Anyone Else Feel Stuck In Their Career?

[brenda-walsh]

I'm 22 and just graduated a year ago, but my career has not gone quite the way I envisioned it, which I know is normal but still hurts. Earlier this year I got laid off from my first ever jobs, one was a part-time and the other a contractor position. Both were at marketing agencies I was at for 6 months and a year, respectively, and had to undergo budget cuts. As the one of the last ones in I was also one of the first ones out. I became very depressed because of it and it took a while for me to really recover.

 

2 months after being laid off I found a new job that I was only at for a week because of how horrible it was. I was doing admin tasks when I was hired for a social media position, the office culture was horrible, and the CEO was incredibly toxic. After quitting I felt really down but was just happy to have had a job and make some type of money.

 

Fast forward a month later and I got hired for my current position. Everything went well in the beginning stages, as they initially wanted me to work part-time but were so impressed with my work that they brought me on full-time for a one-month trial. That trial just ended last week and I got demoted back to part-time and will have to work my way up again. Everything was going so perfectly until the last week and a half when my manager made me write a 25 page report. I had little to no guidance about what I was writing about, as she went nearly a whole week without reading over my work, changed the main topic about 3 times after that, and made me write about information I had already presented and agreed upon with her and the CEO. My manager would also delete large chunks of text each time I sent her a new draft, which made the whole process take a lot longer than was anticipated.

 

She cited this as the main reason why my hours were cut in half and told me I needed to manage my productivity better, even though the stupid report is what prohibited me from getting other, more important, work done.

 

She told me not to be discouraged and they still want to have me part of the team and grow with the company, especially since its a startup, but I can't help but feel like I'm stuck in a rut yet again. I know its only been my first year in the professional world, but all I want is a stable, well-paying job in the field I love, which seems to be really difficult. 

 

I guess I'm just looking for advice on how to survive these years out of college and advice from anyone who worked in a startup when things were still a bit messy and disorganized. Should I look for a new job or wait out the next 3 months until they're ready to bring me full-time again?

[Jotham]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm 24 and my experience after college has also been similar, constantly feeling stuck career-wise. I had a post-grad job where I felt underappreciated in an entry-level administrative role and my managers constantly micromanaged me.

 

One thing that really helps me a lot is understanding that I'm not alone and this is a normal part of my twenties. I've noticed that most of, if not all of my friends from college have gone through similar struggles after graduation, and it's made me realized that it's completely normal to go through these things and it doesn't reflect badly on me career-wise or signify that I'm alone in a rut.

 

I also think it's very important that you're asking these questions now instead of later. Many people are stuck in a career that they are miserable in until their thirties, forties, etc. It's impressive that you're questioning now about what field you're passionate about instead of much later on in your career.

 

From my understanding, you're currently part-time? Since it's only three months, maybe you can try waiting it out, but in the meantime keep a look out for other job postings that may pique your interest?

[brenda-walsh]

12 minutes ago, Jotham said:

I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm 24 and my experience after college has also been similar, constantly feeling stuck career-wise. I had a post-grad job where I felt underappreciated in an entry-level administrative role and my managers constantly micromanaged me.

 

One thing that really helps me a lot is understanding that I'm not alone and this is a normal part of my twenties. I've noticed that most of, if not all of my friends from college have gone through similar struggles after graduation, and it's made me realized that it's completely normal to go through these things and it doesn't reflect badly on me career-wise or signify that I'm alone in a rut.

 

I also think it's very important that you're asking these questions now instead of later. Many people are stuck in a career that they are miserable in until their thirties, forties, etc. It's impressive that you're questioning now about what field you're passionate about instead of much later on in your career.

 

From my understanding, you're currently part-time? Since it's only three months, maybe you can try waiting it out, but in the meantime keep a look out for other job postings that may pique your interest?

ya its this weird feeling of knowing this is the post-grad experience, but also wanting to avoid. it does feel better knowing that this is kind of a universal experience and that i'm not alone through this

 

i am currently part-time, but yes i started applying for other jobs as well, which sucks because i actually really love the company, culture, my role, etc.

