Anybody quit a decent paying job without another one lined up

[Tom Penny]

I've been at the same company for 15+ years but the last 6 months im totally burnt out and literally despise work despite the company as a whole being a good one.my group is understaffed and they don't plan on adding anbody. Only 2 people do my role on a small team.I'm working a ton of hours and even weekends and I'm in the " if I don't do it it will just add to the pile if work I already have " cycle..I'm sure some people know this.. and it blows. I'm really at the breaking point and just want to give 2 weeks notice. Mostly because I'm overworked and you can't get time back.. And my work life balance is terrible right now. I have enough money to live for a while without work but at the same time it's still scary when I'm so accustomed to working.

Who has done this. Was it worth it? Pros and cons?

 

[Ryuelli]

I guess it depends on what you mean by decent, but I quit my job teaching abroad to move back to the US. I had a plan (which worked out) and a reason for doing so though. I ended up crashing at my parents house for a year after until I got a full time teaching job and saved up enough to get my own place again.

 

[krazen]

I've been at the same company for 15+ years but the last 6 months im totally burnt out and literally despise work despite the company as a whole being a good one.my group is understaffed and they don't plan on adding anbody. Only 2 people do my role on a small team.I'm working a ton of hours and even weekends and I'm in the " if I don't do it it will just add to the pile if work I already have " cycle..I'm sure some people know this.. and it blows. I'm really at the breaking point and just want to give 2 weeks notice. Mostly because I'm overworked and you can't get time back.. And my work life balance is terrible right now. I have enough money to live for a while without work but at the same time it's still scary when I'm so accustomed to working.

Who has done this. Was it worth it? Pros and cons?

Click to shrink...

If you're serious, you should let them fire you so you can hopefully angle it for unemployment.
Outside of that, if you want to be responsible; I would take a sabbatical/leave and look hard. Ultimately if you're at your give no fucks stage, might as well give no fucks because the worst thing they can do is fire you from a job you're sick of, lol

That said, savings? You living with anyone who can help cover? Can you downgrade and save cash for the meantime?

 

[jackie daytona]

Wife and I did this last year (not super high paying, but about $100k combined). Awful idea. Do not do.

I have no greatly marketable skills, and my wife was looking for a somewhat niche role, so it took a while to find jobs. We're finally on the other side of it, but the stress over the past 6 months has been awful.

edit: we did this after profiting off our house sale. We weren't strapped for cash, but the stress quickly began to grow once it was apparent the job search wasn't going to be quick and simple.

 

[Mrflood]

Why not ask for a package? Seems like most people don't know this is an option.

Many companies will negotiate an exit if you give them time or help them find a backfill.

 

[BuBu Jenkins]

I recently did this back in Feb at my previous job and just this week got hired at a much better company that pays more. It helps that I live alone with no family or kids to worry about and have enough money saved up to pay rent/bills so being unemployed for 2 months didn't hurt me much at all. Just treated it as an unpayed sabbatical while hitting the gym, playing video games, streaming movies/tv shows spending time with the GF and enjoying life without worrying about a miserable job that i despised and de-motivate me.

 

[NinjaGarden]

Are you getting paid for your overtime? Just stop doing it. They aren't hiring because on their end it's better to bleed you dry.

And then if they fire you for not doing unpaid OT file for unemployment.

 

[dc3k]

I did this in 2019. Took nearly 5 months off. Best decision of my life.

Pros: extended vacation, freedom to do whatever I wanted, stress and anxiety gone, left the USA
Cons: burned a large chunk of my savings

 

[Tom Penny]

Why not ask for a package? Seems like most people don't know this is an option.

Many companies will negotiate an exit if you give them time or help them find a backfill.

Click to shrink...

Oddly enough my only real incentive is my benefits at work. They are very good...I'd love to get a buyout they do that every couple of years but that's usually for olds. Id have to survive the place at least 10 more years for that..so that's my dilemma..my plan has always been to work 10 more years but I realizing that's impossible at my current role.

 

[Spinluck]

Yes I have. I'm crazy like that.

 

[finalflame]

no

 

[nilbog]

Several times and glad I did, work stress is never worth it. But I also had a good nest egg in place like you.

 

[Cation]

Sounds like it's taking from your mental sanity. Health > all.

That being said the flip side is would you want to use your job as a reference since you've been at it for 15 years? If yes, then don't let them fire you - give them a notice and end it as amicably as possible. If not, then go all in and capitalize on some much needed vacation

 

[Lobster Roll]

My SO did it and the first few months were optimistic. They got to like five different final interviews in a six month period and lost out to a single candidate each time. It was odd jobs and gigs for a while after that and they're much better off than how they started. They would strongly advise against it, regardless. The stress had them broken down for quite some time.

