Is it extreme boredom or anxiety?

cinnamony

Hi guys,

I'm 23 and graduated last year with an MSc in Data Science after having completed a B.A. in Statistics and Philosophy.

All my life I have struggled with severe OCD for which I have been on a very high list of meds for and which has affected my life severely. During my BA my grades would fluctuate a lot, from high A's during periods of remission to Low B's and C's during severe episodes - most of which required hospitalisation. In many cases I attended exams having spent the previous night in hospital.

During my MSc I had a few events in my life that led me to another episode of OCD, including the death of a close friend. I was put on an antidepressant and after a suicide attempt the psychiatrist I was seeing told me there was no more they could do as I had been on over 10 medications throughout my life already and they don't know how else to treat me. So i was discharged and taken off the anti depressant to which I was addicted and had to go through a withdrawal period that lasted 3 months by myself. Despite this, I was very successful with my projects in college achieving many 1.1s and 2.1s with programming related assignments but this wasnt enough and I ended up graduating with a high 2.2.

Upon graduating I found it hard to find a junior role in Data Science in Ireland as they are scarce, I didn't want to apply for big companies because they only care about grades so I felt I didn't have a chance, then the role I am working at appeared. I was told I would be working as a Data Analyst within the Data Analytics team and my role was described as Managing Databases, Developing VBA Macros, Algorithms and carrying out Statistical Analysis but despite having worked here for months now this is not how it has turned out.

I do work with the Data Analytics team but not a single one of them has any idea of what they are doing, it takes my manager hours to create pivot reports and he can't even do simple graphs because he doesn't understand Statistics. My job is mainly helping others with Excel related stuff so most days I arrive at the office at 8 and have nothing to do all day, sometimes someone efs up a Macro or something and I have to fix it, but mostly its just a formula or someone asking me how to highlight duplicates.

I'm trying to do the best I can to deal with this because I've built a relationship with the development team who told me they will eventually train me in Java. But I have noticed ever since starting to work here I have developed severe nail bitting, it is so bad I have infections on my fingers and i'm constantly in pain due to swelling, this only happens when I'm at work as I don't bite my nails at home or during the weekends.

I've tried asking my colleagues if they need help to give me something to do but they're in the same boat as me and often ask me the same thing. As a result I end up just counting each second until I get home and this has been everyday of the week for me for the past few months. I'm the kind of person that I NEED to keep my self active all the time otherwise I don't know what to do with myself, as a result this has been a really bad experience for me.

I really don't know if I'm just extremely bored or anxious, every morning it becomes harder and harder to get up but at night its hard to sleep. I feel numb all the time and even food doesn't taste that great anymore. I'm worried that its not the company but me who isnt cut out for office work. Yet I have no idea what else I can do.

Any advice on this would be extremely appreciated, I don't want medical advice just want to know what I can do to (hopefully) improve my life.

Thanks guys!

Teyla Emmagan

Time to go back to your doc.

And find a few job, something more challenging.

Rubberchikken

Have you a manager or supervisor you could speak to? It seems to ne you would be happy there if you were busy and productive.
Regardless of health issues you have managed to complete college successfully and get a job that could turn into a career with the right managemen.
Good luck

cinnamony

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Time to go back to your doc.

And find a few job, something more challenging.

Hi Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately I have moved counties so I can't go back to my Dr, I'm still signed to the services there because I haven't found permanent accommodation here yet but the issue is that its not feasible for me to travel to appointments.

I have started applying for jobs but its likely I'll have to immigrate.

cinnamony

Rubberchikken wrote: »

Have you a manager or supervisor you could speak to? It seems to ne you would be happy there if you were busy and productive.
Regardless of health issues you have managed to complete college successfully and get a job that could turn into a career with the right managemen.
Good luck

Thanks for the advice! I have spoken to management and was told they cant give me more responsibilities because I need about 2 years of training in Administration first...

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

cinnamony

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Thanks for the advice! I already know Python and R and did a lot of projects in college and in my own time in both of these languages as well as Database oriented languages. The problem is I can't find true entry level roles in the field in Ireland, they're usually just excel or even data entry roles disguised as "Data Analyst" jobs.. I thought of immigrating to the US because I know there's a lot of demand there but I have no connections at all in the USA so I'd imagine my chances are slim. I'm going to start looking at the UK instead as it seems to be better than Ireland for this because I really do think its a waste and my salary is really low too (for Dublin)

Aglomerado

OP, like the last poster I can't help with the personal issue, but there is a recruitment campaign underway which might be of interest to you.
Best of luck to you with everything!

cinnamony

Aglomerado wrote: »

OP, like the last poster I can't help with the personal issue, but there is a recruitment campaign underway which might be of interest to you.
Best of luck to you with everything!

