Anyone else burnt out?

N2IT

Z

I'm afraid experience is everything at least from perspective. Certs can open opportunities so can knowing the right people.

vsecgod

Zentraedi wrote: »

I'm burnt out after spending all my free time and lots of money on certifications only to be told that getting any actual hands-on experience with that stuff is off the table.

Wow thats terrible, I say cut your losses there and find a better gig that will appreciate your determination and skills...

chopsticks

quinnyfly wrote: »

That made me laugh, so it's every other day that ends in "Y".....funny stuff, I might have to try it because this bike riding and WII thingy makes me feel old the next day!!

I'm glad someone finally laughs at it. At least it may help to destress a little.

techdudehere

Ironically, I have more energy and feel less hungry after talking a walk. I usually use a treadmill but sometimes go to a Nature Center. I only do one or two certifications a year. I think if I did anymore than that, I would end up very stressed. I also think a person should have hobbies outside of technology, too. I enjoy a variety of hobbies and find it refreshing to do something totally different. I just purchased my first kayak. Even on a tight budget, you can buy a canoe or kayak and enjoy floating down a stream. Life is too short to spend it studying non-stop and fixating on work matters once you've clocked out. I decided one day that if I put even my minimalist effort into a different field, I'd be a guru within ten years lol Fortunately, my efforts to date have proven more than satisfactory to work in IT and I find many hiring managers are more interested in personality and stability than how many books I've read.

Zentraedi

N2IT wrote: »

Z

I'm afraid experience is everything at least from perspective. Certs can open opportunities so can knowing the right people.

Yes and that makes sense when applying to new employers, but the thing that gets me is that they're the ones who told me to work on and get my current certs. Now, after doing what they asked, they flat out deny any opportunity to work on that stuff.

Not only that, but then they propose some quixotic task of working on some very high-end, specialized certs that would only help their Cisco partnership, while leaving me with over $20k of training debt, no personal time outside of work, no vacation time, and no chance to gain experience outside of my home lab(while I would have to gain the cert, others at the office would do the actual work). Insane-o.

Novalith478

tpatt100 wrote: »

The other evening after dinner I just enjoyed going for a walk with my son and wife. I think I am coming out of my "winter depression" phase.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a "winter depression" phase. Basically from January to March/April if I am not 100% occupied doing something it is the worst time of year for me. Then I get sick because it's cold, and etc etc. I just hate it. I usually play video games in the wintertime the most to pick up the spare time. In the summer I'll just go biking if I get bored. In the winter though, the boredom is the worst.

mikedisd2

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I'm not trying to get into your business but I think you should keep going with the Japanese. You might come across another position or something.

The problem is my (japanese) wife is so spooked by the permeation of radiation, there's no chance she will ever move to Tokyo let alone the Kanto region, especially with our 2x young kids. This has really blown away my 10 year plan, so life is really at a loose end. Maybe not burnt out but disillusioned somewhat.

kremit

N2IT wrote: »

Z

I'm afraid experience is everything at least from perspective. Certs can open opportunities so can knowing the right people.

This is what im learning real quick and exactly why i've been able to land 0 IT jobs in the past 3 years. Two other things I've learned is a.) never work for a job that has nothing to do with your resume and b.) never work for a call center, it's scripted and will ruin a resume.

N2IT

Call centers can show soft skills which can be helpful for (IT help desk jobs)

a.) I agree with in most cases.

powerfool

kremit wrote: »

This is what im learning real quick and exactly why i've been able to land 0 IT jobs in the past 3 years. Two other things I've learned is a.) never work for a job that has nothing to do with your resume and b.) never work for a call center, it's scripted and will ruin a resume.

I dunno about that. If you have to do a job, do it well. And if you work in a tech support call center, that can align with A, quite well. I started with a company that provided tech support to MSN back in 2001 (after I had worked other IT jobs, but the economy was bad and I was ill-prepared). I was on the floor for one week after training and then they made me a team lead and the SME for the entire contract. That job got me back on my feet and to my next job that really set me on my current path. Don't count them out.

petedude

mikedisd2 wrote: »

The problem is my (japanese) wife is so spooked by the permeation of radiation, there's no chance she will ever move to Tokyo let alone the Kanto region, especially with our 2x young kids. This has really blown away my 10 year plan, so life is really at a loose end. Maybe not burnt out but disillusioned somewhat.

How 'bout the States? We see IT jobs requiring Asian language skills on the West Coast a couple times per year.

blargoe

I'm definitely burned out.

