Lately, I’ve been thinking about something that’s probably on a lot of our minds—especially with how things are right now.
The job market feels… off.
You apply to roles and get no response.
Entry-level jobs ask for experience.
Even skilled people are struggling to land something stable.
At the same time, everywhere online you see:
- People making money through side hustles
- People building in public
- People “figuring it out”
And it makes you wonder:
What’s actually real—and what’s just noise?
So here’s what I’m curious about:
If you could go back to your early 20s (or if you’re in them right now):
💼 Career & Jobs
- How hard was it really to get your first good job?
- What did you do that actually worked?
- What turned out to be a waste of time?
💰 Making Money Early
- Did you rely only on a job, or did you try other things?
- What side income worked for you (if any)?
- What advice would you give someone trying to earn their first ₹5K–₹10K online?
🧠 Skills vs Degrees
- Did your degree actually help you?
- Or were skills/projects more important in the long run?
📈 Side Hustles & Experiments
- What’s one thing you tried that failed but taught you a lot?
- What’s one thing that surprisingly worked?
⏳ Early Retirement / Financial Freedom
- Did you think about it in your 20s?
- If someone wants to retire early, what should they start doing right now?
Why I’m asking this
I feel like there’s a gap between:
- What we’re told to do
- And what actually works in real life
And honestly, it’s hard to tell which path is worth investing time in.
So instead of guessing, I’d rather hear from people who’ve:
- Been through it
- Tried things
- Failed, learned, and figured stuff out
Would really appreciate your perspective 🙌
Even if it’s just one lesson or mistake—drop it below.
I think a lot of people (including me) could learn from real experiences more than generic advice.
Top comments (3)
Now,I am just in my 20s.
At different stages, everybody's thoughts will change, this change may be a good or a bad change, but first and foremost, from my own perspective, all of these experiences are all worthy of going through.
because the life that what i think consists of many experience whatever it is happy or bad, yes, happy and cater for our thoughts is good, but if it is not happy or it makes you feel unconfortable, but this is all the law of the environment, we should not go back to change it, it is not a good idea, what we can do to make ourselves better is to do the things we want to do right now, do not leave the pities in this real time.
All in all, i think we should live in real time, just enjoy the real time, do what we can do now to make our life better.
Live in the moment! Lift your head, happiness is in the present moment！💓
Hey, I really like your perspective on this—especially the idea that every experience, good or bad, is worth going through. That’s something a lot of people don’t fully understand until much later.
I also agree with what you said about living in the present. It’s easy to get stuck thinking about the past or worrying about the future, but actually taking action now is what really shapes things.
At the same time, I think it’s interesting how those uncomfortable or difficult moments often end up teaching us the most. Like you said, they’re part of the environment—we can’t always change them, but we can grow through them.
Would love to stay connected and hear more of your thoughts on this—feel free to connect 🙂
This hit hard. I’m in my early 20s right now and the job market part is 100% real. I’ve applied to so many roles and most of them don’t even respond.
I’m starting to feel like building projects matters way more than just applying. Curious—has anyone here actually landed a job through projects alone?