Should you quit your job? (5 things to consider✨)

Hello to everyone working! First of all, 🫡 to everyone and myself, for working hard for that dough.

At times, we come to a point where we ask ourselves this question: should I quit (for various reasons) and move to another place (different company, different industry)

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a career advisor of sorts, and this is just my thought process, when changing jobs, and making future plans 🫶🏻 this is NOT a post to dissuade or encourage you to change your jobs, because its a big decision, no matter the pay scale / commitments 🥰

So first, you came for the elephant in the room, and the #1 thing that all employees consider, MONEY.

To be fair, nobody wants to work a job that takes away half or more of our time, if not for the money. So obviously, a consideration to stay or go will be heavily impacted by this.

➕ perks of moving to a job w more money is MORE MONEY; aka more disposable income (assuming that you are already in a surplus in your current job) and you can afford more in your life.

➖ notice how I didn’t write a better lifestyle / more travels etc, which seems to be obvious, but no, the ability to afford more doesn’t always translate to being able to have a better lifestyle or more travels because essentially pay raises come w their set of responsibilities. Unless you are moving laterally in terms of your job scope / position / responsibilities, but even then, a new workplace would mean you have to put in the hours to gain your creds before you can relax, take that holiday and go off on a shopping spree.

SO, in that one money consideration, there’s really a lot to unpack, and here’s where it doesn’t get so simple. There’s lots of tradeoffs and nuances you have to take note.

So let’s simplify.

✅ Be clear of your goals: why would you want to change jobs ? Is it the money ? The learning stump? Or a change in work environment ? These things mean differently to each of us, and while we don’t like to admit, theres a scale and a weight to each one. Such as whether the work environment is really the reason you want to leave, or can you actually find purpose if you were, let’s say offered a $1k pay raise. Often, things are an accumulation of events which lead to that eventual dissatisfaction, so you must be clear, or you might end up switching jobs multiple times, but still feeling dissatisfied, and worse still, wondering if you would have been better off staying put.

✅ While satisfaction is a huge topic, reality is another which should NEVER be forgotten. Realistically, many of us have commitments to note. For the fresher ones (like myself, new to adulting), you would think there is lesser, but actually MORE to think of.

It is clear to many of the people that I met in the various work I did, that the longer someone stayed in a job, the less that they would actually leave the job, say after 10 years in a place. There are a tons of reasons why, including seniority, familiarity and increments (that beat a new entry) amongst others. Especially after they establish families / increase their commitment (house / car / lifestyle), the pull factor is just not enough, and the push is no longer there.

This is why, it is really important to start out and stay right, right TO YOU. Be realistic and honest to yourself. Your needs are your needs, don’t let anyone tell you that it is a want, if that is what you truly know that you need (of course, calibrate this accordingly, only you know yourself!). Know how much money you realistically need, now and in the future, and whats a lifestyle you want to maintain.

For example, are you planning to travel as often as possible ? Would you like to have pets? Have children in the future? Or do you wish to be a collector of limited goods?

Also, it is very important to run this decision by your support pillars (such as your family, your partner, mentor) before making any big decisions, because their support is much-needed, and responsibilities / commitments need to be properly considered!

✅ Think Far, But dont forget Now.

Think of your current job, and whether this is sustainable for you, is the industry, this role, is it for you? Speak to people who have chalked up their years of experience in your role, where you envision yourself to be at the end of the ladder, and whether the climb is worth it, or would you rather be conquering another mountain.

At the same time, don’t be too overly focused on the end goal, because we are all learning and exploring, a path that others end up may not be your path, and you can always make it out for yourself.

But knowing whats at the top can be really enlightening. Like for me, I spoke to my managers, who have been there, done that, and realised that their shoes were never the ones I wanted to fit. So I took the chance to learn what I could from my remaining time, and left for a different playing field.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t work jobs that you may know its end isn’t what you want, and in fact, trying out is often the only way to confirm whether it is what you want or not. Nobody knows what they want to do off the bat of their career, and even if you do, these things change as time passes in the role and as you go through different seasons in life.

Bottom line is, you should try out jobs, but know when it is enough for you to make a decision whether it is going to be your long-term career. If it isn’t going to be, and you are still there, there must be reasons why, and money and comfort cannot be the only factor.

