
Ask HN: Should I quit my job? - manceraio
I&#x27;m working for a German automobile corporate in Spain as a project leader. I&#x27;m 29, I&#x27;ve studied electronic engineering, I don&#x27;t have kids, and I&#x27;m not married. What I do at my current job all day is emails, spreadsheets, power points, and some electronic testing. I&#x27;ve been working there for already five years, and I&#x27;ve been climbing the ladder as much as I managed.  I also work on the afternoons on a side project that is making close to $100&#x2F;m<p>However, my day job is draining all my energy in a way that I am grumpy from Sunday night to Saturday morning. I wake up at 6:20, commute 45 minutes, work 8h, commute 45 minutes, arrive home at 18:00 and then I try to squeeze time for my side project, going to the gym, making groceries, hang out with my gf, etc. I probably push around 10h&#x2F;week to the project. The worst part of it is getting home exhausted in a way that it&#x27;s impossible for me to do any work done. It makes me feel miserable, depressed, and tied. I could create more value just by myself.
During my office hours, my energy levels are, and the atmosphere at work is pleasant. Also, my salary is above the Spanish average, but nothing special, my uni friends are also making similar numbers.<p>My gut is telling me to quit my job and work for my products. I have enough savings to survive for five years. I don&#x27;t think about going nomad or any of these hippie trends. I&#x27;m focused on building a business and feel accomplished by something I&#x27;ve done with my hands.<p>My biggest fears are:
 - To not stick to a schedule&#x2F;routine once I am solo.
 - People&#x27;s and family opinion.
 - Failing and losing motivation.<p>Should I quit my job and work on my stuff or search for another position that would give more motivation?
======
rossdavidh
This will sound odd, but hear me out: assuming that whichever way you choose,
it will be wrong, which would you choose? If you quit this job to pursue your
side project, and that doesn't pan out, will you forever regret having given
up this job? Or, if you don't quit this job, will you forever hate your career
because part of you is wondering what would have happened if you just "went
for it"?

Figure out which mistake would be less crushing, and do that one. If it
happens to actually work out, great. If not, at least you won't be spending
the rest of your life regretting.

By the way, for reasons I won't speculate on, this method (assume failure,
which would you pick) turns out to be a pretty good way of picking the option
more likely to succeed, actually. But assume you won't succeed no matter what,
and use that scenario to decide which way to go.

~~~
gridlockd
This _sounds good_ , but it doesn't really work, at least not in the way you
think it will.

There's _no way_ you can imagine yourself in an unknown future. You can not
estimate how much you will regret one thing or the other, because you don't
know the situation you will be in. All the variables affecting you (economy,
health, family situation) are constantly changing. You're not going to picture
yourself as a homeless alcoholic who somehow is still really glad he built
that app once and would do all it all over again.

The first bad thing that'll probably happen after he quits his job is that his
girlfriend will leave him. Not necessarily immediately, but it'll be a strain
on the relationship. Even though she will not admit it (perhaps because she
isn't even aware of it), she is probably dating him because he is a guy that
has a decent job, not some dreamer with a wacky business idea (unless maybe
that's how she got to know him). Breakups can be really tough on men, why can
negatively affect work and motivation. Not being the guy with the decent job,
it will be tougher to find a new partner as well.

The second bad thing that will happen is the realization that "being your own
boss" and "working on the stuff that is important to you" versus "showing up"
and "collecting a paycheck" _always_ sounds better when you're doing the
latter. Doing the former is actually a lot of stressful work and you _can not
tell_ how it works on you _until you have done it_.

Lastly, living with regrets is not such a big deal. Who _doesn 't_ live with
regrets? Whatever you do, you can rely on your brain coming up with
rationalizations on why this-and-that just wasn't meant to be.

Having said all that, with "five years of savings" (more like two years, am I
right?), doing a sabbatical just to try it out should be in the cards. There
may not be a need to quit the job, many companies offer this. If after six
months to a year you aren't on the right track, it probably isn't working out,
but you will have learned a lot about yourself.

~~~
rossdavidh
Well, I had a girlfriend who, when I decided to quit my job and go back to
college, didn't want me to. I did it anyway, and sure enough, that
relationship didn't last. I found another one in college, and married her.
Later, when I wanted to quit my engineering job and start over as a programmer
at a university, making 1/3 the money, she said "go for it".

Breakups suck, but sometimes it is a way to find out if you are with the right
person (not that this is why you should do it of course).

~~~
gridlockd
Being a programmer at a university is still a "decent job", the difference in
money isn't necessarily the crucial part. Instead, try telling her you want to
quit so you can become an (eventually unsuccessful) painter and then observe
how the relationship is working out some months down the line.

Also, what are the odds that a modern educated self-respecting independent
woman would admit (even to herself) that she quit the relationship over that
bit of money? If money really was the problem, she'd still have to come up
with another reason to break up. Plus, it's not clear if you were already
married, that's another threshold of course. Divorces are usually many years
in the making.

Of course I'm not saying this is 100% exactly what will happen _all_ of the
time (though I've seen it happen shockingly often) and you will certainly find
people whose dysfunctional relationships lasted a lifetime. That's called
"survivorship bias".

------
jwr
My advice, for what it's worth, based on my experience:

1\. Every time when I delayed making a significant decision in my life related
to big changes, I regretted only the delay. I was always happy with the
outcome, but always wished I had made the decision sooner. I now take this
into account and decide faster. Life isn't that long.

2\. Starting something on your own takes years. Unless you are very lucky,
building your own business will take at least two years until you can live off
it. In SaaS that's because how it works, in consulting it's because you
usually need to find clients and work your way up via referrals. The only
exception is if you can get consulting work from companies you already know
(such as your former employer). So don't quit your job without a very good
idea of what you will do next and plan to live on savings for two years.

3\. There might be other jobs that will leave more time for side projects, so
changing your job first and then starting something as a side project first
might be a safer path.

~~~
humanrebar
> Every time when I delayed making a significant decision in my life related
> to big changes, I regretted only the delay.

Just to provide a counterweight to this, I've never regretted taking my time
to consider things well.

Plenty of people would have married their spouse a little bit earlier. But
plenty of people would have done well to wait another six months to get to
know each other a bit better.

------
edw519
_My gut is telling me to quit my job and work for my products._

The best advice I ever got from my mentor: "Listen to your gut!" Passing it
on...

 _I have enough savings to survive for five years._

What?!? Are you fucking crazy?!? What are you waiting for?!?

