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And I don't know if I'm being ridiculous. I'm in grad school for electrical engineering, and I really enjoy my classes, but I am feeling so burned out that I'm not absorbing information well. I am also getting close to graduation but I don't have a job locked down. I had an internship previously, but it didn't go anywhere and I ended up not getting a full time contract. I've been so busy I haven't had time to apply to many summer internships; the ones I did turned me down. I have a nice part time job (not engineering related) but lately I've been feeling so terrified that they're going to decide to let me go. I'm finding out that I should join a faculty laboratory at my school to get experience that way. I want to join this club at my school as well to get more experience and have an extracurricular.
But I am so exhausted! How do people do this? Am I overreacting? I can barely move when I wake up every morning. Assignments take me way longer than they should and I am becoming more absentminded and forgetful. It's like my body and my subconscious mind are trying to ruin my life. I don't even have a life to justify any reason why I should be falling behind like this. I'm so worried about finding an engineering job. People say that women have it easier because of diversity hiring... do they really??? Goddamn. I must be doing something wrong.
There is nothing wrong with you. You are having a normal reaction to a stressful environment - grad school!
I wouldn’t want to add yet another task to your plate, but my health regimen has wiped out most of the mental/physical fatigue I used to experience. Feel free to DM me as well.
Don't stress over your lack of job. Electrical engineers are incredibly in demand, especially in the semiconductor space. You'll get a job in no time
Know we are with you first of all.
Second of all, dm me on this site.
Your morale is super low from burnout and you need a certain threshold of base energy to work from to produce productive miracles.
I know it is an odd way to phrase it but it is the best way I know how.
Please read the burnout book by Brene brown. That book saved me. I think it would help you as well.
I could have written this post. Also in grad school (Artificial intelligence). Reading comments from people saying you are burnt out is very confrontational. I didn’t know I was burnt out… Thought I was just low-key tired of everyone’s shit (well… maybe we are).
You aren't being ridiculous, I am right there with you in feeling burnt out from grad school. I am also in the final stretch, have no motivation to do the work to finish and am also feeling like I am sabotaging myself because I used to be able to do it fine.
I have come to realise I am falling behind because I have no life, all I do is my full time job and uni. And it is draining the life out of me, I need to rest and relax. Not easy to do so close to crunch time and I don't have solutions as I am muddling through it as well.
I wanted you to know you aren't alone in experiencing this and that burn out from long term stress is a normal reaction.
It sounds like you need to dial back your current expectations of yourself and aim for finishing your qualifications and getting as much rest as possible. You don’t need to find a job in your field yet.
Have you seen a doctor to rule out vitamin deficiencies, viral illnesses, hormonal issues etc? You may need an iron tonic and some B vitamins.
It’s ok to focus on getting through the next bit slowly. What you’re doing is hard. Just do the best you can.
I had the same experience in grad school. Exhausted, falling behind, depressed, and panicking. It's not you. As far as I can tell, it's all totally normal, unfortunately. I know my main problem was that I wasnt getting enough sleep. I know it's hard to get to bed at a reasonable hour when you have so much work to do, but it could make a huge a difference in your mental state and, therefore, your performance.
But grad school doesnt last forever. Dont beat yourself up if you dont have a job lined up right away. You'll be able to breathe and focus on that after graduation if you dont make it happen before. It'll all work out.
hang in there! you’re crushing it, but you have to acknowledge your body and your exhaustion.
I JUST told my partner I am burnt out from life. I feel ya. I just want to go somewhere by myself and lay in the sun, or a hotel room, and not talk to anyone. I’m fkn tired of ‘persevering’. No advice for you, not solidarity. Hang in there.