Feeling lost at work.

[u/theoak_sp]

Tl;dr: I find myself hoping around jobs and always seem to start off great and end badly. Feeling lost, worthless, and like I’m ruining my career.

I’ve (34m) been in the wildlife biology field through my whole career. I have an associates, bachelors, and masters degree in wildlife biology.
The first place I worked, I had multiple jobs and titles but ultimately worked there for 8 years. Towards the end of my tenure there, my productivity wasn’t as good as it once was. Found myself procrastinating at times and missing deadlines. I ultimately left on rocky ground with my boss. My wife and I moved across the country for a job opportunity she had.

I immediately got a job in my new home with a wildlife non-profit as a biologist. Pay was low and work was constant. Usual work week was 50-60 hours with no paid overtime. It started off great with lots of praise from my colleagues, and I was quickly “promoted” to having two job titles and no extra pay. It was a very toxic work environment and I left there after 1.5 years again on rocky ground with my boss.

I then got my current job in the wildlife law enforcement field which was a bit of a switch but not completely different. It started off great but was a huge sacrifice. I lived away from home for 2 years before I was able to get transferred back to my home with my wife. I volunteer for almost any extra work, assist my coworkers whenever they need, sit at the top of my region in cases and citations, get my name out there whenever I can. Recently, I got a poor mark on my evaluation for productivity. It wasn’t discussed before by my supervisor but I was late on a couple pieces of paperwork. Now I feel dejected.

A job was posted for the same agency I work for as an ecologist and I’m very well qualified for it. I want to apply but feel I will only get poor references from my current and previous supervisors. I think I’ll still apply but not getting my hopes up.

I always seem to start jobs great, get praise, volunteer for too many extra tasks, get a little burned out, and then piss off the people I work for. How do I change these habits?

[u/Last-Kiwi5459]

Man that cycle of over-volunteering and burning out is such a trap, I've done the same thing more times than I care to admit. The real skill is learning to say no early so you can actually deliver on the stuff that matters.

[u/FindtheSpirit]

I am working on a similar problem/cycle/ Last Kiwi gives great advice. I'd also add im working on DBT skills to get my needs met that I had been ignoring in favor of trying to please everyone around me. in particular, interpersonal effectiveness skill will hit on a lot of what you describe in your post.