Talk Me Out Of Quitting My Job

[UncleSepp]

I just hit the wall. Went splat. Right now, the uncertainty of looking for a new job sounds better than staying on an overworked, understaffed support team whose job it is to fix problems other people have created. One voice is saying "The money's good and your budget's tight, stay" and the other is saying "Get the hell out before you have a heart attack on top of everything else". My life has gone haywire, the projects I'm supporting are overwhelming, I'm being asked to pull servers out of my behind with no budget, I haven't finished moving yet, my car needs repaired and I can't get a good night's sleep without chemical help. I am having a hard time giving a crap right now. Why should I stay?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Because finding a new job sucks.

Get a new job first. Then quit.

[chickenscratching]

3. vash!

i never found out, but how did that interview go from awhile back?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. Didn't get the job.

:cry:

So I'm still looking....

[borlis]

5. I agree!!

Since there are not many jobs to be had, find a new one first. If you quit now who knows how long it might take you to find a new one. Good Luck

[Midlodemocrat]

2. Maybe take a few days off to relax a bit.

But, I wouldn't quit my job until I had another one. Jobs are hard enough to come by, and you are more attractive to a potential employer with a job.

JMHO.

[UncleSepp]

6. Both sound like reasonable ideas

I have been trying to take a few days off since April :cry: Not only can't I take a few days off, I've been working about every other weekend, round the clock, without flex time.

[Ksec]

7. just remember

you cant live without money.

You cant eat.

You cant have a home

You cant pay your bills

Youre done without a job.

[Ksec]

8. Oh yeah

My wife quit her job. After a year , she was still looking for a new one . She eventually went back to the old one after all that.

[Deja Q]

10. In other words, it's the downside to our "culture of life".

One isn't done. Just worse THAN done.

[Greyhound]

9. I completely understand...

where you're coming from. I too was in IT for many years. My decision was to cash out and start my own business.
After a year I have a much lower 'standard of living' and cannot afford all the toys I used to buy, but I've lost 40lbs. and some of my hair has grown back, and I no longer get those alarming chest pains.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
***********************************************************************
This is definitely NOT a good choice for everyone, entrepreneurs are born, not made.
***********************************************************************

Unfortunately, a new job is likely to be just as bad, if not worse. ALL of my friends that have managed to stay in the business have stories very similar to yours.

[amazona]

13. i'll say it isn't for everyone - if I lost 40 lbs I'd be dead!

I don't care how great a business is, if it doesn't pay me enough to maintain my weight, it isn't serving its purpose.

Damn! I'm glad it's working out for you, though. But if that story doesn't scare her back into the office, nothing will! :-)

[Deja Q]

11. Stay. It's a shit world and ALL employers are shit heads.

UI just got a "you're underqualified" response from an organization.

I rechecked their qualifications.

I match or exceed ALL of them (including the degree paper) except for using Tivoli.

Maybe they want a security specialist instead of pc support/database reports creator/helpdesk staff/coffee maker/sink cleaner... in which case they need to revamp their qualifications list.

[amazona]

12. you should stay for the money

Don't quit, get the best revenge and quietly find a better job before you quit.

If you quit and destroy yourself financially, you'll just give the b*****ds something to giggle and gossip and feel superior about.

At the very least get reliable transportation before you even consider quitting your job.

Convinced yet? If not, I've got more. :-)

[skygazer]

14. You sound pretty burned out

But remember, it's not likely to be better anywhere else. Rather than quit your job, you need to seriously work on separating it from your "real" life. Easier said than done, I know (I am obsessive and tend to bring my work home a lot) but necessary for sanity.

Jobs are tight and unless you have something else lined up, it makes no sense to leave. Hang in there - deep breaths and try to maintain a sense of humor. And remember, it's not life or death even if the dragons breathing down your neck would like you to feel it is.

[donheld]

15. AuntJen I'm right there with you

i've been a nervous wreck for weeks now. It's making me crazy.

[UncleSepp]

16. Thank you all very much!

Things aren't looking a whole lot better, but I did bite someone's face off in a meeting today for not listening. It made me feel a little better, actually, to tell someone "You're asking for something unreasonable, and you're not listening to me when I'm telling you the answer. I have the answers you need. If you want the answers, you need to talk to me, the person with the information, not him, and you need to actually listen to what I'm telling you."

That's another angle on all this - some of the people I have to deal with don't know the difference between adequate hardware and inadequate hardware, and they don't know what any of it actually costs. They just know they want machines. They'll give me requirements, and then when I ask questions, they'll talk over and around me but not to me. They'll ask me a question, I'll start to answer, and they'll look at someone else and start talking to them while I am still talking. Typically, these are people in the management side. Well, I have an MBA too, so stuff that. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was missing a critical piece of equipment.

[AlienGirl]

17. Don't quit unless you have something else lined up

The economy sucks so bad right now that I couldn't in good conscience advise *anyone* to quit a job.

That said, it might be good to start looking around--get your resume out there. If you find a better job before you quit this one, you're good. If not, you'll at least get a reasonable idea about what's available out there. Good luck.

I'm not feeling confident about my own chances right now, either. :cry: I'm just certain potential employers will turn me down based on my credit record, or else find out from my current boss how often I have to take sick days.

Maybe things will be better in 2065?

Tucker

[RebelOne]

24. I was going to say the same thing.

Never quit unless you have another job lined up. Plus, if you quit, you cannot collect unemployment.

[SoDesuKa]

18. Stop Caring So Much

Sounds like most of the problems are out of your control. Well, accept that. It means your boss is asking you to make up the difference between a well-run shop and a mess. Don't do it! Work at serenity. Take the money and do a reasonable job. Don't knock yourself out.

[Aristus]

19. I've always been one to take the path of caution, but certainly the

employment situation in this country right now dictates caution. Stick with this one unless you find a suitable job somewhere along the way. Unemployment sucks the big bologna. :(

Hang in there, Jen! :thumbsup:

[LWolf]

20. Don't

No matter how good other prospects look, they can evaporate on the wind, like mine did.

Then you'll find yourself wondering how many full time jobs you'll have to work to make enough to pay the mortgage, and if sleeping or living ever gets to be part of the equation.

[NawlinsNed]

21. Because it's better for your boss to harrass you than for a creditor to

At least when a boss does it, you know you're still getting a paycheck next week.

[Skittles]

22. I feel the same way you do AuntJen

it's the crappy economy that keeps me going :(

[Sugar Smack]

23. Is there any way you can take one or two days off

with your weekend (assuming you don't work on the weekend)? That can really change your perspective. I'd spent 1 1/2 years unemployed before I found my current job and I thought I was really going to lose my shit.

Good luck to you, seriously. I know how you feel because I was there too.

[UncleSepp]

25. Unfortunately, no, not until August

I will have to work weekends plus weekdays for a while. Pretty soon I will have a weekend coming up with another 24 to 36 hour long haul, the kind that has me napping at the office instead of going home.

Oh, and we're going to lose one team member in a couple of weeks, so we'll be even more understaffed. Yay!

[DS1]

26. Carry on through the week

Make your decision when you've had time to unwind.

I know I quit my job half in protest of the horrible way one of the managers would treat the women who just weren't set to stand up for themselves - the other half was because I knew they'd never make it till Xmas.

Well, layoffs were announced Dec 21, but part of me wishes I'd stuck it through.