Tell HN: I think I'm quitting my job today

What is the conventional advice given during a depression/recession?

Keep your head down, keep a stable job, keep that income coming in, you're better off than all those other poor sods on the street.

What is the conventional advice given during boom times?

Get a new house, a new car, a new TV, consume, consume, consume. Don't worry about debt, since you're always going to make more. Don't like your job? Quit it now and get a better one to your satisfaction.

There is no doubt that the current economic situation is affecting the relative ability for someone to acquire income. However, if you have your current job in your current situation say, two years ago during the boom, would you feel any different? I'd say you would feel less anxious about surviving, yet, you wouldn't be as driven to succeed in your new endeavor simply because at the back of your mind, there's that safety cushion of getting another job.

If you don't have any dependents and no sigificant debt, I think you would be off your rockers to stay where you are.

hey man,

i also quit around a month ago and have now been thinking why i did'nt do it earlier. bad economy or good economy, i don't think it should make much of a difference.

actually i think this is a good time to start, less competition and also, if we can make something which is making good enough money, when economy becomes better. people will be running after few good startups around.

Honestly? Unless you have your exit pretty well hammered down, you should try to save your job, even if that means having uncomfortable conversations or going over your boss's head. You say that your friends have "enough extra work to keep [you] busy". Try to get something in writing before jumping ship. "I'll send work your way" from a well-intended friend is not a guarantee.

The economy really sucks right now. Unless you have a guarantee of income (e.g. letter of employment) you should do whatever you can to save your job. Talk to your boss about the issue, and if he doesn't make things better, talk to your boss's boss. Insecure middle managers love to pull shit like bait-and-switch, but somewhere up the food chain, there is someone who would not want this to happen to a talented person (either that, or you're at a shitbag company) and you just have to find him. Now is the time to work aggressively to repair the situation-- the worst that can happen is that you get fired, but in that case you get severance and unemployment, as opposed to the $0.00 you get if you quit.

Regarding depression, it's probably not just your job. I love what I do and I'm bordering on clinical depression right now; the fact that my career could easily go to hell (something statistically impossible two years ago) and that society might collapse, although neither is likely, doesn't lead to happy thoughts.

I don't think you should really let the state of the economy affect you that much one way or the other. As the owner of a fledgling company, you'll have a lot of flexibility to adapt to the market as needed. The people who are in trouble are more likely to be established businesses who have already built a lot of infrastructure designed to extract profit from revenue sources that are currently drying up. This leaves them unpleasantly stuck with the overhead for that infrastructure but not the expected profit. Unless you're running around looking for capital (which is probably expensive in terms of equity right now), I'd guess you'll be relatively unscathed by the economy.

Oh, I definitely am not quitting before having something in writing! They're suppose to get it to me by lunch today.