Ask HN: Should I quit my job? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#101

Post by dwild » Tue, May 28, 2019, 3:08 AM UTC

RaceWon wrote: post #99

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 y…

> 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.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#102

Post by eswat » Tue, May 28, 2019, 4:15 AM UTC

problems wrote: post #97

heurist wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

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.

I see this excuse a lot. Maybe it’s a valid reason in some industries. But IMHO it’s likely just a convenient excuse someone plays to further procrastinate on making the though decision now so they don’t have to make a tougher, maybe-very-unlikely decision down the road if they want to re-enter the workforce.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#103

Post by haolez » Tue, May 28, 2019, 4:25 AM UTC

userulluipeste wrote: post #67

haolez wrote: post #7

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 mak…

"You’ll survive and learn a lot." That's textbook survivorship bias right there.

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.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#104

Post by Jemaclus » Tue, May 28, 2019, 5:14 AM UTC

jammygit wrote: post #87

Jemaclus wrote: post #69

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 calme…

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

I definitely had headaches for a few days, but I really did feel calmer and more relaxed. It's damned HARD to stay caffeine free, though. It's really hard.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#105

Post by _ink_ » Tue, May 28, 2019, 5:14 AM UTC

itamarst wrote: post #32

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

I am surprised that this is not suggested more often.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#106

Post by eloff » Tue, May 28, 2019, 5:26 AM UTC

problems wrote: post #97

heurist wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

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.

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.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#107

Post by zizee » Tue, May 28, 2019, 5:44 AM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#108

Post by vmurthy » Tue, May 28, 2019, 5:50 AM UTC

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 :-)

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#109

Post by bashwizard » Tue, May 28, 2019, 6:26 AM UTC

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.

Re: Ask HN: Should I quit my job?

#110

Post by drjesusphd » Tue, May 28, 2019, 6:43 AM UTC

userulluipeste wrote: post #62

drjesusphd wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also used the aversion to regret to make several big decisions. When I explain this to people, the reaction I sometimes get is pity. Having ones life dictated by the fear of regret seems repulsive to some people. I don't really understand that perspective myself, but it may be one to consider.

Living defensively may be good for one's chance of survival but is not that glamorous to tell. That should, as you correctly pointed out, be taken into account. What happens now when one's fear is ending up without having a life to talk about or not living fast enough? Joke aside, I think that, besides a fringe minority whose choices are dictated by kicks and thus subject itself to the high risk of natural (de)select…

That's the thing, I usually end up using this metric to take the more risky choice. "Making decisions to avoid future regret" and "playing it safe" are two different things.

It's more closely related to Being Unto Death (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/philosophy-of-heidegger...).