35, no degree, facing a layoff: Ankur Warikoo's blunt advice to an employee facing career crisis after 'years of poor decisions'

A career setback at 35 can feel overwhelming, especially when someone believes years of poor choices have left them without the qualifications or skills needed to move forward. One such employee recently reached out to entrepreneur and content creator Ankur Warikoo, describing his struggles with education, addiction, career uncertainty and an impending layoff. Warikoo shared the exchange on X and responded with practical advice focused on responsibility, learning, taking small steps and refusing to get trapped in regret.

35-year-old employee opens up about career struggles

Ankur Warikoo took to X and shared an email he had received from a 35-year-old employee who described himself as being at a critical turning point in his career. The man said he was confronting the consequences of what he described as “years of poor decisions, procrastination, and a lack of direction.”

His academic journey had been difficult. He failed Class 11, changed schools, failed Class 12 and eventually completed his schooling through NIOS. He later enrolled in a BCA programme but dropped out after losing focus and becoming involved in alcohol and substance abuse.


During his twenties, he worked in BPO and customer service roles. Although he remained employed, he admitted that he lacked discipline during that period.

A health scare changed his life

The employee also opened up about a difficult period in his personal life. In 2018, he developed severe anxiety, which he believed was connected to years of alcohol abuse and eventual withdrawal. Following a hospitalisation and a major health scare, he quit alcohol completely. His personal life also provided an important source of support. He married the woman he loved in 2020 and said her support helped him through some of the darkest periods of his life.

His career finally began moving forward

Despite the setbacks, his professional journey gradually improved. In 2022, he moved internally into a quality and testing role involving speech-to-text systems. Three years later, in 2025, he received a promotion into a governance and risk-related analyst position. However, he was once again facing uncertainty. Due to organisational restructuring, his role was expected to end in less than a month unless he managed to secure another internal position.

What worried him most was his lack of a graduation degree and strong technical skills. He also admitted that he sometimes felt his career progression had happened more because of luck than competence. For the first time, he said he wanted to “take full responsibility” for his life and build something meaningful from where he stood. But he did not know where to begin, which led him to ask Warikoo what he would do in his position.

Warikoo's first advice: Fix the small things

Warikoo's response began with an unexpectedly simple suggestion. He told the man to start with a professional email address, rather than using an old, informal address created during his teenage years.

‘You can’t change what has happened’

Warikoo's more important advice was about dealing with regret. He told the employee that he could either spend time “wallowing in your misery and regret” over the previous 15 years or use the next 30 years to improve his life. The past, Warikoo pointed out, cannot be changed. What can be changed is what happens next.

Rather than allowing years of mistakes to define the rest of his career, Warikoo encouraged him to focus on the opportunities still available.

‘Don’t look at the mountain’

Warikoo's next suggestion was to stop looking at the entire career problem as one enormous challenge.
He advised the employee to “take one step at a time” and not focus on the mountain that still needed to be climbed. The immediate step, according to Warikoo, was straightforward: get the resume into the best possible shape and begin applying for roles that match his existing experience. Instead of worrying about everything that could go wrong, the focus should be on completing the next actionable task.

Build a daily learning habit

Warikoo also encouraged the employee to make learning part of his everyday routine. His recommendation was to spend 15 to 30 minutes each day learning something new. It could be a free YouTube course, a book or an online interaction. The goal, he explained, should not be limited to finding another job. Instead, the employee should develop learning as a habit and explore subjects that genuinely catch his interest.

For someone worried about lacking technical skills, this approach provides a practical way to gradually build knowledge without becoming overwhelmed by the pressure to master everything immediately.

‘No complaining. No excuses’

Warikoo's final piece of advice was perhaps the bluntest. He told the employee that if he was genuinely ready to take responsibility for his life, he needed to follow two “non-negotiable restrictions”: no complaining and no excuses.