I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea. • Hacker News Board

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#201

Post by Goladus » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:19 PM UTC

You're 20? That's a fine age to take a risk. You should take more risks, if you can, especially since, if I'm reading you right, you don't have any student loans. Missing education is rough, but if you can write and have technical skills anyway, saving money on student loans is an advantage.

Also, I think you made the right choice in quitting, even if it seems rough now. The only potentially better option would have been to deliberately slack off without quitting, doing the bare minimum and planning your future in your spare time. But not everyone can do that and still endure the abuse you described.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#202

Post by raheemm » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:21 PM UTC

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Im considering doing the same and this makes me want to prepare even more before making the leap. And hang in there and I hope things work out.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#203

Post by insickness » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:22 PM UTC

revorad wrote: post #4

I was feeling really sad for you until I read this: What doesn't make it any easier is that I'm 20 Relax. Get a job at the supermarket, or anything that will pay the bills for now. Figure out your main gig slowly on the side. If you share more about your freelancing work, people here might be able to help you out.

I have to disagree. The fact that he's 20 does not lessen his depression. Depression comes when your status in life is drastically lowered. It comes from moving down the pecking order. It's relative. In other words, if all you've ever had is a job working as a cashier in a supermarket, you may not feel as depressed as if you had a job as an IT manager and got demoted to desktop support--or got laid off. He did have a high-paying IT job and now seems to have nothing. Yes, he's young and can get back in the game easier, but the way he feels is human tendency.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#204

Post by adbge » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:23 PM UTC

ramblerman wrote: post #157

jonnathanson wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"So, if your friends are giving you a hard time, tell 'em to knock it the hell off. Or find new friends." This. OP: Sounds like your friends are a little insecure or uncomfortable around risk takers like yourself. They're not cut from the same cloth. Truth is, most people in our society aren't. They're play-it-safe types, and to them, stepping outside the lines is tantamount to insanity. Many of these folks will take…

A risk taker doesn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. Specially at 20 years old! Not saying it to bring OP down but get a job, any job. Get out of that house.

    > A risk taker doesn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. 
    > Specially at 20 years old!

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but basically everyone has the emotional capacity for major depressive episodes. It's healthy.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#205

Post by jimbobimbo » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:24 PM UTC

So, you quit a crappy job and your freelancing didn't work you would expect. Do you really need to ask an advice to find another job before cutting your veins? You are JUST twenty years old to think your life is over because you did what's right for you (newsflash: quitting the abusive non-professional environment was GOOD decision).

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#206

Post by yardie » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:26 PM UTC

mannicken wrote: post #110

beatpanda wrote: post #92

This happens to a lot of people, especially 20-year-olds. You just feel worse about it because your job was "high paying", which is really just a quirk of circumstance and totally meaningless. If you really wanted a soulless but high-paying job you hate, you'd be at Yale preparing for a career in finance. It sounds like you don't really know what you want to do with your life right now. Nobody really does at 20. So I…

Yeah, actually that is true. I've been taking community college classes for about three years or so. Dropped out of HS in 10th grade, started community college instead of 11th grade. Taking classes helped define what I like. I thought I wanted to be a chemist, but after taking Chem 161 I realized I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT CHEMISTRY. I thought I wanted to major in math but I barely passed Calculus III and the class was…

But then I realized there's not a lot of money in art (for me) so I started studying design (especially since I have background in web-development so that helps).

Most artists aren't professional artist. The people that consider themselves professional artists are a sliver of a percentage. All the artists I know have day jobs, be it bartender, office manager, public administration. So bang out the C code, clock out at quitting time and enjoy your life. Contrary to what you may read on YC, no one is ever an overnight success.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#207

Post by ahoyhere » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

typicalrunt wrote: post #199

A couple things: Fathers It's funny how fathers react to being entrepreneurial, especially if they are the one-job-for-life kind of guy. I have had the same problem in the past with my father, and he always says that I should stay where I am, in the same job, until I retire. However, on the job front I'm a nomadic person and he just doesn't understand that. But then again, I can't understand his world either. The bes…

This may sound harsh, but failing to get a high school diploma (where they only seem to hand them out these days to everything with a pulse) is pathetic.

No, it's really not. He already had one high-paying job without it, why on earth would you zero in on that?

Most people get their HS diploma. What good does it do them? The prerogative of schools is to pass kids. The value of a HS diploma is just about nil these days. It's only good as a divider when most of the people you're looking at are semi-literate and ignorant.

We're not talking about a semi-literate farm boy, here. We're talking about somebody who's capable of expressing himself clearly, reading and writing critically, and obviously capable of a valuable job skill as well.

Not having a HS diploma doesn't even stop you from going to college, if you value higher ed. You don't need a HS diploma to enroll in good community colleges. Many homeschoolers have gotten into great universities as a first approach, too.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#208

Post by pge » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:27 PM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #192

jlees wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then get a job, any job. It doesn't have to be programming. It'll get you out of the house, get you with other people, and put a few bucks in your pocket. If you love programming enough, you'll find time to keep it going on the side. Totally second the "any job" part. I'd go as far as to say try to do something that isn't programming. Speaking from experience, sometimes the reason freelancing isn't going so well is s…

You may also find that working in an area unrelated to computers you'll find an idea for a project or niche business that will work. There are lots of businesses that need engineers and programmers to help them but can't figure out where to look first.

This is great advice. In many industries, what you take for granted (the usefulness of software) is voodoo. Getting a job in any area will expose you to interesting problems that are begging to be solved. Your skills will be unique and valued. If paying work is in short supply, start with volunteering. At minimum, it will get you out of the house and expose you to a new network of people.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#209

Post by silverbax88 » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:33 PM UTC

runjake wrote: post #200

edw519 wrote: post #141

I did quit my full-time job. So did I. Many times. About half the time it worked out great. The other half, it sucked, just like yours does now. You are not alone. I'm constantly broke, on the verge of poverty... Then get a job, any job. It doesn't have to be programming. It'll get you out of the house, get you with other people, and put a few bucks in your pocket. If you love programming enough, you'll find time to…

edw519 is always gold. Also, you're 20. I'm twice your age and I've made far more serious mistakes at your age that have had minimal negative impact on my life. Don't fear life. You're young and free, don't sweat it and certainly don't get depressed about failures. You have plenty of life left to use what you've learned from them to succeed.

One of the biggest mistakes we make when we are young (meaning, me, I made this mistake) is we think that if we don't become millionaires by 25 we are failures. That's bullshit fed to us by the media who claims only young people win in startups.

I also second the 'get a job, any job'. Adversity is a part of life. Getting rich is hard, really, really fucking hard. Trust me, I went through suicidal depressions when I was 20 too, and I wasn't living with my parents - I was living on the street. I'm not about to tell someone to just 'suck it up', but I will tell you that you are nowhere near as alone as the world is trying to make you feel.

Re: I quit my job last March and it was a bad idea.

#210

Post by pavelkaroukin » Wed, Oct 12, 2011, 3:33 PM UTC

i got my full time job when i was 26... i failed a lot as "self-employed" before. but when i got job (i had specific reasons, not financial ones), i really understood what it is to be free in doing your own choose and be entrepreneur (life style, not building huge corp for selling it later). now i am doing everything to get back to it...

do not afraid to fail early. i did it a lot - it is fine (although i never had situation where i was not able to pay taxes or rent, but this might be luck :)). With each fail you learn and it is better to learn it at twenties and become successful businessman in thirties, than start learning in thirties. :)

there are few exceptions from the rule, who become successful "overnight" (think facebook-type businesses), but most "overnight" success takes years of work, dedication and... failures.