Quitting a Job Without Another

[np89]

I'm 27 years old, been in what most would consider a great industry and I've made a decent amount of money along the way.

I have about 5 and a half years of living expenses saved up.

I am desperately unhappy in my job. The folks I work with are extremely political and throw you under the bus whenever possible. The work is really unfulfilling and the hours are 12+ hours a day.

I really have had enough, I am currently set on quitting at the end of the day. I said this before but didn't go through with it but am a lot more set on it now. I just wanted to get some other people's opinions to make sure I'm not making a dumb decision.

Searching for a new job while maintaining this one is very challenging. Can rarely get away during the day.

 

[AS_Platinum]

Searching for a new job while maintaining this one is very challenging. Can rarely get away during the day.

The odd occasion of leaky bottom day not occurred to you?

{phonecall}
[you]Boss, I've got the squits, i'm not coming in today[/you]
[boss]Ok, keep in touch, bye[/boss]
{/phonecall}

Search for job/interview/walk around the house naked!

 

[Mr Jack]

With that much money behind you? Quit to go travelling for six months.

 

[mjt]

I've never held the opinion that quitting a job without having another lined up is a good thing, but I did it once and it 'only' took me 3 months to find another one.
Can you afford to be unemployed for a few months or more? If so, do it.

12+ days must be extremely tiring though but hopefully the pay is excellent! May I ask what sector you're in?

-edit, just re-read post. Do what Mr Jack says. Go travelling for a few months!

 

[neoboy]

It would help if we knew what industry you're in, if you want to continue in it or looking for opportunities in other places.

 

[Spuddy]

Depends how easy it would be for you to get a new job in your industry.

Personally I wouldn't however until I had found something else.

 

[Glaucus]

With that much money behind you? Quit to go travelling for six months.

This, generally I dont think it's a good idea to quit without something lined up. Like Traveling or another job. I also don't think it looks good when you apply and you haven't been working fir a few months and the longer it takes the worse it looks.

Good thing is, you have an insane amount of money saved up. Take the opportunity to go do something you always wanted to do. Which for a lot is Traveling but not everyone. Plenty of stories of people quitting and finding their passion. Like working in a distillery on basically zero pay to learn the ropes if what they're passionate about.

 

[np89]

I've never held the opinion that quitting a job without having another lined up is a good thing, but I did it once and it 'only' took me 3 months to find another one.
Can you afford to be unemployed for a few months or more? If so, do it.

12+ days must be extremely tiring though but hopefully the pay is excellent! May I ask what sector you're in?

-edit, just re-read post. Do what Mr Jack says. Go travelling for a few months!

I work for a small private equity firm. The pay is excellent although the city is expensive. Overall I'm still paid extremely well. But the money has become less important.

I have a lot saved up, and agree with you that quitting without something else is generally a bad idea. I'm just awfully unhappy and honestly just fed up of feeling like this.

 

[BennyC]

In your situation, obviously, not at all.

You have 5+ years worth of living expenses so can sustain yourself for more than one would hope long enough to find work.

If you are living on the breadline or have no contingency, then yes generally speaking it is not the best course of action.

Sometimes though people need to just jump in order to get the ball rolling.

As long as you can justify your employment gap to your potential next employer and they don't perceive you to be a gamble as a candidate on this basis then it should do no harm.

 

[Luke_Bowman]

I work for a small private equity firm. The pay is excellent although the city is expensive. Overall I'm still paid extremely well. But the money has become less important.

I have a lot saved up, and agree with you that quitting without something else is generally a bad idea. I'm just awfully unhappy and honestly just fed up of feeling like this.

Put all/most of your holidays in and commit to a full week of job searching?

Hell maybe a few weeks off is all you need

 

[NexusK]

With that much money behind you? Quit to go travelling for six months.

With that much money behind him i'd say quit and go travelling for the next 15 years. Hostels, Airbnb and couchsurfing around the world ftw.

