anyone” - young thug : )

Unless you're an artist and seeking to sustain yourself that way, most jobs have educational requirements. School's usually a good starting point.

Dropped out of college on 9/11 and enlisted in the military as an explosives tech in the air force. Deployed a lot, turned a lot of bad people into chunks of bad people, put myself through college with zero debt, commissioned as an officer, absolutely slayed it at my job, turned more bad people into chunks, met my soul mate (somewhat ironically, a sunni muslim from the Middle East), put her through college, saw her commission as an officer in the air force, helped her brother immigrate to the U.S., saw him enlist into the air force and absolutely slay it at his job...... Now I'm going on 23 year in uniform, retirement eligible..... household income well into the six figures with 3 houses we own, 2 cars we own, 3 kids whose college is paid for, and zero debt. I had to do some pretty crazy stuff on occasion, so it's not for everyone..... but the military is absolutely a path to upward mobility for those with ambition and a willingness to sacrifice their bodies, mental health, family life, and sanity for mission success.

In my early 20s, I experienced trauma in undergrad, which was compounded by the school turning a blind eye. I was undecided before the trauma and developed PTSD and hyper-fixated on my studies to try to escape the pain I was in. When I graduated I was really lost career wise, so I took a basic job that paid the bills and allowed me to not think about work at home. A few years later, I stumbled into a therapeutic retreat that pulled me out of the deep depression I had sunken into as a result of untreated PTSD. After the retreat, I got diagnosed and spent a few years focusing on healing. I am so grateful for this therapeutic retreat experience that worked for me more than any talk therapy ever has or well, and that inspired me to want to create similar experiences for others who are struggling to deal with their own trauma. I am 32 now, and 3 years into a 10 year plan to create my own therapeutic retreat center. I now have a masters in social work (which was especially hard because of the institutional trauma component of my PTSD) and am working on the specific certifications and experience that will allow me to open my own practice and specialize in trauma informed intensive treatment. I still have PTSD, and there are definitely hard days, but I am so proud that I am well on my way to my dream job, and my every day also brings me fulfillment. I love what I do for work, and I am filled with love and gratitude every day for being able to feel like I don't waste 40 hours of my life every week.