Should i quit my job? (its sucking my will to live)

March 19, 2007 10:05 PM

Should I quit my job? Should i quit my high-pressure (for me at least), high responsibility part time job and try to find something that won't make me dread getting out of bed.

I am a twenty six year old, who did a couple of years at university but didnt quite find what i wanted there.

I am now doing a night course at a technical college (music recording) and working part time at a software testing and support job that i was doing full time for 4 years previously.

I am finding that the hours (10-3:30,work, 5:30-9 school) and workload and pressure are just really getting me down. I am not as engaged with the work as i used to be, I have gone through a few disciplinary procedures and am taking more sickies than i really should be. i think it is time for me to be doing something else.

Anecdotally there is plenty of work around my area at the moment, so finding another job should not be too hard. The pay at my current job is good but not great so i should be ok financially.

I think a more flexible and less brain sapping casual job could really make me more happy and mean my time outside work might be spent doing more than sitting on the couch drinking.

So basically the question is; secure but soulsucking job vs unsecure but easy job.

thank you.

posted by lrobertjones to work & money (17 comments total)

My advice: quit the job.

I once left a very well-paying job because I dreaded getting up on weekday mornings. I went back to school, and ever since I've been very poor and very happy. My view is that The Man could never pay me enough to make it worth my while spending 40+ hours a week in a job that I hate. YVMV.
posted by nomis at 10:37 PM on March 19, 2007

yes quit
posted by edgeways at 10:46 PM on March 19, 2007

Absolutely quit.
A few thoughts:
(1) If you can get another job, get another job and give your notice ASAP.
(2) If you aren't sure you can get another job quickly, but can afford to be without a job for a few weeks/months, quit ASAP.
(3) I always try to identify the worst case scenario, decide if I can live with it, and move forward.

You've already made the decision. I know how you feel. I used to get up every morning, look at my (work) laptop on my way to the bathroom, and feel a little bit of my soul die every day. Sounds like you're at that point. Do the right thing for yourself, and for your boss. You'll both be happier. And you probably can use them as a reference now. Might not be able to later...

Good luck on your new job!
posted by davidinmanhattan at 10:55 PM on March 19, 2007

Quit before you get to the "throwing up at the thought of going to work" stage. It's just not worth it.
posted by gomichild at 10:57 PM on March 19, 2007

quit. asap.
posted by puddleglum at 11:03 PM on March 19, 2007

Find a new job ASAP, then quit.
posted by Good Brain at 11:22 PM on March 19, 2007

I've never had another job lined up when I quit the one I had.

Not once, ever.

You sound, well, not American anyway and I don't know what this is like elsewhere, but I worked clerical temporary many's the time, I never went more than 2 weeks after quitting (never quite got fired thought I think I snuck it in just under the wire a couple of times) without getting work if I needed it. Mindless can be very refreshing for a surprisingly long period of time after a hard slog. Give notice, you'll feel beautiful.
posted by nanojath at 11:44 PM on March 19, 2007

In the past I put up with bad periods of a job that I dreaded and it came better. But, knowing then what I know now I should have quit.
I guess the other way to think of it is, why stay?
It isn't your dream job, or a step in your intended career path, it doesn't pay great and it makes you feel bad.
Quit and good luck!
posted by bystander at 2:57 AM on March 20, 2007

Quit before they sack you.
posted by pompomtom at 3:01 AM on March 20, 2007

<rant>Yeah, yeah, quit the job already. Seriously, why do people come to askmefi with these questions? You know you want to quit, your job sucks, and apparently there are no downsides to quitting. Are you posting this question so that when you do quit, you can look at this page and feel your decision is validated? Well, consider it validated.</rant>

The only thing that I might say is: think about talking to your boss first. If you're not happy with how work is shaping up, talking to her or him might help work through some of your issues with work. I say this because you say this is a "high-pressure... high-responsibility" job. That to me sounds like something good to put on a resume. If you do, and are asked the question, "Why did you quit?" the answer you don't want to give is "I can't handle lots of pressure and responsibility." At the very least you want to leave your workplace on good terms with your boss so that if you need a good reference they are there for you.

Also, it's entirely possible that it's how you approach work that's the problem, not the job itself. If you do quit, and find yourself falling into the same patterns in the new job, then quitting again will not solve the problem.

Finally, if you do follow up with a low pressure, low responsibility part-time job, don't put it on your resume since it will be very clear that you caved under the pressure and that's why you went to work at Aunt Annie's Pretzels.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:13 AM on March 20, 2007

Seriously, why do people come to askmefi with these questions?
I'd say because there is a serious attitude in our culture that glorifies workaholism and ever-increasing work pressures, and belittles anyone who opts-out of that atmosphere as "quitters". Your final sentence points to just this attitude...
...since it will be very clear that you caved under the pressure...
That seems to imply that one should put-up with the high pressure no matter what. Did he cave? Or did he simply decide that the pressure was not something he wanted in his life?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:12 AM on March 20, 2007

Do it, but make sure that you spin it nicely on your resume. Depending on what you do next, this could be the difference between getting a job immediately and going through a slog.

Example: a friend quit an admin asst. job because she wanted to take some time off to consider school or another career path. A few months later, she decided the timing was wrong for school, and she went to find another admin job. When she sent her resume into temp agencies, no one could get past the fact that she hadn't done anything for a few months.

She had helped me on some web projects over the course of her unemployment, so we added that to the resume. Within a week, she had offers.

Moral is, resumes are skimmed for gaps and question marks. Make sure yours doesn't raise a red flag. And when you're asked why you left job x, have an answer that will appeal to the shallow concerns of HR. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, it's a little childish and stupid, but so's the office world.
posted by condour75 at 6:40 AM on March 20, 2007

I just recently quit my job (as in Thursday of last week). I did it because when I came home from work I was stewing over a comment that was said to me by the CEO of the company. It was like her 5th comment in as many weeks. But I have a rule that says Work problems stay at work and home problems stay at home. After an hour of ranting about the comment that was made and previous comments, I sent in my resignation letter. Best decision I ever made.
posted by thebwit at 8:13 AM on March 20, 2007

Thorzdad, you make good points and I agree that my post came off as disapproving of what he's doing. For the record, I think he should quit his job if he hates it, and I approve of choosing a working experience that matches your needs as a person. I just wanted to point out what consequences there might be if he doesn't spin it right. The disciplinaries and sickies also raised some warning flags in my head.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:39 AM on March 20, 2007

Quit that stupid job. You'll be fine. You're 26. You'll have five more jobs in the next 10 to 20 years. At 26 you're at the age to start trying out what your "career" job will be in the future, or even if that's the path you want to take. You may want to sit at home and code shareware for all I know (or for all YOU know too).

I second Thorzdad's comment. We're getting culturally screwed. Partially due to our historical context of hard working American stereotypes, but partially due to our own ever increasing level of desires for material goods that provide us with pleasure in our hours outside of work (computers, cameras, televisions, cars, phones, etc.) and the culture of newness when it comes to gadgets. It seems we're digging our own hole a little deeper at the expense of our sanity.
posted by smallerdemon at 8:52 AM on March 20, 2007

I just did. It was awesome!
posted by jon_kill at 9:40 AM on March 20, 2007

i was at a job like that and i was like, oh, i should just suck it up, it's a great oppotunity etc etc. now I'll never get those 2 years of my life
back.
posted by octavia at 7:02 PM on March 20, 2007