I had to quit my job due to mental health (autism). I rationalised it at the time, thinking with all the newfound time I could get so much done specifically for what I wanted to achieve personally rather than what brings in revenue for some billionaire family I don't know in Germany. 4 months later, I'm feeling a lot better mentally. My discipline has returned and all that. But there was a very heavy dip, especially due to the loneliness. That ritual of seeing some light every morning commute and meeting a lot of people every day is very undervalued, if you like me mostly judge a job by the tasks you have to get done. But it was worth it, quitting your job is a short term loss and a long term gain. We only have one life, and have to sacrifice money and an awe-inspiring LinkedIn facade to find beauty and passion. I'd rather learn music instruments, read three books a week, paint and sew clothes, than to have every day look the same in a cubicle and watch the months go by quickly and forgettably.
I have quit my job
11–20 of 176 posts
Re: I have quit my job
#12You're in trouble so by the numbers:
1. We are all struggling with mental health. Such is life. That's no shame.
2. Counselors recommend stability, thus jobs. No shock there.
3. Counselors don't recommend quitting your job with no plan. What's the real story there? I can't tell. You proceed boldly, though . . .
4. You don't have endless possibilities. In fact you just ended one of them yourself, quite publicly!
5. If pragmatic decisions are a burden, consider seeking help. Other people or institutions can make pragmatic decisions for you while preserving your future options.
6. You don't owe anyone an explanation of why you were taken in. It's normal. We all are, sometimes, I think.
7. Real software engineers understand that they don't solve perfect math problems that will be taught in universities in perpetuity. We make things that will be (in some way) destroyed. And we are proud to build destroyable things. Sorry nobody told you abuot that. Seriously. I wish we were clearer!
8. Again, engineers get reassigned. Same as above. Sorry nobody explained that. It is hard for some people to deal. Especially the first time it happens. Hope they have good mentors/managers!
9. It's not any judgement on you. It's seriously not about you. It's about the project(s). It's impersonal and with no kind of malice directed at you.
10. You grew corporate domain knowledge. Companies claim they care abuot that. They don't. They show they care with money. And they pay money for core skills. (Note also, these skills do not degrade over time and you can gain them over a long career.)
11. Talking about "irrational" things. Stop. That's tainted with bad faith. Even if it matters, stop and take a breath.
12. What's next? You don't know but you have some bridges to burn. That should help give you direction.
I only ask that if you stick with software, this is not a meditative profession so much as a highly collaborative one. We work together (and try to understand one another and talk with one another just like this) because we love being makers with other makers. There is nothing so delightful as creating a new thing with someone new, stranger!
Re: I have quit my job
#13This guy seems smart and ambitious but has a very romantic/naive mindset. A job is an exchange of services, never get it confused with your own mission or "dream".
Yeah it read like he was competent in his job, but elsewhere in the company people were struggling so he was reassigned to help out.
He should not have treated his employer's asset (the product) as his child and sacrifice things for it.
Re: I have quit my job
#14> I imagine building solutions to problems I see in my surroundings. For some irrational reason, I feel a desire to give back to society.
I think there is nothing irrational about this. Look up “purpose economy”. Grinding away your life in the interests of some company that basically just wants to achieve financial gains is not satisfying at all, we’re just normalizing it because it’s lucrative and we live in a world where bills need to be paid. The future isn’t build by greed and hustle, but by ambition and dreams. Don’t let people tell you off for this. Artists don’t do what they do because they seek any kind of validation for it, yet they shape the cultures that we identify with. All relevant progress, both individual and societal, comes from people who don’t care for the established worldly order. The future is build by dreamers and visionaries, not by people who confuse the treadmill for a life worth living. You do you.
Re: I have quit my job
#15Is it irrational to care about/for your neighbor? I don't think so.
Re: I have quit my job
#16This guy seems smart and ambitious but has a very romantic/naive mindset. A job is an exchange of services, never get it confused with your own mission or "dream".
I disagree heavily with this. Lots of people make a living doing what they love/building a better world. Just because we normalized selling our attention to the highest fiscal bidder, doesn’t mean that the highest fiscal bid is actually valuable in terms of life quality. Nobody looks back and says “eh, I wish I’d have worked more at [soulless job]”. I think your perspective is extreme dystopian, and it makes me sad to think about how many people live their lifes with that mindset. Look up “purpose economy”
Re: I have quit my job
#17"If you can let go of the goals, you can quite enjoy the act. Counter intuitively, the result is often much better." This applies to many things in life.
...there’s a deeper reason... so many people don’t have hobbies: We’re afraid of being bad at them. If you’re a jogger, it is no longer enough to cruise around the block; you’re training for the next marathon... When your identity is linked to your hobby — you’re a yogi, a surfer, a rock climber — you’d better be good at it, or else who are you? Lost here is the gentle pursuit of a modest competence, the doing of som…
> When your identity is linked to your hobby [...]
> Lost here is the gentle pursuit of a modest competence, the doing of something just because you enjoy it, not because you are good at it...
Isn't this the issue, though? If "you are what you do", because you link your identity to that, and what you do isn't "good", I can see how than can cause some issues.
To take your example, if you're taking up jogging, so you can run a marathon, so you can take some Instagram photos at the finish line, so you can get the likes, this is the end result. So of course, just cruising around the block won't attract the likes, so it doesn't really help the end goal, does it?
I think the issue is one of not stopping to smell the roses.
Re: I have quit my job
#18I left my last job because it wasn't really going how I wanted it to go. My wife and I have setup our finances such that we can live on a single income. For almost two years I did nothing but tinker on toy projects, personal projects and explore electrical engineering. I certainly found interesting companies along the way to apply for, and took contracting jobs that interested me, but largely I got to just explore. I finally found a job at the beginning of the year that felt right and was interesting enough for me to want to get involved.
I have always had the attitude that work should be something you look forward to each day. If you aren't, leave. I have never worried about the consequences of those decisions because financially we are fine and with software engineering opportunities always available, I don't feel a sense of urgency to take the first thing that comes along. I know that not everyone is so privileged to live this way, but with careful financial planning, it's been enough for me.
We all need rest, we all need time away. Plan your life according to you or your family's needs, not clients and not companies. We only get one chance at life, why waste it being unhappy in the pursuit of some distant future that may never come.
Re: I have quit my job
#19You're in trouble so by the numbers: 1. We are all struggling with mental health. Such is life. That's no shame. 2. Counselors recommend stability, thus jobs. No shock there. 3. Counselors don't recommend quitting your job with no plan. What's the real story there? I can't tell. You proceed boldly, though . . . 4. You don't have endless possibilities. In fact you just ended one of them yourself, quite publicly! 5. If…
I loved doing coding on my own. Then I started to work for a few companies.
Out of all of them there was only one where I felt good.
It was a public research facility, they were doing scientific work. But they hadn't the money to hire me. (I was an intern there).
The rest were just BS jobs.
I quit, started my own projects and I am making enough money on them to live.
I cut off all the costs related to work. (Expensive housing to live near the workplace, transportation, food, and health as I am not stressed anymore and much happier).
Re: I have quit my job
#20I think there are people for whom jobs are never a natural fit. I am one of those people. Could never stick to a job for very long but could work on my personal project for years. That's why right now I'm unemployed too but I don't ever want to have a boss.