[mtander]

I am having a hard time. I haven't liked my job for a very long time, and a lot of it is because I feel like it's so much responsibility. I'm 24 and I've been working for about 1 1/2 years. My job pays decently, but I've found that it's super high stress for me because of the type of work.

I consult for an IT firm. What this means is that I'm on the phone with clients every week, running programs that help them make their system better. They're pretty serious about it, because we do the computer systems for hospitals.

I chose this job because I felt I was good at explaining technical concepts to non-technical people. What I've found is that this position isn't a good match for me, because A) I worry about what people think about me, a lot; B) I'm designing the programs myself with very little support from my management; and C) I can't maintain the long hours I'm expected to work. D) would be that I'm not a great consultant, although I'll get better with practice.

The silver lining here is that I may be able to move in to a computer programming role, which would be less time on a phone with clients and more time doing development/query writing. However, the transition if it happens would be very slow. In the meantime, I need to keep doing my current work. The kicker is that my SAD affects my concentration, motivation, and self-esteem. I have some really big client events coming up, and the stress is making me shut down and not be able to do the tasks, which is causing my stress to skyrocket even more. I feel slow and stupid, honestly. :-( Was going to add more of a conclusion but I don't even have the energy all of a sudden...

[RomanSunburn]

The job and field that you are in is very, very demanding. It's full of fresh out of college kids with little to no guidance being expected to work a million hours a week. I can promise, you are not alone in the way you are feeling.

I can't give you any advice, but I wanted you to know you're not alone.

[mtander]

Thank you-- I really do appreciate that. Sometimes it's easy to forget that I'm young, because the average age here is probably somewhere around 27 (on other teams it's even lower)-- they certainly do work us really hard. I'm around a lot of people who are very good at what they do, so it's easy to beat myself up about it. Also, when other people struggle they try to keep it to themselves because obviously they don't want to look bad at work--it makes me feel lonely in having a hard time, so it's good to hear that it's not just me.

Originally Posted by RomanSunburn

The job and field that you are in is very, very demanding. It's full of fresh out of college kids with little to no guidance being expected to work a million hours a week. I can promise, you are not alone in the way you are feeling.

I can't give you any advice, but I wanted you to know you're not alone.

I'm in the same boat except I don't have a job and have no motivation to do the same work. I was and admin and also decided dev work was a better place for me. Luckily you can make the switch fairly easily. One resource is recruiter strangely enough. A lot of the will meet with you about what you want to do and give you advice. The good ones will try to send you options that would get you in the right direction. Their first priority is the client if course but that also means appropriate placement.

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