 _My biggest fears are: - To not stick to a schedule /routine once I am solo._

How will you know until you try? More to the point: how will you know how
important "sticking to a schedule/routine" is until you try? (Probably not
nearly as much as you think.)

 _\- People 's and family opinion._

Fuck. That. Shit. The first thing _anyone_ must do when embarking on a new
journey is to focus on the issues and ignore the pointless details. I can't
imagine anything more pointless than "people's and family opinion".

 _\- Failing and losing motivation._ Why lump these 2 together? In my
experience, failing is the best way to learn and learning is the best way to
get _more_ motivation.

 _Should I quit my job and work on my stuff or search for another position
that would give more motivation?_

YES! YES! YES! Do something, anything different! The worst thing you can do at
this point in you life is stay the course. You'll just get older and more
bitter. And posting the same thing on hacker news 2 years from now.

You can recapture money. You can recapture relationships. You can recapture
your health. You can recapture almost anything, except for time.

Please don't make the same mistake I made by getting started in your 40's.
Because you were too timid and pissed away too much of your life on _what you
know is the wrong thing_.

I've responded to many similar questions over the years here on hn, but yours
may be the clearest of them all: You already know what you must do but came
here for confirmation. Now you have it. Take the next right step for yourself
and please, keep us posted.

Best wishes and respect!

~~~
heurist
Seriously, 5 years of savings is the giveaway. That is a dream scenario for
anyone starting their own business. Also reminds me that regardless of how
much one has to live on, there's always a nagging doubt...

~~~
problems
It's not just a nagging doubt, it's adding a "gap" to your resume - I've heard
many employers view any sort of exclusive self-employment as basically that
and it's something that actively keeps me hesitating.

~~~
eloff
I did it, and failed, and the gap year only hurt economically. My job
prospects were better if anything after (and changing jobs netted a large
enough raise that it soon made up for the gap year.) I do regret that I
failed, but I think I needed to take the shot. I'm considering doing it again.

------
davismwfl
Finding another position that is just less draining doesn't further your goal
to build your own products. If your key goal is to build and sell your own
products you have to look for ways to do that and not just the next less
draining "job".

You could instead try and move to a consulting role with the company where you
can control your hours and do more off-site. Seeing as you said a German auto,
that may not be so easy to do. The other option is stay in your day job
temporarily while you find a couple of consulting gigs (even PM type work or
whatever you can) where you can basically have part time work and you know
you'll have money coming through the door, but that will enforce some
discipline on your days. Then use the time you have to build out your own
products and get it moving. Also, the part time work lets you interact with
other professionals and keeps you a little more engaged then you might
otherwise get if you just solo out immediately, which is helpful.

My 2 cents, if you have any concerns about whether you can stay disciplined to
make it work, don't just jump and start living off savings. Do one step
towards being 100% on your own, but do it with some part time work which
forces some structure. This will help you transition and let you figure out
how you work best, and how to motivate yourself. I have seen this is where a
lot of super capable people make their mistake initially. Having a little
extra structure at first where you must deliver something for someone every
week etc will help you. Also, the income you are taking in is a way to help
offset just living off your savings since that can also be a scary thing to
do, even if you have many years saved up already. When you only see your
account getting smaller it is hard not to panic a little.

------
haolez
I’ve done the “jump” two years ago.

My life is different now. There is much less stability, constant fear of not
making enough money to pay for my expenses, my retirement, etc... also, I’ve
never been so tired in my whole life.

Having said that, I feel _happier_ than when I had stability in my previous
draining day job. I also don’t have a single drop of regret.

If you have something work wise that you love, just make the jump. You’ll
survive and learn a lot.

~~~
userulluipeste
_" You’ll survive and learn a lot."_

That's textbook survivorship bias right there.

~~~
haolez
You are probably right, but maintaining a day job is not a walk in the park
either. You have to devote a lot of time and energy into it, and things might
suddenly turn against you and you may find yourself in a tough spot.

~~~
wnkrshm
I often think about that. There are no guarantees for job safety as an
employee, there is only the fact that you work within a statistical ensemble
of other people having a very similar job and can use them to tell how well
you're doing.

If you find paid work on your own, you learn different skills that could prove
to be better for survival, since you're less dependent on an external entity.

------
Jemaclus
Reading this, it sounds like depression/exhaustion is your problem and not
necessarily your job. I recently had a bout of almost burnout, and I did a few
experiments to see if anything got better.

One, I realized that I was drinking a ton of caffeine (coffee, soda, etc), and
that maybe that was the reason I was high-strung and irritable all the time. I
cut out caffeine on March 3, 2019, and within 1 week I felt calmer and more
relaxed. I was less irritable, and I found myself listening more calmly to the
people that irritated me.

Second, I started running every day for at least 1 mile. I've been a runner
for years, but I've gotten out of the habit. A coworker challenged me to run
at least 1 mile per day (~10 minutes -- totally doable!) and I'm currently on
Day 58. When I wake up in the morning, I immediately go for a run. This has
three side effects: 1) it's a great way to WAKE UP, 2) it gives me a kick of
endorphins that keeps me happy and upbeat for at least the next several hours,
3) it kickstarts the metabolism and I've lost a few pounds since I started and
clearly built up some muscle as well.

Third, and probably most importantly, I went to see a doctor about my mood
swings. She prescribed a mood stabilizer which took a month to kick in, but I
definitely feel better. I haven't been grumpy in months, and I'm generally
happier and more productive than I was before.

I don't necessarily recommend that you do the above things, but it sounds like
a change in your daily routine, plus maybe some professional help (there's
nothing to be ashamed of!) might be a good way to get through your current
slump.

Changing a job is one way to do this, but it's worth taking a deep
introspective look to see if it's the job that's making you miserable. Who's
to say that the next job won't _also_ make you miserable? So my advice would
be to see if you can determine what you _can_ control that might help you feel
better.

