I quit my job...now the way forward.

[X0LARIUM]

Hey guys,

I put in my papers yesterday. That's it. Hate people building pressure for no reason. Anyways, I wanted to ask a few questions. I wanted to know, for someone who is 29, married and having a father who is on the verge of retirement, is it a good idea to change ones career? I wanted to do something else from advertising. But shifting a career means starting from scratch. Which could have dire consequences where costs shoot up faster than anything else.

Couple of things that interest me is: writing blogs, writing a novel/short stories, writing for a (tech) website, and something completely different, like studying ancient Egypt.

Just wanted to have a 3rd person perspective.

Thanks for reading.

 

[beachhoppr]

I did it and started my own company. Its a slow burn but it can be done. And its far more rewarding.

 

[LazySunday]

I too did it, but for a different reason. It may be psychologically a burden for a while if you have taken care of your financial needs. It takes some time for a free lancer to settle down. Don't let your motivation down. Keep working hard at what you want to do, but do plan about finances for a while. Tell your parents and family and explain them what you are going through. I know it can be a problem at times leaving you frustrated. But keep fighting and don't give up. Worst case if nothing works out you can always get back to mainstream jobs . But don't let Plan B override your plan A and I'm sure you are not gonna repent your attempt as long as you remain focused Good luck!

 

[Coreldan]

What you probably should've done is figured out what are you going to do before you resigned from your current job, instead of quitting now and wondering potentially for months where to get money.

Good luck with the job switch though!

 

[X0LARIUM]

I too did it, but for a different reason. It may be psychologically a burden for a while if you have taken care of your financial needs. It takes some time for a free lancer to settle down. Don't let your motivation down. Keep working hard at what you want to do, but do plan about finances for a while. Tell your parents and family and explain them what you are going through. I know it can be a problem at times leaving you frustrated. But keep fighting and don't give up. Worst case if nothing works out you can always get back to mainstream jobs . But don't let Plan B override your plan A and I'm sure you are not gonna repent your attempt as long as you remain focused Good luck!

Thanks. I think I am ok for a while without a job and thinking what to do. The only sad part is, it might eat into my investment. But thats ok.

 

[X0LARIUM]

What you probably should've done is figured out what are you going to do before you resigned from your current job, instead of quitting now and wondering potentially for months where to get money.

Good luck with the job switch though!

I know that. But I just don't like my job. Heard a few things from my seniors about me and that was reason enough to call it quits. Never done it before. Thanks for your reply.

 

[ttsoldier]

If you do what you love; what you're passionate about, It will never be a job. :wink:

 

[Abdul Rahman Noor]

I'm sure you had your reasons for suddenly calling it quits (and that I'd never truly understand them), but in my experience as someone who has managed a team of people I could never recommend making a career decision purely on an emotional basis.
Yes, I know people say beautiful things like following your dreams and plenty of trees have been felled to write inspirational books on motivation, doing what you love and so on...

...but the reality for most people is they have a rent or mortgage to pay; families to take care of and responsibilities to fulfill. And unless you're rich (or live in a country with great unemployment benefits like Germany) this need a paycheck every month.

Now, there's nothing wrong with blogging, writing books or studying ancient Egypt. Don't get me wrong - I'm not against any of these. But the key is to narrow down to something you're GOOD AT from these, and pursue that.
Good luck!

 

[HeyCori]

29? Too old? Naw son, you're just getting started! Remember, you have plenty of time no matter what career path you choose. :smile:

 

[ninjaap]

I'm married and turning 36 this year and quit my job on the spot last Jan to change careers. I can tell that you've been thinking about quitting for a while because you're not worried about money as much. I can tell you already had a plan, but were afraid to go forward. Whatever happened at work was the perfect excuse to push you towards your intended path. I wasn't set to quit my job till Jun, because that's when school starts for me, but I had to call it quits earlier for similar reasons, because of my lead. And like you, I have a plan. My advice, stick to the plan!

 

[berty6294]

I just did the same thing to pursue my programming! I'm only 18 but I do have many bills to take care of.

I'm coming from making about $350 a weekend to nothing and it has been hard. I'm hoping the risk I took pays off.

