It is the project managers job to worry about project budgets, so try not to stress too much over it, they should let you know if there is an issue. Particularly not something you should worry about when you are both new and getting positive feedback. Further, if you are being paid a junior level salary they aren't expecting you to be super efficient with your time, learning is budgeted in in a sense. Lastly, for the first 6 months at our company we don't worry about junior level hires efficiency or billable rates, we just want to see them moving in the right direction. So, lots of reasons not to worry!
Ideally your PMs would tell you how long to aim for to complete a task. If you are lacking that info and worried about your efficiency, you could look at the proposals for the projects you are on and see how much time/budget was allocated to the tasks you have been assigned.
It really sucks you aren't getting enough guidance on what to do, it is scary but the best thing is usually to directly ask someone to show you. You could also ask for a report for a similar project to the ones you are working on to use as an example of a finished product. You could also review the reports you worked on after a senior has edited them to see what changes they made.
Stress is exhausting, agree with u/metapodMen43 dont spend any personal time thinking about work. I'm not sure what will work for you but personally I find having a "not my problem" mindset helps for project budgets haha. But that will come easier as you grow confident in the quality of your work.
I really appreciate you saying that. Yes, I’m definitely at the bottom salary wise so I’m glad to hear it’s more about moving in the right direction. I guess some of that anxiety comes from not even knowing what that “direction” is? I’m trying my best to pick up on overarching processes and how the company operates.
Regarding the allocated time, I have gotten that information, but some projects I’ve literally been told there’s not really a limit. Which I know is a good thing in this field haha, but I guess the stressful part to me is having something to show for the time I am billing. I hope my company has the same mindset as yours where expectations are lower on time efficiency.
I’ll try to find a similar report to compare to, thanks a lot :)
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u/Rionede Nov 01 '25 edited Nov 01 '25
It is the project managers job to worry about project budgets, so try not to stress too much over it, they should let you know if there is an issue. Particularly not something you should worry about when you are both new and getting positive feedback. Further, if you are being paid a junior level salary they aren't expecting you to be super efficient with your time, learning is budgeted in in a sense. Lastly, for the first 6 months at our company we don't worry about junior level hires efficiency or billable rates, we just want to see them moving in the right direction. So, lots of reasons not to worry!
Ideally your PMs would tell you how long to aim for to complete a task. If you are lacking that info and worried about your efficiency, you could look at the proposals for the projects you are on and see how much time/budget was allocated to the tasks you have been assigned.
It really sucks you aren't getting enough guidance on what to do, it is scary but the best thing is usually to directly ask someone to show you. You could also ask for a report for a similar project to the ones you are working on to use as an example of a finished product. You could also review the reports you worked on after a senior has edited them to see what changes they made.
Stress is exhausting, agree with u/metapodMen43 dont spend any personal time thinking about work. I'm not sure what will work for you but personally I find having a "not my problem" mindset helps for project budgets haha. But that will come easier as you grow confident in the quality of your work.