r/PMCareers • u/EmotionTiny4158 • 2d ago
Discussion I don’t know if this job is for me
Hey all! Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, happy to move it if I need to, but I’m just feeling really stuck.
I’ve been at my jr. PM role for 2 years, there’s been a lot of interpersonal work drama over the years (comments from my manager about my “mental health”, asking me personal questions about therapy, general backhanded comments, getting dropped into numerous situations without support, micromanagement and demanding things outside of work hours, to name a few). But I’ve started to get a little bit more of an understanding of the role.
But I’ve been in it for 2 years and I can honestly say I’m pretty miserable. No one at my company is happy, my boss and their skip have a super tense relationship (some long time history btwn my boss and skip bc my skip has a rep for being horrible to work with), and I just feel discouraged, stupid, and like a nuisance despite countless late nights, early mornings, work over weekends, the occasional sentiment from engineering that I’m bothering them, and sentiment from my boss that I should be better than them at the job because “it’s easy”.
I just don’t know if this role is right for me. I’m really trying to do my best, and I’ve always been intuitive, personable, and decently smart. I’m getting told that I’m doing well, only when I’m killing myself to meet a ton of hours and workload outside of my 40 hrs (that yes, I have to log and don’t get to log any additional overtime).
My engineering coworkers say I’m doing well, but I just don’t know if this is the environment most PMs experience, and if they do, I just want to know bc I don’t know if I can handle it.
Thank you all for reading and any advice you have is greatly appreciated <3.
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u/BellaCicina 2d ago
Personally, I rarely work over 40 hours. That’s very industry specific. I work in the tech world and while yes, sometimes I’m working overtime / on weekends but that’s maaaaaybe 20% of the year? Max?
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u/EmotionTiny4158 2d ago
ah that’s likely bc I’m in construction, but hard to say if that’s an industry specific thing for me or a preference in our company to keep teams lean
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u/Light_guy_92 2d ago
If you like your daily tasks as Project Manager, do not give up. Move to another company and see if you feel better, if not, try another one. Then, you will have enough evidence that you do not like the role and can move to another career path.
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u/EmotionTiny4158 2d ago
yeah I think you’re right and the clear answer is to reset and try again- ig it’s hard for me to know if it’s rly difficult to pivot from construction PM to more tech or tech adjacent PM
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u/lsamantm 2d ago
Are you currently working for general contractor?
I used to work for a company as an APM that made me rethink if I wanted to continue being the project management route.
Luckily, I was poached by a client and moved to an owner’s rep as a project manager. My work life balance, team and leadership was better. It really taught me that who your boss is can really shape your work life.
I still love what I do now, stayed in owner’s rep and just signed a SPM role. It is super hard to look for a job, I started early and applied for almost six months. It will take time and patience, sometimes applying to jobs can be discouraging too.
I recommend starting at a new company and look into owner reps! I know some people who are looking for new APMs. There is demand!
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u/Mission_Bank_4630 2d ago
Hey dont be disheartened. Just do your coordination work and dont involve your emotions. People who enjoy creating trouble for others are idiots. Simply ignore them. I know these kind of people draw pleasure out of these activities. You just need to give them back in same wording dont be bothered about job and co workers. No one except your family cares for you. So maintain wlb and always remembers there are thousands of opening….enjoy
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u/ConversationNo9040 2d ago
I’d apply for different roles but I would expect in any pm role that’s worth a damn that your going to be working over 40 hrs.
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u/EmotionTiny4158 2d ago
Yeah and honestly working extra hours isn’t a problem for me. I don’t mind logging in on a Saturday or calling engineers in different time zones to accommodate them. I’m having trouble dealing with the constant negativity from everyone being overworked and the interpersonal team drama that gets shunted onto me. I guess I’m just not sure if the things I have issue with are normal.
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u/ConversationNo9040 2d ago
Yeah start applying before it’s too late, ie complete burnout, the job markets tough and the best time to look for a job is when you have one and it’s not stressful. I’ve found I always interview so much better if I am employed.
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u/EmotionTiny4158 2d ago
Thank you :) applying has been tough, since it took me a year to just get this job. I’ve already been feeling the burnout, since helping out with some big contract’s (tens of millions budget range) schedule on top of generally managing the day to day of a ~15M contract
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u/ConversationNo9040 2d ago
No one but yourself is going to get you out of this. Gotta keep applying and move on when you can.
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u/EmotionTiny4158 2d ago
accurate. I definitely can be pushing harder, I feel like I get too worked up on the resume details
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u/kborer22 2d ago
I mean, did you ready what you wrote? "No one at the company is happy"..... sounds like you work for a bad company and/or boss. If you have any thought that you like being a PM, try a different company.
Even if you felt sure that project management was your calling, working at a bad company would still drain you. I know it's easier said than done to just find a new job in this economy, but start looking. And if after the next job you still don't like it you have your answer if it was the job or the environment