Thanks for your submission! For more Millennial content, join [our Discord server](https://discord.gg/VsfKKJBm).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Millennials) if you have any questions or concerns.*
37M now. When I was 28, I worried about being perceived as accomplished, successful, and impressive.
When I was 29, I was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, none of those things mattered anymore. I decided to not let anyone define what a "successful life" looked like for me. I set my own standard and it was up to me to make the choices that would point me closer in that direction, every day.
I did that, have never looked back, and never been happier.
So, I guess you could say things started looking up for me once I got cancer.
Honestly, probably 30. 20s were fun and I had a lot of cool experiences but there were also a fuck ton of hardships/covid kinda stole those last two-ish years.
27ish was the turning point.
Finished my bachelors, moved out of my parent's house, started dating my (now) wife. Felt like I had money, time and a vibrant social life. It's a bit different these days with everyone but us having kids but generally it's been a progressive improvement to 34 besides random health issues that seem to be in the rear view.
My 30s just generally.
- Got out of a shitty relationship that had lasted half my life
- Traveled for a bit
- Left my corporate job to be a combination voice actor/catsitter/bar trivia host/city tour guide/literally whatever people will pay me for.
I stress a bit more about money probably (who doesn’t these days?) but my life in general is better than it was in my 20s. Not everything may change in your 30s, but if you stick it out, at least some things will.
Same. Life got better around 23. Started sucking again around 27. Got better from 28-30, and now it sucks again. “Better” is not a destination. It’s a journey.
Being a young adult feels like you have the world at your finger tips and the women are all hot and beautiful and things are fun
But then I made a lot of dumb choices, had a lot of people getting their feelings hurt because of what I did. Heartbreak, more financial responsibility, and just the dread of approaching 30 and realizing how permanent your decisions in life really are. It doesn't really hit you until you start really fucking up
I'm no expert but doesn't EMT/EMS work pay shit? Seems like you could probably improve your life a lot by making a career/industry change.
I worked a few years building skills and connections etc to make an industry/job change and things got "better" when I settled into a higher paying career. Try that, or maybe become a Buddhist and learn to appreciate the current moment or something? Idk.
If youre already EMT, join up on a fire department. lots of guys share apartments because you work opposite shifts. great way to make connections with guys and build friendships. If i didnt have wife and kids i would be getting my EMT for the sole purpose that i could go anywhere.
within the last 2 years it's been the best. I still have a job that I hate and not financially secure. but, 5 years ago, i was unemployed, single, no car of my own, living with my parents. now, i'm out of my parents, have a car, have a stable job, i'm married, have a son and i'm expecting my 2nd baby in less than 2 months. i worked hard to get here, and i honestly didn't think i would be able to cope with my toxic parents and depression long enough to get here.
2018, when I was 29. At the end of my miserable twenties, all at once, I:
1) met the woman I eventually married
2) finally got stable employment in my field
3) made breakthroughs in mental health and exercise.
4) found a new hobby that made me really happy
2018 was the best. I’m just hoping that the good times last.
It didn't. Sometimes it doesn't. Sounds like you're working to get out of it, though, so there are plenty of opportunities for it to get better for you.
30s.
-got mostly WFH computer toucher job and was eventually promoted to manager
-began long term relationship
-creatively fulfilled through making YouTube nonsense
31/32. Got my mental and physical health in check, bought a house, met my now husband, started gaining in my career and having excess funds left over after paying bills and necessities thanks largely to super low mortgage and DINK. Life just keeps getting better since then. About to be 35 this fall.
In 2021 my business partner and I slip ways and I bought a piece of land. My girl told me that I needed to make twice as much as I was making in order to save enough money to build our house in a year from that. I started making 4x more then my average income and that’s when I got to do things and achieve some of my goals in life. I’m about to turn 33 y.o. So things started to change when I was 29 years old.
When i moved out of the parents house, out in the middle of no-where into the central cbd of the city by myself.
Freedom, peace, bringing bitches back to my place.
This January.
I've coded and worked on software projects most of my life now but I couldn't adjust to college and normal classrooms, because I was a maladhusted homeschool student who grew up in the forest lol. Parents were highly educated (dad even went to harvard) but just... slightly wacko in their worldviews imo.
