Hating my job at starbucks and it’s been only 6 weeks

Hello everyone,

I have started a job at Starbucks 6 weeks ago and I just hate it. I don’t get along with any of my colleagues- not so much that I just feel it’s forced , very very forced. The job itself is just dull and repetitive and I just hate being there. I feel like it is a prison. I feel my energy is being sucked out of me!

I have just finished university in a degree in medical sciences and been volunteering prior to getting the Starbucks.

What should I do??

Keep applying for graduate jobs and internships in your field.

Are you applying for other jobs? I worked at a coffee place during high school. I didn't "enjoy" it because it wasn't fun -it was work - but I got along with most of my colleagues and made good tips. It was more of a means to an end. Once I had a college degree and, later, a grad degree, I applied for and did jobs related to my degrees.

One of my friends who is now in law school and a mother of 3 children including 2 young children, one with special needs, works full time at a law firm and worked at a Starbucks for about 1.5 years during a time in the past she experienced unemployment. you do what you need to do to provide for yourself/your family. She eventually got the job at the law firm and then pursued her grad degree. She is in her 30s.

I’m looking at other jobs for sure but haven’t had time to apply for jobs but now I’m going to find time as this job is really dull. I have been told my manager to lower my hours (so I can look for other jobs tbh) but I said it’s due to a different reason.

You do want to make sure you get a good reference from your manager.

Yes but how do I do that if I am not enjoying the job? Do I just force myself?

Yes but how do I do that if I am not enjoying the job? Do I just force myself?

Force yourself to smile and pretend you are enjoying your job, yes!

Force yourself to smile and pretend you are enjoying your job, yes!

Yup! When my work is stressful I use the mantra in my head "pretend you are at a tea party". I've only been to two formal tea parties. But it helps me to calm down and smile/be positive.

If you don’t like your current job, you have to make the time to search for another.

I get it, job searching is very time consuming. Looking for another job is practically another full time or part time job unto itself.

Despite it being a pain, you just have to suck it up and make the time if you want to get out of your current position.

In the meantime, make the best of your current job. Work hard, be friendly.

And although maybe you might feel like the only one who feels this way about your job, I’d bet some of your colleagues feel the same way as you.

What is "medical sciences?" It sounds like a baseline degree to specialize in grad school with or some sort of technical program. What opportunities do you feel it opens you up for?

Retail and food service tend to be the bottom of the barrel as far as an enjoyable working experience goes. While easier said than done, it's kinda like learning Spanish in the DR. If you can do it there, you can do it anywhere. If you can learn to at least go there and go home with your sanity in tact, you'll at least temperamentally speaking be pretty fit pretty much anywhere else, which can give you a good leg up and some very good perspective with regard to weighing your personal threshold against whatever pros and cons of a job.

Is that what other people do? I feel like I am constantly serious all the time and not good at being light-hearted and the other co-workers are-hence why I feel like I don’t fit in :(

Is this your first job? First time in retail?

since you have graduated, why are you not looking for entry level jobs in your field instead of working at starbucks?

What is "medical sciences?"

If you are working a 40 hour week, you should have enough time to be sending out plenty of resumes.

This isn't my first job no, i worked in 2008 in a food outlet and then for a year and then did some student ambassador work and some care work also. However after I graduated i was desperate to get a paid job and just applied for coffee shop work.

Biomedical Sciences.

Biomedical Sciences.

What jobs do people who have received your degree get?

There isn't anything available in your field? Did you do an internship?

My wife waited 24 minutes (she timed it) at Starbucks last week watching the employees trying to toast a bagel, and apparently they couldn't figure it out because the bagel was clearly not toasted when she finally got it. Get out of Starbucks. Any place is better than that place.

hahaha your post made me laugh! I can definitely toast a bagel, hahaha.

It was part of a medical degree but I failed the medical degree at the final hurdle-they refused to give me another chance and my course was terminated and walked away with a Biomedical Sciences with Honours.

It was part of a medical degree but I failed the medical degree at the final hurdle-they refused to give me another chance and my course was terminated and walked away with a Biomedical Sciences with Honours.

So now I see a clue here. You say "they refused to give me another chance" but the reality is you failed and didn't complete the requirements for a medical degree. What were they supposed to do that would have been fair/evenhanded? So is this part of a general mindset of yours -that your job should be very interesting/exciting even as an entry level at Starbucks, that you shouldn't be "forced" to act professionally in a service industry? I happen to like Starbucks a lot despite some issues I've had with certain locations and I worked at a lower level type of Starbucks as a teenager. Customer service is hard. But often it''s a stepping stone and if your manager can give you good references that will help you ultimately.

Ok you'll have to stick it out until you find something else. Get a profile up on LinkedIn with your education, experience, job goals, a professional looking head shot, etc. Then upload your contact lists and see who's on there that you may know. Join some professional groups and your high school and university alumni groups. You can also upload your resume and set your notifications/privacy setting to allow employers to contact you. Check your university for job postings, job placements.

Have your resume ready at all times on file and update when necessary. Take both an active and passive approach by searching for jobs online and having your resume available on sites such as LinkedIn. It doesn't matter if it's an entry level job.

In the meantime, suck it up and deal with their dot com corporate smiley-happy-people-we-are-the-world bs culture. It's bs everyone knows it, but hey, it's free coffee, a discount and a paycheck until you land something else. I personally don't patronize Starbucks because their overpriced trendy coffee sucks and that phony attitude is too obsequious for my taste as well..

I just feel it’s forced , very very forced. The job itself is just dull and repetitive and I just hate being there.

LOL yeah I'm not a Starbucks lover either. Although there's a spot not far from my (densely populated) area where there are literally 3 Starbucks on the same corner. And a 4th one less than 1/4 mile more. You can literally sit at one Starbucks and stare at the other two.

That being said, I'm sorry you failed your exam, but you'll have to figure out a way to find something more meaningful and enjoyable. Until you do, plaster on that Starbucks happy-happy smile, brew some overpriced, bitter coffee, add some chemicals to make it taste like something natural, and collect your paycheck.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time for failing. That's very difficult. JFK Jr. famously failed the bar twice before he finally passed. I guess the point is, given that this is your degree, what can you do with it, or what do you want to do with it? Figure out a plan for yourself to move forward from this.

And no, of course no one is hating on anyone who works at Starbucks. Anyone, anywhere, who gets up, gets to work, and works an honest day is alright by me.

It is hard when it is all I have ever known and I am trying to see what else I enjoy. I guess it would have to be something within healthcare or customer service.