EPT
Adjusting to working a full time job?
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Esoterikk
Canada1256 Posts
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RoyGBiv_13
United States1275 Posts
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Esoterikk
Canada1256 Posts
On July 07 2015 03:37 RoyGBiv_13 wrote: You get used to it. God I hope so, going from having no responsibilities and endless free time (summer break from uni) to a full time job is a huge system shock. | ||
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Yurie
11790 Posts
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puppykiller
United States3126 Posts
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MoonfireSpam
United Kingdom1153 Posts
Do a few 60 hour weeks and everything else is easy from then on. Oh yeah and disposable income is the most awesome thing ever. | ||
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ThomasjServo
15244 Posts
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BigFan
TLADT24920 Posts
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TMagpie
265 Posts
Make friends. Make connections. The work itself will rarely be "great" but you don't have to go in there without allies. | ||
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Pursuit_
United States1330 Posts
When I had a 5am-2pm job the hardest part was adjusting to waking up so early (which took maybe 1-2 weeks at most?), and then being off by 2pm I was able to do whatever I wanted until I needed to go to sleep. It was actually a fairly high stress job in retrospect, but I almost never felt it unless I didn't get sufficient sleep. I'm currently working a 2pm-11pm job and the hardest part for me is forcing myself to wake up early to get things done. If I get home and stay up till 2-3 (or later) in the morning, I just waste those hours browsing the web / watching porn / ect, and then when I wake up at noon I have almost no time until work. To fix this I've been forcing myself to leave the computer off when I get home, read for an hour or so and go to bed. It took me probably 3-4 weeks to get used to it, but now I'm pretty consistent (attending morning classes and drinking coffee helped a lot). But to an extent, this really is just how working is. It takes up a lot of your time and, as you've probably noticed, a much larger portion of your attention than classes did. It's a lot harder to 'zone out' / think about other things in most work environments, even when it's repetitive. Make sure you make friends / alliances at work because having someone to joke around with will help reduce the stress / workload a ton. | ||
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fluidrone
France1478 Posts
Some people get used to it. Some don't.. but everyone must do it cyclically, that is why we call it work. People who can't stand it, go into the search for happiness through work 'too' .. and some succeed and some don't. Many people hide in plain sight on their workplace in the face, others change it through their mere presence, most people settle between the two. Do your homework, as far as you know that co worker is a tl addict like you. Picture it like this, find something to think about or fantasize / write about, while your slave body performs the tasks that will be rewarded with money you will have earned. While I have had to "work" to feed my kids, I also sell my art without sacrificing it.. so I admit it: no I never got used to it, it got easier to escape in my thoughs while "working" .. nothing more! Again, good luck! | ||
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QuanticHawk
United States32044 Posts
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DarkPlasmaBall
United States44104 Posts
Best of luck | ||
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Jerubaal
United States7684 Posts
But seriously, 8 straight hours of work is not the most productive. | ||
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TMagpie
265 Posts
On July 07 2015 05:52 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: You get used to it, but it's also easier for you if it's something you love to do, rather than just a boring/ time-wasting/ filler job that you have no interest in. Best of luck The job itself does not have to be fulfilling, but some aspect of it must feel progressional. (Similar to "first blood" dings in League or portraits in SC2) For some people its compensation (money is a big one, but this could also be things like healthcare, or "free travel") and for some people its more abstract like "prestige", or "being part of something" (usually these are non-profits, or art industries, etc...) Most of the job (even the dream ones) will suck. But so long as some aspect of it is fulfilling then you will feel a sense of progression. | ||
BisuDagger
Bisutopia19223 Posts
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jubil
United States2602 Posts
On July 07 2015 08:20 BisuDagger wrote: If you like your job it is easy. I really thought uni was gonna be like this: I was a lazy HS student and always thought "well in uni I'll get to study specifically what I want so it'll be fun and go really easy". Nope, studying was a little easier without the stuff I was bad at, but still boring, or at least more boring than SCII or WoW or going out Starting to get a little worried that full-time work will be the same deal | ||
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TMagpie
265 Posts
On July 07 2015 08:33 jubil wrote: I really thought uni was gonna be like this: I was a lazy HS student and always thought "well in uni I'll get to study specifically what I want so it'll be fun and go really easy". Nope, studying was a little easier without the stuff I was bad at, but still boring, or at least more boring than SCII or WoW or going out Starting to get a little worried that full-time work will be the same deal Full time work makes you miss how structured and layed back uni was. | ||