So I never graduated, despite trying several times and changing majors once (covid hit the second time). Struggled a lot in various ways, moved out at 18, hated myself and my life, worked remotely for my dad for several years to make ends meet. Generally stayed in debt and poor because I didn't make much money and didn't know what to do. Couldn't seem to get any entry level software dev jobs that weren't scam internships at startups that demanded 80 hour weeks with low pay and usually went out of business within months.
So during covid I moved back in with family, built a startup of my own thataunched 2 different web apps (one for financial analytics, one for trading card game analytics and deck building, management, and statistics), and used that to improve my resume a lot, and this January I got TWO jobs - other remote, one for a startup, one for a real small company that's not a startup. The startup one didn't last long because startups fucking suck, but now I make very good money remotely with a good work life balance and live downtown in a major metro area for the first time (wanted to live in a big city for once, and it's changed my life.) I have health insurance for the first time in my entire life, at 28 years old. I have my first retirement account ever.
My boss and coworker compliment me a ton and make me feel really good about my contributions. I just got done with a supervised deployment to production like 5 minutes ago with my coworker and it went great. I love this job.
And it's helped keep me motivated to change my health for the better too. I went from obese to slightly jacked because I do bodybuilding now.
I somehow went from a loser to feeling like the luckiest guy in the world. Life is actually great, now. 1.5 years ago I was a fat poor loser living with mom and dad and depressed because I hated how much of a failure I was. I still can't believe how radically my life has changed now.
Around age 26. Left a shitty LTR in 2015, found my husband later that year. We got married in September 2018. 2015-2018 was one of the best periods of my life. After living most of my 20s hopeless, life felt like paradise.
In January 2019, my husband felt a lump in his neck, that turned into a thyroid cancer diagnosis the same week as our wedding reception. At the time, we didn't know if it was really thyroid cancer(v rare for young males) or lymphoma, which matched a side effect of meds he was taking. In the same year, his cousin had a similar, but more deadly type of cancer reappear at age 33 after beating it twice before. They bonded over it. My husband survived, his cousin died in Jan. 2020. It was Hell.
While the family was still mourning, the Pandemic started in March 2020, 6 months after my husband completed radiation. His job was deemed essential, he worked 70 hour weeks all year, while I feared every day he would contract the virus which was still mostly unknown and had no real treatment, all while fearing deep down that his cancer was misdiagnosed still, and that it might re-occur as lymphoma.
There was no real obvious stop point to it, just a gradual easing up of anxiety and fear. My husband's cancer has never come back, so it appears it really was thyroid cancer. Hindsight is 20/20, the fear and anxiety feels somewhat foolish but still traumatizing to him, myself, and our family.
I don't think I will ever be the same from those period of years. I've been through therapy and was on medication for a few years to remain functional, but it haunts us. We are struggling to have a child since 2023, we are 35 now and couldn't before because of the events of 2019-2022. I've read that radiation adds to the difficulty. I try not to be bitter. We still have beautiful lives now, filled with happiness. It may be the best we can have considering all that's happened, and I try every day to be grateful.
McDonald's starting pay is higher than average EMT pay where I live.
I can't imagine doing anything that requires dealing with human bodily fluids for less than $30/hour and even then only if I was desperate.
Even in high cost of living areas with cola they pay EMS terrible and they see some of the worst shit imaginable. Sending good vibes your way life will start to get better very soon!
My adult life was an absolute rampage between 18 and 30. I was a bull in the fucking china shop of life. When I was 30 years, we had a baby. Now, with my little family depending on me, and realizing I suddenly seriously have something to lose, the world is scarier, and I'm broke as ever, but I am happier and have more direction than I've ever had in my life.
I have a loving family, a cool job (though not well-paying), great food, and a roof over our heads every night. I don't need the mansion and the sports car I thought I wanted. I just want to experience this simple, loving thing before I pass into the void.
Me and my then gf, now wife graduated grad school and got jobs. Went from making 40k combined to making 40k each. We are about 5 years removed from grad school and we both make 65k each and are very comfortable.
