r/GradSchoolAdvice • • 3d ago

Burnout Advice?

I'm a second-year Master's student studying international human rights and I think I may be experiencing burnout?

Basically, I'm a full time student, an unpaid nonprofit employee (can't quit- they depend on me), work two part-time campus jobs, and I just started a new internship (super cool, great opportunity) that's supposed to be full-time in-office but they're allowing me to only come in 3 days a week after class and work remote the other two days. I'm caught in a constant cycle of getting behind, trying to catch up, and pushing through exhaustion until I literally fall asleep and can't work anymore. I have no free time during the day any day, and I can't even start homework/studying/remote nonprofit work/remote internship work until like 8pm after a long exhausting day like every day. Also, my program is really cliquey and it's somehow worse this year than last year- not fun! I have 3 papers and a test over the next few weeks (midterms) and I'm doomed.

I know I'm overcommitted. I know I can't keep going like this. But I can't back out of any of my responsibilities. Any advice from anyone who survived a schedule from hell in grad school?

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u/Imaginary_Escape2887 3d ago

Unpaid nonprofit employee? That's unacceptable, please remember that a job must compensate you fairly, or you need to go elsewhere, no matter how much they rely on you.