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Esoterikk
Canada1256 Posts
On July 07 2015 08:20 BisuDagger wrote: If you like your job it is easy. If you continue to have a hard time get another job. I'm only at this job for 3 months so if I don't like it I have to just suck it up basically because it's too late to find another job for even half of what I'm making at this one. | ||
Akasha
United States261 Posts
Also talk to your coworkers or people in other departments, maybe it's something that you may interested in learning so it's something to do while you have some downtime. | ||
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JimmyJRaynor
Canada16665 Posts
in my university you switch between 4 months of full time school to 4 months of full time work with approximately a 1 week break in between terms. no 4 month vacations. going from university to a full time job resulted in a lower work load so there was no adjustment there. during university i studied or worked for 4.66 years and had virtually ZERO screwing around time. my biggest adjustment in terms of work load occurred from high school to university. i went from doing virtually nothing except half paying attention during 25 hours per week of classes to a brutally competitive tech school. in high school i probably did 10 hours of real work. in university it was about 60 hours per week of real work. it was rough... but it made a man outta me. it took me about 8 months to adjust and not be homesick and not miss my mom. until i was about 24 i could not openly admit to people that i missed my mom when i was 18. Bottling it up of course made my homesick problem even worse while i was going through it... so it prolly would've taken less than 8 months if i'd been more authentic about what i was going through. ...if knew then what i know now... | ||
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_fool
Netherlands675 Posts
On July 07 2015 04:39 MoonfireSpam wrote: That's how work is. Do a few 60 hour weeks and everything else is easy from then on. Oh yeah and disposable income is the most awesome thing ever. Hard-countered by kids, though. So scout properly! | ||
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fluidrone
France1478 Posts
On July 07 2015 15:26 _fool wrote: Hard-countered by kids, though. So scout properly! You funny! (and I know funny when I see it!) Made me smile, thank you _fool ! I'm sorry, but you made me laugh and so I posted, and so I must elaborate on the subject at hand. Dear Esoterikk, when you ask: "Do people get over it?" "How?" I am obliged to point out that this feeling you have has stemmed from your present stance. If I may be so bold, it is not the proper question. "Proper" questions would be "what am I doing with my life".. "what do I want to do with my life" and finally "what do I think the lesser of two evil is"? If you start your introspection (which seems to be what you are doing typing in this blog), be wary of who will come out from it (you will be changed forever). "I hate this job because it is digging a hole for myself" ... "The money is good" These two statements define you for now, but (no offense meant) you are a kid. You want to think (like most people, indeed myself included) that you are the most special snowflake, and feel disappointingly cornered and pushed into this previously "depicted" disconcerting and depressing lull. That is a lie. You are that special snowflake, you can do better, don't wallow in self pity, the world needs you to rise up and be all you can be. Again, hang in there, and to sum up my advice with an example using this very social platform which we are typing on: Have and make a good tl! | ||
Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51470 Posts
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JieXian
Malaysia4677 Posts
On July 07 2015 15:26 _fool wrote: Hard-countered by kids, though. So scout properly! that was a good one | ||
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Endymion
United States3701 Posts
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TMagpie
265 Posts
On July 08 2015 00:10 Endymion wrote: it's honestly a lot like highschool, you'll start to notice different cliques and that kinda stuff and you'll make friends.. work is like 50% of what actually happens when you're at work, from my experience anyways Sounds like corporate to me  I find manual labor intensive jobs have less "buddy-buddy" time onsite, but a LOT more of it off-site. Office buddies don't usually translate as well after work hours as non-corporate work buddies. | ||
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Endymion
United States3701 Posts
On July 08 2015 01:26 TMagpie wrote: Sounds like corporate to me I find manual labor intensive jobs have less "buddy-buddy" time onsite, but a LOT more of it off-site. Office buddies don't usually translate as well after work hours as non-corporate work buddies. yeah, it's a lot like telltale's games where it'll say "so and so will remember that," except in real life you see them getting pissed at you and you just imagine the "your boss will remember that" notification (other than him frowning at you), but you get reminded by it when you get passed up for sick promotions :p | ||
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mierin
United States4943 Posts
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TMagpie
265 Posts
On July 08 2015 06:03 mierin wrote: Well being a depressed math degree holder working a shitty IT job, I hope your uni prepared you for better things Isn't shitty IT job a superflous statement | ||
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Disregard
China10252 Posts
edit: I mean 10 hours a day / 4 days a week, sometimes 5 days a week on Saturday. | ||
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Esoterikk
Canada1256 Posts