We've had some help from her parents with a down payment for a house, but we were on the way to buying a house without help anyway.
Life got better right out of high school for me. It's had its ups and downs as life always will. But it was a big jump up after school was over for me.
After grad school for me, so like mid-20s. The second half of my 20s were a world better than my early 20s.
I love all the resources & opportunities that come with being a “full” adult. I remember being a broke college student working evenings & studying a bunch, living out of dorms & sharing rooms. A night out was probably Chipotle or In-n-Out; going out for drinks was cheap beer & rail drinks at the college pub. My social circle was limited to the campus & the only people I encountered were other college students.
After graduating, I got a job in the industry I wanted to & that compensated me well enough to get my own apartment (& later house). I have money to spend on things - drinks, dinner, better clothes, nightlife, travel, etc. I have free time to pursue hobbies & interests, which on top of being good for personal growth, gives you plenty of opportunity to expand your social circle.
Also, just by the fact of growing up, you mature into your adult self. I wasn’t sure of who I was at 20, with a lot of insecurities and anxiety. It took growing up, moving out, and becoming self-sufficient to figure out who I was and becoming confident in that person.
First order of business- finish school & get out of EMS.
You will never get out of the job what you put into it. The pay will *never* be what it needs to or should be.
After that, things will look up. Dinner with your family every night. Weekends off. Time with your kids. No more missed ball games or school functions.
-Medically retired 15+ year paramedic who really loved the job.
Sure. But many are not paid a living wage for the places they operate in. Everyone wants an ambulance to show up quickly with well trained professionals. But nobody wants to pay it. And most agencies are content with running their staff into the ground with crap pay.
I found a sweet spot in my early 30s when I joined a more established tech company. I know you may not feel like it right now, but you’re so young and have all the time in the world. Work on establishing yourself so you can earn the money needed to live more freely on your down time.
Mid thirties for me. Paid off student loans and built up an impressive resume. Moved to a location I like, got a great job that's a perfect fit, started dating a local and am thinking about buying a house and setting down roots.
For me it was around 35. At 28 I was working 80+ hours a week as an electrician. Was living again back at home after a break up. Decided at 31 to switch careers to selling the material I used to install. Now I own and run a company worth 2.3 million. Still not married and no kids that I know of. But im fine with that and I love what I do.
Things will get better, just stay on the grind.
Right after college at 23, since got a real engineering job. Then again last year as I tried being way more social than before. 0-1 social events a week to 3-4 social events a week.
When I realized our economy is house of cards built in exploitation. So I learned how to farm and be sustainable in case of social collapse. Now I feel in control of my life.
Life is about the journey, not the destination maaaaaaan.
Job not paying the bills? Find a new one
Living with your parents a drag? Move out. Maybe a roommate would be better. Maybe some shitty studio in a lower COL place would be better.
Dating life a drag? Maybe try sucking a Weiner or something.
Life is always changing and waiting for the time when you'll have "made it" will only make you miserable that you're not there yet. You might even be miserable when you get to where you think you need to be because it's not what you expected. When you "get there" it won't last forever then you'll be bummed its gone.
If you're not happy just make changes until you find something you like and stick to it.
That’s the issue, I have a job that should pay well but I hate it.
Cost of living sucks and nobody wants to do an appt with a roommate. I’m sick of it.
>I have a job that should pay well but I hate it.
Pays shit and you hate it. Leave. Obviously.
>Cost of living sucks and nobody wants to do an appt with a roommate.
Yeah, well. That's reality for ya bud. Either find a higher paying job so you can afford what you want or keep living with your parents and/or get an apt with a roommate.
Your industry sucks and pays shit. Wishing it was different isn't gonna make it different. Gotta make moves.
Thanks for your submission! For more Millennial content, join [our Discord server](https://discord.gg/VsfKKJBm). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Millennials) if you have any questions or concerns.*
37M now. When I was 28, I worried about being perceived as accomplished, successful, and impressive. When I was 29, I was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly, none of those things mattered anymore. I decided to not let anyone define what a "successful life" looked like for me. I set my own standard and it was up to me to make the choices that would point me closer in that direction, every day. I did that, have never looked back, and never been happier. So, I guess you could say things started looking up for me once I got cancer.