Hope that helps.

~~~
jammygit
Personal anecdote: every time I quit caffeine, a week later I still had
lethargy and headaches. It might take a bit longer than a week for it to pay
off. 2-4 weeks and you feel more human

~~~
problems
Interesting, I often drop caffeine for a week or so (without any real
conceited effort, typically just when I'm sick or on vacation) and any
withdrawal seems gone after a few days but then restart it within a week
because it's just so damn good, especially when you only sleep 4-6 hours a
night which is... every night for me.

~~~
jogundas
The difference in the experiences of you two might be due to
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP1A2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYP1A2)
aka "the caffeine gene".

------
sillypudding
You may have explored this already, but just in case you haven't: get checked
for chronic/lifestyle diseases (diabetes, fibromyalgia, IBD/Crohn's, etc).
Many of these sap out your energy chronically, making you feel
gloomy/depressed/irritated in otherwise "normal" life-situations. Even if you
can't cure these, being aware of them lets you set realistic expectations
about your body's limits (like, for example, you might NEED 10 hours of sleep
at all costs, limiting the time available for other activities).

Also don't forget that physical and mental health are closely interlinked such
that if you aren't doing well physically, then your mental health will suffer
and vice-versa.

------
bmat
Similar story here. 29, had been working at a big tech company for almost 4
years. Didn’t really enjoy the work, definitely didn’t enjoy the 1 hour
commute. Tried to convince my manager to let me work remotely but was
rejected, so I decided to take the leap and quit* . I didn’t have a specific
plan for what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do some traveling, work
on passion projects, and cultivate some new hobbies.

It’s been 2 months and I have zero regrets. In that time I started and
finished a video project I had put off for 8 months, started playing drums,
and just finished a month of traveling the US and Europe. I still don’t know
what I want to do long term, but I’ve never felt more empowered to figure it
out. Do it!

* Disclaimer: I have an open offer from my old company to come back any time (same role same compensation), so that took a lot of the pressure off of the decision. You should see if you can negotiate something similar with your job.

~~~
stevewodil
I always feel like I'm waiting for the "right" idea to come to me before I go
all in and then quit my job, but maybe that's just a fallacy

------
ViktorV
It saddens me to death to hear words like: "To not stick to a schedule/routine
once I am solo" from hyper-motivated people. It makes me hopeful to see that
you're self-aware enough to mention other people's optinion as a fear factor.

This kind of social conditioning from the school system / society combined
with never letting people do what they really want because they have
"responsibilities" from the age of 5 is what keeps everyone in check... Go to
uni ( no you can't take a year off ), go to work ( why take a year off? You
are a slacker... ) etc. ( not to mention that you have no other option than to
endure school until you're 18 with no saying what you want to do, and making
it almost impossible to do shortcuts in that, even if you're capable ).

My opinion: people are usually want to do things. The school system makes you
believe that the only reason people work on things is because they are forced
to do is pure bull __ __. People who still have these creative feelings at 29,
after going trough all of these things are hyper self-motivated individuals,
who don 't need any external force to do things ( usually, of course there
might be exceptions ).

Yes, after you quit your job you might slack off for a while, and you won't be
productive. That might be because your mind needs it, or you might have
thoughts in your mind ( because of the fears you've listed ), that block your
creative process.

I had similar issues, but I've told myself that I'm not going to do anything
but play video games for two weeks. After day 3 I didn't do any playing, and
went trough 3 weeks of robotics lessons in two days without forcing myself.

The question of routine: I know this is not a popular opinion, but I think you
don't necessarily need a routine, you will just do it, because you want it.
Believe in yourself, what I mean is believe what you think of yourself, and
try not to let these pressures in, which makes you believe that the slacker is
in you. It is not in you.

You have 5 years of savings. Try it for a year! I mean, maybe you become
homeless when you're 60 because of this decision ( worst case ). What do you
want to be, a 60 year old homeless who made a gut decision, and it didn't work
out, or a 60 year old man who never followed his heart?

I _really_ wish you the best!

~~~
Grustaf
No, having responsibilities like school does not turn people into slackers,
the social conditioning from school etc is what makes us able to slog through
hours of boring work because we know there it will lead to something good.
This is one of the main reasons we have schools, to teach people discipline.

~~~
ViktorV
I think you misunderstand me. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have any
responsibilities, but I'm saying that there should be a balance. In my country
an average 16 year old's schedule only consists of "responsibilities" ( I
would say that a responsibility can only be something that you choose, and not
force into, so involuntary schooling can't be one, but anyway... ), and has
almost 0 own time. I think the balance would be better at 50-50: 6 hours of
school ( with homework + commuting )...

What I mean is not that school makes slackers, but school makes people believe
that they are slackers, because they never had the chance to experience that
they can perform without external pressure. Some people do need pressure to do
things, but many people don't. I don't. I mean even if I feel pressure, that's
coming from within, and not because my parents/peers would disapprove if I get
a C.

But I generally agree with you, school makes people accept that they can't
change their life, they need to be slaves/pressured into working ( otherwise
they would slack off ).

Also, I would not say that accepting what is forced upon you is discipline.
The most disciplined people I know discipline themselves without being force,
and that's not something that you can learn in school.

~~~
Grustaf
It helps your discipline to do things you don’t like, even if in some sense
you are forced to. You are not strictly forced to do them of course because
there is no law against slacking off in school, you just need to attend. And
high school generally is not compulsory.

I don’t know where you are from, Korea perhaps? But when I was 16 I had oceans
of time for mischief, parties and endless amounts of skateboarding and just
slacking.

I’m not saying that people can’t change their lives, or that they have to be
slaves. I am saying that school teaches people to sit down and concentrate and
do something that’s maybe not very interesting and probably a bit difficult
but has a reward waiting down the line in the form of good grades and
graduation. Deferred gratification is the most important life skill of all.

And people can definitely change their lives, in most countries there is no
outside force stopping you from doing almost anything, starting a company,
begging, travelling or whatever. But most people are neither very interested
nor capable of doing anything out of the ordinary. Most people just want to
swim with the current. And that’s a very good thing because we couldn’t have
society and civilisation if everyone was an iconoclast.

------
not_a_moth
You'll probably hear advice that makes silent assumptions about personality
types. I'm the type that can't have a cushy FT job while also building my own
business. Hasn't worked. It sounds great in theory, but I make far less real
progress on the business than I think I do. I also think having a cushy full-
time job inherently steers you towards "taking it easy" and distracting
yourself with "lifestyle" things, relatively random hobbies, etc.

Quitting my job to pursue my own project, with a few years of runway,
massively accelerated the development of my project, accelerated my rate of
learning - ideal for staying employable, while basically subconsciously
removing "lifestyle" distractions that come with making > 200k/year.

So yeah, chalk it up to personality type, but if you're serious about building
your own business, the best advice, since you have the runway, might be to
quit your job as soon as you can.

~~~
Xcelerate
> You'll probably hear advice that makes silent assumptions about personality
> type

Interesting. Why kind of personality type do you have?

