Does anyone else do mostly nothing all day at their job?
This is my first job out of college. Before this, I was an intern and I largely did nothing all day and I kinda figured it was because I was just an intern.
Now, they pay me a nicer salary, I have my own office and a $2000 laptop, and they give me all sorts of benefits and most days I’m still not doing much. They gave me a multiple month long project when I was first hired on that I completed faster than my bosses expected and they told me they were really happy with my work. Since then it’s been mostly crickets.
My only task for today is to order stuff online that the office needs. That’s it. Im a mechanical design engineer. They are paying me for my brain and I’m sitting here watching South Park and scrolling through my phone all day. I would pull a George Castanza and sleep under my desk if my boss didn’t have to walk past my office to the coffee machine 5 times a day.
Is this normal??? Do other people do this? Whenever my boss gets overwhelmed with work, he will finally drop a bunch of work on my desk and I’ll complete it in a timely manner and then it’s back to crickets for a couple weeks. He’ll always complain about all the work he has to do and it’s like damn maybe they should’ve hired someone to help you, eh?
I’ve literally begged to be apart of projects and sometimes he’ll cave, but how can I establish a more active role at my job?
Oh, I feel your pain, buddy! It's like being stuck in a monkey cage with no bananas, right? But don't worry, you're not alone in this. It's not uncommon for new hires, especially in smaller firms or those without a formal training program, to experience periods of inactivity.
Here's a little nugget of wisdom from the WSO threads: Be proactive. Don't just sit around waiting for work to come to you. Make rounds, see if anyone needs help with anything. Offer to get them coffee, make copies, help with reformatting documents, touch up excel files, or do data entry. It might seem mundane, but it's a way to show your managers that you're willing to do what it takes, no matter what.
Remember, it's not about belittling your role, but showing initiative. It's about taking the first step, rather than sitting in your cube knowing that because you haven't been given any responsibility, you have no responsibility.
Sometimes, due to the size of the company, budget, and labor constraints, a sink or swim self-starter approach is the result. So, dive in, make a splash, and show them what you've got!
And hey, if all else fails, there's always more South Park episodes, right? Just kidding! Keep pushing, keep asking, and keep showing them your worth. You've got this!
Sources: Is my start to new job normal? Paid to do nothing
Thanks for standing me!
This is surprisingly common in the corporate world
my best advice is to get into a consulting firm or a bank. The experience will be much better
In all corporate jobs I have experienced slower weeks. It happens, you don't always have a deal or VC investment. And you don't hire candidates all year or have training, ..
Wtf??? Where can I get this job? Is this what life outside of finance is like?
It’s the promised land for engineers. Get buried in school, relax in the job
Don't give up just carry on!
Thanks for standing me!
You have 2 options:
1. Find side projects within the company that will help you raise your profile internally.
2. Move to another more challenging job.
There's nothing more excruciating than standing long hours in an office without a purpose.
To reply to your question: No, this is not normal. It really depends on the industry and company you are in.
They may think you need training if a new task is assigned to you. Hence a low appetite to assign tasks to you. It's also possibly they are yet to accept you/not see you as a threat, before they start assigning more work to you. Lastly, it's quite possible they don't have enough work to spread around (notwithstanding the apparent exertions of your boss).
I work at a big four bank. I have the same problem. Look for a new job.
My first job had days like this, but it was 5 days in office. At the time I was hot shit having my own office next to the President and CFO, but looking back on it, I was so naive. I didn’t do shit most of the time and did not develop professionally at all. Eventually was laid off but they acted like I was fired, and being a young 22 year old, I didn’t figure out I could get unemployment until months later.
Multiple jobs later and I make 6 figures and have days I don’t do anything, but I always have something to do. Some days I’ll see my boss is out of office, and I’ll just chill at my apartment. Granted, I’m always close to my laptop if needed, but I’m not actually working.
I had one job that was going through a transaction when I joined, so everyone was busy and didn’t bother to try and onboard me. I literally would go on vacation during the first couple months and just say I wasn’t at my laptop when someone would call, and nobody cared.
Helpful!
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