Am I doing too much?

My girlfriend and I have been talking about it I'm trying to take on too much.

I currently work 8-5, Monday through Friday. But in reality that 8-6/7 M&F and 8-5 Tues-Thursday. And Saturday & Sunday for a total of 10-12hrs.

Then Tuesday - Thursday I take night classes from 545-1040PM. (Full time, 10 weeks accelerated classes to finish my bachelor's in Network Engineering.)

At work I currently:

Manage phones PBX/VoIP/BlackBerrys (&BES Server)
Networking Tier 1
Server Administration Tier 1
Desktop Support Tier 2
Purchasing for IT Dept.
ERP support for two ERP solutions at both companies
Exchange Support Tier 2

Now they want me to take on Sharepoint Development & Administration. Also - they want to send me for ITIL training and soon ISO/IEC20000 training.

Did I mention I also live by myself? - so taking care of my apartment is a whole thing in itself.

-oh, and I'll only be 23 next week.

Am I pushing myself too hard?

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Comments

dynamik

Ditch the girlfriend, and you'll find yourself with plenty of time

That does sound like a bit much though.

HeroPsycho

You're slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) burning yourself out.

Factor in this:

You should be spending at least 1-2 hours per credit hour of a college class studying outside of the class.

Ask yourself how much you're getting out of your investment in college if you can't spend the necessary time on it to learn it very well. You've mentioned you're doing well grade wise in school, but the reason you're there is to learn, not get good grades, first and foremost.

crrussell3

I wish I had your problem (to an extent), as contract work doesn't give me opportunities like that.

Like others have said, it does sound like you are slowly burning yourself out. Before I was laid off back in February I was working as a Mechanical Technician (read Mech Engineer without degree) and working 50+ hour weeks, studying/researching at home, and balancing family life. It lead to a quick burn out trying to learn too much too fast and working too many hours as it was available.

Might want to slow down a bit before you begin to dislike what you are doing.

Hyper-Me

I think you are fine.

This industry is one that weeds out the weak because a lot of people cant keep up.

Im not saying you are weak, because that is a good load of responsibility and you are obviously juggling it nicely.

Its likely that the size of the networks you support are 1/100th of the one I support, im starting college back in jan or feb and in the past 5 months ive gained about 7 certifications, also waiting on results for 3 others. On top of my day to day responsiblities managing a massive AD environment, Im also about to be tasked with designing an exchange environment for 8100 people, as well as pairing that with OCS and Sharepoint. I'm still pursuing other certifications as in the meantime as well. I also have my own house which is a decent size, more to take care of, and i live alone. Im only 24.

Not trying to overshadow what you are doing, like i said its a good load and you are handling it well. Just realize that there are people doing much more, and there are even more doing a lot less. It sounds like you are on a good path to flourish in this field if you can do what you are doing and keeping yourself together.

Don't LET it burn you out, and you'll be fine. We all need to know when its time to step back for a day or two and relax.

Essendon

That's bloody full-on mate. No way I could work full-time and attend classes after hours. I think we have another member, msteinhilber I think it is, who does a similar thing, maybe there are a couple others. I dont know how you guys do it, so good on you.

Plantwiz

FadeToBright wrote: »

...

-oh, and I'll only be 23 next week.

Am I pushing myself too hard?

Nope.

Did something similar well over 20 years ago, and held that pace until I was about 30-32 year old.

At some point, decide if you are making progress toward your personal goals..if you are...hang in there. If you are not, or are unhappy...then drop some of the tasks and/or the relationship and make more time for yourself. It is real easy to add things back in if you find that you have 'too' much free time.

Social life typically suffers and you'll probably find that you make up for the 'social' part of your life by being at work and interacting there.

The good news is, the more you work the less time you have to spend the money. So pay the rent/mortgage, keep the lights one, buy food, keep the car runnning (if you have one) and squirrel the rest away until you can decide what is best for you.

btw-it only seems like a lot because many have their goals too low

Take care not to ruin your health though, so you need to decide if you are reaching that point.

