What would you do if you were me?

[ThePriceOfSugar]

I've just finished a particularly depressing day at my job, which I hate and dread.

I was hired by some kind of fluke, probably based on personality and potential (I'm 22), by a well-known firm. I have a master of Arts but this job is highly technical and in IT. They hired me knowing I have no background at all in this. I can compare it to hiring a candidate for a job speaking Arabic, knowing they had never spoken a single word, and then expecting them to just get on with it.

I've only been at it 5 months, and there are benefits to having the firm on my CV and working in this future-proof field. Also obviously Covid and a looming recession. I'm grateful to have a job at all, many of my graduating class don't. But I am 1) struggling hugely with the work 2) miserable.

What should I do? AIBU to leave before a year is up?

I've found that talking to my manager when I'm struggling really helps. I work as a software engineer and it is culturally okay to talk about this kinda thing. They don't want you to struggle!

Can you ask for a mentor to help you with the stuff you've been struggling with?

I would try your best to stick with it until you find something else but put loads of effort into job hunting to speed that process up. If you have good interview skills and this respected company on your CV then you shouldn’t struggle too much to move on.

You really need to figure out what you intended to do before leaving.

Try to hang on at least until 6 months

From a cv perspective stick it out for a year - anything less can sometimes throw up a red flag with hiring managers.

Ensure u have a job in ur chosen field go to, so if asked you can confidently state you moved to further your career in X.

It's always easier to get a new job if u currently have one.

So you're in a job that is highly technical and in IT and admit you have no background in those. And you are struggling.
Then you say that you want to work for a large international organisation in a big overseas city, maybe as a political analyst for a bank. Me thinks you may struggle in that too.
I would never knock anybody back at all but I get the impression you have big dreams, want the title and the pay slip but without the work or having a clue what's involved with that work.

What training have you asked for?
What skills do you have for other areas of employment?

What is your Set Up like ATM, Can you afford to give up work? If you really hate it ,maybe see if you can move back home for a while and look for something else.I will say though with due respect, that the world of work is very very different to being at Uni! You are saying in effect that you would like to work abroad ,in a well paid senior banking position! You are young ,and need to do some of the groundwork first Im afraid! I somehow think that most Political Analysts in Banking ,are probably doing long days and 24/7 on E Mails as well! If you can bear it, I think it would be best to hold on to your job for the next 7 months ,and it will look better on your CV then if you have a year at work under your belt.Are there many jobs in Art that appeal to you,Maybe working in a Museum or Teaching perhaps.

If you want to move to a big city overseas, just go. At your age you could a temporary work visa for countries like Australia or New Zealand or Canada (depending on your own nationality). Work in a bar or temp while you're looking for something else, harder to do in a recession admittedly but not totally impossible.

If its the same company I'm thinking of, they just like to have people with fancy degrees to brag about to new clients to be honest. They very rarely give training, only to certain people and it's always the same people.

Dunno what branch of IT you are doing though so it may not be that company. Check out cybrary, that has tons of free training to do that is great. Also check udemy, they have some free training and there's a fantastic ethical hacking training program going for free sometimes that assumes no knowledge, it's brilliant.

Thanks for the thoughts again. Training was a day's workshop with the 2 other grads, but it kicked off at essentially a third-year uni level of knowledge.

I won't leave the job without an alternative of course. And most likely will try to stick it out until January next year. My manager knows I'm not thriving but there is not much he can do, especially now when the focus is completely on client work rather than professional development.

I enjoy hearing your experiences and advice.

I would stick with it for now and grab any training that's going. Or even research what training might be useful and suggest your employer provides it (or facilitates it in some way, e. g. paying for it or giving you time off for it). Hard to know what your position is here and how much you may be able to ask for, without knowing much about the employer.

TBH I am not impressed with an employer who hires staff without investing in the necessary training. They are the ones not doing their job properly, not you! Maybe they are a bit crap.

But a solid job on your CV obviously looks good, and any skills you can pick up are good to fall back on (another reason for training). I'm an arts grad who worked in crappy dead-end jobs to pay the rent and then moved to a more finance-based job with potential for training, qualifications, general progression. I stuck with it for several years, despite it not being what I really wanted to do, because I wanted a solid career that I could always go back to. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than the crap jobs, and I was learning marketable skills and earning more. Didn't enjoy it but still glad I did it.

A lot depends on whether you can get decent training and development.

I would stick it out for a while OP. They obviously hired you because they could see potential. You haven't been in the job for very long and you still have a lot to learn. Think of it as a learning opportunity. Stop worrying about how well you are performing or whether you're a fraud who is about to get found out. Just see each day as an opportunity to learn something new, or do something better than you did yesterday. I bet one day you'll wake up and realise you don't feel like you're faking it anymore, and that you can actually do the job well. And then not long after that it will start to feel easy, and that's when you should either go for promotion or move on.