------
brailsafe
Yes quit. But life is not binary. I personally slip into a schedule of 4am
sleep and noon wakes when I'm not obligated to be anywhere. I'm 27 and it's a
struggle to find my place in the world. However, I tried to ride out a similar
situation until I found a different job, only to be fired when things went too
downhill for a variety of reasons. Your situation sounds like my nightmare,
but many peoples dream, what you decide can't be wrong, and if you have any
resilience in this world then you'll figure it out. I highly recommend fucking
around a bit—perhaps as the Nomad you decry. It's fun, and when you haven't
had fun in a while, it's awakening. It's a bigger and more damning risk imo—if
you have savings—to stay put and not change things up. I think it's better to
work hard and suffer in a positive way to find something that brings you and
others value—and you positive mental health state—than to suffer in a negative
way for no discernible positive outcome other than money. My overall
recommendation: Don't trade your life for money and perceived safety. Try
something else and let your damn hair down. True hippies btw are awful, nomads
just like to explore and basically just tend to get out of stagnant corporate
grinds.

------
inflatableDodo
Given this;

>It makes me feel miserable, depressed, and tied.

And this;

>I have enough savings to survive for five years.

I'd say leave immediately.

------
bjornlouser
Move closer to work so that your 45 minute one way commute is cut to 15
minutes. If you also shift your workout to your lunchtime you will have ~2
hours to work on your own projects. If no one at your work seems to notice
your midday workout routine then start leaving an hour early as well.

~~~
kaybe
Or is there a way for you to work from home some days? Then you can save on
the commute and have more time for yourself.

------
srazzaque
I'm assuming that, by inclusion of the point of being unmarried/29/no-kids,
you're implying that eventually want to get married and have kids.

Once you are financially responsible for other human beings (in part or full),
this decision gets more complex. Without adequate planning and savings,
leaving your employer may be downright irresponsible. But that's not the case
right now it seems - all you'll affect is yourself.

So another angle to consider is that - if you're 5-10 years in the future and
have all these responsibilities, which path would you have rather taken?

I took 3 months off work once to pursue something when I was at a similar
stage in life as you, with the view that I'd delay the decision to come back
if I made good progress. Keeping to a schedule was something I didn't do - and
if I could go back that's the main thing I'd enforce (and probably allow a
little more time, and quit instead of take extended leave). Unfortunately it
didn't work out for reasons of progress and other responsibilities I still had
at the time, and I just went back to work. No regrets, I might try it again in
the future and I'd be better placed to do so.

As for managing others' perceptions - framing it as "trying something out
before getting another job" is seemingly more socially more acceptable. But
just be careful not to let that mindset reduce your valour in the endeavour.

Best of luck whichever path you take!

------
Grustaf
If you have five year's worth of savings it's a no-brainer. Give it six months
and then get back to employment if you don't succeed by then. Then work for
anther 12 months and repeat the process if you have a new project.

As long as you are strict with yourself in only giving it 6 months, it should
be fine. Tell everyone you know that this is your plan. If you don't get any
traction within six months it's very unlikely that it makes sense to drag it
out longer. Just cut your losses and move on.

~~~
thrownthrow
6 months. General advice is always n months, however that advice is so generic
as to be meaningless.

------
sbilstein
Just do it. You will learn a lot and no matter what make a bunch of mistakes.
Just don’t burn out. Work hard but make sure you spend time with friends, your
partner, and most of all yourself just relaxing. Evaluate how you are working
regularly and make changes. Forgive yourself for mistakes, errors, flawed
thinking and keep hacking. It will not be smooth but entrepreneurship is
awesome and you should go for it if you have the itch.

------
czbond
No - keep a job, but possibly change jobs [no idea other alternatives you
have]. Regarding your side project: Use some of your income to pay a
freelancer to grow the business in areas you cannot. Growing from $100/month -
$5000 month, etc will take a while to figure out. Spend lots of free time
doing that - but while you have income. Then turn on the gas. The stress of no
income happens much faster than you'd think.

------
djsumdog
If you're 29, you could quality of a Holiday Work Visa for several countries.
Look them up, they're very cool and cheap. I got one for Australia when I was
29, got one for NZ before I turned 30 and then aged out of them. I had two big
breaks in my career, one where I lived off my savings for 11 months (3 of
those were with my girlfriend in Germany) and I took a road trip across the US
for 5:

[https://khanism.org/perspective/minimalism/](https://khanism.org/perspective/minimalism/)

[https://khanism.org/perspective/a-tale-of-two-
journeys/](https://khanism.org/perspective/a-tale-of-two-journeys/)

It will set you back a bit. I used up a good amount of savings, but I never
had to dip into or borrow against retirement. I probably wouldn't do it again
(unless I get accepted into a PhD program; one of my big goals), but I'm
really glad I did. I literally traveled around the world and lived in three
different countries. How many people can say that?

------
saaaaaam
I think the first thing is to establish why your current job is making you so
miserable and exhausted, and what you can do to organise your day so that you
are not left wrung out at the end of the day. Optimising your time and energy
is a better option than quitting a job and dipping into your savings. Once
you’ve worked that our THEN you can think about whether to quit your job.
Because the problems you are suffering now are unlikely to go away if you make
such a major and fundamental change in your life. They might - but they might
get much worse.

Working with a therapist or a coach might help you unblock whatever is holding
you back and identify how to increase your energy and reduce frustration. That
would be a better use of your savings - right now - than quitting your job.

You also don’t say whether you have any experience on the business side of
things. A side project supported by a stable job is very different to
something being your primary source of income.

I’m not saying don’t take the jump - but get everything lined up and address
the disorder first.

------
thiago_fm
Just eat it up. Your side project isn't as successful as your career has been.
100 euro a month is nothing.

Maybe you are just grumpy because you don't respect the privileges in life
that you had.

It is entirely YOUR choice if you are happy or not with your life. Maybe you
read a lot of entrepreneurial things and let them manipulate you, so you are
always frustrated and started looking for another escape.

Just imagine if you where 18, with all your life ahead, with a lot of chaos,
whether you will be successful, manage to find a job and find a good gf. You
are doing just fine.

There is a lot of people that suggest that you continue with your side project
and when it finally reaches to a point that you can live well off it, you
dedicate full time.

Sometimes people believe that being able to dedicate more hours to something
will amount to more money or productivity, but it's not always the case.
Generally, the essential takes 1-2 hours a day to build.