RobertKaucher

Plantwiz wrote: »

Nope.
The good news is, the more you work the less time you have to spend the money. So pay the rent/mortgage, keep the lights one, buy food, keep the car runnning (if you have one) and squirrel the rest away until you can decide what is best for you.

btw-it only seems like a lot because many have their goals too low

Take care not to ruin your health though, so you need to decide if you are reaching that point.

I agree with this. But I think it might make you feel better if you answer some questions for yourself:
How long do you intend on working/studying this hard?
How is this helping you accomplish your goals?
Are you making enough money or getting enough of some other compensation to justify the amount of work you are doing?

It will help if you give yourself some clarity. If you are just working your ass of for the sake of working, you will burn out fast.

steve617

At 23 you have a lot of drive compared to many people your age. If you just have 10 weeks school left that should give you some breathing room after it's over. As long as you can handle it I would stick with it. I don't think your pushing yourself to hard. I have done basically the same thing. Worked full time 40 to 48 hours a week. I take 15 hours a semester, have a wife and kid. Plus play golf whenever I get a chance. Oh left this out I'm 46 years old. Now at 23 I had different priorities, which is why I am going to school now. I graduate next month BS Information Technology.

shodown

I was like that when I was around your age. I had a good GF, and was grinidng at work day in and day out and going to college, all while in the Navy. Fast foward a few years. She left me, I have a great job and make a bunch of money. But you can't replace good people in your life. Charish them, because they can be gone in a blink of a eye. So you and her talk and work out something. Then you have to stick to it. If you are making your work obligaitons of 40 hours then you should be done. The work will be there when you come back. Now if emergencies come up its okay to work longer, but if not enjoy your time off.

blargoe

I'll give a different answer and say, that as long as it isn't a detriment to your relationship with the gf, and you have the energy, then go for it. Just know that you can't keep this pace forever, at some point other things should and will end up taking priority in life and it will all balance out. I was able to knock out a lot when I was first out of school, but today with family, social, work committments, minor medical afflictions, and just general decline in energy, it would be nearly impossible for me now.

UnixGuy

I agree with blargoe...you're new to IT, and you need to build strong foundation...but your gf is a priority to all this

ColbyG

None of us can really say how YOU are affected by this schedule. For me, it would be far too much. For some others it might be perfect. I think you should be the one answering the question.

miller811

Sacrifice now to celebrate later...

NightShade03

I agree with many others here that you are doing just fine. I just recently graduated (I'm 23 too) and I used to take 21 credits a semester + work a full time job. It's all a matter of how much you think you can handle reasonably. Everyone is different...

Megadeth4168

If you can handle it now and get it over with early then do it! I work a full time job and have a full class load.

I put off college and now I'm 28, married and I have a daughter. I consider spending time with my family more important than anything else, as such, I have absolutely no free time to myself right now.

For example, I bought a new game for my PC 2 weeks ago, played it work about 15 minutes before work and then haven't touched the game again until just yesterday! I work a government job so I had yesterday off of work! My wife had to work and my daughter still had school... Ahhhh... It was nice to have some free time to myself!

My point is, get it done now, unless it is affecting your relationship.

Slowhand

If you think you're doing fine, then you're doing fine. If you think you're doing too much, then you're doing too much. You have to decide for yourself, figure out if it's putting too much pressure on you. I will say this, however, the idea that you're "only 23" isn't a drawback, it's an asset.

I'm only 27, and I'm already feeling the burn of "getting old", not being able to push myself as hard as I could when I was 18. Those all-nighters studying and days running on only a few hours sleep are getting harder and harder, they're taking a lot more out of me than they used to. As I progress through school, I'm feeling the pressure building and I wish I was still young enough to handle all of it with little or no slowdown.