 

[TaySan]

I'm soon going to quit my job with nothing lined up moving to another state. I'm not too concerned I'm sure I will find something.

 

[TheSkullPrince]

Don't do it.

I did it once and my main stress went from the shit that I had to deal with at work to financial real quick.

At least start looking. You might get something lined up real quick since supposedly it's a hot job market right now, but please take everything into consideration and have a plan.

 

[aerts1js]

Don't. People always think they're gonna find "something" relatively quick and then realize it's gonna be a lot more difficult than planned.

 

[ryan299]

No, but I want too. Really frustrated with my company and having to bail them out for poor operational issues. Can't quit because I have a house and a baby on the way. I asked for a large raise poised as a salary adjustment which is warranted given what I do and what they're paying lesser roles near my pay. Not sure if they'll do it, but I'm probably stuck until the end of the year after the baby is born.

IMO its always best to have something lined up. too difficult to live without a job unfortunately

 

[Coolluck]

OP, I did something similar but it was just because the company I was working for were Trumpers. The job itself was pretty bland and inoffensive outside of a rules-oriented boss. I had a partner at the time and we had just downsized our living expenses by moving in together. I took the lowered costs and nest egg to give myself time to breathe and figure out what I wanted to do next. Went home to see my folks for an extended time. Probably the last time I get to do that. It was great. But then the job hunt took longer than expected and the only jobs available were even more ethically sketchy. All in all, I was unemployed for about 9 months. I had begun digging into my savings and was starting to get nervous. The job market is better now than it was then for my field and I had some experiences during that time I won't have again.

The next job I found ended up in a similar situation to yours. Except I also got passed over for not being cheery enough while fulfilling the duties of a department head on the same title and likely similar pay as peers. When they found out I was interviewing elsewhere, I was let go. Got some unemployment to pad out the roughly month and a half between jobs so I just didn't save quite as much during that time. It was nice and made the hunt way less stressful.

I'm soon going to quit my job with nothing lined up moving to another state. I'm not too concerned I'm sure I will find something.

Click to shrink...

But aren't you living with your dad? That's a different situation then what OP is describing. If they don't have a support system in place, it's a much scarier situation.

 

[Baphomet]

I quit a great paying job in Alaska but in my case, I had to move very urgently so I didn't have time to look for another job.

 

[Zip]

A friend of my wife did, but she seems to treat jobs pretty disposably, and weirdly she seems able to get new jobs that pay more pretty quickly when she looks.

I don't get how some people do that, but that's probably related to how it seems I have always had to struggle to find a new job. I would never quit without having something new lined up.

 

[Tavernade]

I quit a full time job to go part time and get a Master's. It was probably the best mental health move I've ever made in my life, but the only reason I could pull it off was because of family help and the part time job having good benefits.

 

[Jakisthe]

Do not ever do this. There is no outcome which is preferable to "looking while working" outside of the very short term (by which I mean yeah on an hour to hour basis in the beginning you might feel you have more energy for it).

At which point you'll find that, depending on your field, employers will look at it somewhere on the scale between "this person is lazy and a poor planner" to "never talk to us again; find a new career".

 

[Cat Pee]

Did this a few months back when I was exiting a shit situation filled with incompetence (they're now under active investigation for wage theft). They decided to accept my 3-week resignation with immediate effect at the end of the first week, but still paid me for the remaining two weeks. Fortunately I interviewed for and was offered a role the same day for about the same pay, so I had a couple weeks paid vacation where I continued to apply and try to interview at places.

I would only recommend it if you have some combination of substantial savings, familial support, a hot job market in your area, and easily transferable or a niche skill set. I'm fortunate enough to be a great interviewee in the right circumstances, and combined with the good market in the Twin Cities area it hasn't been difficult, but your mileage may vary depending on how you can market yourself and the state of the employment market in your city.

 

[bionic77]

Jobs are not hard to get at the moment.

You should probably ok but my one piece of advice is to not just burn your savings.

Find something part time that starts 2 weeks after you leave and take it easy for awhile. Then figure out what you want to do.

 

[Vish]

My mom did right before the 08 recession hit. Even in this market I wouldn't gamble.

 

[thewienke]

The reality is that it's substantially easier to get a job if you already have a job. For whatever reason employers don't like it when people go jobless for a bit because they worry you were having some kind of issues or worse - that you don't actually need the paycheck. Simple things like interviewing is easier when you're still employed because it's a lot less pressure.

