I don't want to be homeless or a pornagrapher

October 11, 2005 11:02 AM

Am I crazy to quit my job when I have nothing else lined up? Recently, my job took a sudden turn. I am now video taping non-professional young women doing unseemly things in various nightclubs. I find it disturbing for any number of reasons. (I'm male.) But the question is: should I let go of this job if I don't have immediate prospects for another? I have enough money to last three months. How much is my conscience worth?
posted by captainscared to work & money (31 comments total)

I would say quit, if you have no dependents.

Otherwise, you MAY want to line something else up first.

Your conscience and pride are worth a lot. People die for their consciences.
posted by sonofsamiam at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2005

um, what was the job before? In other words, what had you signed on to do, which has now taken a "sudden turn."
posted by miles1972 at 11:09 AM on October 11, 2005

Drop the job. You can surely find something else in three months -- at worst, you might need to get a gas station or supermarket job in the last month, just to get you through until you've found something better -- and you'll be a lot happier if you're not doing something that bothers you.

Alternatively, start applying elsewhere, and quit as soon as you've got another job lined up. If you can stand your current job for a little longer, this is a bit safer, but if it were me, I'd leave immediately. A job is just a job, and even in a bad economy, there are a lot of them out there.
posted by vorfeed at 11:13 AM on October 11, 2005

Drop the job.

If you want your savings to last longer you could pick up a lower-pay temp gig while you hunt.
posted by I Love Tacos at 11:19 AM on October 11, 2005

Repeat after me: My life is not my job.
Now get out and don't look back. The fastest way to die by inches is to sell out your conscience; and it is ONLY (and I mean this) a job. There is much much more to life than a crappy job (yeah, yeah - like rent and such) - but you have to live with yourself.
When you get your next job, promise yourself you will learn to say "no" when asked to do things that go against your own ethics/conscience.
posted by dbmcd at 11:21 AM on October 11, 2005

My dad did exactly that when I was a teenager. He landed on his feet and we were pretty well protected from what was going on, but I found out later that things were reeeeeally thin for a few months.
posted by Doohickie at 11:22 AM on October 11, 2005

(And no, they didn't ask him to film women in nightclubs; instead the were asking him to participate in unsound, if not illegal, business practices. The whole company went under six months after he left.)
posted by Doohickie at 11:24 AM on October 11, 2005

I have enough money to last three months. How much is my conscience worth?

Each person is different, how could I possibly know how much your conscience is worth to you? Personally, I would love your job, so there's that...


If you want your savings to last longer you could pick up a lower-pay temp gig while you hunt.

You can surely find something else in three months -- at worst, you might need to get a gas station or supermarket job in the last month, just to get you through until you've found something better

I disagree with this, I think it would be better to concentrate 100% on finding a job that you'll enjoy, In my own (very lazy) experience working full time meant that I wasn't spending much time job hunting.
posted by delmoi at 11:28 AM on October 11, 2005

i also vote for quitting. it does wonders for your sense of self-worth to be able to say "i'm better than this" and act on it. also, it can be hard to find a job while you have a job, if even mostly because you're not as motivated to look for work when you have a steady paycheck rolling in.

i recently quit my job with nothing lined up, and landed a new position the following week. i had sent around an "i quit my job, please let me know if you hear of anything" email and one of the recipients just happened to need someone like me for an unadvertised position. if i hadn't quit, i would have never gotten the great job i have now.

plus, who doesn't want a little time off to regroup and figure out what's next. i say go for it. either way, good luck!
posted by mandlebrotz at 11:28 AM on October 11, 2005

It's IMHO easier to find a job if your already employed. I'd probably stick with it if it's just disturbing, if I though the current job was unethical then I'd quit
posted by Mitheral at 11:33 AM on October 11, 2005

I was just unemployed for 6 months. The national average is 9 months. But that depends, how good's your resume? Got any reliable contacts?

Don't do anything that makes you feel worse as a person, obviously, but be prepared for a hard struggle to get a new job. Maybe you'll be fine, but skimp on everything if you quit until you get that new job, because you never know.
posted by shmegegge at 11:37 AM on October 11, 2005

It's easy to say 'quit, find another job' but first, what's your skillset? How's the job market? What can you do that's in demand right now? I wouldn't presume to give any advice without knowing about that first. I was off work for a year once and that did more terrible things for my self-image and self-confidence than anything else I've gone through.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 11:51 AM on October 11, 2005

There's some great advice on similar subjects at ask.metafilter/tags/jobs

Once I put up with a job that had turned into something other than what I'd signed up for. I stuck it out for about 4 months, while my life became utterly miserable. Eventually quitting was the best thing I ever did.
posted by godawful at 12:05 PM on October 11, 2005

Only you can answer this question. Seriously.