If your project is any good, I can try to help you to develop it. I'm also
based in Europe. Feel free to contact me.

------
itamarst
Negotiate a shorter workweek, e.g. 4 day workweek. Less exhaustion, and you
can work on side projects on your remaining day.

~~~
lomereiter
Been there. Where it helps is in having all this extra time for understanding
what you actually want from life, and crucially also job search and
interviewing (whilst the employer is under false impression you're now more
loyal). Side projects - not so much. The thing is, those fundamentals that are
causing the bad mental state stay the same no matter how many hours you work,
shorter work week allows to disengage a bit more but that's just postponing
the only working solution which is quitting.

------
claviska
I quit my job in 2010 after matching my income with my side project. I’ve ran
it full-time ever since, but despite the best income I’ve ever had, I still
wonder if it was the “right” decision. Should I have stayed two more years to
finish my Master’s degree loan-free? What if I stayed and saved all that side
money I made instead? Etc.

On the other hand, I watched a colleague leave a stable job to start a project
from scratch. He had a good reserve, but he burned through it and the project
didn’t make any money. Last I heard, he got a new job.

There’s probably not a right answer to your question, but my advice is this:
if you’re not happy with that you’re currently doing, it’s probably time to
move on one way or another.

~~~
mod
> On the other hand, I watched a colleague leave a stable job to start a
> project from scratch. He had a good reserve, but he burned through it and
> the project didn’t make any money. Last I heard, he got a new job.

This, for me, leads directly to the correct answer to OP's question.

Worst case scenario, you get another job. Of course you quit and give it a go.
What have you got to lose? Your savings & potential earnings are likely not
that much, and you don't have to burn through all of it anyway.

Do it.

------
neilv
Your situation sounds above-average, by US American standards.

If you're unhappy with your situation, you should try to improve it.

Feeling depressed can tell you that it's time to improve your situation, but
it can also be a barrier to improving the situation. Immediately, make sure
your nutrition, exercise, and sleep are good. If you can get a doctor checkup
and blood tests, that can also rule out some possible contributing factors.
Also consider talking with a counselor (if that is a thing in your country).
In addition to all those, you can experiment with things like getting more
daylight, standing and moving more than sitting, etc.

If your situation isn't unbearable, don't quit before you have a plausible
plan for what to do instead. Such as a signed offer for a job that you want to
do instead. Or a plan for exploring a startup, with conditional plan branches
for what to do if it doesn't hit certain milestones within certain timeframes.

If age discrimination is a thing in your field and country, don't predicate
your plan on assumptions of how easy it was to get a job 5 years ago. If you
do a startup for a few years, then decide to go back, consider how different
you might be perceived, trying to go back in your mid-30s. (Many companies
like to hire impressionable young employees without much family commitments,
and focus their hiring on those. And there's a good chance you'll be
interviewed by some 20yos who have interesting theories about already knowing
everything of value themselves, and about the sudden onset of severe cognitive
decline afflicting anyone on their 30th birthday.) So, if your conditional
plan includes possibly going back to this, try to plan for how that can work
despite any age discrimination.

------
theonemind
I think others here have covered the stability vs satisfaction you might get
by on quitting and just working on your own stuff.

However, beyond information people can give you, it still sounds like a very
personal decision. For what it's worth, I'd recommend writing about it in a
journal/diary. You really have to figure out what _you_ feel about it, and
I've found that writing really helps solidify muddled thoughts and feelings.
Just get a blank page and write about it for half an hour. Do it on several
different days across time and find out how you really feel about it.

------
apl002
I quit my job to work on my side project. I have a years worth of savings to
get the project in a place where i can either successfully monetize it or
raise VC money. I am in month 3 and will be ready for launch in month 5. Here
is my routine M-F:

wake up at 730-8 and gym. start work by 930-10. pause work at ~5pm to take dog
for walk & cook dinner with gf start work again around 8pm to 11-12.

Its been pretty sustainable for me and my gf isnt unhappy. Quit your job and
go figure out if this things works or not. Worse case scenario you fail and
then you go back to a corporate gig.

------
trycrmr
A little more than a month ago I left my job to pursue my side hustle full
time. Very similar mentality to yours about the job; I had done the same
analysis on my day, squeezing every drop of extra time I could into building
the life I wanted. Same conculsion -- The job was draining my day, my career,
and my mental health to a place I didn't need those going.

The best advice I received was to have evidence that you're not languishing
after leaving the job. I am accomplishing this with
[https://www.100daysofcode.com/](https://www.100daysofcode.com/) . The work
I'm doing is related to my side hustle, and it's keeping me focused on
producing progress every day.

Oh, coming from a recently single, kid-less, 29 year old with 18 months of
runway, leave the terrible job. The mental health benefits are so difficult to
describe without experiencing them. Probably the best one is you'll shed the
bad work habits and mentalities you may have had seeping into your life. It's
tough to notice these without the time apart from the job. I was bringing my
C-game the last six months of my old job; Pursuing your side hustle will force
you to being your A-game. You'll have to be a better worker, which then makes
you more employable if you get back into the job market.

Idk how the job market is for your region in your line of work. I know I can
go back into the job market and compete for jobs that would be a 20-40k raise
on my last job, so it's a soft cushion for me to land on if my side hustle
goes poorly. I hope you are as fortunate. Best of luck!

------
mandelbrotwurst
Consider taking as long of a vacation / sabbatical as you are able to simulate
what leaving might be like and using that time to see how well you are able to
stick to a schedule / routine, be internally motivated, etc. It of course
won't be quite the same as if you actually leave, e.g. you may be less
motivated than if you actually quit since you know you still have the job to
come back to, but should still provide some useful info re: your concerns.

------
trustfundbaby
> I have enough savings to survive for five years

Then do it. And do throw your whole self into it. Make at least one attempt,
otherwise you'll regret never having tried. You'll generally figure it out as
you go along and it's never as bad as you think it's going to be.

PS: Currently doing the same thing (working on a product) and I'm almost out
of savings which is very very stressful, would do it again in a heartbeat,
only this time with far more conviction.

------
carlosbaraza
I'm Spanish, 28 years old and an Electronic Engineer. I happen to be in a very
similar situation, wondering if I should just go for the side project.

I understand you very well because in Spain, most people value a lot the
stability of a permanent position. And permanent roles are quite rare these
days in Spain.

Whenever I face these kind of decisions, I found that fear to the unknown is
what hurts me the most. Therefore I try to make a risk assessment, that
usually clears my mind.