May sound a bit clich?, but if you really want to do something, you can achieve. May be a long road but to have a career in something you truly enjoy, I believe that is the definition of a success!

 

[X0LARIUM]

I'm married and turning 36 this year and quit my job on the spot last Jan to change careers. I can tell that you've been thinking about quitting for a while because you're not worried about money as much. I can tell you already had a plan, but were afraid to go forward. Whatever happened at work was the perfect excuse to push you towards your intended path. I wasn't set to quit my job till Jun, because that's when school starts for me, but I had to call it quits earlier for similar reasons, because of my lead. And like you, I have a plan. My advice, stick to the plan!

Hah! Ur right...I was just looking for good reason and u r right in saying "something" pushed me on the independent path. A spat over the phone with my boss when I wasn't even well.
Anyways, my serious plan is to do something meaningful. Something really that enlightens me. Tired of selling lies and being a yes-man to clients who are less than half literate than me...


Sent from my Π Σ Χ U S 4.

 

[dakranii]

...like studying ancient Egypt.

Probably won't find much of a career there. I was a classical history major in college, studied ancient Greece, Rome, a bit of Egypt. I considered going through with the schooling to become a professor, but the requirements were too much. I'd need a masters and phd, and I'd need to have passing familiarity at least in greek, latin, French, and german (a number of sources are in these languages). Too much for me. Now I work in politics.

I'm 34 with 2 young kids and I'm still considering a career switch. I'm looking at a few business ideas. My parents are self-starters, having started a few businesses on their own, so I have something to draw from at least. But it's a scary thought. I have a good job with great benefits and that's hard to let go of, especially when 2 little kids at home keep me focused on nothing but raising 2 little kids.

Good luck, dream big, work hard!

 

[ade333]

Xenophos, let me point something out to you.... you've already made the change. Keep going!

 

[ninjaap]

Hah! Ur right...I was just looking for good reason and u r right in saying "something" pushed me on the independent path. A spat over the phone with my boss when I wasn't even well.
Anyways, my serious plan is to do something meaningful. Something really that enlightens me. Tired of selling lies and being a yes-man to clients who are less than half literate than me...


Sent from my Π Σ Χ U S 4.

You and I, sir, are going through a similar renaissance in life! I had the same exact emotions and went through the exact same thoughts and experiences. The only difference, is I worked in production my last 12 yrs and finally had enough. My career had been stale, meant nothing, and was going nowhere. I felt like the money I was making, was not enough to justify how I was treated as worker and a human being. I decided to do something meaningful and helpful to society, which is why I chose the medical field. Im going to try my luck in Radiation Therapy to treat cancer patients, to repay a self-imposed debt to my local medical community for giving my mom her life back, twice, after surviving two separate cancer threats. But studying RT is just a 2 yr A.S. degree stepping stone to help get my GPA up to try and get accepted into the 4 yr Nuclear Medicine B.S. program at UNLV. Will it all happen according to plan? I don't know. I'm taking it one step at a time. Step one: quit my job. Done.

Best of luck to you! I know you and I will be successful.

 

[squire777]

I agree with some others that you should have made sure you have an income source lined up before quitting.

With that said I don't fault you for quitting your job. I know too many people who make themselves unhealthy by sticking to jobs that put large amounts of stress and tension on them, eventually making them unhappy and even depressed. I would rather be happy and healthy with a decent amount of money rather than be rich and unhappy.

 

[X0LARIUM]

Probably won't find much of a career there. I was a classical history major in college, studied ancient Greece, Rome, a bit of Egypt. I considered going through with the schooling to become a professor, but the requirements were too much. I'd need a masters and phd, and I'd need to have passing familiarity at least in greek, latin, French, and german (a number of sources are in these languages). Too much for me. Now I work in politics.

I'm 34 with 2 young kids and I'm still considering a career switch. I'm looking at a few business ideas. My parents are self-starters, having started a few businesses on their own, so I have something to draw from at least. But it's a scary thought. I have a good job with great benefits and that's hard to let go of, especially when 2 little kids at home keep me focused on nothing but raising 2 little kids.

Good luck, dream big, work hard!