[shinyshimmery]

Idk if I have any "advice" to give... but I'll just say that you're doing pretty well. I graduated college at 23 and it took me an embarrassingly large amount of time to get a job I could finally feel proud of. I've been at my "good" job for 3 years now but I've recently got the itch to make more money. I'll be applying to new jobs come September, but I can already tell the job search is going to take me a while. It's very competitive out there, but with enough determination... you'll get to were you want to be. Just keep at it and don't settle for less than you think you deserve. 

 

To answer your question tho... if you feel uncomfortable, it's your gut telling you something. I'd be applying to other places just in case... plus you might be able to land a full time role at an amazing company. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by shinyshimmery

[DamianSolo]

I did, until I quit and found another job. It wasn't easy, even with all of the management and supervisory experience that I have. It took me almost a year, non-consecutively searching, to find another job. I was just over the industry and tired of being in a management position, honestly. Walking into work day after day and dealing with the general stupidity and childishness of people, adults and otherwise, just wore me down after years of having to deal with such things. And that's on top of all of the initiatives and foolishness coming down from the corporate office, with labor budgets being slashed while new procedures and processes were being implemented. It was just a nightmare to the point where I dreaded going into work.

 

Now, though, I'm in a place where I can start living again and making moves in my life. Once I get settled, I'll be going back to school to finish my degree program—something I wouldn't have otherwise had time to do if I stayed at my old job. Not only that, I have time to actually live and enjoy life again. I have much more normalcy, working Monday through Friday, generally regular business hours—8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I'll probably stay where I am for another year, or so, before I transition into the career field I'm most interested in—Human Resources.

[Ryan]

1 hour ago, brenda-walsh said:

I guess I'm just looking for advice on how to survive these years out of college and advice from anyone who worked in a startup when things were still a bit messy and disorganized. Should I look for a new job or wait out the next 3 months until they're ready to bring me full-time again?

Congrats on graduating. You’re going to float from positions until you find what works best for you. Very few people post-graduation land immediately in their field (and the reality is some never do). The moment you learn to use these companies the way they use you, the better off you will be. Especially working in startups. Leverage your position and time by using one job to land another. That’s the way to “play the game” so to speak. Eventually you will find a place that fulfills you work wise and meets all your asks.

 

Dont feel like you *have* to be at a certain point by a certain age. I felt that way in my twenties and despite having some career success; it wasn’t where I thought I should be. That didn’t happen until my thirties but everyone is different. 

Basically I’m trying to say don’t feel discouraged. You got this. The right place is out there for you. 

[X~MoviePoP]

What did you study in school?

[Gorjesspazze9]

I’m the opposite. I can’t find a career I actually enjoy or that pays well. Don’t know what to do with my life

[Kern]

I graduated 2 years ago and now at 25 after summer I’m going back to studying because I’m stuck in my job and can’t find anything else. Actually some of people I know do the same 

[Ewan Chaos]

It sounds like the startup world doesn't suit you, and I felt the same way when I decided to take a leap and go work for a start up early in my career. Never again Try to apply to medium/larger companies if you decide to start looking for work again. Working part-time is probably the best time to start looking for a new role btw: you'll be able to more easily schedule multiple interviews without disrupting work, you'd have a valid reason to give hiring managers looking for work (you can say your current role won't become full time and you're looking for a full time role), etc.

 

I'd say 3 months isn't a terribly long time if you want to wait to reevaluate what you want to do then in case you do get offered a full-time role... but if you had to go through that weird report issue, there are HIGH chances you're going to either have to deal with shitty stuff like that more often in a full-time role or they'll give you another "set up to fail" project so that they have an excuse to not offer you a full-time role.

 

Main advice I'd give is that you have time to figure it out. Most people are still figuring it out and, personally, I only really felt like I was getting in the swing of my own career at around 27, then had a massive dip in not knowing what to do, then have been REALLY feeling good about it for the past two years. Good luck!

[WildOne]

I read OP but not any of the replies, but just know that everything you're going through is very normal, and a poor manager squandering your potential value to a company is not at all an indicator of your career's future trajectory. I've felt like my career has been in a rut for the last four years, yesterday I got offered a job of my dreams. You never know what is around the corner, so whether through your current job, or in your spare time, keep working on YOURSELF, and keep striving to be the ideal person for your ideal jobs, and when the opportunity comes around, and it will, you'll be prepared to kill it.

