AITA for telling my friend I don’t care about the job search and I’m tired of hearing about it?

My (22F) friend (22F) is highly anxious and fixated on getting a job right after college. She a bit of an outlier, since most people I know are really not that concerned about it and are happy to travel the world or are planning to just relax before they enter the workforce for the first time. The rest are going to grad school, and yes, some are planning on getting their first job. Personally, I’m not in any hurry to get a job after graduation. If one just falls in my lap as it sometimes happens, I will consider it. But otherwise I’m good just traveling Europe for a while.

She has been pestering me for months asking “how is the job search going?” While she searches for a job. I have not said anything to indicate I’m even looking for a job, so I don’t know where this came from. Apparently, she has not had any luck, so I tried to be helpful and asked her what industry she is applying to. She said “everything.” I didn’t mention that her lack of focus is probably an issue. She said she’s applied to hundreds. I don’t know how it’s possible to realistically write hundreds of cover letters and tailor your resume that many times, or where one even finds that many jobs. I asked her if she’s thought about just networking and asking an alumni for a job, since that seems more like the common sense approach. She has not.

It would be one thing if she was just being angsty about her job search, but she’s also trying to force her anxiety on me, when I’m trying to enjoy life. She will randomly ask me about my “job search” and how applying is going. I spoke to our mutual friend (22M), who is also not looking for a job and plans to travel instead. He admitted he has also found her obsession to be quite annoying.

She asked about my “job search” again. I finally told her I don’t know what I said to make her think I’m even looking for a job, because I am not. I have not applied anywhere because I’m not looking for one. I suggested she stop pestering everyone about it because many people find her high-strung attitude to be off-putting, and many kids we know are not even actively looking for jobs.

I said she seems to place some kind of moral value on finding a job (she’s a child of immigrants and has some trauma related to that I think), but I literally don’t give a shit about looking for a job until I’ve traveled and done all the things I want to do. Then I will just take the practical approach and ask alumni I know are hiring, instead of applying to random jobs online. I said I’m tiring of hearing her angst about this like an angsty teenager. It’s draining and I just can’t pretend I care anymore, no offense. Several of our friends feel this way, and it kind of feels like she’s trauma dumping almost.

She said I’m so “unempathetic.” I said no offense, but she gives monitoring spirit, because why are you constantly asking about my plans like it concerns you? Why do you care what I’m doing?

14 thoughts on “AITA for telling my friend I don’t care about the job search and I’m tired of hearing about it?”
  1. YTA. It’s normal to work to land a job after school. Having the luxury of just bumming around for an unspecified amount of time is a highly privileged position.

  2. How are you going to travel after school if you don’t have a job? Are your parents helping you pay for stuff in your life?

  3. YTA

    You seem to have isolated yourself within a bubble of spoiled, entitled rich kids. This woman needs a job and it’s not “angsty” for her to look for one. Only a very small minority of extremely privileged people have the luxury of not working. If you’re one of them, you are the outlier, not her.

  4. YTA. You can’t even appreciate the privilege you enjoy in not HAVING TO think about work immediately after graduation and can just fuck around Europe until you’re ready. Living costs money; the fact that you’re not pressed about finding a job indicates someone else is paying for yours, and the fact that you are annoyed hearing about your friend’s struggles indicates you’re an asshole.

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