Never happy with work

LegacyUser

I have been thinking about the fact that I never seem to be happy in work and I'm wondering if there might be some underlying issue.

Bit of a background.

I'm a well educated person in my early thirties, I have a level 10 qualification in the life sciences area and always did several courses here and there to upskill.

When I finished my undegrad I went to work for a company where I stayed a few months only (left due to the company closing), then I joined another company for just less than 1 year and returned to uni to do a postgrad.

Since the postgrad I have been involved in short term (less than 1 year) projects only, 2 of which were in uni. I then joined a company where I only lasted less than 6 months as I felt totally undervalued.

Now I returned to academia for another short term project, a few months have gone by which I have enjoyed but all I have been thinking recently is what's next?

I just seem to feel totally unsatisfied wherever I have been but I can't figure out why is that, there are a lot of people that are doing worse than me but yet I can't seem to appreciate what I have.

I feel it has to do with the fact that there is no pattern in my career, each job has been completely different from the previous one. It annoys me when I hear people saying everyone looks for people with different backgrounds so they can view things differently, but yet how can someone become specialised in anything if they keep changing for completely different jobs?

I suppose my question is did anyone experience anything similar at some stage in their life?

pookie82

workissues wrote: »

I'm a well educated person in my early thirties, I have a level 10 qualification in the life sciences area and always did several courses here and there to upskill.

When I finished my undegrad I went to work for a company where I stayed a few months only (left due to the company closing), then I joined another company for just less than 1 year and returned to uni to do a postgrad.

Since the postgrad I have been involved in short term (less than 1 year) projects only, 2 of which were in uni. I then joined a company where I only lasted less than 6 months as I felt totally undervalued.

Now I returned to academia for another short term project, a few months have gone by which I have enjoyed but all I have been thinking recently is what's next?

I just seem to feel totally unsatisfied wherever I have been but I can't figure out why is that,

What jumps out at me is how little time you've given anything you've tried so far. The first instance of leaving when a company closed you couldn't help - but leaving a job after 6 months because you felt undervalued? That's barely enough time to settle in and find your feet, never mind become disillusioned.

I don't know if you're giving anything a fair shot here, and maybe that's where your dissatisfaction is coming from. In my experience you rarely start a job and think within a couple of months "wow, this is perfect, this company really appreciate me, they're definitely paying me over and above, I've achieved my dream here".

It's more often the case that you do the hard slog for a couple of initial years in the workforce and then move your way up after proving yourself ... You're not really giving this common process a shot.

LegacyUser

Op here.

Very fair point, something which I thought about myself.

I think the main issues were the stages of my life at which each position

If the company didn't close in the very first job, I probably would have stayed there as I thought the atmosphere was ok.

For the second job for less than 1 year, I felt squeezed like an orange, everyday was a struggle,very little room for error and high pressure and didn't see myself lasting long term in that kind of role so went back to uni.

In the work done in uni after completing the level 10, you are pretty much given full responsibilities from day one and it is up to you to figure out how to do it. You can make mistakes provided nothing serious comes out of them! and then you can rectify them

When I returned to the last company for 6 months, I felt totally undervalued as the approach was completely different. I was aware that I had to start from the bottom but felt like I was being used to do the things that nobody else there wanted to do, didn't see my skillset improving and ultimately was affecting my quality of life. But as you say, 6 months wouldn't be long enough in any private company to achieve that

Sometimes I feel uni ruined me, but on the other side I question myself if I would have survived long term in any other of those jobs

pookie82

workissues wrote: »

When I returned to the last company for 6 months, I felt totally undervalued as the approach was completely different. I was aware that I had to start from the bottom but felt like I was being used to do the things that nobody else there wanted to do, didn't see my skillset improving and ultimately was affecting my quality of life. But as you say, 6 months wouldn't be long enough in any private company to achieve that

This is often the case when you first join any job or department! Last in the door tends to get the crappiest work no one else wants. If you stick it out, and show you're willing to put the head down, though, you'll eventually get to pass this to the next "last in the door" and progress and be recognised.

