I graduated college when I was 30, with a philosophy degree major and anthropology minor. I went to college not knowing what I wanted to do and fell in love with philosophy. I knew it wasn’t going to be very profitable but I rationalized it to myself that I could get some IT certifications and then make some money after I get that sheep skin. I had originally moved out with a girlfriend that didn’t pan out when I was 23. So for seven years I hadn’t lived with my parents. I don’t drive either (bad eyesight worried I’ll kill someone) so things are a little more difficult for me than others. So after I graduated I moved back home which wasn’t horrible at first. But I ended up getting a job at TWC as a tech phone rep (lvl 3). I took and kept the job because I needed the money, to pay off my student loans. I ended up being “stuck” there for three years. They were some of the worst years of my life. For the first year I wanted to kill myself. It was humiliating living back with my parents at 30 when my brother got married and him and his wife make 100k / year each. I felt worthless, that my degree was worthless, and I should just find a nice wood chipper and hop in. But I realized I could be homeless if I wanted to. That I didn’t have to kill myself to escape. Which after reading all these comments about moving to SE Asia as an English teacher (berate my grammar now) for a living makes me think that I tend to lean towards fatalism, and that I can be wrong and there is hope. It was liberating to know that I wasn’t chained to this, that I had chained myself through the belief that this was a mandatory sentence. I knew it was the smartest choice at the time though so I kept at it till I found something better. Best thing that came out of college? Talked to some guy in my class about WoW. He was a really cool guy and through that friendship he pulled me from TWC to a company that is 99999999999.99% better to work for. I’m in IT with decent pay and sub decent benefits. But I’m happy. My life is better now than it has ever been in the past. And its not THAT amazing, but in retrospect its like being freed from a POW camp. I know this doesn’t exactly fit OPs criteria, but I see a lot of people in this thread who seem just as hopeless as I was. Just as desperate to escape the rut of doing what you hate every day. About maybe not caring about what others think of you but realizing that you can do more than taking phone calls or frying chicken or whatever is your current prison. I hate to tell you there is hope if you can just hold on to the ride for a little longer (because it sounds sappy) but you can. I had no hope but I got out, even if it took three years I got out. I also find that I’m more motivated now because I know how bad things could get. And that TWC may not have been that bad and it was my own subjective idea on life and work. I can’t imagine being that sad forever so get some plan together and bust through that wall! I can’t believe I got out but if I had to guess you have better chances than me of escaping your hell.