I’m in my 30s and have worked in a lot of industries, from retail/service to education. My experience is that if you work in an educational field (e.g. for a university/school), they are far more patient and understanding of different abilities and challenges. I’ve found that working in this field, people tend to be more patient when I stutter and are (typically) more interested in the content of my work rather than my challenges in presenting/talking about it. That may not be an immediate option, but something to consider longer term. I’ve worked a lotttttt of retail/service industry jobs from when I was a teenager up until about a year ago. It’s a really mixed bag. I’ve found that if you do your best to present yourself in as professional a way as possible at an interview, stuttering is less of an issue than one might think. (This sounds obvious, but you’d be shocked at the number of non-stuttering people who will show up at job interviews looking/acting sloppy, or without a resume that’s been well-put together. Or just without a resume at all lol. In my experience that’s much more of a red flag to management than a speech impediment. Management may either not care about your stutter, or may interpret it as a nervous tick that will go away once you’re comfortable in a role.) Like a previous commenter already said, I’ve found that I struggle in interviews, but once I have the job, I do really well. If you don’t think you’re up to working a front facing jobs like retail/service, that’s 100% legit. Tbh I feel like, despite the challenges you face in putting yourself out there, it really ends up helping you build your resilience to being sensitive about the way you speak, which trust me, you’re going to need as you get older. I still have days where I’ll struggle in a work presentation, and feel like shit after, but honestly after 15ish years in dealing with a stutter in the workforce, I’m not really upset or bothered very often after I have an “embarrassing” speech incident. (Which is basically daily, but only bothers me/makes me anxious like 5% of the time). So as much as it sucks now, it does pay off eventually. I totally get the anxiety though, and I know I’m not fully addressing your immediate fears. (Sorry!! I’m trying to think of ways to be helpful here). I’ll just say that I think it’s worth putting yourself out there and going for those retail/fast food jobs, and seeing how that pans out for you. Maybe you’ll find that your anxiety will impair your ability to do your job, and if that’s the case—and it’s 100% unmanageable and puts you in a terrible headspace—think of alternatives. But from my experience, it’s hard getting out there, interviews suck, first days of work are tough, but once you start making friends and master the tasks asked of you, it will become easier. You’ll still have tough days when customers will be dicks, ngl. But on the whole, it will get better. You’ll have friends and a paycheck. Plus, I’ve found that the routine tasks you do in retail/service jobs (e.g. answering the phone with a really scripted answer) actually help speech fluency bc you do it so often that it just becomes muscle memory, and there’s no room for anxiety because you just put zero thought into it. It becomes a reflex. Weirdly enough, I really feel like that’s one of the upsides for stutters who work in service/retail. Overall I think you should just go for it. If it gives you confidence and a sense of power, straight up tell the interviewer at the beginning of the interview that you have a speech impediment, but that it doesn’t affect your ability to do your job or engage with customers. (If this is your first job, that might feel like a lie, but my hunch is that it won’t be once you get your footing 🙂) Some people find that that tactic gives them both confidence and a sense of power that actually helps them speak more fluently in the interview, and clear up misconceptions. For retail/service, I personally haven’t always found that necessary, but I definitely do that for other jobs outside of that industry. It’s your call about whether you feel that’s helpful for you. I hope this helps. Hang in there, and go for it.