Opinion: A 33-year-old's uncertain path

The feeling of stagnation and unease is understandable when your career path is full of unexpected turns and family pressures.

Life sometimes feels like a rollercoaster without an instruction manual. You wake up one day and realize that, at **33 years old**, things aren't exactly as you imagined. You live in **Vigo**, in your parents' house, without a partner or children, but with **€11,240** saved and, importantly, no debt. A good starting point, anyone would say. But the story behind those figures is one of constant searching, of a path that has taken more twists than expected.

## The compass of vocation

From a very young age, the idea of fitting in has been elusive. Childhood experiences, marked by bullying, left scars that go beyond the physical. At school, attention was only maintained if the subject was of personal interest, a trait that has persisted over the years. High school was a formality, but the true passion was ignited when studying to be a **pilot** in **Madrid**, completing the training in **2015**. The instructor course was completed that same year, and for a few months, he worked as one, combining theoretical and practical teaching with the administrative management of the school.

Professional life took an unexpected turn after an incident on the runway that, although it had no serious consequences, did affect flight scheduling. The situation led to a drastic reduction in hours and minimal income, forcing him to look for alternatives. The job as a **delivery driver for Domino's Pizza** in **2016** was an interim step, until the opportunity arose to coordinate flights at **Barajas airport** for **Groundforce**. That contract, which lasted a year, overlapped with weekends at Domino's.

## New horizons and the shadow of the pandemic

The drone sector peine new doors. From **2016** to **2020**, he worked at a drone company, taking on roles such as theory teacher, syllabus writer and consultant. At the same time, since **2017**, he taught classes for the **aircraft maintenance technician** course. During this period, monthly income rarely exceeded **€1,000**, even combining several jobs, and renting a shared flat cost **€400** per month.

The arrival of the pandemic in **2020** brought an almost total halt. The suspension of the drone and aircraft maintenance courses, which were important sources of income, forced him to dip into his savings to survive. That was when a new academic stage began, studying **industrial technology engineering** at the **UNED**, then switching to **industrial organization engineering** at **UNIR**. Returning to his parents' home in **Vigo** at the end of **2020** marked the start of a period of various jobs to finance his studies: selling insurance, training, running courses and writing content for IT companies and public exam preparation.

## The search for stability

After obtaining his engineering degree, with an average of notable and outstanding, he presented his Final Degree Project in December **2025**, focused on optimizing production processes in a metalworking SME, earning a grade of **9**. Before that, an internship at a photovoltaic company involved more administrative tasks than engineering. Despite sending out résumés and having some interviews, no job offer came.

In June **2026**, he started an internship as a junior production engineer at a machining company. However, the tasks were far from expected, focusing on administrative work: managing manufacturing orders, scanning documents, filing invoices, changing dates in the ERP and correcting psychometric tests. Despite this, on his own initiative, he prepared productivity reports, KPIs and improvement proposals under the **Lean Manufacturing** methodology. The internship pay was around **€800** per month, and the search for a job more in line with his training never ceased.

The termination of the internship, three months into the six planned, added a new setback. The reasons given were reading the newspaper during idle time and the inability to fix a problem with the time clock, despite having received training that proved insufficient and not having been able to practice what he learned. This situation has intensified family pressure, especially from his mother, whose words and actions, perceived as critical and controlling, generate deep unease and confusion. The feeling of physical and mental exhaustion, with symptoms reminiscent of irritable bowel, is exacerbated by this situation.