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On Quitting

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Re: On Quitting

#31

Post by kabdib »

gregd wrote: post #4

I have never been in a position to just up and quit a job without having something else lined up. Are you all trust fund kids?

I've done it. Quit a pretty good job at a startup because of burnout and lack of enthusiasm. Spent a lot of time going to bookstores and coffee shops and motorcycling. I don't think I wrote a single line of code.

After about nine months, because I was kind of bored, on a whim I went to a "Brass Ring" job fair in Santa Clara. Found myself interviewing and got a job at another startup (which turned out to be an utter train wreck, ugh).

Re: On Quitting

#32

Post by elecengin »

A lot of the comments are very harsh. I think the underlying message is getting lost: Sometimes when you know something is wrong, it is easy to focus on all of the prerequisites and peripheral problems and never solve the big problem. This type of mistake is even easier with big problems where the difficulty gap between addressing the big problem and the related little problems is widest.

Maybe just abruptly quitting was the only way she could see to resolve a knot of dependencies that seemed impenetrable. If she has the resources to attack the knot from that angle, then there is no shame in it.

Re: On Quitting

#33

Post by buro9 »

gregd wrote: post #4

I have never been in a position to just up and quit a job without having something else lined up. Are you all trust fund kids?

It's called taking risks.

I've been homeless, frequently broke, and have started companies, quit jobs, and all manner of things with no safety net whatsoever.

It's risky for sure, but meh, avoiding risks appears to equate to living an unhappy life being a slave to wage and not doing something you love.

Life is too short.

Stop doing the things you dislike, go do something you love. If that means quitting when you barely have 1 month of cash left (or less)... then do it. But don't do it and go hide in your bedroom, do it and make noise and tell the world you're free, approach the people doing the things you want to be doing, just go for it.

Re: On Quitting

#34

Post by purplelobster »

johnward wrote: post #17
YuriNiyazov wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not save any money when you work? If you are not saving 10% - 15% of your paycheck into an account where the money is immediately accessible, you are living above your means.

TIL I live beyond my means. Welcome to America. Having 10-15% cushion to save is a luxury for a lot of people. Probably not most people on HN but still.

If you work in tech you should be able to save at least 30%. I save 60%, and I also live in the highest marginal tax rate country in the world. If you can't it probably means you live beyond your means.

Re: On Quitting

#35

Post by bryanlarsen »

timjahn wrote: post #8
YuriNiyazov wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not save any money when you work? If you are not saving 10% - 15% of your paycheck into an account where the money is immediately accessible, you are living above your means.

I'd venture to guess you're single, a renter, and have no children or relevant financial obligations?

Having children and/or other obligations makes it more likely you're living above your means.

It doesn't change the fact that if you're not putting money aside for emergencies & retirement you are living above your means.

Sometimes it's OK to live above your means. I'd willingly go into major debt for my children. But not acknowledging you're doing so while you're doing it will cause problems.

Re: On Quitting

#36

Post by johnward »

YuriNiyazov wrote: post #26
johnward wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TIL I live beyond my means. Welcome to America. Having 10-15% cushion to save is a luxury for a lot of people. Probably not most people on HN but still.

You do. Either that, or (if you are in tech) you are massively underpaid at your job.

It's both. I've worked on fixing the latter. However, living beyond your means isn't always that easy to correct. I can't just stop paying student loans for example. It's not like I'm dropping $300 a month on starbucks. It's student loans, mortgage, utilities, and other debt that takes up my entire paycheck.

Re: On Quitting

#38

Post by adevine »

presidentender wrote: post #3

But was there anything in particular wrong? Was there anything Dropbox should have done differently to keep her? I realize that some places are wrong for some people, in ways that can't be fixed. I'm just curious whether it's possible to articulate how Dropbox was wrong for the author.

She mentioned that Dropbox grew 4x. So, while she didn't (and, I think, wisely) say the exact reason she wanted to leave, a lot of people just prefer working at smaller companies.

Re: On Quitting

#39

Post by [deleted] »

purplelobster wrote: post #34
johnward wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TIL I live beyond my means. Welcome to America. Having 10-15% cushion to save is a luxury for a lot of people. Probably not most people on HN but still.

If you work in tech you should be able to save at least 30%. I save 60%, and I also live in the highest marginal tax rate country in the world. If you can't it probably means you live beyond your means.

[deleted]

Re: On Quitting

#40

Post by brianwawok »

mistermann wrote: post #24
mathgeek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need to be single or a renter to save. You just need to make it a priority. I'm the sole breadwinner with a wife and two kids, and we pack away 20% out of every paycheck. We own our home and both cars. Do we live a garish lifestyle? Certainly not, but we travel a lot and adhere to our budget (thank goodness for remote jobs).

> We own our home and both cars. Whether that is possible depends a lot on where you live - from what I can tell, outside of a few major cities there are plenty of places in the US where you can buy a house for <$200k in the US, good luck with that anywhere in Canada.

But you choose where you live. I do not live in SF, despite the nice weather, because I am not willing to spend a million bucks for a basic house.
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