On July 08 2015 06:03 mierin wrote: Well being a depressed math degree holder working a shitty IT job, I hope your uni prepared you for better things I'm going for a comp sci degree, if anything it's an excuse to delay working since school is so cheap here. | ||
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ApBuLLet
United States604 Posts
I worked 40/hrs a week during the summers throughout college so working longer hours didn't bother me too much, but I still struggle with the feeling that the time I spend at work is time wasted. In college I was motivated to work hard on my school work because I was learning and I felt like I was working towards improving myself. I always thought that it would only get easier once I was being paid for my hard work, but it didn't really. Now that I've been at my job for a year my role in the company is growing which makes it feel a little better. Feeling like you are important to the company and that the work you do is important makes it feel more worthwhile, but it still isn't fully satisfying. Some day I think I would like to be self-employed or work for a small company because the best motivation for me is feeling like I am directly benefiting from my work. But for now I just keep on doing what I'm doing because I am still learning and gaining experience which will only help me in future endeavors. I think feeling the way you feel is pretty normal and probably just means you aren't really satisfied with the work you're doing. Finding a job that is fulfilling is difficult but not impossible, and I don't think you'd be doing yourself justice to give up on that. In my opinion, "getting used to" working really just means finding a job that is fulfilling, or giving up on trying to find one. | ||
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opisska
Poland8852 Posts
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TojoSCO
24 Posts
Getting enough sleep is the hardest thing for me. After being a student, I was used to going to sleep at ~1am or later every night. In a full time job, this isn't sustainable. Even if it feels uncomfortable/boring, going to sleep earlier will make your work day more productive, faster, and BONUS + Show Spoiler + you'll often have much more energy by the time you finish, meaning you can enjoy your evening If sleep isn't a problem for you, then I recommend you try Akasha's idea On July 07 2015 12:00 Akasha wrote: What makes it somewhat easier if your prioritize what your duties are for that day. You will sort of have that structure back and be organized. | ||
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SixStrings
Germany2046 Posts
I quit after four years and went back to school, I just couldn't adjust to it. Don't get me wrong, I've worked 80 hour weeks before, but that is with the knowledge that those would buy me months of respite. 40-hour work weeks are soul-crushing bullshit. As if to break your spirit, they even take the nicest hours of the week. I think the 9-5 was deliberately designed to destroy your spirit. | ||
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Chef
10810 Posts
Basically what I'm getting at is the 40 hour part isn't the problem, it's whether you like the way you spend that 40 hours. Being idle all week is even more soul crushing. A job that pays you to be basically idle isn't only a hair better. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to be positive about your work and to interact with the people you work with, I think. But it's certainly possible to be stuck in a job you just do to pay the bills even though you hate it. Try not to be a person who hates work just because it's called 'work' though. | ||
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TMagpie
265 Posts
In games people like their hats, and badges, and portraits, etc... yes they also like winning and competition and the "game" itself--but without those fluffy personalization stuff things just become a grind. Its the same with work. Unless you're working towards something specific "I need to save ____ to make a downpayment on the house of my dreams" as opposed to something merely practical "I need to save ____ to make my car payments" there just won't be any passion. And doing something daily you don't have passion for just saps the life out of you. | ||
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-Kaiser-
Canada932 Posts
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N.geNuity
United States5112 Posts
Like everyone I know is 8 am or earlier. Then different places have different variations on lunch or what is actually expected of you, alternate schedules (9 days/80 hours, 4 days/10 hr/day, etc) Anyways, as someone whose soul is crushed 9.5 hours/day sitting in a cubicle, you get used to it | ||
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tili
United States1332 Posts
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Chef
10810 Posts
On July 10 2015 21:47 tili wrote: Honestly, the best thing to do is to do the work really well... the sense of learning and executing is, at least for a time, fulfilling and makes the time go faster. The worst thing to do is distract yourself and whittle away the hours; then if feels like a prison and there is no sense of usefulness Pfft, but then you let The Man win. You have to be as miserable and useless as possible. That's the only way to make sure nobody wins. | ||
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TMagpie
265 Posts
On July 11 2015 00:47 Chef wrote: Pfft, but then you let The Man win. You have to be as miserable and useless as possible. That's the only way to make sure nobody wins. I know someone who jogs without listening to music. His reason is that exercise is supposed to be difficult and hard and we have to accept it and make sure we don't do enjoyable things at the same time. | ||
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