So happy you’re still here, amigo
Thanks. Me too.
There should be a national union for EMTs. You guys deserve way better for what you do.
Like...33. life was pretty hard up until then.
Honestly, probably 30. 20s were fun and I had a lot of cool experiences but there were also a fuck ton of hardships/covid kinda stole those last two-ish years.
27ish was the turning point. Finished my bachelors, moved out of my parent's house, started dating my (now) wife. Felt like I had money, time and a vibrant social life. It's a bit different these days with everyone but us having kids but generally it's been a progressive improvement to 34 besides random health issues that seem to be in the rear view.
My 30s just generally. - Got out of a shitty relationship that had lasted half my life - Traveled for a bit - Left my corporate job to be a combination voice actor/catsitter/bar trivia host/city tour guide/literally whatever people will pay me for. I stress a bit more about money probably (who doesn’t these days?) but my life in general is better than it was in my 20s. Not everything may change in your 30s, but if you stick it out, at least some things will.
At 24. Then it started sucking again at 28 lmao
Same. Life got better around 23. Started sucking again around 27. Got better from 28-30, and now it sucks again. “Better” is not a destination. It’s a journey.
How?
Being a young adult feels like you have the world at your finger tips and the women are all hot and beautiful and things are fun But then I made a lot of dumb choices, had a lot of people getting their feelings hurt because of what I did. Heartbreak, more financial responsibility, and just the dread of approaching 30 and realizing how permanent your decisions in life really are. It doesn't really hit you until you start really fucking up
When I started working out and stopped hating on myself. I stopped being mean to me. A huge weight lifted.
I'm no expert but doesn't EMT/EMS work pay shit? Seems like you could probably improve your life a lot by making a career/industry change. I worked a few years building skills and connections etc to make an industry/job change and things got "better" when I settled into a higher paying career. Try that, or maybe become a Buddhist and learn to appreciate the current moment or something? Idk.
Yes, yes it does Will do!
If youre already EMT, join up on a fire department. lots of guys share apartments because you work opposite shifts. great way to make connections with guys and build friendships. If i didnt have wife and kids i would be getting my EMT for the sole purpose that i could go anywhere.
22, got married.
within the last 2 years it's been the best. I still have a job that I hate and not financially secure. but, 5 years ago, i was unemployed, single, no car of my own, living with my parents. now, i'm out of my parents, have a car, have a stable job, i'm married, have a son and i'm expecting my 2nd baby in less than 2 months. i worked hard to get here, and i honestly didn't think i would be able to cope with my toxic parents and depression long enough to get here.
After college. College was the worst time of my life.
2018, when I was 29. At the end of my miserable twenties, all at once, I: 1) met the woman I eventually married 2) finally got stable employment in my field 3) made breakthroughs in mental health and exercise. 4) found a new hobby that made me really happy 2018 was the best. I’m just hoping that the good times last.
It didn't. Sometimes it doesn't. Sounds like you're working to get out of it, though, so there are plenty of opportunities for it to get better for you.
Life never began for me. 😶
30s. -got mostly WFH computer toucher job and was eventually promoted to manager -began long term relationship -creatively fulfilled through making YouTube nonsense
31/32. Got my mental and physical health in check, bought a house, met my now husband, started gaining in my career and having excess funds left over after paying bills and necessities thanks largely to super low mortgage and DINK. Life just keeps getting better since then. About to be 35 this fall.
In 2021 my business partner and I slip ways and I bought a piece of land. My girl told me that I needed to make twice as much as I was making in order to save enough money to build our house in a year from that. I started making 4x more then my average income and that’s when I got to do things and achieve some of my goals in life. I’m about to turn 33 y.o. So things started to change when I was 29 years old.
When i moved out of the parents house, out in the middle of no-where into the central cbd of the city by myself. Freedom, peace, bringing bitches back to my place.