[Onyxmage]

Not your boss sabotaging you and then saying you didn’t deserve the promotion.

[jesus del rey]

I am also feeling the same thing but in a different way. I am 24 and just finished my MSc and I still couldn't get a job offer since April  The main reason being that I need a visa sponsor and no one wants to sponsor me. And I already have 2 years of work experience in my field and worked with biggest companies around the world. On top of that, I have excellent academic scores, yet no one sees the value  I truly feel lost and stuck and don't know what to do. 

[katykater]

It's the post-grad experience of finding a place where you belong.

 

The Fed is raising interest rates to slow down the economy by trying to convince people to stop spending. Companies can react with budget cuts, layoffs,...

 

Quote

YouTube’s advertising revenue dropped for the third quarter in a row, dragging down Google’s financial results as the video platform continues to navigate a soft ad market.

Ad sales at YouTube declined 2.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2023, to $6.69 billion. That slightly beat out analyst expectations of $6.6 billion, per FactSet. Parent company Alphabet doesn’t break out YouTube’s subscription revenue (from YouTube TV or YouTube’s other premium services). YouTube revenue was down 7.8% in the fourth quarter of 2022 following a 1.9% dip the quarter before that.

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/youtube-q1-2023-ad-revenue-decline-alphabet-earnings-1235594043/

In the early days of COVID, advertising budgets were cut because they expected people to stop spending. No point in spending on advertising if you know that the ROI is gonna be negative anyway.

 

Startups can be messy because there aren't much people working in the company and anything can be thrown at you. If you feel like being used like a garbage can, you can look for another job. Where else could they have thrown that 25 page report task at.

 

In medium or large companies there are more clearly defined roles, departments,...

 

If you are good in your field/profession, the colleagues can see that and when they become managers in another company, they might offer a job to you. That's how I got my current job, old colleagues went to the competition and headhunted me.

 

I look in financial statements to see if they can afford me and stay in business. If I invest time in a company, I want to be sure that they still exist in 5, 10,... years.

[getBusy]

You’re still in your early days, trying to figure things out. Honestly, going through sh*t like this will help you learn what your style is and what things you can and cannot tolerate in a work environment. I promise you, it’s a good thing. 

 

And your manager plays a HUGE component in both your day to day and your long term career - once you find a great manager you’ll see the big difference it makes. I didn’t find a PROPER good manager until i was 8 years into my career 💀

Edited July 20, 2023 by getBusy

[espeon]

I have been at my job for 2 years now (plus an internship at the same place before). I love my team and my manager, they are all super lovely, I just find the work that my team is doing to be a bit on the boring side.

 

I am keep being told I am performing well and that I am ready for promotion, but that promotion never happens… My manager has been supportive and transparent, they told me that some things unfortunately are out of their control (up to finance/budget per headcount and the senior management). At the same time I feel bored of what I am doing and would like to move to another team. However, I do not want to risk it all and move under a new manager that does not know me. It will postpone my promotion even further away…

 

Growth opportunities and managerial positions are almost impossible to get, it feels like you just have to wait for someone to leave or get fired for that to happen. I have looked externally and applied to more senior roles or managerial positions in my field, but always getting rejected.

 

so yeah, kinda feeling stuck in my team, awaiting always for the promotion that never comes and hoping I can transfer after I get it. And if I want to find something better externally, it is the same. I am just trying to be patient and get more experience until I either get finally promoted or find something better externally. But some weeks feel like they are dragging on forever…

[Just a Gay on ATRL]

I never work for start-ups for the exact reasons you're alluding to in the OP. They're messy and disorganized, lol. I interviewed at positions for some and never got a great vibe.

 

I'm 28 and I've switched jobs 3 times in the last 4 years. I worked at 3 different office jobs in the same general line of work between Fall 2017 to April 2023.  I don't regret switching a single time I switched and it all lead me to the job I have today which is so much better. The first 3 prior were all kinda rough though: I was working INSANE hours for pay I felt was comparatively underwhelming for the amount that was expected of me, office cultures were generally toxic and draining, a lot of greed at the top, etc. Each time I had a gut feeling when I knew it was time to leave, ran with that gut feeling & responded to recruiters on LinkedIn like crazy & set up interviews.

