You might remember that at the beginning of 2020, the ‘new decade, new year, new me’ demon let me quit my job without having another one lined up. The whole idea of me leaving that job was to find something I found fulfilling, to find something that actually fits my values and makes getting out of bed in the morning not the worst thing in the world. When I tell you that job hunting, (especially during a global pandemic), was a slog and a half. It honestly began to feel like an intense personal failure which made for a nose dive in my mental health. The year 2020, and most of 2021, was pretty horrific but I have finally managed to get a job, in a role and sector which is big leap in the right direction towards what I want to do in the future.

I started at the beginning of September and it has been a slow start. There is a lot to understand, including a laundry list of acronyms which seems to be the language that everyone speaks in. It has been reassuring to hear that everyone feels the same way when they start but I think I am starting to get to grips with things now. The biggest issue I’m facing is intense imposter syndrome and having absolutely zero confidence in myself when completing different tasks. I’m hoping that this will ease as I get more comfortable and gain more experience in what I’m doing.

Starting a new job from home has been a really weird experience and I think for this reason I don’t feel particularly embedded into my team yet. I have a lottttt to learn and some of my tasks right now do seem a little daunting, but I’m going to give it my absolute best go.

ps) note to students: don’t skip your Econometrics STATA/SPSS/R classes. Please trust me on this one – you will regret it.