Woman Who Went Viral for Crying Over First 9 to 5 Job Says She's Been Laid Off

What are two of the hardest things in life? Having a job and not having a job. Just ask TikTok creator Brielle (@brielleybelly123) who went viral on TikTok in October 2023 after crying about how she was working her first 9 to 5 job and had no time for her life.

However, in December, Brielle updated fans on her job situation, and unfortunately, the update is that she doesn't have a job now.

On Oct. 19, 2023, Brielle shared a video on TikTok, crying over her first 9 to 5 job and ranting about her lack of work-life balance. Less than two months later, she returned to the platform to share the news that she had been let go from her job.

“I’m not going to sit here and cry, but I got laid off from my first post-grad job and the one that took me five months to find that I moved to New York City for," Brielle said in a TikTok posted on Dec. 14, 2023.

She explained that she was working at a startup, and they just didn’t seem to have the bandwidth to train her and provide actual work for her to do.

“I was really wanting to learn, so I was really thinking in my head that I wanted a job with more responsibilities anyway," she admits, but getting laid off still came as a complete shock.

Brielle explained how tragic it felt to get laid off right before the holidays, as hiring processes typically take a pause until January 2. She explains that once they start back up again, it’s still going to take a few weeks to get back to work, and that's if she lands a job right away.

“That’s the time frame I’m looking at, and I can’t wait that long. I need a job immediately," Brielle reveals. “The job that I was working 9 to 5, I wasn’t making enough to live," she adds.

Brielle continues: "The salaries that people are making with a degree right now after college is just not OK. We’re working so much and I still don’t have an emergency fund. I don’t. Because I wasn’t making enough to save any of it. Everything was going towards living, and expenses, and commuting, and everything else."

“It’s so defeating, it’s so disappointing, and it makes me feel like I’m not good enough” she says of the hiring process. Users could definitely relate to her video.

"At this point, college doesn’t guarantee a job like it used to," wrote one user in the comment section of her video.

Others reflected on their similar employment situations. "[I] got laid off twice this year, it’s horrible! I feel you. I’ve been doing side hustles/unemployment right now. Get on unemployment ASAP."

And another user, who claimed to have a Masters degree, seconded Brielle's point about only making enough to get by.

Brielle's story is a reminder that the job game is tricky, and lots of people are feeling the same struggles. Moreover, many jobs that require a college degree don't always come with a sufficient salary.