Am I a bad friend for feeling sad about my friend getting a better job?
For context, I’m almost 25 and I graduated college 2 years before all of my friends and have been trying to find what we call a “big kid” job (salary, weekends off, benefits, etc) since. I have more experience on my resume than a lot of my friends (and they’ve told me that) but I seem to be stuck with only getting responses from part-time jobs like in retail or food despite my resume. I actually helped my friends with their resumes and cover letters and they look just like mine but where they succeed I haven’t. I know I have some insecurities about money but I feel bad because I am happy for my friend (and have verbally told them this multiple times). But, at the same time, I get worried about being left behind.
My friends are also actively dating and I’ve still never been on a date or had my first kiss. I don’t want to be the only one stuck here as everyone transitions to “the real world” and being adults.
I struggle with anxiety and depression and it’s been a difficult year for me as I was in a terrible full-time retail job I was recently fired from. I feel so awful to feel this way, despite the fact that I’d never verbalize this to my friends. I’m new to friendship since I struggled with social anxiety when I was younger and didn’t truly start having friends until I was in my 20s. And I admit I overcompensate in my friendships a bit (they’ve told me to put myself first sometimes but I just want to be a good friend). I don’t know how to stop feeling this way, every time they start talking about starting their job I feel nothing but deeply sad, despite what I express externally.
Posted Jun 13, 2025, 12:16 PM UTC