[katara]

The only way to advance job wise seems to be to quit and work for another company with better conditions. I just did this after my ex-company kept me at the same level for 4 years. 

[brenda-walsh]

16 hours ago, Ryan said:

Congrats on graduating. You’re going to float from positions until you find what works best for you. Very few people post-graduation land immediately in their field (and the reality is some never do). The moment you learn to use these companies the way they use you, the better off you will be. Especially working in startups. Leverage your position and time by using one job to land another. That’s the way to “play the game” so to speak. Eventually you will find a place that fulfills you work wise and meets all your asks.

 

Dont feel like you *have* to be at a certain point by a certain age. I felt that way in my twenties and despite having some career success; it wasn’t where I thought I should be. That didn’t happen until my thirties but everyone is different. 

Basically I’m trying to say don’t feel discouraged. You got this. The right place is out there for you. 

i guess i just want to skip this stage and be at the part where i'm stable in my career already lol, but i know right now is very valuable to the future and i can learn a lot from it

16 hours ago, X~MoviePoP said:

What did you study in school?

marketing

 

16 hours ago, Gorjesspazze9 said:

I’m the opposite. I can’t find a career I actually enjoy or that pays well. Don’t know what to do with my life

i'm sorry to hear that :( i know a lot of people in the same boat, the only thing i can say is apply your overall strengths and interests in your personal life to a potential career. think about what really excites you and how it applies to a job 

[brenda-walsh]

15 hours ago, Ewan Chaos said:

It sounds like the startup world doesn't suit you, and I felt the same way when I decided to take a leap and go work for a start up early in my career. Never again Try to apply to medium/larger companies if you decide to start looking for work again. Working part-time is probably the best time to start looking for a new role btw: you'll be able to more easily schedule multiple interviews without disrupting work, you'd have a valid reason to give hiring managers looking for work (you can say your current role won't become full time and you're looking for a full time role), etc.

 

I'd say 3 months isn't a terribly long time if you want to wait to reevaluate what you want to do then in case you do get offered a full-time role... but if you had to go through that weird report issue, there are HIGH chances you're going to either have to deal with shitty stuff like that more often in a full-time role or they'll give you another "set up to fail" project so that they have an excuse to not offer you a full-time role.

 

Main advice I'd give is that you have time to figure it out. Most people are still figuring it out and, personally, I only really felt like I was getting in the swing of my own career at around 27, then had a massive dip in not knowing what to do, then have been REALLY feeling good about it for the past two years. Good luck!

i definitely took a leap of faith because of the opportunity to make a big impact and mold the position/ department into my own image. they've definitely overworked me so maybe being part-time and getting to look elsewhere is a blessing in disguise. i also never thought about the potential of being given another "set up to fail" project lmao

 

but this was really great advice, thanks so much 

 

14 hours ago, Onyxmage said:

Not your boss sabotaging you and then saying you didn’t deserve the promotion.

no literally, she was already pissing me off for that week and a half and when she came back with that offer i called like 4 different people to rant about it 

[John Slayne]

I agree with what everyone else said, but would also like to stress that that startup sounds shady AF! I'd be looking for a new job if I were you. 

[X~MoviePoP]

3 hours ago, brenda-walsh said:

i guess i just want to skip this stage and be at the part where i'm stable in my career already lol, but i know right now is very valuable to the future and i can learn a lot from it

marketing

 

i'm sorry to hear that :( i know a lot of people in the same boat, the only thing i can say is apply your overall strengths and interests in your personal life to a potential career. think about what really excites you and how it applies to a job 

Was marketing hard to study?

[brenda-walsh]

1 hour ago, X~MoviePoP said:

Was marketing hard to study?

some classes were harder than others 

[X~MoviePoP]

8 minutes ago, brenda-walsh said:

some classes were harder than others 

Like which ones

[brenda-walsh]

18 minutes ago, X~MoviePoP said:

Like which ones

i'm confused what this has to do with the OP