I recently quit my high-paying job, in fact, today is my last day, and "randomly walk around" is exactly what I'm going to do. For most of my 27 years, I've been trying to do the "wise" thing by getting good grades, graduating from a good college, working at a good job, finishing my master, etc. For once, I want to be foolish.
My number 1 reason for quitting is I want to get off the addiction of the constant paychecks. It's easy and safe, but the trade off is the predictable and unbearable daily routine. Everyday on my way to work, I know exactly which lanes to switch to on 495 for the optimal travel time. I log on and off the computer at work at roughly the same times. Once back at home, it's sad to look at the reflections of myself and the clock in the bathroom while washing my face and know that the same action happened at exactly the same moment yesterday. As for long term, I know exactly where I will be (in the best scenario) in the next 15-20 years if I continue to work for this or any other big companies.
That's no way to live life if you look at the short time we have here. That's why I take the year off to travel, not only to break the daily routine, see new things, and meet new people but also to taste the danger of having no financial security to motivate myself to act.
Before quitting, I've consistently worked 2-3 hours everyday after work on side projects. But the passion and focus cannot be there after being exhausted by 8 hours of work and knowing I will still get the next paycheck even if my projects fail. So now I'm excited to have my 8 hours back. Let's see how this foolish thing will work out.
> My number 1 reason for quitting is I want to get off the addiction of the constant paychecks.
This is interesting... it reminds me of what I tell people when they ask if I'm going to finish college.
I can count the classes I'm missing on one hand, so I often get asked when I'm going back, and they're shocked when I say I'm not. Basically, at this point, a degree will only stop me from getting boring, corporate jobs. I don't want those. But if my startup were to go under, it'd be real tempting... and then I'd get caught in a tarpit. I'd just rather not risk it, and make it harder on myself to get boring jobs.
Not to pile on, but that sounds like more rationalization as well. Did the resistance to school increase the closer you got to graduation? I think the problem you're facing may be much closer to home.
It did increase, but that's because I was getting more and more annoyed with doing work that was completely irrelevant. When I take a Web Programming class, I don't expect to learn about Java Applets, for one example... especially while reading about Haskell in my free time. (not that Haskell is relevant to web apps. I'm trying to point out a disparity in the level of free time studies vs. classwork)
And after years of C and Perl, getting used to have to do all of my assignments in Java was extremely frustrating. Especially as I was picking up other languages in my free time.
(I just voted you back up to 1, by the way. Dunno why someone would downvote an honest question...)
I wanted to quit school just about the entire time I was there. Some days, I still think I should have; my economic outlook at this point would be better if I'd gone to a union plumbing apprenticeship.
But to do it almost and not quite? I'm giving you advice based on my own rationale ("Hey, steve, do what I did!"), but you should go back. Finish it. It's 3 months, and it doesn't close any doors to you.
It sucks to jump through Java-shaped hoops when clearly Perlythonjureskell would be the best language, but unless you're in greenfield projects your whole life, it's one more harsh reality.
You might want to do greenfield projects, but a degree won't close those opportunities to you.
I dunno. I see it in terms of the sunken cost fallacy: yes, it could be three months and a few thousand dollars... but if I don't need it, why throw more money and time down that pit?
> but unless you're in greenfield projects your whole life, it's one more harsh reality.
I'll go back to making pizza before I take a Java job. I don't need much money to be happy, and I'll hate my life a lot less. I can still enjoy programming in my free time.
Oh no, going back isn't for sunk cost reasons, quite the opposite. I'd advise just about anyone against starting college.
But, ignoring the time already spent (which is already wasted), there's a 3 month period between you and the bump to employability that comes with a bachelor's degree. Nobody's making you take a Java job afterwards.
See, I don't think there's an actual bump to employability to any job that I'd want to have. And also forget that we're talking worst-case; Ideally I'll be self-employed for the rest of my life. But if something terrible happens, my GitHub, reputation, and connections will do more than a piece of paper ever could.
So you are 27 years old (same as me)?! For how long have you been working now?
I'm asking, because I am also thinking about when to quit my current job and what to do next. What holds me back are just two things. First, its the paragliding course I already paid for but didn't finish yet. And second its the feeling that leaving my job would be too early right now. I have been promoted as teamleader just one year after graduating.
But still I envy people like you who are able to simply quit and start a new thing.
You will always be able to come up with reasons not to take risks, and they don't have to be particularly good ones as long as they give you an excuse to wait a little longer. There will never be a right moment. I recommend you evaluate whether you're happy with your current situation, and if not, then seek to change it. Your choice isn't simply between keeping the job and quitting it; perhaps you can find a different way.
I was in a similar situation as you are; running a small programming team at age 27, with no real commitments. I decided to stay because the opportunity seemed too good to pass up, but I'll never know where I'd be now if I took a risk back then. Over those three years it seemed like everyone I interviewed ran their own project. Many popped back and forth between working as part of a team, and running teams several times in their career, so it's not as special an accomplishment as I'd thought at the time. Now it's three years later, and I've gone part time and started telecommuting so that I can travel wherever I want and have time to figure out what I want to do next. Your choices may vary. Good luck!
Actually you cannot travel "wherever [you] want", because in most countries you also need a work visa to telecommute. That's particularly the case in the US.
I'd like to re-enforce that life passes quickly. Higher hurdles develop as the years pass so that simply leaving a job without a plan has higher costs. Once you "settle down" you have to consider how to pay the mortgage, keep health benefits for your child(ren), and provide for your family if something happens to you. As you move closer to 50, your retirement becomes a factor in simply quitting your job.
Settling down was NEVER a consideration for me until I met my wife sometime around when I turned 31. I thought that I would always have plenty of time to change careers, explore interests, etc. (How wrong I was.)
It sounds like we're both fortunate enough to live in cultures in which changing careers and pursuing interests is a possibility. Don't dally! You can always take up paragliding again. You can always be a team lead again. Time you can't get back.
My number 1 reason for quitting is I want to get off the addiction of the constant paychecks. It's easy and safe, but the trade off is the predictable and unbearable daily routine. Everyday on my way to work, I know exactly which lanes to switch to on 495 for the optimal travel time. I log on and off the computer at work at roughly the same times. Once back at home, it's sad to look at the reflections of myself and the clock in the bathroom while washing my face and know that the same action happened at exactly the same moment yesterday. As for long term, I know exactly where I will be (in the best scenario) in the next 15-20 years if I continue to work for this or any other big companies.
That's no way to live life if you look at the short time we have here. That's why I take the year off to travel, not only to break the daily routine, see new things, and meet new people but also to taste the danger of having no financial security to motivate myself to act.
Before quitting, I've consistently worked 2-3 hours everyday after work on side projects. But the passion and focus cannot be there after being exhausted by 8 hours of work and knowing I will still get the next paycheck even if my projects fail. So now I'm excited to have my 8 hours back. Let's see how this foolish thing will work out.