You also need to have a strong network in your area that can pull you back into the labor market. If your outside network is basically zero then it's practically no different than moving to a new city and starting from scratch which is exceedingly difficult. I've been a "trailing spouse" a few times when moving and it's taken me over a year to find a job - twice. So I would prepare at least 12 months of savings including unexpected expenses.

On the upside this is a great labor market right now - provided you have lots of in demand skills and experience (or if you're gunning for a basic labor/retail/service job). I would just start looking and see if you can get a big pay raise too?

 

[Socivol]

Im resigning from my six figure job in two weeks with nothing on the horizon. I am exhausted, brunt out, and hate the company culture. I am using my learning stipend at my current job to take some online courses while I am off and looking elsewhere.

 

[Grue]

I've done this twice.

First time was when my manager asked, completely out of line, "Aren't you ashamed?" I quit (almost) on the spot out of anger and whilst it was satisfying, it probably wasn't the smartest move.

Second time was out of a need to push myself to do something different. I recognized there was a risk I would be doing the same job for decades, and I needed to be thrown out of the nest to avoid it.

But I can't speak for you OP. In both instances I didn't have family, responsibilities, I was young, etc. If at all possible I'd say lining up something else, maximizing what you can accrue in the meantime, is the most sensible option.

Wishing you luck either way.

 

[Maximo]

Never have quit a *decent* paying job without having another lined up, but have definitely quit shit ones without notice in the past.

 

[MobileSuitReactor]

I guess it depends on what you mean by decent, but I quit my job teaching abroad to move back to the US. I had a plan (which worked out) and a reason for doing so though. I ended up crashing at my parents house for a year after until I got a full time teaching job and saved up enough to get my own place again.

Click to shrink...

Also did this....twice

The first job after quitting I found a few months later was one of the best jobs I've ever had.

Second time after quitting, I picked up an entry level job after a few months which eventually led me to my first job that let me work from home.

I might have to quit again if my current career doesn't accelerate fast enough or stay exciting for me.

 

[Forerunner]

I did it back in 2018, but money wasn't too much of an issue and my parents let me move home until I found something better, so I had a lot of safety nets. My current job is much better. That being said, I don't think I would do it again. Job searching is stressful and demoralizing.

 

[Piston]

I've contemplated this from time to time but I definitely do not have enough saved up at this point to not severely hamper my chances of retiring early. Instead I've focused myself on that goal and it kind of helps keep me motivated at my job.

That said, I think I am planning on doing CoastFIRE at some point in the next 5-10 years if I'm in the right position with savings and retirement to scale back to something part time or gig based to cover my living expenses while my investments compound.

 

[Marvelous]

I've been at the same company for 15+ years but the last 6 months im totally burnt out and literally despise work despite the company as a whole being a good one.my group is understaffed and they don't plan on adding anbody. Only 2 people do my role on a small team.I'm working a ton of hours and even weekends and I'm in the " if I don't do it it will just add to the pile if work I already have " cycle..I'm sure some people know this.. and it blows. I'm really at the breaking point and just want to give 2 weeks notice. Mostly because I'm overworked and you can't get time back.. And my work life balance is terrible right now. I have enough money to live for a while without work but at the same time it's still scary when I'm so accustomed to working.

Who has done this. Was it worth it? Pros and cons?

Click to shrink...

I've done this twice. For me, it was absolutely worth it both times and I don't know what I would have done if I didn't. Weigh heavily the options, and consider the worst case scenario should you run low/out of savings, and truly how you would feel about that situation. If that scares you, it might be better to apply to new jobs while you have one to get out of your toxic situation instead.

If you still want to go through with it, plan to use much less than what you have so you only dip further into your expected savings. At the same time, be prepared to lose more than that as well. For example, I had only planned to use half of my savings, but when I reached the point where I hit that half mark, I decided I still needed a little more time. But before I left the job, I mentally prepared myself to go through every last penny if needed. Take into account how long you think it'll take to get a new job in your field and start the application process before that estimate.

Lastly, unless you need the recommendations/bridges/references (which honestly sounds like you probably don't want from this bad workplace anyways), I'd recommend looking into whether you can plan to get fired and collect unemployment. It's a wonderful safety net, and if you have a job you likely are paying into it. That means that safety net is made of your money, and you deserve to collect it. Don't allow the public stigma to keep you from having all of the options for the betterment of your mental health.

It's definitely tricky and you'll question it at times, but if you can plan it out in a way that truly makes you comfortable - out of a good place and not desperation, I think it can be an amazing reset. It's gotten me through some tough times and if your mental health can handle it, I'd recommend it. I didn't make it a science by any means, just what was enough to make me comfortable, but I'm happy to answer any questions you have, mentally or logistically.