I started a new job last month with the intention of getting a fresh start and a renewed vigor. This place sucks donkey balls. Six weeks in, and I am already at my limit... and I've always been the go with the flow kind of guy.

cisco_trooper

All, if there is one thing I've learned it is that if you put TOO much arbitrary pressure on yourself you are prone to burn out. While there are some things you are going to just have to do in order to get a certification, it is extremely important that your certifications are in line with your interests. If you spend a year on a certification due to the promise of a huge paycheck but you don't like the technology you are going to burn out. Even if you do work through the burnout you are going to find you mostly hate your job so be careful.

Be honest with yourself about your interests and if you find something no longer interests you then just move on.

techdudehere

Some tips to avoid burn out:

1) Don't cover for dead beat employees. If the work flow is stagnating because someone is not carrying his or her weight and you try to cover for them, you will either miss important details resulting in mistakes or appearing rushed to those you're attempting to help. The complaints will be regarding you rather than the dead beat employee! Meanwhile, management will not be forced to look for the lowest performers since you're covering the slack resulting in an ever worsening problem. I am not suggesting than anyone refuse to stay busy, I am simply stating that you shouldn't work above the pace you can effectively perform duties at to cover for someone slacking off. If you're truly doing your duties as best you are able, then you shouldn't fear an audit of the workload. Such a thing can only prove your value to the company.

2) Keep software and hardware contracts up to date. This can save hours on particularly frustrating issues. Send quotes out early and set reminders. If you work for a large corporation chances are you won't have access to support contact information even if it exists, but try to have a few good contacts in each department. They will likely know of those obscure registry keys and such that never make it onto google.

3) Leave work on time unless overtime is offered. If you stay late, you'll have more work tomorrow since the work volume issues are not being managed! Are you going to stay even later? I try not to stay more than 15 minutes over unless it's a critical issue. I reason that if there is regularly work waiting at that time, then my shift should be adjusted to begin later in the day. I've never known of anyone who advanced through the ranks due to his willingness to stay late. Generally, if one advances it's because he made smart decisions, took on the right tasks, and made friends with the right people. Even worse, you could be kept in a certain position simply because the manager knows your keeping the department afloat.

4) Once you're clocked out, let it go. Go home and relax, go for a walk, go meet some friends, or do anything except relive frustrating experiences that happened at work. You won't get any extra pay for analyzing it in your free time.

5) Use your entire lunch hour. Amazingly, I knew who guy who never took his whole lunch hour. He'd go eat alone across the cafeteria from the rest of us, then go straight back to work! He ended up being laid off the same as the rest of the guys, though. I imagine that time would have been better spent enjoying the company of coworkers or at least studying for a certification.

N2IT

blargoe wrote: »

I'm definitely burned out.

I started a new job last month with the intention of getting a fresh start and a renewed vigor. This place sucks donkey balls. Six weeks in, and I am already at my limit... and I've always been the go with the flow kind of guy.

I have the 3 month rule. I always give a job 3 months if it doesn't improve by then see ya.

Krones

Crispy fried - stick a fork in me. School/Work/GF. I have a new respect for those students that juggle all that plus the kids or older parents. Stats midterm tomorrow. I just keep thinking I'll be able to start WGU and focus on some tech classes when I finish the associate degree.

UnixGuy

blargoe wrote: »

I'm definitely burned out.

I started a new job last month with the intention of getting a fresh start and a renewed vigor. This place sucks donkey balls. Six weeks in, and I am already at my limit... and I've always been the go with the flow kind of guy.

can you elaborate more if you don't mind? I know you have great experience, so I thought a new job would mean a better jump. I'm interested because I'm having trouble too (see my next post)

UnixGuy

Extremely burned out here. Not because of certifications or job technicalities.


It's because of a guy, he used to be my colleague and suddenly he joined a different company, and right now I'm outsourced at this company and he is making my life living hell. He is power hungry, and has a very low self-esteem. I ignore him but sometimes he gets to me.


I'm trying to break into info-sec anyway


to be honest, studying for a cert takes my mind off work, and I kind of enjoy it when it's something I like. I enjoyed RHCE, and I'm enjoying the CISSP now...so we'll see what's gonna happen

tpatt100

Certs I am burnt out because when I was first starting out I got any and every cert for everything I touched at work. I did Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, Solaris, etc. Then as I progressed security wise not much dealth with exactly what I did. I could have got the Checkpoint cert but it seemed Checkpoint was not that interested in the cert themselves, pretty much had to go to their training to get decent study material.

Work wise? I am not burnt out but mostly "bored". The pay is great and I really don't answer to many people since I report to the executive who hired me but damn it's like I want to work at warp speed and the company is running on impulse power.

Crikey

Good thread. My situation: I am a subcontractor on some government contracts. My company's part of the contract was for systems and data analysis, among other things. When the contract was rebid (and again won by the prime), another company announced they were buying them and were taking over the bulk of the work. However, since our company had a sterling reputation we were kept on in what has become an increasingly diminished role.

