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I quit my job

madebyloren.com

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171–180 of 197 posts

Re: I quit my job

#171

Post by mcv »

jbail wrote: post #85
guynamedloren wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People seem to have this idea of lavish Zynga style life styles. It's not. It's really really hard work. Yes, I absolutely agree with you. But in this particular case, I didn't leave because it was hard. I left because it was easy. Too easy. I wasn't challenged. The work I was doing was mundane and repetitive, and I didn't feel like what I was working on was important (or fulfilling). My productivity was great. I e…

But at the end of the day, I was just another dev. This. A thousand times. At every company I've EVER worked for, I eventually had this exact same feeling. Even as the lead engineer, team lead, tech lead, or whatever other "top developer" role I've held, I always feel like this. And I always eventually quit too. It's gotten worse in the past few years. I can barely make it one year before I feel like "just another de…

> I always feel like "just another dev", bored and ultimately like my potential is being cut short.

I always had that too. Especially about the potential; I knew I could do so much more than I was showing at all the companies I worked for, but I had no idea how to show it.

I quit and became a freelancer. Messed about with my own projects for a bit, did some small freelance work, and now I'm at a big freelance job at a company that's larger than any I'd worked for before. And from day one, I'm contributing beyond what I normally contribute. I'm taking on leadership roles that I normally wouldn't. I make more strategic decisions than every before.

I don't know if it's that this company has just the right culture for me, or maybe it's that ultimately I'm a freelancer and my own boss, and therefore I feel far more responsible for my work. I want to sell myself and keep selling myself through my work. Or maybe it's because starting my own company forced me to step way outside my own comfort zone; I have to negotiate contracts, hire an accountant, decide how to invest in myself; I need to think business, and that doesn't come naturally to me, but I do it. And maybe that's what gives me the confidence to take more charge, take more initiative, and keep moving forward in my every day work.

And I've got plans inside this large company (my client) beyond my current project. I see ways in which I can mean more to them, help them with more fundamental organizational problems; I see ways in which I can make myself more valuable (and thus more expensive) to them.

Whatever it is, I love it so far. And when I stop loving it, I'm free to do something entirely different. I'm my own boss.

Re: I quit my job

#172

Post by mcv »

fixxer wrote: post #67
guynamedloren wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if you're being serious or not.. Especially since you profile reads: I'm on sabbatical.

I'm actually fairly serious. I've been bored before, so I hear you. But, I guess I'm kind of surprised that you chose to jump into nothing rather than parlay your way to something else. Seems a little impulsive. Impulsive is a red flag, despite what many on HN think (you can be impulsive, but you better be brilliant too). Now you've got to explain a gap in your res to a potential employer (should you choose to go tha…

> you chose to jump into nothing rather than parlay your way to something else. Seems a little impulsive. Impulsive is a red flag

Sounds impulsive, but doesn't have to be. It's possible to make that jump after long and thorough consideration. It took me years and a couple of jobs before I finally dared to quit and start my own thing. Not everything I did with my own thing worked out well; spent a lot of time finding my own way, wasted a lot of time, made almost no money in my first year. I did some freelance work, now working on a bigger freelance gig, but I'm really hitting my stride now, and can't wait to go back to my own projects.

I'm not a natural entrepreneur. It took me ages to make this step. Nobody in my extended family has their own company; they all work for a salary. Nobody likes this kind of risk, but I love it. I love the freedom and the uncertainty. I love the risk.

It was a tough decision, and it still seems impulsive compared to a steady salary, but it was the second best decision of my life. (The best was marrying my wife, but that one was surprisingly easy.)

Re: I quit my job

#173

Post by boredprogrammer »

fistofjohnwayne wrote: post #40

To many of you: are you really letting the fear of a gap in your CV stop you from chasing your happiness? Grow up and take what you want or someone is going to take it from you.

The potential gap in my mortgage payments is what keep me working in a job I hate.

Re: I quit my job

#174

Post by mcv »

coherentpony wrote: post #4
guynamedloren wrote: post #2

If you're in a similar position and this resonates with you, do yourself a favor and just quit. Seriously. Stop waiting for things to get interesting. They won't. It's so easy to get stuck. If you're good at what you do, you'll find a job you love immediately (if that's what you're looking for). As developers, we're fortunate to be in extremely high demand. Life is too short to be bored. Work on interesting things.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Why would you quit without another job lined up? You must have a ton of money already saved to cover the rent and feed the children. Or live with your parents. I couldn't just quit my job without having other work lined up.

> Why would you quit without another job lined up? You must have a ton of money already saved to cover the rent and feed the children.

If you've got children, you hopefully also have a spouse with his/her own income. I'm fortunate that my wife makes enough to pay the entire mortgage on just her income, so my money goes mostly to child care and various extras and luxuries. With a bit of savings we can make it for quite a while.

