Job struggles

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Why does it always have to be so difficult?

I went back to school when I turned 40 because it was an unresolved area in my life. I realized that if I didn’t do it now I never would. I decided to get an Associate’s degree in accounting and see what I could become. It has been a struggle most of the time. I’m not that great with computers, and learning Excel was difficult for me. Most of the younger students can do it very easily, but it takes me twice as long to remember the basic functions. My worst grade so far has been a C+ in my first accounting class. It just seemed like everyone caught on so much more quickly than I did, and it didn’t help that the instructor was very bright, but not so good at explaining the concepts. During our one and only tutoring session I was mostly confused.

I persevered and have had straight A’s ever since. I may not understand concepts right away, but I studied like crazy, joined other people in study groups, attended tutoring sessions, the works. It felt like I fought my way through those classes; it never came easily to me. I’ll graduate in June.:slight_smile:

I had my first kid when I was 21 and my second when I was 27. DH and I decided that it was important that we didn’t put them into daycare; we wanted to raise them ourselves. The jobs that I’ve had have been mostly menial; a daycare (the schedule was perfect as it was part of a school and I had all holidays and summers off), various retail jobs, and so on. I always wanted to stretch myself and do more, but time slipped by and so on. I did own my own business for several years, but sold it in 2005.

Also, I had a pretty bad incident with anxiety/depression in 1999 and have been unconsiously protecting myself from too much stress. It’s just not worth it. On the other hand, do I prevent myself from stretching my wings because I’m afraid that the anxiety will come back? That’s what I’ve been doing since then; settling for what is easy and relatively effortless.

I’ve been off meds for a long time now and have realized that I need to try. I don’t want to have regrets for what could have been. The fear of fear can be very powerful, but the kids are older now and I’m out of excuses. Plus, earning a good living would be wonderful instead of worrying about money and doing without so many things.

So, here I am. I just started a new job a week and 1/2 ago, and am feeling utterly lost. Everyone is so much younger than me and they catch on much more quickly. I’m struggling with the software, the accounting concepts, the commute (45 minutes each way, if I’m lucky) and the feeling that I’m in the wrong place for me.

Now what? Jobs are so hard to come by, and the competition for this one was fierce. 70 people made it through, and there were over 1,200 applicants. I keep telling myself that they must have seen something in me to hire me, but I’m just not happy there.

We need the money. My husband is laid off. The pay is fair and if I can hang in there, the training I’m getting will help with future jobs. I miss the people from my most recent job; I loved it there. My commute took seven minutes. Unfortunately it was part-time and the pay was very low. We can’t live on that. Now it takes over an hour to get to work when it’s snowy or icy. I leave the house at 7:15 and get home at 6:45.

I guess I just needed to vent. I don’t know what to do, but I do know that I’m unhappy and don’t know what to do next.

2

Hang in there! A few weeks is seriously not enough time to tell if your new job is going to be a keeper or not. You’re dealing with massive stress from trying to learn new skills, meeting new people, and adapting to new routines.

Every time I’ve changed jobs I had the same second thoughts. Things got a lot better once I got to know my coworkers and made friends, basically. Just the feeling that you’re not alone helps.

And, by the way, I’ve been both the youngest guy (by 15+ years) at one job, and am now at your age where I’m working now. Even when I was the young turk with all the computer skills, the older employees were necessary because of their experience and level-headedness (not that I noticed at the time, :wink: ). Just the fact that you’re not a youngster who assumes he or she already knows everything can be an asset.

3

No fun. The thing I hated most about my last job was the commute. 50 minutes on a good day (and that was starting at 5:30 in the morning, so I could avoid the traffic!)

I don’t have any words of wisdom, but came in to wish you luck!

4

When I was commuting into Detroit on a daily basis, I discovered that the cost of Sirius radio was cheap compared to the dread of the commute time. I discovered “radio classics” and that kept me company every day. It made the trip much better for me.

