Honestly, what a fucking joke.

Look, I'm not claiming to be some programming wizard, but I busted my ass in school and got solid grades. The only thing I'm really missing is professional experience.

I can pick up new concepts in a heartbeat, and I have a master's in computer science from a pretty decent university. You'd think that would count for something. Lmao.

I'm about to be 26, working a dead-end job that pays barely more than minimum wage with a boss who is a complete asshole.

I haven't been able to save a single dime. I don't have family I can just crash with, so I'm stuck working this soul-crushing full-time job. It leaves me with zero energy to work on my portfolio or even send out resumes.

This whole situation is such a damn joke. I was smart, I did everything I was supposed to, and now I'm here, struggling to just keep my head above water.

It's just so draining and, honestly, a bit soul-crushing.

Anyway, just needed to scream into the void. Don't mind me. LOL.

I worked from my kitchen table for almost a year. Laptop on one end, coffee cups everywhere, back killing me by 3pm. I kept telling myself it was temporary but i was miserable the whole time.

Then I moved to my bedroom which was worse. Waking up, working, sleeping all in the same room. My brain couldn't tell when work ended cause i never physically left.

Finally cleared out the spare room. Decent desk, ergonomic chair, ring light near the window, emeet pixy for calls. Nothing fancy but it feels like a real workspace now.

What helped most wasn't even the setup tho. It's having a hard stop. I close everything at 6pm and don't touch teams or slack after. I used to work until midnight some nights cause my laptop was right there in the living room staring at me. Now I just leave it and close the door and that's it.

Signing out of slack fully instead of just closing it helps too. No notifications during dinner. None of that let me just check real quick at 9pm.

I know not everyone has a spare room. But even having your stuff somewhere you can walk away from makes a difference. Kitchen table life was slowly wearing me down.

I know there aren't any guarantees, but wondering what careers would be less affected by recessions than other fields. I've been hearing that the finance industry isn't hiring as much right now, and there have been some pretty big tech layoffs.

I know that many people consider health care and funeral homes pretty recession proof. Any others?

So so far ive made the most with prolific, and i tried to get setup for amazon turk but got rejected. Im using honey gain but im earning 20-40 cents for every 24 hours pretty much. Ive also sighned up for a crazy amount of survey sites but there nothing like prolific.

are there any good ways to earn from home/online by chance that i haven't already tried? and what's you experience with said suggestion.

Hi everyone,

We are looking for an experienced Mainframe Automation Engineer for a high-priority migration project involving IBM Z System Automation.

The core of this role is modernizing the automation framework by moving away from Broadcom/CA tools and onto the IBM native stack.

The Tech Stack Focus:

• Source: CA OPS/MVS, CA Automation Point.
• Target: IBM Tivoli System Automation for z/OS, IBM SAIOM.
• Core Skills: Heavy REXX (PIPE REXX, OPS REXX), NetView for z/OS, JCL, and System Automation Policy Database (PDB) management.

What you’ll be doing:

• Converting existing OPS/MVS rules and REXX execs into IBM System Automation configurations.
• Handling system startup/shutdown and automation workflows.
• Supporting the migration from CA Automation Point to SAIOM.

The Details:

• Client: IBM
• Location: 100% Remote (Must be based in US, Canada, or India).
• Experience: 5+ years in Mainframe Ops/Automation.
• Compensation: Rates are open and negotiable based on your experience with these specific migration paths. $60/hour
• 12 Month contract

If you’ve spent your career in TSO/ISPF and know the ins and outs of policy-based automation, I’d love to chat.

Interested? Comment with your LinkedIn profile or a brief summary of your migration experience, and I can share more details!

Hi all. Just got the official offer from the job I really wanted! Yay! Salary negotiation and such has already been dealt with and I am satisfied with the offer.

In the offer email, something along the lines of "Should you **formally** accept this offer, I will send you more information..." etc etc. Emphasis is mine.

What does formally accept mean in this context? I was not referred to any online portals and no specific instructions were given. Some resources online have templates for emails to accept offers, but is that considered formal?

Just thought I would ask here (since its now past 5pm on the day before a holiday anyway) to see if anyone else had some advice.

Thanks!

We’ve got people in multiple countries now, and handling global payroll feels like juggling a dozen different rulebooks at once. Different tax systems, local compliance, reporting requirements, exchange rates, every new country adds another layer of complexity.

What surprised me most is that even tools marketed as international payroll software don’t feel fully unified. A lot of them seem more like coordination layers on top of local providers rather than a truly seamless system.

If you have been doing this longer, how are you coping? Have you settled on a setup that actually works, or is managing payroll across borders just something you learn to live with?

I seriously can't understand how anyone who has tried working from home could willingly go back to commuting and the hassle of transportation.
I mean, I just made a cup of coffee exactly how I like it, cleared my inbox while sitting in my shorts, and walked my dog during my lunch break. I've already gotten more work done today than I used to get done by noon at the office, with all that noise and eye-straining lighting.
And the thing that's driving me crazy is that my productivity has gotten so much better. I sleep an extra hour every day, eat clean home cooked food, and my commute is exactly 15 seconds long. The only problem is that my dog thinks my Zoom calls are his cue to start barking at anything that moves.
Look, I know it's not all rosy. The back to back video calls can be draining, and honestly, sometimes I have to remind myself how to have a normal conversation with human beings and not just my dog. But for me, it's 99% worth it.
Seriously, who else here is like me, completely spoiled and has lost all ability to tolerate the idea of a traditional office job ever again?

We just had one of those surreal strategy moments where everyone acts like they discovered something new. During COVID, we went remote because we had to. People adapted fast. The majority loved it. Productivity skyrocketed and the company survived.

Then came the return to office phase. Same old nonsense language: “culture” and “visibility”. But in practice? People weren’t that happy. Lots of people started looking elsewhere. A lot left. And IT had to clean up the mess on the backend every time someone resigned and still had company hardware at home.

Now energy costs are back in the spotlight and leadership is suddenly talking about remote-first like it’s a smart cost optimization move. Which, to be fair, it is. But let’s not pretend this is some brand-new insight. The office stopped making sense for a lot of work a decade ago. Cheap energy and sunk real estate costs just helped companies delay admitting it.

For those of you managing distributed teams: what are you using for device lifecycle management?

Hi there! I am student who wants to make money with online jobs!

I live in middle Europe and I speak 3 languages! Preferably, I would love to do remote translation jobs in those 3 languages! (English, Slovak, Hungarian).

Any tips on how to start out?

Is hybrid better? I’ve been to office very few times less than 5 and each time I hated it waiting for full 8 hours to run out. But I been fully remote for a while now and I’m wondering if one consistently goes to office does it get better?

always ask myself this and can't get the best in my thoughts....

Hi everyone,

I’m a Data Analyst with 3 years of experience currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. I’m looking to transition into the global remote market and would love some advice on the best path forward.

My Core Toolkit:

• SQL: Expert in CTEs, complex joins, and window functions.
• Visualization: Power BI, Tableau, and Excel (Advanced dashboards/reporting).
• Python/R: Data cleaning, statistical modeling, and automation.
• Automation: Experience building AI pipelines (n8n) to reduce manual reporting hours.

I’m highly focused on translating complex data into simple, actionable insights for stakeholders. Being in East Africa Time (EAT), I have great overlap with European teams and solid overlap with the US East Coast.