Feeling stuck and burned out in my first job — not learning, no work-life balance, unable to switch.
This is my first company and I joined through campus placement. I’ve been working here for around 1.5 years now, and honestly my life has become very different from what I imagined after college.
Since joining, I’ve been working constantly — long working hours, weekend work, and almost no proper leaves. As time is passing, I’m starting to feel frustrated and mentally exhausted.
One thing that bothers me a lot is that despite putting so much time and energy into work, I don’t feel like I’m learning enough or growing in a way that will help my future career. It feels like I’m giving my best years and most of my time, but not getting enough back in terms of skills, balance, or personal growth.
The biggest problem is that I’m not even able to prepare for switching jobs because almost all my time gets consumed by office work. By the weekend, I’m so tired from working 10–12 hours that I mostly just sleep and recover. Even weekends usually involve work, so I barely get time to explore anything outside this job.
I wanted to ask people here:
- Have any of you been in a similar situation early in your career?
- How did you deal with burnout and frustration?
- How did you manage to switch or upskill while already being mentally exhausted from work?
- Did things improve after changing companies, or is this normal in the beginning of a career?
Would genuinely appreciate advice from people who have gone through something similar.