I was a student for many years (5 years of undergrad, 2.5 years of grad school), and I became very comfortable with always being able to look at the syllabus and my grade and know what I needed to do and how well I was performing. Work isn’t like that. Like I think is normal, I get a performance review once a year. I find this unsettling, because even though I come in and do decent work, I still often feel like I’m doing something “wrong” and worry that I’m secretly on the cusp of being fired. Folks who have maybe been working for longer than I have, how do you feel and stay confident in your work?
I don’t think there is anything in particular that makes me uneasy in this job, but it has happened to me before that I thought things were fine when I was unexpectedly let go. So the fear is a little more real in that sense
Of course there are times when I look at the internet on my phone or whatever, but I have plenty of work to keep me busy, and I’m not falling behind either. So I assume that I’m doing the right amount of work, since no one is complaining