On the Verge of Quitting my Job

Danniboo

Basically as the title says I can't hack my job anymore. I feel like i've wasted years in this job nothing meaningful to show for it. If it were another job I would have left years ago, it's just my uncle got me the job and I guess out of loyalty and feeling bad about leaving I stuck around and that's exactly how I feel now, STUCK and I guess there is worse jobs out there. We're treated well and there's a lot to be learnt. I have no interest in working in this industry. I was close to tears earlier. Over the last year or so it's just got worse, i'm in my late twenties and feel wasted and like a waster. I could have funds of 3/4k available to me if I left though I know that won't last long. I know it's a recession and probably not a good move, but I don't know what to do anymore. I go back to college in September part time for my final year. Any advice or inspiration would be greatly appreciated.

Esoteric_

If you're that unhappy in your job, you should leave. Before you leave though, you need a plan in place for what you're going to do. You'll be disqualified from the dole for 9 weeks for quitting, and while you have 3/4k available to you, that won't last very long.

Do you live at home? If not, is moving home a possibility? If your parents know how unhappy you are, do you think they would help support you until you find a new position?

All I can suggest really is looking for a new job as much as you can in your free time, making plans in case you do leave your current job with no other job in place, and do what makes you happy. Ultimately, if you're that unhappy in your job, you should be leaving it.

Peanut2011

Hey OP,

Many people feel trapped in the jobs they are in, especially in the last few years as availability and possibility of changing careers at this stage are very limited.

What I would say you need to do is weigh up the ups and downs of that job. Is it possible for you to just look at it as a job that helps you fund your life at the moment? Also, do you pay for the college?

Maybe you need to look at where you want to be, what you want to do and start taking steps of getting there. I presume since you are still going to college you are still not qualified. Why don't you just try and get the education completed and see what is possible than.

No point in having yourself stuck on the dole for no reason. After all, that job is just a job to pay bills, while you search for your dream job.

In any case good luck, hope you think it through before making a rash decision.

LittleBook

Danniboo wrote: »

Basically as the title says I can't hack my job anymore. I feel like i've wasted years in this job nothing meaningful to show for it. If it were another job I would have left years ago, it's just my uncle got me the job and I guess out of loyalty and feeling bad about leaving I stuck around and that's exactly how I feel now, STUCK and I guess there is worse jobs out there. We're treated well and there's a lot to be learnt. I have no interest in working in this industry. I was close to tears earlier. Over the last year or so it's just got worse, i'm in my late twenties and feel wasted and like a waster. I could have funds of 3/4k available to me if I left though I know that won't last long. I know it's a recession and probably not a good move, but I don't know what to do anymore. I go back to college in September part time for my final year. Any advice or inspiration would be greatly appreciated.

There are two types of worker Danni ... the one that lives to work and the one that works to live. You desperately want to be someone that lives to work but at the moment you find yourself working to live.

Unless you're being treated badly, no job should have you in tears. I suspect you're panicking which leads to that trapped feeling.

But in reality you're in a company where you're treated well and can learn. You've one year of college left where being on familiar territory workwise will make a huge difference.

If you want something meaningful to show for the work you've done over the years, treat it as a means to an end, the job that got you through college. You don't owe your uncle anything, this is just about you getting through the last year of college and then reviewing the situation ... find that job that makes you want to live to work.

Good luck.

Danniboo

Thanks guys,

Thanks for the helpful responses guys

Moving home is not an option and I probably wouldn't do it anyways.

Stavro Mueller

Danniboo, I could have written your post 10 years ago. I found myself in circumstances a bit like yours. I fell into a job after college which paid the bills but made me miserable. I couldn’t fault the people I worked with but it was me who was making myself unhappy. I felt unfulfilled and that I was frittering my life away in a dead-end, poorly paid job.

I’m now in a different job and am much happier. But let’s scroll back a bit. I would very much advise against you quitting your job. I did that in a moment of madness and regretted it at time. Even now I freely admit that it wasn’t one of my better decisions. Getting up in the morning not knowing when I’d work again wasn’t pleasant. Nor was having to go through the rigours of signing on, collecting my dole and having to manage on a much reduced income. It also raised some eyebrows in interviews and I’m sure it made it harder for me to get another job.

It sounds to me like a lot of the problems you’re having with the job are in your own head. You’re not badly treated which is great. You’re also at college which implies that you're doing something to effect change in your life. Why cut off your nose to spite your face at this time? You’re actually in a position that many people would kill for. You've got a steady income coming in and you're nearly finished a course.

I feel you should change the way you look at your job. Look at it as a stepping stone to something better, rather than a cage you’re trapped in. You might think you’re being wasted where you are but you’re picking up invaluable work experience. You’ll have developed skills that might turn out to be useful in future jobs. You should also look at your wages as being a means for you to do other things outside of work. It's keeping you from living at home, for example. Maybe it's paying your college fees? It means you can treat yourself to things?

