I ruined my career, and now I’m stuck. Don’t know how to move forward.

I feel like I spoiled my own life and turned everything upside down.

I discontinued my BTech years ago and made the worst decision of my life—I bought a fake degree and fake work experience. Using that, I joined an MNC in 2021. Surprisingly, things went well. I wasn’t caught during onboarding, and I worked there for about 3.5 years without any issues.

Recently, when I was about to move to a different project, background verification was initiated again. This time they caught my fake work experience. HR handled it politely and asked me to resign instead of terminating me. Because of that, I received all my experience letters, and the company even agreed to support future BGV. That part ended on a relatively okay note.

After that, I had a 5-month gap. Somehow, I managed to join a product-based company. I started working, things were normal, and after 4 months, HR called me again—this time saying my BTech degree is not genuine.

Instead of lying again and making things worse, I finally told the truth. I explained my entire story and admitted that I had used fake certificates. She asked me to come to the office the next day. I went in, submitted my laptop and accessories, and was asked to resign—which I did.

Then came the real shock: HR informed me that I will not receive any experience letter from this company. My PF account was already created and shows up in EPFO. I’ve learned that there might be a way to delink it, so it can be erased from my profile.

Right now, I only have 3.5 years of experience from my previous org. I’m not mentioning this recent role anywhere, because if any company does BGV, I’m afraid it’ll fail again.

At this point, my life feels completely stuck. I don’t know what to do next, what path to take, or how to fix the damage I’ve caused.

I know I made terrible decisions. I’m not here to justify them—I just want to understand if there’s any realistic way forward from this point.

I need advice on;

• Is there any realistic career path left for me in IT?
• Should I restart honestly as a fresher or switch domains?
• Would completing my degree properly (or doing distance education) help?
• How do I handle background verification going forward without lying again?
• If not IT, what alternative careers could make use of my 3.5 years of real skills?