| Topic Name: |
How do you deal with stress? Help? |
| Message Name: |
Identical but Completely Different |
| Date Posted: |
02/04/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
No one ever said consulting was easy, but it doesn't have to be agonizing.
I am so burnt out these days, it is absolutely ridiculous. I feel like I've been sold a cheap bag of goods. I'm not doing any of the work that it was inferred that I would be doing when I got hired. I've essentially become a grunt for one of the higher ups, doing work that is neither meaningful or challenging but is necessary. I didn't need to go to grad school to do this work. I'm quite confident that any one of the bright people on this message board could do the work I do everyday without much training.
I'm reaching the point of absolute frustration and anger that I dread even coming into the office and having to deal with my direct supervisor (who is a self-serving jackass). I think all of this frustration has amplified the day-to-day stress that is typically associated with consulting. Double whammy!
Since I started working here, I've lost motivation, the enjoyment of the work and the will to keep going (even though I still somehow find a way). The manager who hired me has told me that he thinks that I'm a very bright guy with good skills. But I know that my lack of desire and motivation is showing in my work. They're just not getting what they want out of me.
I feel that I could snap any day now. And as I stay late tonight after all the bosses have left knowing that I will be stuck here for several more hours, I can do nothing more than wade through the knee-deep river of crap that I'm in and just try to survive.
I want to leave this job badly, but the economy has cornered me here. of course the next logical step would be to talk to the boss and level with him. I don't know how the office manager is going to react if I told him that I no longer want to work on the project that I was explicitly hired to work on, and I also don't know how he would react if I told him that my supervisor is a piss poor co-worker and supervisor.
If I know that I'm going to quit this job as soon as the economy heals and hiring within business/strat consulting firms starts kicking up again, then why would I "rock the boat" here by laying everything on the line? Wouldn't it be more prudent to suck it up (somehow), leave on the best terms possible, get a good recommendation and move on, or should I speak my mind and let the chips fall where they may?
Make no mistake about it, I'm miserable, to the point where I get a sick-to-my-stomach feeling every Sunday evening just thinking about the fact that I have to be here at work on Monday morning, no joke.
Any advice? Anyone feeling the same way about their job? |
| Message: |
wayman:
I've just begun the first job search of my career, and on one of my first stops I find an eloquent statement of my own position. It's remarkably similar. Yet my problems are in grad school in astrophysics.
Do you, now having this industry experience as well as grad school experience, have any advice for me? This request isn't entirely self-centered. Perhaps looking at a situation similar to yours and attempting to construct some advice on the proper path, you will find you will be able to think more objectively and help solve your own problems in the process. And I gotta tell ya, I'm as desperate and miserable as you are.
I've just finished my masters at a very well respected university, but find myself increasingly unable to force myself to do work that I find insanely boring. I got into the wrong field, and now I feel stuck. The Director of Grad Studies has even called me into his office to express his concern that my work, while passable, is not nearly up to the level that they expected. And that I don't seem to show any interest in the field.
Now what do I do? He's right, and I'm worn out. I've been thinking of either starting grad school over in physics proper (not astrophysics), or getting a consulting job.
Unfortuantely, much like yourself I imagine, the only thing that can properly express my feelings right now is a long, colorful string of explitives, which you may consider deleted below.
Best,
Andy
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