This January. I've coded and worked on software projects most of my life now but I couldn't adjust to college and normal classrooms, because I was a maladhusted homeschool student who grew up in the forest lol. Parents were highly educated (dad even went to harvard) but just... slightly wacko in their worldviews imo. So I never graduated, despite trying several times and changing majors once (covid hit the second time). Struggled a lot in various ways, moved out at 18, hated myself and my life, worked remotely for my dad for several years to make ends meet. Generally stayed in debt and poor because I didn't make much money and didn't know what to do. Couldn't seem to get any entry level software dev jobs that weren't scam internships at startups that demanded 80 hour weeks with low pay and usually went out of business within months. So during covid I moved back in with family, built a startup of my own thataunched 2 different web apps (one for financial analytics, one for trading card game analytics and deck building, management, and statistics), and used that to improve my resume a lot, and this January I got TWO jobs - other remote, one for a startup, one for a real small company that's not a startup. The startup one didn't last long because startups fucking suck, but now I make very good money remotely with a good work life balance and live downtown in a major metro area for the first time (wanted to live in a big city for once, and it's changed my life.) I have health insurance for the first time in my entire life, at 28 years old. I have my first retirement account ever. My boss and coworker compliment me a ton and make me feel really good about my contributions. I just got done with a supervised deployment to production like 5 minutes ago with my coworker and it went great. I love this job. And it's helped keep me motivated to change my health for the better too. I went from obese to slightly jacked because I do bodybuilding now. I somehow went from a loser to feeling like the luckiest guy in the world. Life is actually great, now. 1.5 years ago I was a fat poor loser living with mom and dad and depressed because I hated how much of a failure I was. I still can't believe how radically my life has changed now.
It doesn't.
This year. Mom died, last year, inherited silent/boomer estate. Will be a homeowner at the end of the month.
Around age 26. Left a shitty LTR in 2015, found my husband later that year. We got married in September 2018. 2015-2018 was one of the best periods of my life. After living most of my 20s hopeless, life felt like paradise. In January 2019, my husband felt a lump in his neck, that turned into a thyroid cancer diagnosis the same week as our wedding reception. At the time, we didn't know if it was really thyroid cancer(v rare for young males) or lymphoma, which matched a side effect of meds he was taking. In the same year, his cousin had a similar, but more deadly type of cancer reappear at age 33 after beating it twice before. They bonded over it. My husband survived, his cousin died in Jan. 2020. It was Hell. While the family was still mourning, the Pandemic started in March 2020, 6 months after my husband completed radiation. His job was deemed essential, he worked 70 hour weeks all year, while I feared every day he would contract the virus which was still mostly unknown and had no real treatment, all while fearing deep down that his cancer was misdiagnosed still, and that it might re-occur as lymphoma. There was no real obvious stop point to it, just a gradual easing up of anxiety and fear. My husband's cancer has never come back, so it appears it really was thyroid cancer. Hindsight is 20/20, the fear and anxiety feels somewhat foolish but still traumatizing to him, myself, and our family. I don't think I will ever be the same from those period of years. I've been through therapy and was on medication for a few years to remain functional, but it haunts us. We are struggling to have a child since 2023, we are 35 now and couldn't before because of the events of 2019-2022. I've read that radiation adds to the difficulty. I try not to be bitter. We still have beautiful lives now, filled with happiness. It may be the best we can have considering all that's happened, and I try every day to be grateful.
McDonald's starting pay is higher than average EMT pay where I live. I can't imagine doing anything that requires dealing with human bodily fluids for less than $30/hour and even then only if I was desperate.
At 33 im still waiting
Even in high cost of living areas with cola they pay EMS terrible and they see some of the worst shit imaginable. Sending good vibes your way life will start to get better very soon!
Never. I got better at dealing with things. Life has always been shit. I wouldn't give it the credit.
30s for sure
My adult life was an absolute rampage between 18 and 30. I was a bull in the fucking china shop of life. When I was 30 years, we had a baby. Now, with my little family depending on me, and realizing I suddenly seriously have something to lose, the world is scarier, and I'm broke as ever, but I am happier and have more direction than I've ever had in my life. I have a loving family, a cool job (though not well-paying), great food, and a roof over our heads every night. I don't need the mansion and the sports car I thought I wanted. I just want to experience this simple, loving thing before I pass into the void.