If you're maintaining a family on a single income, then yeah, that kind of step is rather irresponsible. But if you live on your own, you'll have your hands free for anything.

Re: I quit my job

#175

Post by mcv »

coherentpony wrote: post #31
larrys wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Why would you quit without another job lined up? " If you make the decision in your head that you are going to quit then it's quite possible your work and your attitude will decline and either co workers or management will have a negative view of you by the time you do quit. In a sense this is similar to why many performers go out while on top (thinking of Seinfeld as one example) instead of waiting for ratings decl…

That's a fair point, but with this approach one is left with a gap of unemployment in their CV. Unfortunately, even in today's economic climate, a gap in your CV is still seen as a negative to many employers.

I've never had anyone ask about the gaps in my CV. Never. I've been unemployed after the dotcom crash. Nobody cares. Last year I messed about on some of my own stuff. Everybody thinks it's fine. They just want to hire me.

Admittedly it's possible that my CV looks a lot more attractive than the average CV, but personally I wouldn't know why. It's possible the job market in Netherland is better than in the US, though.

Re: I quit my job

#176

Post by bassta »

Something similar happened to me. I'm graduating in Law, but coding was always my passion - I did not want to go to university and study IT, because I always loose interest in something if I'm forced to study/do it. So I started coding five years ago as a for of relaxation. I loved it and learned all day and night. But had somehow to pay for my university, so first started freelancing. Two years ago I started part-time work for small webdesign agency. At first it was challenging, then more and more trivial tasks, almost none work... I become unproductive. Literally they were WEEKS I had nothing to do. So about two weeks ago, I quit. The first night I was thinking about how I'm going to pay for my textbooks, my rent, how I'm gonna live. Then I felt something I've almost forgotten - passion. I think passion and inspiration come in most critical moments, and especially when you got aim and you can decide yourself how to reach your goal. So an hour later, I started diving deep into NodeJS, Backbone, go over some tutorials I've been holding for months. Started writing new tutorial for my blog. Answered questions in GSAP forums. Helped people. Now I feel alive. As Max Payne said "I don't know about angels, but it's fear that gives man wings"

Re: I quit my job

#177

Post by shawabawa3 »

boredprogrammer wrote: post #173
fistofjohnwayne wrote: post #40

To many of you: are you really letting the fear of a gap in your CV stop you from chasing your happiness? Grow up and take what you want or someone is going to take it from you.

The potential gap in my mortgage payments is what keep me working in a job I hate.

Don't you have any savings?

If you can't afford mortgage repayments and savings, you are living above your means

I plan to always have enough savings for 1 year+ of unemployment

Re: I quit my job

#178

Post by AdamN »

Take a sabbatical and come to Nairobi for a few months. Spend some time coding, some time meeting new people, and some time doing a walkabout: adam@kili.io

Re: I quit my job

#179

Post by boredprogrammer »

shawabawa3 wrote: post #177
boredprogrammer wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The potential gap in my mortgage payments is what keep me working in a job I hate.

Don't you have any savings? If you can't afford mortgage repayments and savings, you are living above your means I plan to always have enough savings for 1 year+ of unemployment

I have approx 6 months salary saved. I used to have more, but some home emergencies meant I had to eat into some of my savings recently. The government here decided that pursuing austerity for years without end was the way forward, and began implementing all sorts of new taxes, so I get paid the same as I did 4 years ago, but bring home approx 20% less. Same government policy has forced countless local businesses to shut down, meaning that there are very few job openings (programming or otherwise) available for the last couple of years. So I could quit now, manage approx 6 months payments and then stand a very good chance of still having no job. That or stay where I am and post about how my life sucks on HN.

Re: I quit my job

#180

Post by brucehart »

hga wrote: post #48
sadkingbilly wrote: post #37

Btw, what about health insurance? I find that to be the biggest deterrent. You're one random event away from bankruptcy.

If he can pay for it he has up to 18 months of COBRA coverage (you stay in the plan, but have to pay the full cost to the company).

Be careful about this assumption if you are working at a small startup. I recently changed jobs and was not eligible for health insurance for the first month in my new job. I thought "Oh, that's fine. I'll just pay for a month of COBRA coverage." When I went to apply I was told that COBRA only applied to companies with at least 20 employees and that I should use my state's equivalent of COBRA instead. When I went to apply for that I was told that it applies to all companies, but it is not available to people who leave their job voluntarily.

I ended up having to get a short term individual insurance plan instead. It's a bit of a risk because if a major issue related to a pre-existing condition flared up, I would probably not be covered. It's my understanding that when the new health care laws take effect next year, it will help absolve much of the risk that comes from using an individual insurance plan.

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