>you can train yourself to dedicate that bit of time you have free to working on your own stuff. It won't happen overnight, and you have to be understanding wit

>you can train yourself to dedicate that bit of time you have free to working on your own stuff. It won't happen overnight, and you have to be understanding with yourself when you're tired, but a 40 hour a week job doesn't limit what you can do. I find this to be very true. When I started out in the professional world, I rarely wanted to work at all on my own professional development after work. After a year or so, I became much more comfortable with my responsibilities at work and was a much more competent employee. I found that frustration at work fueled my motivation to rise above the 'average' developer and truly master the technology stack that I currently work in. I started identifying activities that were eating up my time and my productivity (too much web browsing, too many games, etc). I started working on SMALL projects with realistic scope. Completing these small projects motivated me even more and the momentum helped me continue the trend. Now coding outside of work is fun again, and even though I'm not changing the world, I know it made a noticeable impact to my skills as a developer. OP, I think a lot of us have been in a similar boat. Making the transition into the real world can be an anxious or even scary time. Don't worry, keep your head up and don't try to focus on all of the unknowns at a once. Look at your current employment as an opportunity for personal growth. If you are confident about your technical abilities, hone your interpersonal relations instead. Use the time wisely and try to reflect on your progress as objectively as possible. Try to find someone at work that you can get along with and maybe ask for advice from time to time.