 

[jsmoke]

I'd say just make the time to find another job, looks better on CV. Try and end this job on good terms, keep hush hush about searching and relax in the satisfaction that you wont have to deal with these prats for much longer.

 

[dowie]

I work for a small private equity firm. The pay is excellent although the city is expensive. Overall I'm still paid extremely well. But the money has become less important.

I have a lot saved up, and agree with you that quitting without something else is generally a bad idea. I'm just awfully unhappy and honestly just fed up of feeling like this.

I'd try another firm first - see if it was just your previous firm/environment/colleagues or the job itself that you're not enjoying. I mean that is the sort of industry where you could be rich enough to retire in your 30s... so probably worth giving it a shot elsewhere before throwing in the towel and trying something completely different. Presumably if you have a non-compete agreement and move to a competitor you can still get in a few months of travelling when changing jobs.

 

[Nix]

I'd suggest maybe going off sick for a couple of weeks first with stress and test the waters regarding the job search.

Travelling is all well and good and something definitely worth considering, but you'll still have to find work when you come back.

I found with my old job I couldn't do it anymore (was making me sick) and I quit and went travelling. I got back in August and I'm still looking for work which is really beginning to bring me down.

Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you do it. If you're financially capable of paying your rent from savings and certain you won't be out of work for too long (this is why I suggest testing the waters first), there is nothing wrong with quitting now and using your spare time for something productive like volunteering. Just be careful not to accrue any major CV gaps.

 

[krisboats]

Is there anything you'd like to do for yourself? Any hobbies or interests or adventures you'd fancy taking? with 5 years worth of living funds you'd be able to spend 6 months playing xbox and another 6 months playing ps4 if thats what you're into.

Although do bear in mind that once you have a lot more free time on your hands living expenses get a lot higher, the void of work eating up most of your time means you have less opportunity to go spending, and once out of work you'll find you spend a lot more money while occupying your time!

If it was me, i'd either start my own business and put the money into stock for buying/selling or go for an adventure somewhere. Sink a years worth into a reliable car you can go travelling in without worrying and just go for a road trip from here to russia or something.

Or more sensibly, if you can afford to live off your savings you could spend a year getting experience in a field you'd love to work in, before hopefully turning that into your main job. most employers would jump at the opportunity for volunteers to help out!

 

[dowie]

I'd suggest maybe going off sick for a couple of weeks first with stress and test the waters regarding the job search.

You shouldn't need to take 2 weeks off sick to do that, OP just needs to hit up some recruiters on linked in one evening/lunchtime. You schedule the interviews for lunchtime or early morning... then use a 'dentist appointment' or similar for any that are not too flexible.

 

[squired]

An important question is what your notice period is. If, for example, it is three months, that is very different to a month and would give time to find something.

The key if you do have a gap is to make sure you have a good explanation of what you were doing in that time. A lot of companies will ask questions even if there are just a few weeks between jobs these days. Even going back to 2008/9 when lots of people were made redundant (including myself) I've been grilled on what I got up to in the three months I was jobless.

If you do quit now there is always the option of doing some temp/contract work. That might be a way of exploring some new career options too before committing to something specific.


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[neoboy]

Seeing how you work in the city and seem to enjoy the industry then it could just be a matter of throwing your CV to few recruiters and letting them do all the work, most will very happily meet with you after working hours.

 

[Nix]

You shouldn't need to take 2 weeks off sick to do that, OP just needs to hit up some recruiters on linked in one evening/lunchtime. You schedule the interviews for lunchtime or early morning... then use a 'dentist appointment' or similar for any that are not too flexible.

The two weeks is also for his wellbeing. If he's close to walking out of the door as it is, he could probably do with it.

 

[Caged]

Just quit, if you aren't going to be stressing over how to pay the next bill for a decent amount of time then take some time off and relax. Go on holiday. It's only a crap job, leave it behind.