Taking on this kind of schedule, working through a major project like finishing a degree or taking a series of certs will take their toll, regardless of the pace. It's an investment of energy and time, neither of which you'll get back. However, you will get experience, knowledge, and better potential for the future. You can handle so much more, the younger you are, so pushing yourself hard now is going to pay off in the long-run. Unless you're willing to stretch all of it out over a longer period of time and shuffling your schedule, you're better off sticking with it and seeing your degree and your other training through.

In short: if you can handle the schedule you're on now, then stay on it. You'll have to do it eventually anyway, and it doesn't get any easier from here.

Megadeth4168

[QUOTE=Slowhand;359101You'll have to do it eventually anyway, and it doesn't get any easier from here.[/QUOTE]

+1

I should mention that the older that I get, the more difficult it becomes to dedicate as much time to things like college. I wish I would have done it at your age.

Turgon

I would be careful of comparisons. Only you know what you truly have on and what impact it is having on you. I will say though that it is important to burn brightly in the early years, while you have the gas. Just be careful of the cumulative effect of overdoing things. If unchecked it can effect your outlook, morale and how you get on with people around you everywhere.

On relationships, keep talking things over, and on work always remember to make it count there because it's what pays the bills. At the end of the day, certification and education are important but its your performance at work and the opportunities you get from that place that gets you on to a large extent. So dont take out of the tank what you really need to be burning there. But all in all I think you are doing fine!

vCole

I have made my decision to move home to be able to have some stress alleviated from me.

This will allow me to save a lot more money and focus more on school/work.

RobertKaucher

Not a bad choice. Parents don't mind when the hardworking kids come back to the nest for a while... It's just not normally that way!

Turgon

Sounds like a good idea.

vCole

erm scratch that - my mom asked me to try it out for a month or so more - and if I really need to come home, they'll let me.

jnwdmb

As others have said already, you know your limits better than anyone......my only question for you would be "did you enjoy how your life was progressing and were feeling challenged and somewhat rewarded by all your hard work and accomplishments BEFORE someone else told you that they thought you had too much on your plate?". Sometimes people start pointing out something that you were not even noticing, which causes you to mull over their opinion when you were actually content with how things were previous to them mentioning it.......just something to consider.
I have received family members "opinions" in the past about how I prioritize things in my life in an order that they wouldnt, but they dont have the same goals/aspirations that I have. To be honest, their opinion tends to be more of a reflection of their goals and where they see me fitting into THEIR own plan, rather than into mine.

Pash

While I agree with some points above, I am going to differ my response slightly. Its a very Samaritan thing to say put girlfriend, family first etc but in all honesty, you should also put yourself first sometimes, a lot of people forget to do this. Do you feel happy with your direction, do you have enough energy at the moment, are your future goals clear and in progress?

While I agree life is short, don't burn yourself out working and studying hardcore without making time for yourself, that would be very sad. The "Iron mikes" above probably felt comfortable with that sort of pace, and thats fine, but make sure you are fine with it as well.

FadeToBright wrote: »

erm scratch that - my mom asked me to try it out for a month or so more - and if I really need to come home, they'll let me.

My mum helped me pack when I just hinted I was flat/apartment hunting, when I mentioned money was tight...."speak to your dad!". They act emotional on the outside to see you go, but they love the extra space and quietness. But also secretly they love having you back now and again

Pash

drainey

Everyone above has made great points but I'm going to take a different approach. Is it possible that this is a round about way for your girlfriend to say she's feeling a little under appreciated, or would like to spend more quality time with you?

Just a thought. Although, I agree with the rest that work pays the bills so keep doing it well, and college is a big invesment but easier done now then when you're older so finish while you can (I speak from experience - I'm still trying to finish my degree but life keeps interfering).

So maybe take a break from the certs/extra work load for a week or so and spend some time with your girlfriend, she'll appreciate it, and you'll be able to put your nose back to the grindstone feeling refreshed and ready to kick the doors down.