
Ask HN: How to quit the job you hate? - pzzld
I want to quit the job I hate so much. I have been way too long on the same job (more than 10 years).<p>I have savings enough for 1+ year. But I am fucking afraid. What is the best strategy? Just jump out of the ship?<p>Should I look for another gig while being on the job? The whole idea of finding new job makes me sick. I am tired and don&#x27;t look forward the job where I have to learn b&#x2F;c I grew a little sick of programming in general. My current job kills the love to coding!<p>Ideas?
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montbonnot
You're burnt out. I'm in a similar situation so I decided to leave my job
without any backup plan but my savings. I do have personal projects, things
that I've always wanted to work on (lack of time and energy). I also plan to
visit the people I appreciate in life for the next month or so.

I was working in the hottest company in the game. Landed an onsite to the 2nd
hottest company in the game :-) when I was quitting. They contacted me in the
first place and decided to bring me onsite without doing any phone screen. I
cancelled everything last minute and didn't even show up. I was simply burnt
out.

I'd say, the rule is much simpler than you think: life is short and you're
unhappy. Your job is not to work for anyone. You're job in life is to make
yourself happy no matter what it takes. Quitting could be the best think you
could do right now. Don't be afraid. We're coders and everyone is looking for
coders... do what you like!

~~~
hwstar
I got this off of a post from someone else on HN:

Fuck working hard for people who don't care about you.

Fuck working hard for another dollar to spend impressing people who don't care
about you.

But, when you find those things that are their own reward, then, work hard.

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ranko
In general, it's easier to get a new job while you still have the old one
(because potential employers usually prefer candidates who have jobs). It
sounds like almost anything would be preferable to staying where you are, so
why not put together your CV/resume and apply for a couple of things that look
not-terrible locally. If nothing else, you'll get some interview practice and
learn a bit more about what's available and what you're interested in.

I see from a comment that you're about to become a father. I moved jobs two
weeks before that happened to me; as long as you're up front about needing the
time off, a new employer should be fine about it. If they're not, that's a
sign that you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

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JSeymourATL
>The whole idea of finding new job makes me sick.

Don't look for a job, look for people you can help.

Get out of your bubble. Start attending meet-ups, workshops, conferences. The
more, the better. Find out who is doing interesting work, what problems are
they trying to solve. Who might need someone with your experience and skill-
set. The job opportunity will find you.

~~~
hwstar
Spot on.

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arien
Whilst I don't know how's the job market where you are from, 1+ year savings
should be more than enough to quit without fear (if it's not then you might
want to consider why). You can take a break to regain your love for coding and
to think what you want to do next. If you feel restless while on the break you
can take courses or do some personal projects. Once you feel more refreshed
you can start looking for a job with the right mindset. Don't leave it for the
last minute, though.

You can obviously look for another job right now and just swap, that would be
fine, too. But consider your current state of mind, which is due to your
current job being so horrible. If you interview right now you might be
nervous, more focused on getting out of there than finding a job you will
really enjoy and thrive in. And that might not end well.

As a disclaimer, I will say that I've been in both situations and the first
went better than the second (not that the second was terrible; simply not as
good as the first). What I just wrote in the paragraphs above is me looking
back and rationalising both outcomes.

Whatever path you choose, good luck!

~~~
pzzld
Thanks for sharing your experience!

I think that not having fun (I know this is rough simplification) is terrible.
What worries me is more that I have weird sadness in the evening when I have
finished my work and have not touched any side project or did some learning. I
don't have any energy for learning and that makes me feel worse...

~~~
arien
Side projects are not mandatory, don't feel bad about not doing any if you
can't.

Also, not all learning or your spare time has to be related to programming.
Take a hobby that takes your mind off coding completely (I suppose your baby
will take care of this :)). You know what they say: "you can't miss something
if you never go away". It truly helps to disconnect now and then.

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ericbrow
An old co-worker of mine jumped ship in the way I wished I had. He had
something like 16 or 17 days vacation, and he took every Friday off from
September till the end of the year. He used those Fridays to look for new jobs
and interviews.

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edimaudo
First, before you leave your current job write down your plan. I see you still
love coding so it should not be too difficult to find a new job

Go to meetups in your area to get a clear view of the current tech landscape,
look at firms you are interested in on linkedin/github. Also, get your
resume/github/portfolio updated You could also take the consultancy route and
start building applications for people. These involves doing a lot of
handshaking, talking and marketing. If this is your thing by all means go for
it.

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apryldelancey
Life is too short to do what you hate. Either follow your dream or you'll work
for someone else to build theirs. You're in control.

As cliche as all of that sounds, it is totally true. I fired a bunch of toxic
clients last year and don't have savings. Screw it.

~~~
sova
amen

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drKarl
If you have savings for 1+ year and have been more than 10 years on the same
company, you'll probably be allowed to get a leave. You could get a 3 months,
6 months leave or whatever you feel like, to think your next movement, explore
options of what you would like to do, maybe experiment with new technologies
and start some side projects to see if you still like coding but you don't
like your work, or if you don't like coding at all, maybe experiment with
other areas of work, even do some courses. Then go back from the leave
refreshed, probably with new skills and a new view of things.

By then you might have a better idea of what kind of job you would like to do,
so you can start looking for another job while you still have a job (which is
always good in terms of negotiating power).

~~~
pzzld
I am afraid to realise that 6 month of leave will not resurrect my passion for
programming. But you are right, I should do it.

One thing which brings chaos into equation is that I am going to become a
father in 5 months. This brings some emotional instability in my thinking. I
am planning to take leave in 4-5 months.

Some part of me still has a hope that it can be solved without quitting the
job...

~~~
drKarl
Ok... then I think you should consider switching jobs before being a father...
otherwise you'll probably not do it for at least the first year. Also, it's
great that you take 4-5 months of leave when the baby comes but don't think
you'll have much time then to explore technologies, etc I know because I have
a 5 month old baby...

Also, consider that if you switch jobs you probably want to tell the new
employer that you plan to have parental leave in 5 months, otherwise they
might opose, being a new hire...

Unless you did freelancing of course, but if you currently don't have much
love for programming I don't think that is a good option.

So you should consider, with your current knowledge and skills, and not
enjoying programming, if you would enjoy better maybe being a software
development manager, or a technical recruiter, or technical sales or business
analyst?

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odonnellryan
It depends on your circumstances, but as someone who just jumped ship with
some savings... it is much less stressful to get a new job first. I'd strongly
suggest getting a new job before leaving! Even if it is one where you are
underpaid: a consistent paycheck is very valuable.

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pzzld
Thank you all for sharing your experience and thoughts. That gave me some
insight.

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hvd
find another job first.