✅ Learning & work environment: these are the intangibles, and to be perfectly honest, learning is not bound by the place you are in, and while some work offers you more opportunity within work to learn and grow, it is still up to you to seize those opportunities. Similarly, in a barren land, you can still actively seek out opportunities, within and beyond the employment.

Think about what learning means to you: Is it a challenge that you want your work to provide, or is it that innate desire to learn? Either ways, be clear that it is never the workplace that stumps your learning.

Work environment on the other hand, is something really important to not just facilitating learning, but overall work experience, and it encompasses many aspects.

I am not referring to colleagues, though if you are having troubles w your immediate colleagues and finding it hard to even get work done, that should be a warning flag, and you have to find ways to manage that. What I always tell myself is, it is easier to change yourself (your mindset, your ways) rather than to wait and hope for others to change. If, having changed your mindset, it is still insufficient for you to perform to the best of your abilities and learn at work, due to purposeful sabotage etc, then perhaps consider if this workplace is for you. Speak to someone appropriate about this, or if after all my considerations presented, you see no reason for you to stay, then leave. Fast.

Back to work environment, I am referring to the work culture, values and history. These are often the things that shape your experience in a company as an employee. Someone once told me that, even though you may be able to survive in a company which doesn’t align w your values, you would never truly be able to represent your work and your company to your fullest ability. Do you know someone who goes out and all they talk about is work (beyond complaints), and almost every single topic leads back to work ? Like oh, my company did this to implement a new project, or, I recently tried this new mentorship programme under my company etc. This is the speech of someone who is in sync w the company, someone who believes in the process and the direction of the company. And that can only happen when there is alignment of your values w the company and where you know you have found the right place for you to be.

✅ Finally, keep in mind that jobs are everywhere, but a good job is hard to come by. This is about your level of acceptance, to whatever job you hold, and whether you are happy there, or wish to find that good job, for you.

There’s no right or wrong w either trains of thought, but know that acceptance is not always the answer, though it can be at times. Know that even the best, most suited jobs will have areas that you may not like, but we hardly think about it because we are good there.

This applies even though you may already be in a good job, perhaps you are thinking if another may be even better (w better prospects, pay raise, opportunities etc.), especially if they present themselves to you. This is where you have to compare these 2 jobs side-by-side down to the minute details, with whatever information you have of the unknown second job.

And this takes a little more than courage, though you will need it, especially if you are already happy enough at your job, would you want to uproot your work and relocate to a new job ? Would the soil then be suitable for your growing tree, or would you have to plant a new one ? And w such uncertainty, are you ready to commit to planting that new tree, determined to be stronger and healthier than the previous ?

❤️ CONCLUSION ❤️

OKAY, THAT WAS REALLY LONG, and in prose, but the decision to change a job should never be taken lightly, so these are the considerations which got me to my ultimate decision to change my job ☺️

I changed my job 2 years ago, into a completely different industry than I was in upon graduation, and had to learn everything related from scratch. I took up additional education as well to make this switch, and it was really uprooting whatever I had ongoing, to this new role. I had a great job already, and enjoyed what I was doing, with a higher-than-average salary, but I decided to take the leap and took a small pay cut, for this new place!

Now 2 years into my job, I look forward to going to work everyday (not saying that I didn’t last time), but the energy just comes from somewhere, idk where, and I found fulfilment and purpose on a totally different level. The industry was also one which offered more opportunities, and opened my eyes to a whole new world and lifestyle. (p.s. about that small pay cut, it was only during the initial phases and barely made a difference, so really, you can take that little cut to gain a whole lot more 👍)

Whenever I meet up with my corporate girlies, and hear about their experiences at work, coupled with the difference between our working hours, I am always so happy that I chose this route, something different, and something that I feel is the job for me !

It was a tough decision, during which many of my mentors and friends were sceptical of my choice and also persuaded me against it, but my main support pillars remained supportive of me, and encouraged me to pursue what I wanted ❤️ thank you my baes for believing in me 🫶🏻🫶🏻

OKAYY, THATS ALL I WANTED TO SHARE! Thank you for reading, please leave a comment if you found this useful and I hope I helped you in your decision-making ☺️❤️

OKAY, BYEEE 👋

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