I have had jobs where I hated the tasks I was doing & did the job so I could keep food on the table. Remember that just because you took a new job, you do not have to stop looking. The market is tight and it might take a while to find a new one that is closer to home and a better fit. You might as well start now. Meanwhile, you might find that your view of the current job improves as you adapt to it and it adapts to you.

5

I do books on tape on my 45 minute commute. Or I use the time to think.

New jobs are like that - no one catches on right away. Be pleasant and professional and eventually you’ll get comfortable.

6

The best advice I have for you is to think of your situation as only temporary. You can change jobs if this one proves to be intolerable, you can find a job with a shorter commute, your husband can find a good job to relieve the financial stress, and so on. It sounds like you feel stuck where you are now, as if this is how your life will be forever, and that would make anybody feel disheartened. If you can change your perspective and see that your situation can and will change at some point, that you only have to make it through this temporary unhappiness, you’ll probably feel better about your present circumstances.

BTW, I can relate to the commuting fatigue. It’s draining to spend that much time on the road. As ASAKMOTSD said, you can (and should) continue to look for a better fit (or at least a closer one!) if you aren’t happy with this one.

7

Today for a variety of reasons, I decided to quit the job. It was such a poor fit for my personality and skill level. The really weird part is that I went to Target to pick up a few things, bumped into a previous supervisor from my last job, and she said that they wished I would come back. I told her that I am available, so I start back there tomorrow morning.

What are the odds of that happening? The pay is much less and I have very real concerns about making ends meet, but I doubt I would have lasted much longer anyhow. I need some more education before I feel ready to deal with what was thrown at me every day - I felt like I was drowning in uncertainty and doubt.

I got to work early every day, worked hard and tried to stay cheerful, but was not catching on as well as the other employees. Most of them have completed their education and are very well versed in computers. I took materials home and studied at night but was constantly behind. Case in point? We were given a hypothetical client today and were told to complete the 1120C in two hours. Data regarding the depreciation of fixed assets, the sale of stock, and how to input figures on the balance sheet was included. I’ve never done an 1120 in my life. Everyone else was done fairly quickly and they had a chance to chill a little as I struggled on. We were each in our own cubicles, but as fate would have it I’m off by myself a little. While the others were able to compare notes due to being close to one another, I didn’t really have that advantage, or feel comfortable asking people I barely knew. Besides, it was important to me that I try to figure it out as best I could on my own. Every day was like that, with problems and questions thrown at me that I’ve never seen before, and with no opportunity to interact with anyone else to get some help.

The training sessions were fast-paced and again, I wasn’t comprehending material that came easily to the others. We got to the point where each of us had to go to the front of the room and use a computer to work through a problem and answer the questions - you never knew what the question might be. Everybody watched as each person found the solution. I had a very hard time with that. I have no problem with public speaking, but I rarely knew the answers. I took notes and studied and practiced at night, but always seemed to be a day or two behind where I should have been.

This is such a shame. If the training methods were different I would have been happy to work there. As it was, I needed more assistance and interaction with others than was provided. I wish everyone there well and hope that they have a good tax season. I’ll try again somewhere else.

Crap.

8

My sincere sympathies - I just posted in the mini-rants today about how my new job (three weeks in) is not a keeper, and I will be quitting it, too. I’ve been an administrative professional for almost 14 years now; the last eight or so have been in accounting departments. I actually enjoy accounting work, but my personality, experience, (and, let’s be honest here, age) makes it very difficult for me to just sit down and shut up and wait for someone else to direct my day. I feel like I need to take another step on my career path, but I don’t know what that step is.

You’ve learned things from your experience at this job, so it wasn’t a failure. You’re right about not getting too stressed out, too - it isn’t a failure to look after yourself and keep yourself healthy, either. Maybe a step down the accounting ladder would be a better first job for you - something more accounting clerk/bookkeeper and less Chartered Accountant. Accounting clerks still make pretty good money, with much less stress.