Firstly, I think that if your side project is already making some money, it is
likely that if you put the hours, it will work out and make more money,
probably enough for you to live out of it with your current condition.

Regardless, you have savings and there are lots of opportunities if you want
to come back to the standard job market, specially for an experienced leader
with a competent level of English. So the risk of failing to come back is
quite small.

Now, about your discipline and motivation, those are very tricky and I think
they are my greatest fears, but anyhow it'd probably be a good opportunity to
learn and master those skills.

By the way, I decided that from August, I'll work full time on my project for
a few months and see how that goes. Feel free to contact me
www.carlosbaraza.com!

------
apohn
I used to work for a well known automobile company as both an employee. I've
also worked for other auto companies in as part of a consulting job. Auto
companies are typically big, slow, and focused on selling a product that takes
years (e.g. 3+ years for mid-model refresh, 6+ years for new car model) to
take to market. Decisions are very consensus based because all decisions (even
marketing) are longer term decisions.

All of that is reflected throughout auto companies. Even the latest technology
such as telematics for predictive maintenance and electric charging are highly
dependent on the market, suppliers, and government forces that drive
infrastructure changes.

The IT org and most technical jobs exists to support that slow moving
structure. If you are the person who wants to move fast and be entrepreneurial
you are probably going to struggle in an auto company. Just something to keep
in mind as you decide if you want to stay in a job or start something on your
own.

------
bashwizard
Work just enough hours part-time to cover your bills.

I was pretty much in your situation about 5 years ago while working in finance
(I basically had a dead end glorified sales job) and I had the choice to work
part-time and I did. A year later I managed to break into my new career path
thanks to me having a lot of free time to focus on myself and my career
switch.

Best decision ever.

------
reilly3000
Have some fun in your life. Spain’s nightlife is legendary. Grab a RyanAir
flight to somewhere new. Sometimes when making a difficult decision you’re
doing so from a place of being emotionally drained; you’re running on fumes.
Fill up that tank before you make any decisions of this magnitude. You’ve
probably got the money to enjoy yourself a bit.

------
perfunctory
Did you consider working part time on your day job? 4 or 3 days a week.

------
gomox
Do it. You will never know until you try.

With 5 years to figure it out, at 29, with no kids, with a career in a
profitable industry/segment that will employ you again quickly, and in a
country with a solid social safety net, you're not really risking anything
other than your ego getting bruised.

Source: I did it, in a situation not that different to yours.

------
wareotie
Spaniard here. If you live in Madrid/Barcelona, try to find a new position in
a smaller city. I don't see myself living there.

In my opinion, if you are losing your motivation, maybe your guts are not the
best advice you should follow. I always try to take risky decisions when I
feel comfortable with the current situation.

------
ridgeguy
You may be at a local maximum of freedom to quit your job and work on your
stuff, at least with respect to economic constraints.

Concerns about others' opinions and about your ability to persevere solo are
internal constraints.

To the former, does your employer have a leave of absence policy? Could you
take a year leave to try your own thing, with the ability to return if now
isn't the time?

To the latter - breaking away from excessive conformity to others' opinions is
a good thing, IMHO, and if all you accomplish in this exercise is that, it's
net positive.

Sticking to a schedule: find a mentor, advisor, somebody to check in with you
weekly and review projected work vs. actual results. This will help you stay
on task and find workarounds when you get stuck.

It seems like you're well positioned to strike out on a different path. Best
of luck to you.

------
OldHand2018
Do you like the people you work with? If so, stick with the job and turn it
into something better.

You write spreadsheets and powerpoint, so is it safe to assume the your work
computer is Windows and you are using Office? If so, your computer has
PowerShell on it and you can read, write and manipulate Excel and PowerPoint
using it. You can use the Task Scheduler to run scripts on a schedule. See if
you can automate portions of your workflow and free up your time to automate
others (and take on things that can be automated). See if you can predict what
others want before they ask for it. Make it a game, if you will. Write about
what you are doing, even if you never publish it. Revise what you write. Turn
it into documentation that reads like a story.

It can be satisfying even if the job isn't exciting.

------
jedberg
> I have enough savings to survive for five years.

That's three to four years more than most people who make the jump.

If you're already making money from your side project, again, you're ahead of
most people who make the jump.

Sounds like you should go for it!

The biggest thing to watch out for is getting lonely. When I went off on my
own, I had a wife and kids. So I get to see them every day. If you work alone,
you may not have any human interaction for a day or two, or longer. Human
interaction is important to maintaining sanity. So make sure to make up for it
somehow. Go to meetups, join a social club, be proactive about meeting up with
friends, something to get you out of the house and interacting with other
humans daily. Even if you're in an introvert, you still need human
interaction. Find something that works for you.

> To not stick to a schedule/routine once I am solo

A lot of people have that fear, and it's pretty easy to solve. One trick
involves starting every day with a walk around the block and ending each "work
day" with another walk around the block in the opposite direction. This is
your "commute" and puts you in the right mindset. You can do something else if
you don't like walking, like make sure you start with a workout or a shower.

> People's and family opinion.

That's a hard one. Every family and culture is different. But in this case
profitability solves a lot of problems. If you can respond to the naysayers
with "I'm making money not losing" then that's a good way to appease most
criticism.

> Failing and losing motivation.

Another hard one, especially if you have a lot of savings. You need someone to
hold you accountable, either a cofounder or even an employee. Or depending on
your relationship, maybe your girlfriend. As her to check in with you
specifically about the business every week. Or if not her, another solo
founder somewhere.

------
m0zg
This early in your career you shouldn't be in the same job for five years
unless you're making serious forward progress career-wise. Go work elsewhere.
Sounds to me like you're depressed because your job is just not that exciting
and you don't feel like you're getting anywhere with it. Go work elsewhere,
move around. If nothing else you'll meet new people. More than a few times in
my career old friendships turned into new jobs, and this has cumulative effect
as time goes on (assuming you do a good job and people like you in general).

But don't just quit your job outright. Find a better job first, then quit your
job. You'll look much more "attractive" to a potential employer if you are
already employed and successful elsewhere.

------
JacKTrocinskI
What does your side project offer you that your job doesn't? Is it the
potential to become famous/rich/successful that excites you? Do you want to
change the world with an innovative product? Do you prefer working
autonomously? Is the technology stack more up your alley or do you enjoy the
technical challenge more? I think it's important that you understand why your
personal project brings you more enjoyment than your job. One note, if it's
riches and success that you're after, and I'm not saying that it is, then I'm
of the opinion that you will never find peace in what you do. Good luck :)

------
torgian
I've struggled with this a couple of times. In each situation it came down to
a single question (or series of questions, actually).