To say these "new" guys are complete morons would be doing disservice to true morons. I can't even begin to list the crap that they have pulled. Matter of fact, if I can make it through this post without the network crashing again, it will be a miracle. It has already happened once this morning.

Since I seem to have more time on my hands, I now try to study as much as possible during downtime. Passed the 640 last July, started on the 642, (going for the SA), but some health and family issues have taken a toll on my studies. Plus, my boss is pushing Sharepoint on me, which is not bad, but I'm having a hard time trying to balance the two.

Keep trying to tell myself that certs will be worth it in case I need to grab another job. I have plenty of experience and excellent reviews from a boss who will back me no matter what I go for.

One thing I'd like to add to the excellent advice that has preceded me: Try to exercise if you can. It will relieve the stress. I run 6 miles a day, 5 days a week, when possible. Not saying that everyone has to go to this extreme, but it helps me. That might be an indicator of how burnt out I'm becoming...

UnixGuy

Crikey wrote: »

One thing I'd like to add to the excellent advice that has preceded me: Try to exercise if you can. It will relieve the stress. I run 6 miles a day, 5 days a week, when possible. Not saying that everyone has to go to this extreme, but it helps me. That might be an indicator of how burnt out I'm becoming...

This is true, great advice.

jlindner0202

OMG, listen to yourself . Do you think you will ever be satisfied? I hope you use all of that knowledge and don't get pigeon-holed into a support job at the end of a call prompter re-setting passwords, which is what most corporations do with people who communicate in bits and bytes.

joshmadakor

I always get burnt out, then I have to take a break. I'm always able to recharge my batteries, though sometimes it takes quite a while.

p.s. When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of this song: Kurupt - "IM BURNT" ft Problem Official Music Video EXCLUSIVE - YouTube
p.p.s. I don't know why I know of this song's existence, so please don't judge me

paul78

jlindner0202 wrote: »

OMG, listen to yourself . Do you think you will ever be satisfied? I hope you use all of that knowledge and don't get pigeon-holed into a support job at the end of a call prompter re-setting passwords, which is what most corporations do with people who communicate in bits and bytes.

Bits and bytes? Nah - we're much more hip here on TE. We use 1's and 0's .

N2IT

I had my PMP flashcards next to me and didn't touch them all night. I went on a 5 hour Raccoon City binge.

bertieb

I'm completely burnt out, haven't stopped for the last 18 months basically and I know my colleagues feel the same. We dropped the ball slightly on a couple of projects which took some effort to turn around (IMO due to being stretched too thin) which ultimately worked in our favour as in the fallout we proved we were over-utilised so we're getting another couple of onshore staff in the team in the next couple of months. Also studying on and off for the VCP5 which I've now booked to give me more motivation, but after that I don't see myself doing much else certification wise this year.

Thankfully, the nights are getting lighter so hoping to hit the MTB trails more regularly which always helps as well as being able to take my dogs out on a proper walk every weekend. I also took up darts again a few months ago and am becoming quite good - I'm putting that down to imagining the areas I want to hit are certain other members of the business (good stress relief, plus helps aim considerably! ). I've also made myself take proper lunch breaks and when at home, don't touch the work laptop/email and turn the phone off unless I'm on-call.

I must add that I like my job for the most part, and I suspect with winter out of the way I'll start to feel better. Enjoyed reading this thread, I take some comfort in the fact that most of us seem to be in the same place and 'it isn't just me'.

Hypntick

Blew off some steam this weekend, picked up a new handgun. Put a few hundred rounds down range with the wife and some friends. Did a cook-out last night, quite enjoyable. Back to school/work this week, starting interviews again, always adds more stress.

vCole

I'm 110% burnt out. Almost considering leaving the field since I just can't take it anymore. Sick of working 24x7x365 and treated like dirt by coworkers.

elTorito

Also burnt out, and on the verge of fizzling out with a whimper

Been working 10-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, for nearly 1.5 years now, with no end in sight. I like staying busy, but when end users can't even leave you alone while you're in the public transport on the way home after another 12+ hour work day, it's time to start thinking ...

The crappy thing is that I do like the work (JOAT sysadmin) because it's so diverse. It's just the constantly being inundated by sh*t and not having the time to properly do things that's starting to get to me.

Essendon

vCole wrote: »

I'm 110% burnt out. Almost considering leaving the field since I just can't take it anymore. Sick of working 24x7x365 and treated like dirt by coworkers.

Probably time to change employers if you feel like that. I felt the same when I was in Helpdesk, and got the eff outa there!