 Re Career transitions
I'm with Paul on this one.
I think it really depends on circumstances. A few years ago I walked out of a job and started my own business. I worked night and day on it and did all the research but it wasn't enough and the business never broke even. Through all that time I watched the loan I had taken out to sustain me just dwindle away to pay the bills and eventually I got to a point where it was get a job or not have a roof over my head. I took the job. I was so stressed all of the time about money that I was exhausted.
Now I'm in a position where I work 40 hours a week and feel tired when I get home but I have just enough energy to work on the things I want to work on without the fear of not knowing how I will eat the following week. I've never had a 'high fllying career' because I've only ever really wanted to do my music. In the past I didn't do my music because I was told I'd never make any money from it and I believed it (sad I know!).
My job is only just about basic wage so to get myself financially comfortable to be able to say "I quit" (i.e. have around a years income saved) would take me 11 years of living the most basic life possible (!!!) - I'm forty next year - no way!
I don't want to spend my free hours looking for yet another job that I don't want. Like Paul said in one of his articles, it's possible to use the job you have as a learning curve and I came to that conclusion myself some time ago. I realised I work with great people in a job that for several months of the year is quiet enough for me to reduce to 4 days a week. In the meantime I can get a ticket I want for practically any gig plus get to know how the live music scene works from a business angle and of course get to know names.
I've finally got to a point where 'all or nothing' doesn't work for me. I've had all the time in the world in the past but got nothing done because I was so poor I couldn't even afford to buy some new strings for my guitar - and sometimes not enough money to eat. I spent vast resources of energy trying to come up with finding a way out and ended up more depressed and unable to work at the things I really wanted to work at.
In fact, whilst financiallly it's not the greatest thing in the world, my current position means I can at least not only pay my bills but also pay to travel to Portugal (which is where I want to go and live) and pay for my classes in Portuguese.
For all the good the job brings me it's certainly not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. For the first time though I'm really realising I can achieve my dreams and I choose to see the job as something that is helping not hindering me. That in itself makes me feel happy when I get up in the morning.
Saying "I quit" is important for when a job is so bad it's destroying you of course but sometimes it's just not possible unless you have a partner or family to support you financially or a hefty amount of savings to see you through. |