Did anyone else find themselves pushed to unrealistic deadlines in the beginning? Is this normal?

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The unrealistic deadlines are kind of necessary for new engineers. It prevents them from going down the rabbit hole (something we are ALL guilty of with new problems) and getting absolutely lost. So always ask questions if you don't know. Questions are only annoying (from a supervisor's perspective) if you are not learning from them and asking the same ones over and over. But if it's genuinely helping you fill in the gaps, awesome.

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It really depends on what company you're working for. But I do think this is pretty common. It won't always be like this, but you may have to switch companies if it turns out that your current company is just consistently pushing unreasonable deadlines.

Oh yes!! But it seemed like part of the learning curve as I had to get used to faster deadlines. However, I always knew that I could speak up if I needed more time to complete a task.

Yes, it is very typical for Project Managers (who have no clue how long or how complex tasks are) to demand tasks or projects to be completed asap. If it is starting to stress you out, and you know you are giving your best, and you know you are qualified for the job, and all the evidence points deadlines are unrealistic and this evidence has been discussed with the responsible parties and you continue been pushed . My advice is: Run! You don’t need those stress levels in your life.

Yes but make sure to speak up and tell them its unrealsitic. This shows a lot about who you are! and that they can not push you and give you more than you can handle.

Most of the time the unrealistic deadline was set arbitrarily by an uninformed or ill informed VP, director, etc. No one knows how long each task will take or all of the tasks involved and probably did not account for other projects and concurrent workload and so gross assumptions were made.

Before pushing back on an unrealistic deadline, I would first have some data to support that it is not achievable. No data to support your assessment just looks like you are whining.

This is fairly common, especially if your employer is a consulting engineering firm.

I'm currently helping to train a new grad who started a few months back. The first thing I told them when they started was to ask for help if they ever get stuck. The training process (to me at least) for a grad at the very early stage career is not to ask them to meet the deadline, it's more like an opportunity to explore and understand their ability. I would be very happy if they keep asking me questions and keep me updated on their progress, and I fully expect a grad to take longer to produce a design.

Don't let the deadlines put you off from asking for help. If you are really struggling with the amount of work or unrealistic expectations, have a chat with your senior and find a gentler way for your to progress. You are doing well, keep pushing!

You will feel very inadequate at first. You will take forever to do things your boss might be able to do on a piece of scratch paper in minutes. Don’t tolerate toxic management styles but expect to be out of your comfort zone for a few years. We learn new things every day, that’s ultimately one of my favorite parts of the job.

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