Thanks a lot dakranii. I never thought it would be so much of studying and time-consuming. Hmmm..makes me wonder what I should do next.

You and I, sir, are going through a similar renaissance in life! I had the same exact emotions and went through the exact same thoughts and experiences. The only difference, is I worked in production my last 12 yrs and finally had enough. My career had been stale, meant nothing, and was going nowhere. I felt like the money I was making, was not enough to justify how I was treated as worker and a human being. I decided to do something meaningful and helpful to society, which is why I chose the medical field. Im going to try my luck in Radiation Therapy to treat cancer patients, to repay a self-imposed debt to my local medical community for giving my mom her life back, twice, after surviving two separate cancer threats. But studying RT is just a 2 yr A.S. degree stepping stone to help get my GPA up to try and get accepted into the 4 yr Nuclear Medicine B.S. program at UNLV. Will it all happen according to plan? I don't know. I'm taking it one step at a time. Step one: quit my job. Done.

Best of luck to you! I know you and I will be successful.

Thanks a lot ninjaap for the wishes. I wish u good luck too. I think what u are doing is definitely humble and great for the society, irrespective of why.
A good deed never requires a reason.

From here on, I want to do something meaningful. The problem is, if I lose track of my current field once, it is as good as over. Any job scenario in India is extremely dangerous.

I agree with some others that you should have made sure you have an income source lined up before quitting.

With that said I don't fault you for quitting your job. I know too many people who make themselves unhealthy by sticking to jobs that put large amounts of stress and tension on them, eventually making them unhappy and even depressed. I would rather be happy and healthy with a decent amount of money rather than be rich and unhappy.

Yes squire777, u are absolutely right. I would be much rather be content than rich.
Its so stressful and bad, I don't even want to start thinking about it. Its like a bad experience u don't wanna talk about again.


Sent from my Π Σ Χ U S 4.

 

[jomarr]

Same thing here but I'm just 20 and single so probably things are brighter for me.

I may be too young to give you advice so you can just call this my '2 cents'

I feel you, but now that you are starting a family, you are better with your job right now. Try to hang on a bit, save a little and try studying what you love. It's never too late to achieve what you like. I'm stuck at an office right now and recently found out that I love to study animals and nature. It's still a blur to me since my parents insist for me to stay with my job. Their reason is because I'm nearing that regular position but the problem is I don't like to do what I'm doing at present for the next years.

My situation is tricky since my degree would be wasted and I will study another 4 years but I am willing to do it. Are you willing to gamble your job to study what you like? I think you should work and study at the same time if you can do it. It's never too late man. It's your life. The decision is yours and I wish you the best for yourself and your family!

 

[miklavzg]

I'm a lawyer and soon will be an LLM. No way that I wanna become an attorney, prosecutor, judge... I like startups and I'm building one. I like technology.
That's why I decided to learn something about venture capital, internet law and so on. You can always combine your study with your interests.
But the most important thing is to know what you want! And don't listen anyone but yourself. I know parents always dictate what should their kids study, but I think you should listen to yourself only.

 

[Nomadicphone]

Xenophos,

I've been down your particular road twice. In 2000 I decided I wanted to get out of IT and get into charity work. Went back to evening college (UK), and finished in 2004 with a Master's degree. I quit my job and did charity work in India in 2005-2006. When I came back I found it extremely hard to get charity jobs, because of the fact most development jobs wanted experience in Africa, not Asia. After nearly 18 months out of work I landed back up in IT in Finance.

I am planning another change back to charity, however I learned a lesson along the way and that is to have a financial backup plan. I do have two properties now that will pay for themselves. It means I can absorb the 70% paycut and still have a roof over my head. The line of work will entail travelling overseas, so one of the properties has four bedrooms, meaning I can stay there inbetween assignments.

Like everyone else has said, no amount of money can buy waking up in the morning and looking forward to the day ahead as opposed to being filled with dread. I have a near-death experience in the year 2000 that made me change my path altogether. As Aldous Huxley once said "experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him". 13 years on I'm still trying to make that permanent change. You have to ask yourself what is taller, the obstacles for your desired path, or you determination to do what you want.

Good luck.