- Gaurav Chintamneedi shared his struggles transitioning from university to corporate life on LinkedIn
- He works up to 60 hours a week as an assistant store manager at a major e-commerce company
- Chintamneedi often wakes at 3 am and spends 95% of weekends working or recovering from exhaustion
An Indian-origin man living in the US has gone viral on LinkedIn after sharing his struggles with the transition from university to corporate life. In his post, Gaurav Chintamneedi, a graduate from Chapman University, opened up about the emotional and physical toll of his first year in the workforce. He shared that after he graduated, he moved halfway across the country, which was one of the "most challenging" times of his life. Now, as an assistant store manager at a leading e-commerce company, he said that he works up to 60 hours a week - a stark contrast to the life he imagined he would have after college.
"When I first arrived in the DMV, I imagined living the dream early-20s life-like the ones we see on TV or romanticize on social media. I pictured myself working a 9-5, grabbing drinks with coworkers after work, striking up conversations with strangers on the metro who'd eventually become close friends. I thought weekends would be filled with brunches, coffee shop side projects, and late-night online courses to build new skills. But reality hit differently," Mr Chintamneedi wrote.
He said that over the last year, he has worked 50 to 60 hours a week. Many days, he wakes up at 3 am for the opening shift. "I've spent 95% of my weekends working. And on the rare days off, I was too exhausted to do much of anything," Mr Chintamneedi said.
"I found myself lying in bed doomscrolling on Instagram, drained from six consecutive days of work, using my limited free time to catch up with friends and family thousands of miles away. Making new connections in a new city wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. I even started to wonder: Did I peak in college?" he asked, adding: "The truth is: I didn't. But the mental transition from college to the real world? That was harder than I ever expected."
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Mr Chintamneedi added that his post was not meant to be a complaint. Instead, it was aimed at everyone struggling to adjust. "If you're also in your first year post-grad, and struggling to adjust, you are not alone. The feelings of doubt, disconnection, or disillusionment are more common than we think," he wrote.
The post resonated with several young professionals online. Reacting to it, one user wrote, "Love the introspection and advice G! As you've said, the 20's is undoubtedly a challenging time for many of us. There's so many changes and adjustments that happen, that it's ultimately important to adopt these healthy mindsets you've laid out. You've truly grown so much this past year, and your resilience."
"Thank you for posting this! This was so encouraging, especially since I just graduated a few weeks ago!" commented another.
