to find work more stressful than school/university exams?

[bluejeans]

My mum phoned last night and mentioned that my cousin starts his mock GCSEs this week. She said 'aren't you glad it's not you - you should be thankful'. My reply was that I actually find the job I'm in now more stressful! My mum seemed really shocked by this!

At work we have lots of deadlines and juggle various different projects, with different teams. Of course juggling that with being a working mum too...

When I was at school/uni I could concentrate 100% on my exams and if I was in the middle of, say, a biology exam, nobody was going to expect me to drop everything at short notice to do some German (which is what happens at work). Also most of my friends/peers were going through the same thing at the same time

AIBU - does anyone else agree?

Everyone is different, I found school/university exams a lot more stressful than work!

I find work more stressful as its constant. Exams were just in one hit.

I think my perception has changed over time. I look back now and think GSCEs were quite easy compared with what came afterwards (Finals, high pressure job etc).

But at the time, GSCEs were the hardest thing I'd ever done, and I remember finding them quite stressful.

So YANBU and YABU.

Exams are my work (I'm a teacher), and I find them very, very stressful indeed . Far more so than the majority of my students at the moment - a bit more stressing from some of them would be a good thing...

I think the stress is relative to the circumstances. eg When you are a teenager there is lot of pressure to pass exams in order to get on to University and college and this can be very stressful for a teenager of little life experience.There are also many other kinds of stresses that a teenager can face at same time.
The stresses you face as an adult are again relative to your life circumstances yours being; a demanding job, family, deadlines etc

Me too, FallenMadonna. I'd give anything to have some stressed out students in my class!

I found my exams very stressful at the time. It is only now with hindsight that I view them as less stressful.

Try it with a 20 month old when you want to get really good grades.

MakingItWorkThroughTheStressTiggaxx

I think as we get older we learn to deal with the stress more.

The most stressful thing for a 15 year old is exams.

I don't think you should be saying you are more stressed, it is a different kind of stress and being older you can handle it.

Some youngsters become suicidal and some take their lives during exam times.

I find it offensive you would try to demean how hard it actually is for them.

OH an das an aside.

I worked in a stressful job for 13 years, the stress being so bad I got burn out at the end.

Yet, I find doing my OU stuff more stressful than when I worked.

I've worked for years, I am back at univesity and second time round I think that university is more stressful than work as I am responsible for my own effort and results.
At work you are workign for others (unless you are self employed, in which case I woudl agree), UNi/Exams it is all on you.

I was more stressed during exam periods than I am with work now - and I have quite a stressful job.

I guess I feel more in control with my job, whereas with exams there was always that terrible dread of failure! I also hated that feeling that however hard you worked, you never felt like you had revised enough.

I guess it depends on the person and the job though.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I was just interested in others' opinions, and didn't mean that school exams were not stressful, just that for me personally I feel as if I'm more stressed now than I was then, and I was surprised by my mum's shock at me saying that.

I agree that with work part of it is not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel