Woman seeks career advice online
Tech career crisis: A 30-year-old woman working in the tech industry has sparked a wide and emotional response online after sharing her struggles with outdated skills, a career gap, low income, and depression, as per a post on social media. Her post on Reddit’s r/careerguidance community revealed the anxiety, self-doubt, and exhaustion she says now define both her professional and personal life, as shared by user 'Natural-Hour-6739'.
Although she works in tech, most of her experience is with older technologies, and a career gap has made it difficult to get shortlisted by multinational companies, as per the Reddit post. She shared that repeated rejections and silence from recruiters have deeply affected her confidence.
Over time, these professional setbacks have taken a toll on her mental health. She described struggling with depression, low motivation, constant self-doubt, and mental exhaustion.
She said, "I genuinely want to improve my situation, upskill, and build a stable and well-paying career, but I feel stuck and unsure about the right direction, what skills to focus on, how to overcome the career gap, and whether it’s too late to turn things around. The pressure of age, finances, and expectations is heavy, and I’m struggling both mentally and professionally," as per the Reddit post.
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Others echoed that message, noting how improving daily routines and mental health helped them regain energy and confidence. Several commenters emphasized that 30 is not too late to pivot or rebuild, sharing stories of career changes, recovery from addiction, or starting over financially in their 30s and 40s.
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Many shared encouragement and their own stories of starting over.
What kind of advice did she receive?
Focus on self-care, skill-building, and taking small steps forward.
Woman techie with outdated skills seeks help on Reddit
In her post, the woman explained that she does not want to get married but feels constant pressure about whether she will ever be able to “settle” in life. She said she earns very little, has no savings, and feels she has “failed somewhere along the way.”Repeated job rejections take a toll on mental health
Although she works in tech, most of her experience is with older technologies, and a career gap has made it difficult to get shortlisted by multinational companies, as per the Reddit post. She shared that repeated rejections and silence from recruiters have deeply affected her confidence.
Over time, these professional setbacks have taken a toll on her mental health. She described struggling with depression, low motivation, constant self-doubt, and mental exhaustion.
She said, "I genuinely want to improve my situation, upskill, and build a stable and well-paying career, but I feel stuck and unsure about the right direction, what skills to focus on, how to overcome the career gap, and whether it’s too late to turn things around. The pressure of age, finances, and expectations is heavy, and I’m struggling both mentally and professionally," as per the Reddit post.
Also read: No raise, no promotion: Burned-out employee seeks help — advice becomes a lesson for many
Reddit users share personal stories of starting over
Natural-Hour-6739's post resonated with many readers. Dozens of people responded, sharing their own experiences of starting over later in life and offering encouragement. One commenter, who said that he is now 48 years, described rebuilding his life after divorce and career disruption in his early 40s, eventually transitioning into nursing and significantly increasing his income.Self-care seen as key to career recovery
His advice focused on addressing basic needs first, sleep, exercise, food, social connection, and time in nature, before tackling major career changes, and added that, "From there, you can launch into anything. Assess your strengths and play to them. Assess your weaknesses and decide if it's worth it to shore them up and remediate."Others echoed that message, noting how improving daily routines and mental health helped them regain energy and confidence. Several commenters emphasized that 30 is not too late to pivot or rebuild, sharing stories of career changes, recovery from addiction, or starting over financially in their 30s and 40s.
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Focus on upskilling and real-world projects
Some encouraged the Reddit user to use her available free time to learn new skills and work on personal projects to strengthen her resume. Others suggested adding a “projects” section to showcase recent work or looking for roles in industries where older technologies are still widely used. Employment gaps, some said, matter less when candidates can demonstrate hands-on skills and consistent effort.Rebuilding career
One commenter even advised her to start something of her own, "Build something, ship it, put it online, monetize with ads or subscriptions. Know your market, build a funnel. Collect leads, talk to people. There is no better story to tell, then how your earnings are growing, but how you love to help someone else's company succeed too. Gatekeepers don't care about titles, when you ship and have users or even customers."FAQs
How did people respond to her post?Many shared encouragement and their own stories of starting over.
What kind of advice did she receive?
Focus on self-care, skill-building, and taking small steps forward.
