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Need Advice on Career
Hello everyone! 
This is my first time posting on this board but I would love to hear some feedback on my situation. Bare with me as this may be long.
I work at a university as a advisor for almost 4 years now. I went to school for psychology and received a BA in it. When I first started school, I started at a community college and got a part-time job at the counselor's office. This is where I found my love for helping students, especially students who come from a low-income area and have a few obstacles, because I was one of them. When I graduated from college, I didn't know what to do and I had always worked at a higher university setting. So I applied to a few positions from the university that I graduated. Luckily, I received a position and I am still here. However it has slowly grown into a nightmare. I work for a boss that is always criticizing me for every project that I work on. She always lets me know that I never think of things or how come I always have to ask her how to do things. i have talked to her over the years and it has gotten worse. She has even told me that she can not be telling me what to do because she works for her boss and she is their subordinate and not mine. She always picks on me from sending emails to speaking to her and not be clear about what I said. I have gotten to the point where I am afraid to start on projects because of the hypo criticism to now just doing it and changing whatever she wants me to change. I hate our monthly meetings because they are so awkward. She has even told me to use that time to talk to her or in her words "shoot the breeze". But I just feel like I dont want to talk to her on that level. I do not trust her and never know what to expect. On top of that, I have also had problems with my co-worker to the point where she called my a b*(#h to my face. I told my supervisor and she really didn't do that much about because in my eyes, she is her favorite one. I have taken it up with HR but no luck. In the beginning, it was hard to come into work because of all the stress and drama. I feel like I can not talk to anyone here without it being an episode of Mean Girls. If I talk to receptionist about my weekend, then I see my co-worker go and to the same after I talked to her. My boss also treats everyone different than me. I will say Good Morning and she will just mumble something or sometimes ignore me, but if it is my co-workers, she will change her tone and be cheerful. I am not going to lie and say it does not affect me, because it does. You want to be part of your career and love it because it is a second home away from home. I decided to maybe switch careers into teaching because with the office culture that I am dealing with right now, I am starting to hate my career choice of helping people, and I know that I really do love to help people. In the meanwhile, I am applying to other jobs at other institutions. I hate to say this but I am so unhappy that if I do stay here, I will eventually end up hating my alma maturer because of the people that I work with. I applied to a position at the cc that I use to work and attend and I am hoping that I am atleast get called for an interview. I just needed to vent. I am trying to stay positive and do something everyday whether it is to apply for a job or study for the teaching certification exam, but I feel like change is happening so slow. I also look at having a wonderful fiance and our wedding coming up in November as motivation but its hard to stay happy every moment when you are lost and confused and dealing with an environment like mine. Any motivation cues or inspiration would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Re: Need Advice on Career
This may come off rude but I do mean this to help you...
1. Use paragraphs when you post. That was painful to read.
2. Some of what you wrote was hard to follow. If this is how you send emails at work, you might want to listen to her criticism. It might improve your skills in general and allow you to grow professionally.
3. Pretend you are outside and look in. Is your boss frustrated with your work quality? Do you communicate clearly? Do you ask her for help on every thing?
4. Could her attitude towards you be from her frustration with your work? Are you coworkers also frustrated by you?
So often, I find employees that are genuinely trying but are not up to par and they think they are being singled out for personal reason.
Overall, I think you need to do a personal evaluation and look for another job.
Thanks for the advice! Here are my answers to your question:
1. I didn't use paragraphs because I was not worried about being organized at this point since I thought this is a casual board.
2. I do not communicate like this on emails. I thought of all the details while I was typing and did not organize it.
3. You are right, she may be frustrated of my work quality. However, I find it strange that she gets upset with me when I do not communicate everything to her and then she will also get upset when I fill her in with all the details.
4. Even if people are frustrated with me, it does not give them the right to insult me.
Yes, employees may not be up to par with their jobs, but I do strongly believe that it starts with the management explaining what their goals are and how to achieve those goals if they are going to give you negative feedback all the time when you are just trying to do your job.
Thanks!
I'm in a similar position (as you can see from my post above yours). I am not happy, I feel like my boss is a jerk. But I guess the difference is, my boss is a jerk to everyone, where this sounds very personal.
If your work environment has become so toxic that you are considering an entire career change, that to me shows you need to get out ASAP. Even if for a little while you are doing something not ideal, it may be better than sticking it out at your current job until something perfect comes along.
Good luck, I hope you are able to find something else soon. In the meantime, just try not to take it personally, and be as professional as possible so you can leave on a high note.
Hi NYC Artist!
I just finish responding to your post too! Lol. You are right in just trying to find something temporary. I have talked to my fiance and he has my back 100%. i just told him that would be my next decision if things did not change after the wedding in November. I could use this money right now for our wedding but after that, I am set on even finding something part-time and maybe going back to school again. I am so sorry to hear that you are going through the same thing. It just sucks that people can be like that. Yes, at least you guys have each other, in where I work at, I never know who to trust, because some people may complain about her, but still be kissing her butt. So I have just decided to stick to myself and not say too much.
Hopefully our luck can change soon!