Most discussions around promotions and pay rises contain statements like "I've shown I'm a hard worker and will do whatever is given to me, but I feel like I've proven myself now and it's time to move up". And this could be 2-3 years in. You haven't even given yourself half a year.

Unlikely you'd notice a massive improvement in skillset in 6 months either - as I said above, this is still the point where you're settling in and finding your feet.

I think your problem might be that you want to enter a company on a level suited to you without doing any groundwork to get there ...

avalon68

I think one issue is that a PhD over qualifies you for most industry based jobs in Ireland. The research side of the work, which is probably more suited to your skill set, is mainly carried out abroad - just production/QC in Ireland. Why not try working abroad for a while?

Design78

I have found myself changing jobs every 18 months or so in recent years. When I started off my career I stayed in my first job 4 years and second job 5 years. I now find at about 12 months I start getting board and restless, I initially thought that I was unlucky and just not finding roles that suited me. I've now decided to embrace the fact that I enjoy change and move over to consultancy based work. Might be worth considering.

baby and crumble

It sounds to me op that you're also a little sick of "doing things for other people"- if you work
In industry you'll always be doing this, working on other people's ideas, making other people money. Whereas in academia for the most part you work on what you want, an idea you have. Maybe that's something to look at? I know I couldn't work in a job that's just making other people money, so i work exclusively in the not-for-profit sector. With science that's a little more difficult I grant you but it's something to think about re: your motivation etc.

LegacyUser

Op here

thank you all for the replies, I think you all made very valid points.

pookie82, you are right when you say about ''wanting to enter a company on a level suited to you without doing any groundwork to get there''

I found very frustrating in the last job to be surrounded by people just out of college after their degree and doing pretty much the same tasks. Especially having done a very similar role before, but I also had every reason to believe that this job was going to be different from the job spec. In certain aspects it revealed to be better but in others I found it to be worse, it certainly made me more aware of questions that i should have asked during the interview stage but I didn't..that's one big mistake, taking things for granted..

I also been thinking about the point that 6 months isn't long enough, I really felt that things weren't working out there so I decided to cut my losses. In some way, isn't it better to do this sooner rather than later?

Avalon68, you are right on that point but I am quite wary of going abroad in an 'unknown system' to be honest. Most people I know who ended up a broad, had some sort of previous knowledge of where they were ending up so the risk was mitigated. I'm also aware that if i have to take a risk, the time do so is now because I have little to lose.

Consultancy in science is possible but I'd need a lot more experience behind me to back it up, it's a no go at the moment but it is something which I have been thinking about Design78.

Baby and crumble, it certainly not a nice feeling to know that you are getting totally exploited! But I wouldn't say that is the main reason for my issue, right now I am also doing things for other people, but I am doing it my way if you get me and feel like my qualification is worth something

Money wasn't the main thing at least up to now, I had to take a paycut of a few grand in my last job which I accepted considering I thought I had a lot to learn in it.

I really hope to sort out the main thing that bothers me now in the next few years which is stay in the same job for at least 2-3 years.

bonyn

Hi op. First, college/uni is not the real world. Some people make good careers in academia, but there's only so many of those jobs so unless you intend to be a student for the rest of your life you need to make a better go of working.

You have the academic experience, all you need is the life experience and work experience. While you build enough work experience and find your career path, you're just going to have to grin and bear it. The job you're in might not be exciting, but rather than exiting the workforce or exiting the industry you're in altogether, should look for another job you can move to - either within the company in a more suitable role, or elsewhere in the industry. No shame at all exploring a few different career options too, you have plenty of time. But don't keep exiting a job to take up an entry level one.. try to incorporate transferable skills and industry experience in your career path.

Next job you find, don't be too hard on yourself if the job isn't perfect. I'd recommend some professional help if overthinking or feeling you're being exploited or letting yourself down. Try CBT or maybe even career counselling, or your GP if appropriate. It will be much cheaper and more beneficial than another year in college.