If it were me, I'd drop the job in a second. I'd drop any job in a second if it offended my conscience. I've done it, too. I vowed many years ago I'd never let a job - or the financial security that goes with it - mean more to me than my morality or my conscience. But that's me. You need to figure out what you feel about it. No one else can do it for you.
posted by Decani at 12:07 PM on October 11, 2005

Do you have any vacation or sick leave accrued? If so, why not take it (a strong argument could be made that you don't feel well, when at work) and use the time to search for a new job? At minimum, you'll have a better sense of your alternatives.

And, by the way, commendations for not living paycheck-to-paycheck (and/or not maxing out your credit cards); it does give you more options.
posted by WestCoaster at 12:13 PM on October 11, 2005

How much is my conscience worth?

Consider this an opportunity to discover that for yourself. Quit. In a few years, you'll have hindsight and your answer. Either you'll remember it as a proud moment or you'll wish you'd taken a wider perspective. The point is, if you don't know the answer to your question, then your conscience really isn't at issue. The question is, How much is the lesson worth?
posted by cribcage at 12:13 PM on October 11, 2005

The longer you keep this job the longer there is going to be a mysterious gap in your resumé, assuming you choose not to tell potential employers about this experience. This only perpetuates your situation. Three months is a decent enough cushion but get your resume together today. You may not be willing to quit until you start actively pursing a change.
posted by quadog at 12:16 PM on October 11, 2005

I don't think there would be a gap in his resume. It sounds like his old job just added some new unsavory duties, and he can just list his old job on his resume.
posted by smackfu at 12:19 PM on October 11, 2005

Quit before it gets uglier.
posted by craniac at 12:47 PM on October 11, 2005

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say keep the job. You conscience is really a byproduct of personal pride and ego. If the money, the hours, and the actual minutes are good, then what you need to is demonstrate some humility and just let go of your misgivings.

More to the point - realistically speaking you should always be looking to get one rung higher on the ladder, whatever ladder that may be. In this case that translates to actively seeking out any higher-paying job - and this time you can get one that doesn't conflict with your personal morality.

Keep the job, but job hunt as actively as possible while doing so. Don't quite until you're asked to do something illegal - your self-respect can easily be repaired. Your legal standing can't.
posted by Ryvar at 12:48 PM on October 11, 2005

sorry, what you need to do, and don't quit.

Long day here.
posted by Ryvar at 12:50 PM on October 11, 2005

I was in this position with *professionals*. Up for a gig with the p*rn word. Walked away from it. I wasn't sure I'd view women well. Also, I wanted to still be titilated by the subject, not bored.

Have you called people in your network? People you've worked with once, twice, maybe who said, hey look what I'm doing. It'd help if you had any info on your metafilter user page for what market you're in.
posted by filmgeek at 1:17 PM on October 11, 2005

This question makes me wonder if there should be a 'swap your job' system where you can do a direct swap with someone else. I'm not joking :)

I personally say.. quit UNLESS you have major contractual obligations with these folks. If you do, you should really serve them out. You may need to ask these people for a reference one day.
posted by wackybrit at 1:19 PM on October 11, 2005

Have you developed a safety net through friends, family, and former associates?

Then quit, immediately. It's just going to get to the point where you won't be able to forget what you've seen anymore; how much money is that worth?
posted by Cycloptichorn at 1:40 PM on October 11, 2005

What Ryvar said. Keep the job, but quietly hunt for a new one. Though if they ask you to do something illegal, quit.
posted by Count Ziggurat at 1:55 PM on October 11, 2005

Really, I want to hear what you did before the sudden turn!
posted by phrontist at 2:30 PM on October 11, 2005

I quite my job without anything lined up, and that was after spending most of my money a few months earlier traveling the other side of the globe. I didn't find a job for 4 months, but it was still the best decision I made. I've felt so much better and even a year later I look back at it and wish I'd done it sooner.
posted by furtive at 3:52 PM on October 11, 2005

My guess. [nsfw]
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:02 PM on October 11, 2005

I don't see why you can't look for a new job while you keep the current one, if money is tight. Nothing says you can't be applying for other jobs while you are employed by the crappy one. But, from a moral standpoint you might want to quit immediately -- that's something you'll have to decide for yourself.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:20 PM on October 11, 2005

I have NEVER had a new job lined up when I quit the old one. Temp work has always got me through the stretches. And there's no job-hunting motivation like impending poverty! (YMMV).
posted by nanojath at 9:37 PM on October 12, 2005

The longer you keep this job the longer there is going to be a mysterious gap in your resumé

This doesn't have to be a problem. I took 8 months out in 1990 and 18 months in 1996/7. First time was to travel, second was to travel and just... take some time out of work because I could.

At subsequent job interviews I was perfectly honest about the gaps. In 1990 it caused a few problems; in 96 the management sheep were starting to hear from the likes of Tom Peters that people who took career breaks tended to be the smart, successful type who needed stimulation and variety in their lives and who could be a great asset to a company. I found a job more quickly than I did in 1990 even though I'd been out twice as long.

I strongly recommend taking risks when unhappy with a job for any reason. A wage slave is a miserable thing to be, especially when the job is offending your conscience.
posted by Decani at 7:13 AM on October 13, 2005