5 things you should consider before quitting your Day Job
The thought has crossed all of our minds. Your ugly boss, your dumb colleague(s), the smart-ass customers you deal with and don’t forget your friend that makes double the amount you do for doing the same thing you do. Whether if it’s one or all of the above (most likely the latter), you have wondered how it might be to just quit your job and live a free life and do whatever you want with your time. Heck, why can’t we all be our own bosses?
I know I’ve persuaded you to write your resignation letter, but hold up. There’s more to it than just quitting, we need a few essentials to live a full life, and one of those essentials is money. You should also consider what you’re going to do once you quit, watching reruns of Seinfeld will get old really quickly. And well if you want to live a life that you’re going to be proud of, you should have a purpose. Wow, I think I just summed a Philosophy course in a University somewhere…
With every economy in the world still struggling, you need to think twice before you tell off your boss and storm out the door. So let’s do some brainstorming.
1) Do You Have Enough Money to Quit Your Day Job?
That’s honestly the biggest question of them all. Can you afford to quit your job? What bills do you have to pay that won’t go away? Rent? Hydro? Phone Bill? TV & Internet? Living is pretty costly isn’t it? And we’re just talking about the bare bones here too. If you plan on quitting your day job even for a short period, you need to have some money saved up.
Do you have a rainy day savings fund? If you don’t, you obviously haven’t my article about having one set up. Remember, regardless of if you intend on quitting your job or not, you should have 3-6 months living expenses saved up. If you intend on quitting, you should probably have more. Read the rainy day fund article here.
2) What are you going to do once you quit?
For those that are seriously thinking that watching TV 8 hours a day and walking the dogs are good reasons to quit your day job, you need to go see a doctor immediately. You need to have a valid reason to quit, if it’s seriously affecting your health then that is a valid reason. But even then, you need to have a valid reason. Are you going to find another job? Go travel? Move to a different country to work? Or just be a lazy bum?
3) Look for a New Job before you quit
If you intend on finding a new job, then do it before you quit. It’s easier to find a job when you currently have a job because your telling your potential employer that you are employable. For obvious reasons, don’t tell the people that you want to work for that you’re quitting your current job because you hate it.
Take a better approach by telling them that you want to try something new and that the company you are applying for matches your skill set and experience. You are researching the companies you’re applying to right?
4) Start Your Own Business
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sure, the “starting” part is easy. Just fill out a couple documents, do a name search, and pay the $50 or whatever and you’re set. But actually starting and running a successful business is a whole different story, you really need to know what you’re doing. And yes, expect to work harder than you already are, if you plan on being successful you’ll be working your butt off. No TV for you.
Here are a couple good places to start to see if starting a business is for you:
http://www.getentrepreneurial.com/starting-up/things_to_consider_before_starting_a_business.html
http://www.investopedia.com/slide-show/tips-start-your-own-small-business#axzz1VXlse8wp
5) Learn Something new while you Work
You hear it all the time, people quit jobs to study because they think it’s the smart move. My question is, why can’t you study and work at the same time? The obvious thing here is, it depends on what you’re studying. If you’re going to take on a full-time MBA program, you most definitely cannot work full time while you work on the program. But for most subjects out there you can work and study at the same time.
Yes, you might be a little slower in completing what you need to do, but if you are determined enough, then you will be able to do it. Just so you know I work and study at the same time, and I think I still have time to do other things. Well for one, I write this blog don’t I?
I might go for an MBA program down the road and yes I will continue to work while I do that, unless I become filthy rich and don’t have to worry about working. But then again, if that happens, I might reconsider going after an MBA.
Hopefully, what I’ve written here has helped some of you steer clear of quitting your job for dumb reasons. I feel for ya, I have times when I want to smack a few people at work, but it’s not worth it and I think of it as life experience. Hang in there, remember, tomorrow is another day. Enjoy your weekend!
Commuter picture from Japan by JanneM on Flickr
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09 August 2011
