Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 350 posts

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

#221

Post by davidamcclain »

Quitting your old job seems like a very sane thing to have done. Your position now is unrelated to your position before. By that I mean quitting your job was one event, and what you did afterwards was another. If the current situation isn't working out for you, it's not because you left the previous (horrible) situation, it's that you've unfortunately found yourself in another horrible situation.

In other words, deciding to quit your old job was probably a good idea. If going freelance isn't a good idea for you it doesn't invalidate the idea of quitting your job. It just means you have to come up with a new idea.

I feel for you though man, freelancing was tough. Especially if you made as many mistakes in it as I did. From what you say however, I wouldn't have stayed very long at your old company.

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

#222

Post by forcefsck »

You made a decision that it hasn't worked (yet). It doesn't necessarily mean that it was a/the wrong decision, only one without the expected outcome. You are only 20, really, you are still just a kid, it's kind of offensive for older guys like me to hear you say you're so depressed. Like the rest of us, you will make some steps in your life that will lead you to a dead end and you will have to go back and start over again. You are stressed now? Wait until you have a wife and kid and risk more than your lifestyle with your decisions.

Decisions that don't work out great are not bad. Decisions that harm other people are bad, like suiciding, killing or stealing. And have inmind that people that support you through whatever, are your real friends.

Quiting your job might mean that you have guts or that you are naive. In both cases, you are too young to blame and you have a lot more to try out before your life ends.

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

#223

Post by chc »

blitzky wrote: post #6
hopeless wrote: post #3

It's really great to hear someone follow up on a previous post For what it's worth, I still think you did the right thing. That job obviously wasn't going anywhere and sounded pretty miserable. Perhaps your mistake wasn't the quitting but the freelancing over taking another job, and the option is still open to you. So the freelancing thing hasn't worked out for you. Perhaps taking a full-time job, even for a short pe…

Obviously he did NOT do the right thing. There is nothing wrong with admitting a mistake. But it was not an entire loss - he was able to grow with the experience and realize that the lifestyle being sold isn't for everybody. Right, it is NOT for everybody. My advice is that he follows through his new found learning and tries to go back to a job. He is a more mature person now, and will be able to find one eventually.

It's still not obvious to me that quitting the job was the wrong choice. The mistake was what he did afterward in failing to find an alternative source of income. It's a common mistake to quit without an adequate plan, so that is a good lesson learned.

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

#224

Post by smokeyj »

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…

Hey bud, not to be an ass, but it's times like these that define you as a person. It isn't when you have your cushy salaried position being the office bitch -- it's when you have to man-up and hustle your way thru. The easy times don't make you stronger, and if you're a hustler you'll learn from it. I've left two salaried positions to work on my own venture, and I've failed both times -- and I'm fuckin proud of it (I'm 20 also). Yeah you feel like shit when you're down and out, but it's only temporary. Take this time to learn about yourself.

After running out of cash on my second startup I got a job waiting tables. I took the opportunity to learn to sell and interact with customers. It's become a handy skill. Now I'm a lead engineer with a nice salary, just got a 20% raise, but guess what.. FUCK THAT. Guys like us weren't meant to live the middle path. Your dad doesn't get it, just like my dad doesn't get it. We're not here to make our dads happy. They made their life, and we're making ours. I've got my next-product that I'm working on, I have customers that I talk to, and now I'm going to leave my comfort (salaried job) to hustle some deals. Each failure is one step closer to success.

When we're 40 and homeless, we're gonna have some damn good stories to tell. Get some exercise, get your mind off your situation, watch Office Space to remind yourself why we're not some yes-man schmucks. It really does get better, trust me.

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

#225

Post by Jach »

dpark wrote: post #198
Jach wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree smartness isn't sufficient for a cure, and sometimes drugs are necessary, but neither is just "talking to someone" which is what Befrienders states: "We work worldwide to provide emotional support, and reduce suicide. We listen to people who are in distress. We don't judge them or tell them what to do - we listen." I'm certain what they do is a good idea but I think it's just a cached piece of advice that wor…

No, just no. Having a sympathetic person listen and provide good advice can be extremely valuable. And these things do not require anything but the attention of someone who cares, who maybe has gone through the same thing. These people are not few and far between, and they are not random. Also, therapists cannot prescribe drugs. No one with the ability to write a prescription calls themselves a therapist. And I serio…

Sorry about the wrong term, though I think it was clear from context. s/paid therapist/psychiatrist practicing psychotherapy/.

If you don't believe the medical industry suffers from the same problems as the political industry, with "sales reps" taking on the roles of "lobbyists", you should do some googling. Here's a nice database: http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/

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

#226

Post by cdelahousse »

Buddy, you had the balls to take a risk. You fell on your face, but at least you took the risk. You did more good in that failure than most dreamers do in their lives. That willingness to put it all on the line will probably serve you all your life.

And all your life is what you have ahead of you. Dying at 20 would be such a waste. Especially for a lad that has balls the size of grapefruits who's willing to follow his dreams.

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

#227

Post by cdelahousse »

Buddy, you had the balls to take a risk. You fell on your face, but at least you took the risk. You did more good in that failure than most dreamers do in their lives. That willingness to put it all on the line will probably serve you all your life.

And all your life is what you have ahead of you. Dying at 20 would be such a waste. Especially for a lad that has balls the size of grapefruits who's willing to follow his dreams.

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

#228

Post by learc83 »

You're 20 you've got plenty of time.

Not everyone enjoys being an entrepreneur. If you feel like you're the kind of guy who needs stable employment, consider this: get your GED (this should be simple for someone like yourself), and take the SAT.

Then apply for college, you should be able to live off of loans while you finish and keep freelancing for some extra cash. You can get a computer science degree and be done by the time your 24.

Also if you need a little math help get this book http://www.amazon.com/Maths-Students-Survival-Self-Help-Engi...

Once again, you're only 20, you're smart, you'll be fine. Just remember that anything worth doing is hard--if it wasn't hard, everyone would do it, and it wouldn't be worth doing.

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

#230

Post by MartinCron »

As was said before. You're not alone, in any of this. This doesn't have to reflect on your value as a person.

my freelancing thing barely works

You're currently the oldest you've ever been, but you're still pretty darn young. A lot of freelancing is about the network of people who consider you a known good quantity for solving the problems that they or their contacts have. How big can your network of contacts be if you've only worked for a short time?

Failure is painful and jarring, but nobody who isn't a total asshole is going to look at a young programmer who couldn't get traction freelancing as a failed person. Hell, I would look at that as a positive thing, you're brave enough to try things that might not work.

Post reply on HN