1) Will I be more fulfilled if I try it, even if I fail? 2) Will I learn from
it and grow as a person?

If I can answer yes to both of those questions, then I do it. I ask myself
these questions to almost everything I do.

And yes, sometimes that means not doing what I _want_ to do, if I don't have
the time, energy, or the means to do it. For example, I really want to go to
Sweden this year, but I have to save for a few other things that are more
important to me and my life (business, learning scuba diving, etc).

------
camhart
If you have 5 years savings, and a passion for something else, and you think
(hope) you're talented enough to pull off running your own business, then go
for it.

You'll always regret not doing it when you think/hope you are capable of doing
it. Even if you fail, you'll "graduate" with a ton of learning plus you won't
face that regret.

I wouldn't recommend you burn all 5 years worth of savings though. Set a year
aside, and set some benchmark that you must reach by the end of the year. If
you don't reach that benchmark/goal, go find another job that will be more
tolerable for you.

------
donquichotte
I have no experience in building a business, but some years ago I was in a
quite similar situation - working a draining, non-fulfilling job where I felt
stuck.

Quitting and subsequently going on a 4 month motorcycle trip through Central
Asia now feels like one of the best decisions of my life.

You are young, well educated, unhappy and working at the same company since
you are 24. If your endeavor does not work out, you have will probably have a
good chance of finding a decent new job. I believe that subjecting yourself to
a new environment and new challenges from time to time reinvigorates your life
and make you a happier person.

------
james_s_tayler
Anecdata: I did it because I just really had an itch to scratch. Did it work
out? Well, no. But it was the best experience. I gained much deeper self-
awareness and I don't feel the need so much to do those things anymore. I'm a
lot more at ease. I didn't necessarily accomplished what I wanted, but taking
the plunge and doing it helped me to get to a new place and that made it all
worth it.

edit: also, I can't emphasise enough how much less energy, time and tolerance
for risk you have once you are over 30 and have a young family plus mortgage.

Do it while you don't have that.

------
dana321
With 5 years of savings it will take you 4 and a half years until you will
feel the urgency to do something and push for it hard.

Take the money and buy an existing business, and have a little left to invest
in that business.

------
bacon_waffle
I'd quit. Two of the better life decisions I ever made were quitting
education/employment that wasn't making me happy, to free time for better
things.

Also, in case you're not familiar already, I'd recommend spending some time
reading a few posts at
[https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/) \- the
aesthetic might seem a bit weird, and it's not a "one size fits all" topic,
but there's some good food for thought. Maybe read it at work ;).

------
hhjjkkll
Try to negotiate to change to a part-time position at the same company you're
at right now. Or start looking for a different job elsewhere which will give
you part-time hours, which will free up more time for you to work on your side
project while also having a stable supply of income for yourself/your gf.

In the mean time, I believe you need to revamp your diet and keep up with your
gym activities. If you eat well and keep working out, you may become strong
enough to handle this current workload and still be able to work on your
project.

I wish you the best.

------
vmurthy
A lot of boxes tick for you. * Unmarried * No kids * No debt (it appears so)
What's the worst thing that could happen? You spend a couple of years on the
side project and your savings will be depleted a bit. But any employer with
half a brain will recognize the important lessons you would have learnt and
hire you (hopefully for a more interesting job). Best case: you make your $$
and retire happily ever after :-)

------
ravenstine
Go with your gut. There are jobs out there that don't force you to be that
miserable. If you really have enough funds for 5 years(most people
overestimate), it sounds like you can take a year off or more to work on
projects. If you aren't married and don't have kids, then what are you working
so hard for? Money? But you're trading years of your life and your longevity
for it.

------
tzs
With the current internal political tensions in Europe, and things also
looking uncertain in much of the rest of the world, it might not be the best
time to deplete your savings.

Personally, I'd try to continue building savings while waiting either until
the world gets through the current tensions relatively unscathed, of until the
recovery starts if they lead to a serious economic downturn.

~~~
Kifot
Do you think these tensions and uncertainty are going to affect people who
work in relatively stable fields such as IT?

~~~
tzs
During the 2007 recession, a lot of places did reduce IT staff, and a lot of
places that did not reduce staff stopped expanding.

The current tensions are more political than financial, it seems, so maybe if
things turn bad because of them it won't have as big an effect on business.
I'm just saying it is something that OP should think about before doing
something that will severely deplete their savings.

------
toastfan
If possible, switch companies. I supposedly work for that same company as you
for 1.5y now and it's a nightmare compared to the companies I worked for
before that. I only stay because of exceptional salary and the fact that
switching involves moving again. But it destroys my health and my life. As
soon as I get promoted the next time I'm done with it.

------
RickJWagner
It depends on your personality type, which I do not know.

But if it was me, I'd stay with the high-paying job and look to make it better
for a while. Start jogging or doing low-impact exercises over lunch time. Try
to pick up new challenges. Look for ways to make it more interesting. Do this
at least a couple of more years if you can, saving as much as you can.

Good luck.

------
EugeneOZ
If you and your gf don't want kids and you are sure about it - quit your job.
If you want kids and your parents are ready to help you - quit your job.

You are young at 29, but for your girlfriend (if she's of the same age) it's
time to think about kids, and think quickly.

------
losthobbies
If your side business is teaching "How to save enough savings to survive for
five years" sign me up...

Could you take a sabbatical from your company? Say a couple of months or a
year to work on your project. Then you could always return if things don't
work out.

------
zizee
Why not discuss with your current employer the option of taking a leave of
absence or use all of your accrued leave in one block?

During that break from work you could then work on your side project full time
and get a feeling of whether you can stick to the routine once solo.

------
sockgrant
If it’s what you desire, then yes, you should quit.

I’ve done it before and it’s a great experience. 100% worth it. Follow your
dreams.

Just don’t delude yourself into thinking you will grow your side project into
a full time income. You may. But don’t count on it.

------
immad
I found my first “real” job very draining in the same way you described. And
for a while I thought that I just wasn’t motivated by anything.

I quit. My first 2 companies failed but I have never felt unmotivated since
(13 years later).

Your experiences might wary.