Hey thanks a million! Unfortunately I'm not eligible as they require a minimum 2.1 (I got a 2.2)

Tiddlypeeps

cinnamony wrote: »

I thought of immigrating to the US because I know there's a lot of demand there but I have no connections at all in the USA so I'd imagine my chances are slim. I'm going to start looking at the UK instead as it seems to be better than Ireland for this because I really do think its a waste and my salary is really low too (for Dublin)

You could try Canada. I'm in Toronto right now and the tech industry here is absolutely booming. Wages aren't as lucrative as the US but the government and social policies here are a lot more sane. Plus it's a lot easier for an Irish person to get into, pretty much any person under 30 can get a 2 year work visa with very little effort.

cinnamony

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

You could try Canada. I'm in Toronto right now and the tech industry here is absolutely booming. Wages aren't as lucrative as the US but the government and social policies here are a lot more sane. Plus it's a lot easier for an Irish person to get into, pretty much any person under 30 can get a 2 year work visa with very little effort.

Hi thank you for the suggestion! I actually hadn't considered Canada, I don't mind lower pay if the living conditions are better. My problem in Ireland atm is that I can't find a genuine Data Analytics role and my salary (now 25k) means I am essentially working to live. I'll research about Canada! Does the fact I speak French help at all when looking for work there?

Fighting Tao

cinnamony wrote: »

Hey thanks a million! Unfortunately I'm not eligible as they require a minimum 2.1 (I got a 2.2)

I wouldn’t let that put you off applying. Many people have gotten jobs they were not qualified for by taking a chance.

Aglomerado

Fighting Tao wrote: »

I wouldn’t let that put you off applying. Many people have gotten jobs they were not qualified for by taking a chance.

+1. You have some work experience that will stand to you also.

Fighting Tao

I got my first job as a trainee programmer straight from school. Since then I have trained quite a lot of juniors. I’d much prefer someone who wants to learn with no degree than someone with a 1.1 who thinks they know t all.

If you see a job you fancy, go for it. They worst that can happen is that you get no response. That could happen even if you had a 1.1 and 10 years experience.

Tiddlypeeps

cinnamony wrote: »

Hi thank you for the suggestion! I actually hadn't considered Canada, I don't mind lower pay if the living conditions are better. My problem in Ireland atm is that I can't find a genuine Data Analytics role and my salary (now 25k) means I am essentially working to live. I'll research about Canada! Does the fact I speak French help at all when looking for work there?

French would help if you want to get a job in Québec, outside of that it would only help if the specific job calls for it.

I doubled my salary when I moved over here. So while salaries are not as crazy high as they can get in the US they are still higher than you're likely to find back home.

heretothere

Fighting Tao wrote: »

I got my first job as a trainee programmer straight from school. Since then I have trained quite a lot of juniors. I’d much prefer someone who wants to learn with no degree than someone with a 1.1 who thinks they know t all.

If you see a job you fancy, go for it. They worst that can happen is that you get no response. That could happen even if you had a 1.1 and 10 years experience.

Completely agree with this, and there is no harm at all in applying. The unfortunate thing is half the time if they ask you this it's a filter question and if you fall under it they won't even look at your C.V. so if you are applying of a job with a requirement like that it's usually on jobs.ie etc there are questions you need to answer before submitting your C.V. don't get disheartened if you hear nothing at all back.

You could be 10 times better at the job and they are loosing out by not even reading your C.V.

Also think travelling would be good to help expand your work experience and life experience. Canada is def the hot place to go at the moment. It's not impossible to go to the USA either. If you are within a year/ 18 months after graduation I think you can get a visa pretty handy.

cinnamony

Thank you all so much for the good advice offered!
I ended up receiving an offer already for a well known MNC with a really good salary.
The cost of living in Dublin is still an issue but at least I won't be living paycheck to paycheck anymore and will even be able to save up!

Travelling outside of Ireland is definitely something I'll still keep an eye on as I'm still concerned with the quality of life I can have here in Dublin even with a well paid job. Its a pity that our beautiful country has come to this mess