I hate my job.

greenkittie

I have been working for [a gobal software concern] for the past 3 months and I hate it so much. I was employed as a "Software Development Engineer" which sounds very cool and important but so far I've done nothing.
Now I know it probably sounds stupid to complain about getting paid to sit on the internet all day long but its seriously upseting me. My confidence has taken a real blow cause I feel like they don't give me any work cause they don't think I can handle it. It's so frustrating cause they haven't even given me a chance to prove myself.
I have asked my manager over and over for something to do and he talks about giving me stuff and every so often i get some small pointless task to do but that amounts to about 1 hour a week so for the other 38 hours im sitting here dying inside. At first I used the time constructivly to learn things but now I just can't motivate myself, I just think whats the point in learning stuff if i never get a chance to make use of it.
The worst thing of all is im sitting in this chair all day with nothing to do but eat so im putting on weight too. Gah im just so sick of being so useless

fade2black

Life is too short to spend it doing something you hate. Stick at it for another while, but while you're there lash out some CVs to other companies. You can't stay in this job if it's destroying your soul.

The Sweeper

Look into their HR study programme. See what they'd pay for you to study, and use the time to better yourself at their expense. Worst case scenario, you appraoch your manager and ask to do a few hundred quid's worth of courses because you're bored and have time to study, and he/she panics and gives you some work.

BeansMeansHynes

Use your spare 38 hours to apply for a new job.I know what its like to be in a job that you hate and you are bored.The longer you stay there you will get lazy and get used to doing nothing. Your brain will slowly turn to mush. The days will crawl by...start looking today!!!

Ickle Magoo

Send out your CV to other companies, hopefully you will get some interviews & eventually move on to a job you like. It can be soul destroying to be in a job where you don't feel your skills are apreciated. I think it would help your self-esteem if you knew it was temporary & you make a real effort to look elsewhere in the interim...

You could also ask for a meeting with your manager & explain the situation to them. Tell them that you need a more challenging roll or you will be forced to look for one elsewhere...perhaps they don't realise how much it is effecting you. Best of luck

greenkittie

The problem is this is a really good job, i couldn't get a job that pays higher or looks better on my cv right now so leaving isnt an option.

delop

Thats Localisation and the outsource model for ya :-) Try taking up a hobbie like smoking, that gets me through the day...

Dont get caught in the security trap, i.e. cant leave because its a good job (tell that to the windows group that used to work in EPDC4), it willbe 10yrs b4 you wake up again..

I find its all down to perspective, people out there seem happy enough when their motivation is taking care of their families, not the place for young entustastic Graduates who werent aware what localisation entailed before they took the job...

greenkittie

All the other people on my team are really overworked! They keep complaining about being so busy and yet they never ever send anything my way .

jester77

greenkittie wrote:

The problem is this is a really good job, i couldn't get a job that pays higher or looks better on my cv right now so leaving isnt an option.

Of course you can leave and how can you be so sure you won't get the same salary somewhere else?
Plus what's the point of having Microsoft on your CV and nothing to go under it. Experience is more valuable to any employer than where you worked. Start throwing out CVs and doing interviews. You have a job so you can be fussy about your next job, don't have to take the first offer you get.

Smellyirishman

You are out of school and everything at this stage I assume? Is it your first job after leaving? Your situation sounds like that of a student (like myself) or the newbie. I am not saying it's fair, or that you're not able, just wondering if this is the case because it can happen a lot that they think the student/newb is not able and it just takes time.

Is there someone higher up than your manager that you can go to? HR etc...

LegacyUser

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9076288729387457440&q=microsoft+training

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=959125392868390030&q=microsoft+training

Looks like someone needs to watch the Ricky Gervais Microsoft training videos

INBETWEEN LOOKING FOR NEW JOBS

You shouldn't stay in the job if you're not happy, somewhere there's a company looking for an employee just like you and microsoft have you scratching your ass because you're just a number.

stovelid

It most patently is not by the sounds of things.

greenkittie wrote:

The problem is this is a really good job

If you accept these criteria as more important than your happiness, then you cannot really complain. That's not meant to be harsh, just what it looks like mate.

greenkittie wrote:

i couldn't get a job that pays higher or looks better on my cv right now so leaving isnt an option.

greenkittie

ok things are looking up chatting to the hot guy from work now. hehe

Ickle Magoo

It's a matter of choice. Either you choose to make yourself happier by finding a job you like or you choose to stay where you are. If you do nothing then you can hardly complain as you have made a conscious decision to have the dull job that you hate because of the pay cheque...you just have to shut up, put up & look forward to pay day.

stovelid

Also Kittie; the bigger the company, the more likely you are to be sidelined into specialised, small tasks. This has been my experience. (I'm a technical writer working in software)

Why not working for a smaller company where you get more hands on experience and responsibility even if you get less money?

Assuming that you are not long working (?), you'll only command better wages with a larger skillset and experience and not simply because you have worked for a well known company.

Recruiters deal with thousands of CVs from all sorts of companies and if your experience in a large company/this position is typical; they will know this also.