------
RaceWon
TBH, IMO--it seems like tech isn't for you. You seemingly have a good position
that you earned--But you hate it. You have to be honest with yourself. It's
impossible to know what a profession is until you actually do it.

I say this too because you're only spending 10 hours a week on your side
project. If you really enjoyed it, you'd blow off spending time with you GF to
do your thing... I know I did.

I'm not saying you should be a plumber or an electrician; You can be an
entrepreneur, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in the tech field--at
least not solely, rather use what you know to compliment your new venture.

I think you should talk to HR and see if you can get a 3 month leave of
absence (even if you have to BS them for a reason), and take a step back to
decide how you want to spend the next 35 years of your life.

Good luck.

~~~
dwild
> If you really enjoyed it, you'd blow off spending time with you GF to do
> your thing...

You know that you can like more than a thing in your life right? And that you
may like one more than the others, all while still enjoying the others one
enough to make it a career, right?

You seems to have a really unhealthy relationship with your passion, you may
want to check that up before it become an issue.

------
hayksaakian
> I have enough savings to survive for five years.

5 years is plenty of time to get something off the ground and up to the same
level if not more income than you already earn today.

If I was in your shoes I would do it 100%

~~~
EugeneOZ
He has no kids and has a girlfriend - one kid and all of these money are
multiplied by 0, instantly.

~~~
falsedan
Free time, too

------
nurettin
Your plan is almost complete.

You could just take that five year's worth of savings, invest in real estate
or open a Cafe, which could finance you through rent or business.

Then you can focus on whatever you like.

------
bwb
Quit, you already know you want too and you know how it is affecting you...
the question is what you want to do instead and you already know what you want
to try.

------
lo_fye
If you have enough money to last 5 years, and nothing really tying you down,
absolutely quit and follow your passion!

Trade definite boredom for potential adventure & success!

------
manuchroma
Reminds me of excellent jblow's (Jonathan Blow) comment on HN regarding work
and motivation. Can't seem to find it tho. Will update when I find it.

~~~
Tomte
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15414922](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15414922)

------
shovit
I was in the same position a couple of years ago. I quit and have never looked
back! This is your only life, take some risks and get more out of it.

------
ratsimihah
If you're already making revenue, it will be easier to scale up than if you
had no revenue at all. So quitting your day job doesn't sound too bad, in the
short-term. If your project fails, you'll have gained experience and live a
few exhilarating years working for yourself, but your savings will be gone.

Taking a perspective that stretches further in time, it sounds like you're on
your way to reach financial independence fairly soon, assuming you don't quit
your job just yet. tldr: if you save enough money and invest it intelligently
(basically in the s&p 500 or a total stock market), you should be able to live
off the compounding interests of your investments. If you have 5 years of
expenses already saved up, you might be a quarter/third of the way to reach
your number (the amount invested for which you don't need to work anymore).
Finally, having a goal laid as such might make it easier to bear your day job
until you can retire in a few years.

For more info, check out the book Financial Freedom. I didn't write it but I'm
in the same boat as you, so my goal is now to make and invest as much money as
possible through day job and side hustles, to then be able to retire and work
because I want to, rather than because I need to.

Good luck!

------
matonias
Quit your job man. You have nothing to lose. This sounds like a really shitty
grind.

------
techslave
only way to find out is to interview. find out how hard it will be to get
another position you like. if super hard, don’t quit. if easy, quit
immediately

------
sbuttgereit
You're mixing issues a bit.

If your current work is, as they say, "soul crushing"... you should invest
some of your personal time to leaving that job. This is an independent
decision of what you want to do/should do afterward: yes, you can quit/work on
your own stuff.... but there are other possibly good outcomes that include the
"quit" part, but something other than bootstrapping a business.

As for starting your own business, I found it hard to bootstrap something
meaningful without being full time on it... so that part of what you're
talking about does make sense. But you need to be ready to burn cash for an
extended period, consider: 1) how long it will take to get your
product/service into something making reliable income (meaning enough to cover
business expenses, your expenses, as well as enough to bank some cash so that
you can ride out the hard times); 2) if things don't work out, you still will
need cash to burn while you look for new employment... or more seriously risk
having to take the first thing that comes along and being, perhaps, in a worse
position than you are now. Not having dependents is helpful, but you have your
own needs that, no matter how meager, must be accounted for.

I did the bootstrapping thing myself, but I was lucky in a sense. I had run
out of runway cash and had to take a job quick: the job I took saw my
bootstrapping effort as a plus, and after I was there for a few years, I was
allowed to moonlight on my original business to get it stable... and later
when I left that firm, they were a client for while. (my business has been
self-sustaining for about 7 years now) Don't count on that kind of luck,
though, and to that point. If you don't have the cash (or access to it)... get
out of your current job, but almost certainly get another.

As for people's / family's opinion: meh... you need to have sufficient
confidence and independence to pull off a bootstrapping project. If you
second-hand your self-worth to the opinions of others: then you need to
question how successful you are likely to be. Much of being an entrepreneur of
any type is being able to see opportunities that others don't. If you rely on
the opinion of others... well, you may see a contradiction in goals. None of
this isn't to say that well qualified or well reasoned opinions shouldn't be
listened to or taken seriously: they can give valuable perspective... but
fearing those opinions in determining if your vision is legitimately right or
wrong is probably going to put you on the wrong path. The only valid fear that
comes to mind is if you intend to use those people/family as a safety net if
you fail.... I would suggest planning and preparing so that you don't need to
call in help should you fall.

Also, be aware that your business will take a life of its own. I was able to
bootstrap and get stable because I did smaller consulting gigs across a lot of
long term clients, but ultimately I wanted to build products. Well, great...
now I have a good cash flow as my client base come to me with new projects and
I have "hard times" buffer, but I have so many client obligations that I have
trouble getting to product building part... which really needs to be full
time. There are solutions to this, but they are not easy to pull off at my
scale... I do well, but not so well as to staff up, for example.

------
chrisgoman
Yes

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pinkpigworld
You should quit your job if you can produce more value per hour than working
at the dump office. This is one of the easy ways to decide if you need to quit
for solo. Now for your fears: 1\. If you have a specific goal about what you
are going to do and what you will going to be, I believe you will stick to
your routine.

2\. Actually, you can not control anything, so just confirm the correct
direction and just go on everything you want to do.

3\. For the motivation of the stuff, I have an idea to follow what you are
interested in. Only those things you spend thousands of time to do, you will
really love them and this love and interest will keep you motivated all the
time.(my personal experience)

Hope that helps.

