Here goes nothing - just graduated and think I made a huge career mistake.
So, I'll be providing some context but keeping it vague for anonymity sake.
I graduated recently and accepted a full-time position with the company I interned for. My degree is in business, for context. It's the industry I thought I wanted to work in, and my internship experience was great. (Edit: removed industry, just know it's closely related to entertainment and hyper-competitive) It was an internship conducted through my University and was unpaid, so it was for-credit. I'll address this later.
Now that I'm a few weeks in to this new job, I have yet to enjoy one day of it. I like the people I work with, the environment is decent, and the pay is decent too. But, the work is something I despise and never saw myself doing. Endless cold+warm calls, emails, prospecting, etc. Seems normal for a lot of people, but for me, it's something I never envisioned for myself, especially since it feels so FAKE. Everything I say is god awfully fake and the dissonance is wearing me down to a point where it affects my relationship and mental health, albeit only for the past few weeks. The things my coworkers say, along the lines of framing words certain ways or just flat-out lying to close a sale, makes me sick.
I worked in food service prior, but this 9-5 has made me question my entire career path and even my newly-earned degree. I wake up anxious in the middle of the night. I dread clocking into work and don't even feel an ounce of satisfaction, even on payday. I am literally writing this before a meeting, feeling lost and in despair. The most depressing part for me is that I don't think it's fully related to my workplace; I think I just chose a degree (business) that I have come to realize I hate and gone into an industry that wasn't what I expected.
Most advice I have read has been "look for a new job before leaving this one", but I feel like I would be reverting backwards if I left what was supposed to be my "dream job" and "foot in the door" to a hyper-competitive industry. Moreso on that, I have no idea what "job" to go to. My business degree is general management, and as I mentioned above, I don't think I'd feel much different if I went into another office job.
I'm only a few weeks in, and would feel god awful if I were to quit. I have so many things and responsibilities (or at least it feels like it) and I think, no matter how graceful I do it, leaving right now would be shitty for my coworkers and company. It would certainly burn bridges and cut ties with many of those connections, many of which were my first professional contacts.
I've gotten to the point where I want to just set up a meeting with my boss and end it, go look for food server jobs, and square away my mental health and career path. But, I'm worried that I would be filled with regret in the future and that I may be burning my only connection into this industry, along with the feeling I may have going back to a job I was doing before I had a degree. Not to mention, the feeling of letting those down around me (girlfriend who I live with, parents who paid for my degree, family in hometown that I left in order to pursue opportunity). I think it's important to mention that I've never really taken a deep look at my mental health either, and have only recently began taking steps with my gf to improve my perspective and life purview (meditation, mindfulness, reducing alcohol+marijuana use, etc).
What do I do? Do I stick it out for the 1-year contract (at-will), despite the toll on mental health it would have?
Do I stick it out until I find a job in another 9-5, even if there's a decent chance of hating it as well?
Do I find a service job that pays similarly with much less stress and responsibility to figure out my life?
I mean, even the fact I wrote this post has me feeling like I'm already out the door, and I apologize for being all over the place with my thoughts. I just don't think I can do this much longer, and don't know how to leave a job I literally JUST started, without it looking horrific on my CV. I just know that a huge relief would wash over me, if I were to just put in my 2-weeks and consider leaving this off my resume, but the fear of failure, disappointment and future regret is the only thing keeping me where I am and holding me back from telling my boss I just can't do it.
Cross-posting to other career subs, as well. Appreciate any responses!
Posted Feb 9, 2022, 6:59 PM UTC · edited