my friend quit his job.

[DesertFlower]

he said he was "losing his soul". he was a legal secretary making $65,000 a year with great benefits. he'll be 51 next month. had the job for 16 months.

who the hell does something this crazy in this economy?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Somebody with a nice, fat, bank account.

and no dependents.

[DesertFlower]

4. he doesn't have a big bank account.

he did temp work most of his adult life and sometimes barely got by. he's single -- no dependents.

[DS1]

2. that was pretty dumb

[DesertFlower]

7. that's my thought.

my husband says he better hope when his parents die they leave him money.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

9. What price your soul?

He did the right thing for HIM. I fully understand it.

[DS1]

15. Yeah

been there. He's probably going to find the job market is an abyss, and will either get lucky and find something fast or get lost in a sea of resumes.

You can always leave work at the end of the day, the lost soul argument doesn't fly with me anymore. Not everyone gets their dream job, but it's always smart to find a new one before you leave the one you hate.

[Midlodemocrat]

35. If I live to be 100, I will never understand the 'dream job' argument.

It's a means to an end. If you happen not to hate your job, that's a bonus. If you happen to actually love it, that's a gift from God.

It's a job. It's no different than the SAHM who picks up legos all day and changes poopy diapers. It's a job.

[supernova]

3. If he was miserable then it was the right thing to do

Peace of mind and mental health is worth everything.

[DesertFlower]

5. he said he's happy.

he quit mid-september. now i know why i didn't hear from him much.

[DesertFlower]

28. not when you're out on the street.

of course, he can always move back with his parents. he's done that several times in the past.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

39. BIngo!!

Spoiled Brat with Mommy Issues...I bet you.

[Shakespeare]

6. I do the same thing at the same salary, and have managed to retain my soul.

Along with all the great benefits. My job doesn't define me, and the salary is, well, fantastic.

I hope your friend has some kind of solid plan lined up; finding yourself flailing financially with no prospects is much more soul-killing, I would bet, than the job he just left.

[DesertFlower]

8. he's looking for something in

communications. i say "good luck". he has no experience in that area.

when he took the job over a year ago, he was down and out -- living on money borrowed from his family. guess he didn't learn his lesson.

[Shakespeare]

11. "communications?" Well, that's mighty vague.

And in this economy, I doubt he'll find much available.

[DesertFlower]

24. i think he's looking for

something that doesn't exist.

i was the one who got him into legal work 24 years ago. he was temping as a clerk when we met and i told him to learn word processing and get into legal. he did, but never really liked it.

[CBGLuthier]

10. Someone who values ethics over prosperity

America could use more people who think like that.

[Shakespeare]

12. You have no idea whether he values ethics over prosperity.

From the OP's other posts, it doesn't appear that her friend knows WHAT he wants to do. Not too wise to quit your day job until you have some idea what you do want to pursue.

[CBGLuthier]

16. Well wtf does losing your soul mean to you?

I replied to the OP not to their many follow ups.

But thanks for slapping me down.

[Shakespeare]

20. I didn't slap you down-I just don't think the knee-jerk praise for quitting is necessarily justified

I've known (and dated) people over the years who would complain about being unfulfilled in their work, and at the end of the day most of them simply didn't want to work, period. People who have real dreams that they're serious about pursuing can at least tell you what they DO want, and make some effort at pursuing it, regardless of whether they're ultimately successful.

[SammyWinstonJack]

21. !!

:thumbsup:

[Shakespeare]

22. !!

:eyes:

[LeftyFingerPop]

13. It is difficult to express an opinion unless we are inside his head...

or standing in his shoes.

Perhaps he is depressed, or perhaps he simply had enough.

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. agreed.

[DesertFlower]

27. he was not depressed.

the job was originally in new york city but he didn't get along with one of the partners so they transferred him to newark at the same salary. he lives in jersey city so he didn't even have to travel far.

[LeftyFingerPop]

29. You can't say that with certainty.

He could be depressed without HIMSELF knowing it, let alone anyone else.

In any case, only he knows his motivations. He did this for himself.

[DesertFlower]

34. one of his problems is he's

extremely intelligent and i know he doesn't like taking orders from people who are younger than him and not as smart. he's almost 51. some of these lawyers are in their late 20s, early 30s.

[AlCzervik]

14. i hope he has saved up a lot of money.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. if he's worked temp most of his life he's used to scraping by.

[AlCzervik]

19. missed that, good luck to him.

[DesertFlower]

25. a few years ago he

was 3 months behind in rent. had to go to court and work out a deal with his landlord.

after he started this job and got his first paid vacation he said "why didn't i do this years ago"? i guess he likes being poor.

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. 'fraid of success maybe.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

23. For 65K, my soul is available.

Hell, for 40K, my soul is still available.

[DesertFlower]

26. that would be true for most people.

i know lawyers can be difficult. i worked with them for many years, but that's why they pay the big bucks and give you 4 weeks vacation and bonuses.

[Tripper11]

32. Which lawyers did you work for?

Just curious. My wife is a legal assistant, she likes her job, but it ain't bringing in 65K nor does she get 4 weeks vacation.
But she does get to work with whacked out lawyers, some are very good, but, you know, waxed out, some are not so good.
I will say she works to a firm that focuses on Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, Employment Law....

[DesertFlower]

33. i worked in the legal department

of new york telephone and for nixon, hargrave, devans & doyle, but that was a long time ago. haven't worked since '89.

[Deja Q]

31. For $65k, many of my body parts would be available...

$65k/yr...

[elleng]

30. Understandable if he couldn't stand

the work/cases the firm does; otherwise, VERY difficult to understand.

[MsKandice01]

36. Legal Secretary work can be extremely stressful...

Especially when cases go to trial. There have been times, especially when my attorney waited until the last minute to prepare a case for trial, which meant I was at work by myself making copies, putting together exhibit books, etc. until 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday night, when I was VERY close to quitting too...and I don't make $65K/year but I make pretty close to that.

I'm still very sick of the job but I'm finishing court reporting school first before I quit.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

38. gawdamn...I wish I was getting that much for my soul

fuck. I have to eat. :banghead:

Wonder how filling his soul is going to taste?

please keep us posted. I love reading about crazy bastards. I can live vicariously through him.

[orleans]

40. losing his soul? let's see....was he working for a republican law firm

or a bunch of corporate lawyers?