...to think that 10 weeks in a new role isn't that long?

I disagree with a lot of the PPs. I think your colleagues are being really unpleasant and unprofessional. Your progress in a role is nothing to do with them. And if they are frustrated, this is not the way to deal with it. If your manager is unhappy with your progress then they should have said something before now and looked at plans to help support/train you, not waited until you raised an issue with them about how the other staff were treating you. If those staff are targeting you, then this is bullying and completely unacceptable and if it continues you need to think about approaching HR.

In the meantime I would ask to meet again with my manager, address my concerns as to why you think process may have been slower than expected (eg manager not being available that you mentioned above), what the plan is for support/training to help you get up to speed more quickly, and to mention again how the staff have been treating you and I would (lightly at this stage) throw in the b word (aka bullying) to get their attention.

This behaviour from the staff is not on and surely against any values your organisation has? If so, I'd be mentioning that as well.

It really depends. In my job (not a brain surgeon!) you wouldn’t expect to be up to speed by 10 weeks, but you’d expect to be confident in some areas.

I honestly think you misjudged the culture and were perhaps influenced by your time in the public sector which is quite different from a profit driven sector.

Your initial post said when you went in you wanted to ask lots of questions, take your time and do things perfectly. Unless that was an approach agreed with your line manager it’s not really a thing in the private sector which can’t carry passengers for months and months. In the private sector it really is a sprint not a marathon when you start a new role.

As to whether you can pull this around, I think that might need an open conversation with your line manager and the rest of the team about what has gone wrong here and a commitment to get things back on track quickly. If the relationships are good that may work. But again to not be up to speed on most areas of your role after 10 weeks (whether PT worker or not) is a big statement and on you not them.

Can you work a few days with your manager?

Asking questions about a process once is fine, provided there's nowhere else you could find the answer (eg a new starter's manual?) But you have to be able to demonstrate you can do the fundamentals of the job, I.e. what you have been hired to do, well, reasonably quickly and without supervision. And that you have confidence to do so. Otherwise you're not much use to them. Unless it's a junior role where it's understood you'll be trained up (which it doesn't sound to be).

Ten weeks could be long enough to compare how fast you are picking things up compared to other people starting the same sort of role in the past. The reaction of your colleagues is shitty though.

I worked with a new starter once who really struggled. It became obvious well within ten weeks that the role was a mistake for them. A couple of us were paid an exhausting chunk of overtime to give them extra help, and to keep the project on track, but it never seemed to stick.

He knew he was struggling though, but no-one told you until the senior person said so. Maybe you're doing fine but this senior person has taken against you for some unfathomable reason. Is it a small company? Sometimes the personal dynamics in small companies can be weird, especially if the owner is a bit weird.

You absolutely need to stop asking questions now. Just use your common sense if they are getting annoyed.

Were there any politics around your appointment? Did the other senior managers prefer another candidate who was more experienced in this area and might have been able to get up to speed faster? That was a challenge I faced when I changed areas. One senior person wanted his friend another candidate to have been given the job so I was always up against it when working for that senior person

If you have moved from a public office job into a private industry, you might have to work much faster and more confidently. It is a dog eat dog world, people are not quite as nice and will be monitoring results rather than kindness.

I would take it on the chin, start afresh and go kick some ass! You got this girl

Unless it's something in School Support. Nobody picks up everything there until at least Christmas, because the environment is so varied, there's constant disturbances and so, so much to learn.

Half term is about the time most people are thinking 'What the Hell have I done?', mid November 'There's so much to do', early December 'Can everybody just leave me alone for five minutes' and by Christmas, you're training somebody else.

I think if you are asking fresh questions all well and good, but if it's the same ones over and over that's grating. With new things I ask to be shown once, ask to be supervised once and then do it alone and have it checked. Any more than that is overkill I think. A couple of things I can't get my head round so I asked my manager to make me a loom video showing the process and I refer to that, as it's something I only do quarterly I forget e v e R y f l ip p ING time

Having seen your update OP, I can now understand it must be very difficult! If your manager is the only person who can answer your questions, yet doesn't reply, AND you are part-time- no wonder its taking longer than 'normal'. Are they a good manager otherwise? Maybe they are used others having more knowledge of the area or actually don't know the the answers themselves? Are there days of the week they are on-site more often? Could you amend your days to be onsite with them more?

How many hours are you there a week?
When you started, did you have a mentor/buddy/support person to actually show you the ropes?
Are there other people who might be able to support/help different aspects of your questions? Colleagues wouldn't know my entire role, but might be able to help with the tech side or operations for example.

I work in a similar role by the sounds of it. What I did from day 1 was to write myself an instruction manual of all the things I need to do frequently. Step by step instructions including any anomalies that spring up- could you do this retrospectively? It would show willing?

I've been in my role 6 months now. I do occasionally still have questions but I'd say about the same level now as I did at 10 weeks - usually just things I haven't come up against before.

I didn't really have much of an induction or detailed training - did you? That's why I did the instructions for everything. It definitely helps - even today I had to check back on them to see how to code some fundraising money that had come in via an unusual route .

Totally depends on role. I had a change after 16 years in same job. I could do that role with my eyes closed.
New job is very different and had a 12 month probation due to complexity and knowledge needed. Been here almost two years now and still asking questions daily but am also training a new colleague. Our management would be concerned if we werent querying things regularly.
Was one of best decisions I've made moving jobs and was such a steep learning curve at the start.

I changed careers recently, much like you. After 12 weeks, I have total autonomy in my role and my direct report would only get involved if there was an issue.
I was given three weeks of shadowing my work colleagues before my training wheels were removed and I was expected to be independent and competent in the role I had been hired for.

i noticed you were in the civil service previously. Are you now working in the private sector? Having worked in both I would say the culture between the two is poles apart….. that is not a criticism, just an observation

As someone who has done similar I’d say you’re in the toughest phase. You’ve done it long enough to know how you still have a lot to learn!

being impatient with you won’t help…they need to help train you!

I hope you pull through and come out the other side. Ignore the childishness and focus on yourself 🙌

What fte are you? If your boss isn't giving you the appropriate training then I can understand why you are not up to speed.

It depends. I'm 5 months into a new job. There are plenty of things I don't know, and more I can't do, because I haven't yet been given access. But it is long enough to know it doesn't suit me, and I've already found another job.

A lot depends on the role. I could be further along in this one if they documented stuff; my successor will benefit, as I have been documenting stuff as I go along. But in my previous role, there were various specialities, and it would take years. However, you could do a lot of standard tasks from about 4-6 weeks.

It's hard to say depending on what your job is. In my place of work (HE) it can take an entire year to really get to know the job, because of the cyclical nature of the academic year - especially for someone new to the vagaries of higher education. Having said that, I do think it's possible to be competent while still learning, eg knowing where to find answers, and being proactive in that regard.

I think it depends on the role
I've been doing mine nearly 7 years and still ask questions daily but it's customer service so infinite scenarios!

It's a balance. After more than 2 months you should be competent on the day to day and well on the way to being skilled in wider aspects of your role and the business as a whole.

Time to step it up?

I have someone who is been in role for 10 weeks now. She's totally up to speed, taking ownership of her role (and taking on more responsibilities) and showing initiative in changing things up a bit.