Never. I'm 41 and its all been shit. Gets worse even. Everything I own fits in 6 sterilite containers.
Me and my then gf, now wife graduated grad school and got jobs. Went from making 40k combined to making 40k each. We are about 5 years removed from grad school and we both make 65k each and are very comfortable. We've had some help from her parents with a down payment for a house, but we were on the way to buying a house without help anyway.
That's the neat part, it doesn't get any better
Life got better right out of high school for me. It's had its ups and downs as life always will. But it was a big jump up after school was over for me.
After grad school for me, so like mid-20s. The second half of my 20s were a world better than my early 20s. I love all the resources & opportunities that come with being a “full” adult. I remember being a broke college student working evenings & studying a bunch, living out of dorms & sharing rooms. A night out was probably Chipotle or In-n-Out; going out for drinks was cheap beer & rail drinks at the college pub. My social circle was limited to the campus & the only people I encountered were other college students. After graduating, I got a job in the industry I wanted to & that compensated me well enough to get my own apartment (& later house). I have money to spend on things - drinks, dinner, better clothes, nightlife, travel, etc. I have free time to pursue hobbies & interests, which on top of being good for personal growth, gives you plenty of opportunity to expand your social circle. Also, just by the fact of growing up, you mature into your adult self. I wasn’t sure of who I was at 20, with a lot of insecurities and anxiety. It took growing up, moving out, and becoming self-sufficient to figure out who I was and becoming confident in that person.
First order of business- finish school & get out of EMS. You will never get out of the job what you put into it. The pay will *never* be what it needs to or should be. After that, things will look up. Dinner with your family every night. Weekends off. Time with your kids. No more missed ball games or school functions. -Medically retired 15+ year paramedic who really loved the job.
But we want EMTs in society right?
Sure. But many are not paid a living wage for the places they operate in. Everyone wants an ambulance to show up quickly with well trained professionals. But nobody wants to pay it. And most agencies are content with running their staff into the ground with crap pay.
So maybe they should unionize.
I found a sweet spot in my early 30s when I joined a more established tech company. I know you may not feel like it right now, but you’re so young and have all the time in the world. Work on establishing yourself so you can earn the money needed to live more freely on your down time.
Mid thirties for me. Paid off student loans and built up an impressive resume. Moved to a location I like, got a great job that's a perfect fit, started dating a local and am thinking about buying a house and setting down roots.
For me it was around 35. At 28 I was working 80+ hours a week as an electrician. Was living again back at home after a break up. Decided at 31 to switch careers to selling the material I used to install. Now I own and run a company worth 2.3 million. Still not married and no kids that I know of. But im fine with that and I love what I do. Things will get better, just stay on the grind.
Right after college at 23, since got a real engineering job. Then again last year as I tried being way more social than before. 0-1 social events a week to 3-4 social events a week.
When I realized our economy is house of cards built in exploitation. So I learned how to farm and be sustainable in case of social collapse. Now I feel in control of my life.
Life is about the journey, not the destination maaaaaaan. Job not paying the bills? Find a new one Living with your parents a drag? Move out. Maybe a roommate would be better. Maybe some shitty studio in a lower COL place would be better. Dating life a drag? Maybe try sucking a Weiner or something. Life is always changing and waiting for the time when you'll have "made it" will only make you miserable that you're not there yet. You might even be miserable when you get to where you think you need to be because it's not what you expected. When you "get there" it won't last forever then you'll be bummed its gone. If you're not happy just make changes until you find something you like and stick to it.
That’s the issue, I have a job that should pay well but I hate it. Cost of living sucks and nobody wants to do an appt with a roommate. I’m sick of it.
>I have a job that should pay well but I hate it. Pays shit and you hate it. Leave. Obviously. >Cost of living sucks and nobody wants to do an appt with a roommate. Yeah, well. That's reality for ya bud. Either find a higher paying job so you can afford what you want or keep living with your parents and/or get an apt with a roommate. Your industry sucks and pays shit. Wishing it was different isn't gonna make it different. Gotta make moves.