I think it’s always important to have ambitious life goals. Goals can be career-related. But at least a few should be about your personal life. So, for me, it has always been easy to decide when to go. Is work helping me reach my goals or standing in my way?
As an example, in the early 2000’s I had a comfortable, well-paying job in IT. But I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I wanted to be an expert, pushing the boundaries of science. For awhile, my job helped me pay for school—my extra training directly benefitted the projects I worked on. But eventually, I could see that I was not going to achieve my goals. And even though I loved my job, and my coworkers, it was clear that I had to leave. I do not regret my decision, even though I took a big pay cut to go to grad school, for a long time.
As an example, in the early 2000’s I had a comfortable, well-paying job in IT. But I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I wanted to be an expert, pushing the boundaries of science. For awhile, my job helped me pay for school—my extra training directly benefitted the projects I worked on. But eventually, I could see that I was not going to achieve my goals. And even though I loved my job, and my coworkers, it was clear that I had to leave. I do not regret my decision, even though I took a big pay cut to go to grad school, for a long time.
If you don’t have goals, though… god help you.