I know this isn't the best sub to ask, but I feel as if people usually offer concise advice.
I am a 24-year-old girl about to finish my first semester of college, and I reside in the southeast U.S. I'm currently at a community college, just getting my gen eds done. I am rather aimless and don't really feel super passionate about anything, and anything I am interested in, I fear won't be viable once I finish college (i.e, the arts). I have a deep-seated fear of AI, of going to college, getting my degree, and winding up doing something I hate or being stuck in the same service industry job as before because my degree is rendered useless. I worked in a metal shop around four years ago, and did some stuff with fiber optics two-ish years ago.
I am thinking about picking up welding. I know the South is awash with welders, and I am willing to relocate once I finish school. Financially, I have felt like I have been drowning. Where I am, the cost of living is extremely high, and the locals are left to die when it is no longer tourist season. Just taking a pulse to see if anyone has success stories about switching to a trade? I am in a bit of a crisis mode today over it, and I worry that I will not accomplish anything and will be financially unstable for the next 2-4 years if I stick with a non-specialized academic program.