u/sociallyanxiousgnome

I believe they record episodes around a month in advance, so they must have to check what the weather will be when certain episodes are released.

So far I’ve noticed it seems to be quite accurate. Like the windy weather on Thursday’s episode coincided with it being quite windy and a thunderstorm where I am.

Maybe they’re not actually that good at predicting it and I just don’t notice but it seems they’re pretty accurate lately.

I did a psychology degree which I really regretted for many years because I am too socially anxious to work in that field.

But I saw a psychologist who also used to have social anxiety so she specialises in that area. It made me wonder how she managed working in clinical settings or support worker roles etc.

For me that type of work just seems like too much but maybe one day I’d like to be able to work in that field.

I feel like I would be terrible at talking with patients and probably wouldn’t be able to help them. Especially people that might be very distressed in a mental health ward etc. Maybe in normal healthcare there’s a kind of “script” with the interactions but I would probably just fall apart with an unpredictable person.

If anyone works in that kind of area or something like nursing etc, how did you get through it?

I’ve always had real trouble holding down a job but finally became a bus driver.

My instructor said I was really good and I passed the test with zero driving faults but I still have basically no confidence.

Now my mentor said I’m good at learning the routes but I just keep making so many mistakes with actual driving. It’s nothing like how it was with the instructor during training. I feel like they always took us on really easy roads during training but then irl I’m driving on these very tight roads with cars on both sides etc.

Anyway I’ve been doing 12 hour shifts with my mentor for a week and I’m so exhausted and stressed. Usually it’s spilt shifts which I hate anyway but he keeps us working through the gaps doing like paperwork or showing me round the depot etc so he can get overtime. This is ok because it’s not hard work or anything but it just means I can’t relax much because it’s still “work” type stuff.

So basically I get home at like 8pm and have to wake up again at 5am. So I have hardly any time to myself before I need to go to bed.

The other day I was late because I overslept since I was so exhausted. I came in and apologised and said I was so sorry to be late. One person told me off and I apologised again but she was clearly annoyed with me. I know it’s really bad to be late in this job so I understand them being annoyed but all I can do is say sorry and tell them it won’t happen again. The other guy was nicer but of course it’s still not a good impression. I managed to run to the bus station and still catch the bus my mentor was on so I didn’t miss out on anything but still.

Yesterday I felt so sick and nervous I vomited whilst getting ready for work. I still tried to go in because I don’t want to annoy them. But as I was driving there I realised I just felt so bad and exhausted I needed to call in sick. When I called the duty manager sounded annoyed so I’ve been feeling guilty about it since.

I think I should be ok to go in on Monday again but I’m really dreading it honestly. It’s basically all 10 or 12 hour shifts and idk how I can get through another week of this. Once I’m done with my mentor I should have more normal length shifts but for now I just have to do whatever shifts he is on.

I’m just starting to think I’m really not cut out for this.

I just can’t take working it makes me feel so sick.

I left my retail job two years ago to do an office job but I couldn’t even last two weeks. I just couldn’t stand the fake corporate way of talking in meetings etc.

Then I stupidly decided to become a bus driver. I had to have like 2 weeks off due to stress. So then I just decided to quit and not waste any more of their time.

So I was unemployed for almost two years but then decided to be a bus driver again at a different company. But now all I want to do is quit again.

It’s such a stressful job and I now actually hate driving lol.

What jobs are there where I can actually just do the work and not have to stress too much about the social side of things?

I don’t really care about money or status at this point, just any simple job will be nice I think.

I have a psychology degree if that helps (although I think it was a waste of time since I never went into that career path).

I’m terrible at maths and I just don’t understand how to take out the “float” from the money I have in my coin dispenser thing.

Do I need to stand there and dispense like £20 to put into the cashing in machine?

I have a £30 float that I’ve put into the coin dispenser so I can give out change. So say if I have £21 from passengers by the end of the day what do I do? They said I should take out the float but do they mean on the machine or literally take it out and keep it separate? And then some drivers said they don’t bother taking out the float.

I’m so confused

I’m still new but I heard about people being on a 4 day rota instead of 5. It sounds good to work less days but is it actually worth it? Because I imagine you’d be more tired from those days due to longer hours.

I really hate working but I wondered if this might be a good job for people with social anxiety.

It seems like it could be interesting since I like history and like organising things.

I know it’s better to deal with the social anxiety than look for a job that makes you hide from everyone. But I feel like maybe it’s a good mix of dealing with people but also being alone and quiet at times.

Maybe someone can shatter my illusions and tell me it’s actually super stressful lol.

Like say if you worked at First for 10 years would you be on higher wages than someone that’s only been there 2 years?

I’m sure I heard some people are getting pretty decent hourly rates as bus drivers because they’ve been doing it so long. But maybe that’s not true.

Most jobs I’ve seen advertised are like £13 per hour or something and it doesn’t mention getting more based on experience.

I know you usually get an increase after doing your training with them and staying for a year or two but does it ever go up after that?