u/Altofthedepressed

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to choose a career path, but I feel quite stuck between options.

My background:

\* Around 1 year as a content editor

\* Close to 1 year as a data annotator

So I don’t have direct experience in either marketing or supply chain. It's hard to get a role in both. I can apply for writing heavy roles but I'm genuinely tired of the AI threat breathing down my neck. I thought it would be a "transition role" at worst but looking at the requirements, they are NEVER giving people a chance without experience so yeah, nope.

I seriously considered going into marketing at one point. I even applied to some roles but didn’t really get responses, which already made me question things. But beyond that, I have a few concerns about marketing:

\* It feels very KPI driven, like you are constantly expected to prove your value in numbers

\* That kind of pressure makes me anxious long term

\* I’m also worried about how AI might affect marketing roles in the future, especially content related work

\* People say you usually hit a ceiling in terms of money

\* There seems to be a constant AI-tools race in this field and that sounds tiring.

However, I'm a creative person so I thought with my languages background (Translation Studies), this sort of made sense. I did bits of marketing stuff in my content editor role but nothing huge and most of it wasn't even taken seriously.

Anyway, supply chain feels like a more stable and structured option. I’m even thinking about doing a master’s in supply chain/logistics to transition into the field. I know Excel pretty well and have a basic level of SQL, python knowledge. I'm aiming for analytical roles (Thought the same for marketing, but then creativity doesn't matter so what's the point?)

I don't enjoy coding too much but I enjoy communication and operational work.

But I still have doubts:

\* I hear mixed things about work life balance. Some say it’s okay, others say it can be stressful with constant issues and deadlines (I value my work-life balance A LOT so this is a huge worry of mine, though heard that the analytical roles are better in terms of that?)

\* I’m not sure if I actually like the field or if I just like the idea of stability. Does it matter in the age of AI anyway?

\* Since I’m starting from scratch, I’m worried I might be late compared to others

\* The industry was booming before I considered it and NOW people are complaining. All of a sudden, it's hard to find jobs and AI is apparently making it's way into this field as well. I'm seriously TIRED of getting anxious because of AI!

\* I'm kind of an anxious person unfortunately but I'm also really patient. I understand if someone is mad, it doesn't make me lose my mind. I don't have people pleasing tendencies either. Is this still a fit or is anxiety still an issue?

I guess I’m trying to find a balance between stability, reasonable stress levels, and future safety overall. I'm so scared of making the wrong choice and the indecisiveness is getting ridiculous at this point, I'm almost 25!

Would really appreciate honest advice, I feel extremely stuck (but be kind please haha) 🙏

reddit.com
u/Altofthedepressed — 10 days ago

It seems like every career path has major pros and cons so I guess it comes down to choosing your hard, then which one would you choose and why?

  1. Stable but soul crushing

  2. Difficult but good pay

  3. Competitive but plenty of jobs

  4. Easy but low pay

  5. Niche but high chance of employment when the time comes

  6. Physically demanding but AI safe

  7. Great benefits but needs a lot of patience with people

  8. Fun but AI risk

These are the categories in mind. What's your plan and which one does it fit into? Why did you choose that hard?

Right now I'm stuck choosing between 1 (supply chain), 3 (marketing - analytical side), 4 (language jobs or teaching) and maybe 8 (marketing - creative side).

reddit.com
u/Altofthedepressed — 14 days ago

This was originally a comment but I decided to make a post.

I just wanna say, don't feel bad. You did your best. The system failed all of us. It's a combination of AI, offshoring and no training on the job.

Gotta choose a career that won't get replaced by AI and won't be offshored with constant layoffs, and you have to be smart enough that you don't require training at all.

I don't think it's that we don't know ourselves or something else. We literally can't do ANYTHING right nowadays. Healthcare is the only field that's kind of comfortable (even that varies) but you gotta be okay with everything that comes with it. If you don't have insane memorization skills and can't handle blood, forget about it.

Engineering? Again, gotta be insanely smart and have great ambition or else you will be left behind. Good luck if you have zero interest.

Blue collar? Hope you retire early cause your body won't handle that shit much longer. Oh, you're a woman? Prepare to get harassed. You won't even feel safe for most.

The struggle is, there's nothing for the normal folk anymore. You gotta be an extreme of some sort. I used to not give a shit about my career. I felt safe, thought I could explore a bit and all that youth BS. I'm not a genius, robot or leader. I just wanna be NORMAL.

But no, I have to be in constant fear now. My survival depends on a BS corporate job. Fuck this.

I also don't want any "no you're smart and capable, trust" comments. I deserve basic rights EVEN if I'm not worth a lot in the eyes of society. Maybe some of us never gave that much of a shit, maybe some of us wanted a balanced life. I don't have to be perfect nor do I want to be. It's just expected from me.

reddit.com
u/Altofthedepressed — 16 days ago