Dapos

Are u just in a job with no really experience? I have just started work about 3 months and things have been slow. It is begining to pick up now but i know lots of mates who are in the same boat. This often happens because managers don't have a lot of work suited for people with little experience in a job. Bare with it a while, they hardly hired u for nothing. try asking some of ur colleges for a bit of work, if they are so busy they might have something for u to do.

JungleBunny

MS? I just managed to escape from there last week.
Only a vendor so the money was definitely not one thing keeping me there. So happy in my new job now though. I am FREE!!! hehehe.

I take it that you are a permanent member of staff there, right? And there are other jobs out there for you!

Black Swan

Software Development Engineer? Are you any good? Plenty of time at MS with nothing to do? Why don't you use that mind, skills, idle time, and MS resources to develop some software? There are all kinds of problems at MS. For example, their OS XP2 MsMpEng.exe is chewing up a lot of people's PCs (and a bunch of us are not excited about being early adopters of VISTA when it comes out next year...Rather have others suffer the bugs, security probs, and patches). Oh, you might say there's already a solution, but I really wonder why the solution is not "user friendly" for non-hacker common everyday users? You start solving some of these probs during your idle time, your job could become more interesting, and you just might end up running the corporation someday...And besides, the weather in Redmond, WA, is just like Ireland.

Duras

greenkittie wrote:

I have been working for Microsoft for the past 3 months and I hate it so much. I was employed as a "Software Development Engineer" which sounds very cool and important but so far I've done nothing.
Now I know it probably sounds stupid to complain about getting paid to sit on the internet all day long but its seriously upseting me. My confidence has taken a real blow cause I feel like they don't give me any work cause they don't think I can handle it. It's so frustrating cause they haven't even given me a chance to prove myself.
I have asked my manager over and over for something to do and he talks about giving me stuff and every so often i get some small pointless task to do but that amounts to about 1 hour a week so for the other 38 hours im sitting here dying inside. At first I used the time constructivly to learn things but now I just can't motivate myself, I just think whats the point in learning stuff if i never get a chance to make use of it.
The worst thing of all is im sitting in this chair all day with nothing to do but eat so im putting on weight too. Gah im just so sick of being so useless

Resign and let me take this job. I wouldn't hate it as much as you do...

Keano

I feel the exact same way! I do nothing all day and it has started affecting me. The money is not bad but just sitting at a desk doing nothing all day is getting me down after work more than anything. I just want to lock myself in my room after work and scream! Not that it would do anything for me it just sounds like a good idea! Am going on holiday's soon but after that I think I may be seeking new employment.

Emails sent today @ work 2

Websites visited today over 100

TGIF

Khannie

stovelid wrote:

Also Kittie; the bigger the company, the more likely you are to be sidelined into specialised, small tasks. This has been my experience. (I'm a technical writer working in software)

As a software engineer who has worked in a large company and a small company, I can safely say that this is TOTALLY true.

You're probably being given feck all because nobody likes training up the new guy / girl when they're already so busy. (completely counter-intuitive, but true in my experience). I'd say you'll either be there 6 months, then have loads of crap thrust on you, or it'll go on like this forever.

I empathise with the loss of motivation also. I'm sure that's soul destroying.

Anyway, I'd suggest moving on tbh. The market is good atm for software grads (I'm assuming you're a recent grad, or you'd just chalk it down to experience and move on).

Khannie

greenkittie wrote:

The worst thing of all is im sitting in this chair all day with nothing to do but eat so im putting on weight too. Gah im just so sick of being so useless

Oh...this is an inevitable side effect of being a battery hen (sitting and producing). Pissed me off in a big way when I started. You'll need to either take up some exercise or eat lower calorie foods (or just eat less, though this is easier said than done ofc ).

event

if its your first job, id day give it more than 3 months

perhaps you need more time to adapt and get used to it

stepbar

Have you asked anybody (apart from your manager) to see if you could help them out? U gotta be proactive about it.

LegacyUser

Why not look at what you can do by yourself. Have a look at how things are done and try and improve the process. Show some initiative and be a self starter. Trust me, if you do this and put the information to your bosses, they will be impressed that you’re just not willing to sit on your arse for 38 hours a week and actually are up to doing some work...

Give it a shot. Happened to me in the IT business. I was given a great job, but not actual work. Got a pain in me arse, deicide to look at how things were done, made changes showed the bosses and they were impressed. Have not looked back since. Now when things are not going smoothly they look to me on how to improve process and information.

I cannot give you specifics on what you can do, only you can look at that and put yourself in the frame. I don’t believe in sitting around and waiting on something to happen. Make it happen. Create projects for yourself and you will be winning in now time.

Cheers

Ruu_Old

Alot of people are not happy with their jobs but you just have to stick with it. Gain the experience and show the initiative and try to help out where you can. Best of luck.

LegacyUser

Get out of there asap and find another job.
What U are doing is soul destroying.
Indeed - this sort of bull**** happens
within big companies.

Talk to my favorite boards person Miss Fluff - who
works in the recruitment business.

DirkVoodoo

I don't think any of us are suited to the whole 9-to-5, working for the man kind of thing. But if you aren't interested or challenged by your work, then there is no real point in staying in it.

rsynnott

Consider working for a smaller company. I've been a programmer for two small companies in the last two years during the summer (student startups). Interesting work, run off my feet, and one of them is well enough known and thought of that it looks good on a CV