Miserable in my new job, please help

[spunkarella]

Poof! Thank you!

[londoncalling]

Public accounting sucks. I do it too.

Honestly I would apply for other positions of you know that this one isn't going to work out for you long term. And let's be honest here: the managing partner isn't going to give two shits about the travel being too much for you. From their perspective there is a job that needs to be done and you are on the team to do so.


***1 thumb typing from the phone***

[Deleted]

Start applying now. You have a great, honest explanation for why you're applying so soon - the amount of travel is not the right fit for you. In economies past, I might say to tough it out for 6 months. But not in this one. I started applying after six weeks at the job from hell, and I got an offer about 15 months later.

As for your stomach, try some peppermint tea. I found it to be magical when I was having all my anxiety-related stomach issues. Keep some peppermint tea bags in your purse so that when you're traveling, you can always just get some hot water and make tea.

[bunch]

I'm sorry. My sister just started a job with a big 4 and after specifically majoring in tax with hopes of little travel, she just got assigned a project working 4 days a week in NJ (we're in SC) for 6 months. I'm furious for her as she was hired a year ago (pre grad school) but wasn't told this until a week before she started.

There is no point to my comment other than saying that they're dirty bastards and I'm really sorry.

[fbf2006]

Bncha, there is no way they'd have known what her schedule would be that far in advance. Unfortunately, this is the nature of most accounting firms. Some people are lucky enough not to get on clients that require travel. I don't travel much because I audit financial service companies which are mostly here in the NYC area, but travel is quite common overall in audit. Scheduling is tough and sometimes you don't know what client you're on until a few days before. My sister works in management consulting and travels all the time with short notice. It is the nature of the industry.
If you don't think you can handle it at all, then you should start looking for something else right away. I don't think they could have told you exactly how much travel would be required of you unless you were in a much higher position and they were hiring you to be on specific clients.

[vanillacourage]

Are you scheduled for full weeks away and return on the weekends, or are these individual nights every week?

You've only been there a week and haven't started traveling yet. Why is your DH "miserable"? I get that this is more travel than you want and agree that if you can't get straight answers you should start looking for another opportunity. But your post reads a wee bit dramatic and that's only going to make your anxiety worse. I know you're bummed but try to keep perspective while you work out what your next move will be. Good luck!

[Deleted]

spunkarella, I do agree with pp to try to figure out things that you can do to alleviate the stress and anxiety. I think you know that a job with a lot of travel isn't for you, so I don't say this to see if you can learn to love it, but more than you can focus on coping mechanisms. Whether it's a 15-minute daily walk, yoga, meditation, things like that. Also, since you said that you've lost weight (I had the opposite problem), can you look into getting some sort of calorie supplement into your diet? Eat a protein bar every day, drink an Ensure, keep a jar of peanut butter in your purse - something like that. I know it's hard, but try to do what you can to take care of yourself physically.

[Deleted]

Do you know any people in any of the places that you're traveling to? Spending time with friends helped me a LOT when I hated my job. You could see if any MMers are in the area and would want to go to dinner one night. At least for me, social interaction helps me feel a little more "normal" when everything else feels out of whack.

[vanillacourage]

Hmmmm that is a lot of travel, and I don't know if talking it over with the boss will do much. If there were anyone they could shift the travel to, they wouldn't have hired you to do it. I'd look elsewhere and try to hang tough until then.

[kaylie]

I would not talk to the partner about it. If you do, you'll look like the whiny new girl and let's face it, you're probably the bottom of the food chain as a new person. How far did you move? If it's far enough I would start applying for other jobs, leave this one off your resume and say you're looking because of the move.

Something similar happened to me two years ago and I started my current job three months after I started the bad job.

[fbf2006]

I'm not really sure it's a good idea to talk to the partner since I don't see what he/she can do. They need someone on the job. Can you talk to your scheduling people? If they know you prefer minimal travel, they might be able to keep that in mind for future projects.
I do think they did give you the info that there was going to be frequent travel though.

[mmmomof2]

Unless you have kids, I would suck it up for awhile. The longer you're in Public Accounting the more opportunities you'll have.

[fbf2006]

Ok. I thought it was the partner on the project you're assigned. I guess I'll broach the subject with him. Don't complain about your current project, just talk about how you'll prefer minimal travel. I don't know though.

[atouchofklasse]

Why did you leave your last position?