When you’re finished college, put your energies into finding another job. You’re not obliged to stay in any job, no matter who got it for you or who’s there. Employees come and go and the world keeps turning.

username123

Danniboo - being in a job does not stop you from looking for another job. So get looking, that way when you quit, it will be to go to something else.

tinkerbell

OP, I think you'd be making a mistake leaving your job before you find another one. Once you quit, that's it - you might find another job really quickly, but you also might not and you might be out of work for months. Can you survive that? €3k/€4k is nothing really, that'll run out very quick. You say you are treated well, presumably you are paid a decent wage too. So stick with the job, it pays the bills and in the meantime, start job hunting, do interviews, etc. Once you get offered a job in your chosen field, then quit your job. But I think you would be very foolish in this environment with the way people find it tough to get a job once unemployed, to just quit without a backup plan.

Danniboo

username123 wrote: »

Danniboo - being in a job does not stop you from looking for another job. So get looking, that way when you quit, it will be to go to something else.

I have been looking

Stavro Mueller

At least you're looking with the safety cushion of having a job already. It's not going to be any different if you go looking while you're on the dole. In fact it could hamper you because you might come across as more desperate.

Look on the job you have as a means to an end. A springboard to something else down the line. People change careers all the time. There's no shame in being where you are at your age. It's never too late to change. Perhaps when you finish college you can do something else.

username123

Danniboo wrote: »

I have been looking

Great. I know its hard to be looking and all, and its hard to be in a job you hate but at least the bills get paid this way. Itd be soul destroying to be looking and looking and getting panicky for money too. If you can do it, mentally switch off on the job. I hated my last job and by the end I was just gritting my teeth and getting on with it. But if you know its just short term you can do that.

And please dont feel you are wasted and a waster!!! I only just saw that, you are so not!!!

Stavro Mueller

You're also in the enviable position of not having a gap in your CV that you'll have to account for. It really is much nicer to be able to say you're currently working in x place. Even if it has nothing to do with the jobs you might be looking for. As much as anything else, employers are looking for people who have a work ethic and are capable of holding down a job. From that perspective you're much better off than the poor unfortunates coming out of college to nothingness.

Doc Farrell

Some very good advice here so mine is a bit redundant but to be honest I don't see that much of a problem here, other than disliking your job which frankly a lot of us have to live with.
I recommend rewriting your post to see all the positive aspects you have going for you.
You are in your twenties and going back to college. You have a stable job and money coming in. You know what you don't like which is half way towards finding what you do want to work at!
So I'm going to get a little tough here. Stop identifying yourself with negative stuff. Look at all the positive stuff you have! Telling someone to walk on the sunny side of the street might seem like twee advice but in your case the sun is beaming down!
How do you get into a positive frame of mind?
1. Calm your mind. Make a cup of tea, take it easy. Don't put on the news or read crazy stuff on the Internet. Take some 'me' time.
2. Get a pen and paper and write down a list of all the things that you can do right now and in the future. Make the list as silly as possible. I'm talking about fashion, sport, travel, charity events, friendships, hobbies. I'm not talking about mortgage and stock options, bills, economic prospects, crime in the inner city, all those things will still be there when you finish writing.
3. Take one of those goals, out of at least 20, and do it this week. Make it an easy one. One of the easiest and a great way to meet the best people in the country is to volunteer for one day only with a charity. Some kind of sporty thing. This rarely fails to re-energize your life.
4. Decide to experience gratitude/ pleasure/ quality of life/ hope for the future. Because ultimately it is a decision that we must make. It's a choice. No one else can force us to be grateful. Just as no one else can force us to give a day of our lives to helping out with a charity.
In order to experience happiness we need to choose to go out and try different things. We will fail many times but happiness is a byproduct of activity, of action.

If all else fails and you feel truely stuck in the mud in life, that is to say, you are depressed, try to remember this: it's quite difficult to remain down in the dumps when another person, particularly another person with a much tougher life, simply say 'thank you' to you. When another person is genuinely grateful for something you have helped them with, that experience cracks open the shell we have put up around ourselves and let's the sunlight in.
Don't take my word! Try it!

okiss

I would use your present job as a steeping stone to another job. I know one girl who handed in her notice before getting another job and she was asked at every interview why she left her last job. If you do this you are putting yourself in a bad position.
I would use the nca.ie budget plan to see where your spending your money & where you could save money. Use this year to build up your savings.
By this time next year you will be finished in college. I would take a few days holidays and go around to as many recruitment agencies as possible as it may take you some time to get a new job. Keep an eye on the internet, papers ect for a new job.
One of my friends is on the dole at the moment and said I can live on it but I would love to get a job as some more money would be nice.
Good Luck.