I quit my job

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blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Hello, all. Here is the story of how I quit my miserable corporate job, as well as some advice for someone else who is ever considering the same.

I've posted in BYOB here and there about this job, but I'll just say that it has made me crazy over the 2.5 years I've had it. Basically, I was a field engineer, having to do analyses of factories' electrical systems. During the busy times of the year, I would be on the road, staying in hotels for 3/4 of the time. The fact that I was hardly ever at home made it tough to try to get a different job, or take night classes, or whatever. So I stuck with it, but with the plan to get out eventually.

Things came to a head last Monday, when my boss gave me the news that we had scored a contract to do electrical studies in ten coke recycling plants located in steel mills throughout my region (the American Midwest). I had previously analyzed other coke recycling plants, and I knew that they were the worst - disgusting, dangerous, full of code violations, and so on. So the next day, I called up my boss, and said that he didn't need to bother scheduling me on any of these coke plant jobs; I was quitting. His response made me laugh: He was amazed that I had stuck with the job so long, he was excited for me, and he even went so far as to say that he wouldn't want his son to have to do the work I had been doing. Over the next few days, we worked out that I could finish my current projects by June 22, so adding a week for outboarding would make my last day June 29, and I submitted my letter of resignation.

Here's where my advice comes into the picture: I wish that I had asked to stay to the end of July, rather than than the end of June. Why, you ask? Simply because I have a 2-week vacation in July (my first in over a year) and it would have been nice to get paid during that vacation. Once I realized this, I called my boss to ask if there was any easy work that would carry me through the end of July; and his response was that, yes, there was non-steel-mill work I could do, but unfortunately my letter of resignation had started an irreversible process, and I had to leave June 29th. So, my advice is to learn from my mistake: even if you are highly motivated to leave immediately like I was, take a step back and try to think if there are any additional offers/demands you want to add to your departure (such as I'll work another month, but only if it's easy work).

Anyway, where does that leave me now? Well, I can do literally anything with my life, and that open-endedness is tricky. I have the vacation in July, but after that I probably want a part-time job to tide me over until November/December, when my Brazilian penpal invited me to visit her family in Brazil. I'd love to go, but for how long? If I go in early November, I can accompany her to visit Buenos Aires; if I stay through December, I can go to her family reunion on the 31st in Belo Horizonte; and if I stay through February, I can see Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Is it crazy to go live in South America for four months without a source of income other than my trifling web dev stuff? My apartment lease is up in August; should I cancel it and move back to my parents' house? What the hell am I even doing with my life? All I know is that I have no desire to get another corporate job anytime soon; I need a break.

I made a budget for the first time ever yesterday, and it looks like I should be fine for the immediate future. Beyond that, I'm really excited to see where things go next for me.

Life is good. Thank you all for reading my e/n story.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 14:21

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# ? May 31, 2024 07:17

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Oh, also: I built a warming table, so I can try to make image candy, like that goon Leroy Diplowski used to do. Gonna try selling it at farmers� markets as cottage food

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 14:41

Slush Garbo: FALSE SLACK
is
BETTER
than
NO SLACK

Wow! Congrats! Go to Brazil for sure. I dunno about 4 mos., but if you can swing a return flight whenever you want then maybe stay as long as it makes sense?

and nice table! now I have to Google image candy.

e: a bag of dicks gummi candy was the first hit, but then I found real image candy and that's some old school hard candy goodness. I just never heard the term before

Slush Garbo fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Jun 12, 2019

# ? Jun 12, 2019 15:54

Pot Smoke Phoenix: Smoke 'em if you gottem!

Make and sell CBD candy and sell it to vape shops nearby

https://i.imgur.com/QKTkerO.mp4
_{_{Sig elements by Manifisto and Heather Papps}}
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# ? Jun 12, 2019 16:10

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Hugh Malone posted:

Wow! Congrats! Go to Brazil for sure. I dunno about 4 mos., but if you can swing a return flight whenever you want then maybe stay as long as it makes sense?

and nice table! now I have to Google image candy.

e: a bag of dicks gummi candy was the first hit, but then I found real image candy and that's some old school hard candy goodness. I just never heard the term before

Thanks! The actual name for the candy outside the US is "rock candy," but in the US that term means something else, so I say "image candy" instead for clarification. Here is leroy diplowski's thread where he used to sell this type of candy: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3564224

In a previous thread which I can't find, he made a bunch of candy featuring sa emoticons and other goon suggestions, including goatman candy lol

Splatmaster posted:

Make and sell CBD candy and sell it to vape shops nearby

hey, that's a very interesting idea! though, the red tape might be a nightmare

blaise rascal fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jun 12, 2019

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 16:40

Putty: HOOKED ON THE BROTHERS

IMO you should not have quit your job. People are always looking for better opportunities and I'm sure there would have been another job setting that would treat you better with your experience.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 17:06

Manifisto

I actually bought some of the emoticon candy, straight up sugar like this generally isn't my thing but they looked real cool

if you wanted to make :byob1:

as part of your experimenting well that might be neat, might even be popular to buy around secret santa time . . . don't know how many advance orders would be needed to make it worth your while to produce a full batch but consider it

and congrats on making this life move it sounds like a positive

ty nesamdoom!

# ? Jun 12, 2019 17:07

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Putty posted:

IMO you should not have quit your job. People are always looking for better opportunities and I'm sure there would have been another job setting that would treat you better with your experience.

I knew it was a good idea to get out of that job. It was a horrible horrible job. Maybe you mean that I should have had another job lined up beforehand? Perhaps good advice, but I didn't, and that's that. I'm not saying I'll NEVER go back to engineering, just that I'm taking a break for now.

Manifisto posted:

I actually bought some of the emoticon candy, straight up sugar like this generally isn't my thing but they looked real cool

if you wanted to make as part of your experimenting well that might be neat, might even be popular to buy around secret santa time . . . don't know how many advance orders would be needed to make it worth your while to produce a full batch but consider it

and congrats on making this life move it sounds like a positive

I actually made :byob1:

candy like 2 years ago and gave it to city of glompton for secret santa! i don't want to post the link because the rest of the gifts I gave that year were embarrassingly bad.

I'm currently in florida for work, but when I get back, maybe :byob1:

candies will be among the ones I try making...

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 17:22

alnilam

Congrats blaise, i hope this brings you great chill

# ? Jun 12, 2019 17:42

alnilam

My friend quit a similar engineering job years ago and went to Colombia with not much of a plan and ended up staying and like volunteering at a series of hostels for free room and board for something like two years.

I've spent some time in the rural north of brasil if u want any thoughts

# ? Jun 12, 2019 17:44

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

alnilam posted:

My friend quit a similar engineering job years ago and went to Colombia with not much of a plan and ended up staying and like volunteering at a series of hostels for free room and board for something like two years.

I've spent some time in the rural north of brasil if u want any thoughts

Man, maybe I should be like your friend, and not buy a return ticket. My penpal has offered to let me stay at her house as long as I want, and I have some savings to fall back on (more if I sell my car beforehand). What a crazy situation. I feel extraordinarily lucky to have such opportunities.

Yes, I'd be curious to know your impressions of staying in northern brasil! Though, I don't have any plans to go there myself, as of right now.

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 18:15

lol but: body is a dinosaur

ur method of quitting is much more sane & adult than mine

# ? Jun 12, 2019 18:36

Putty: HOOKED ON THE BROTHERS

blaise rascal posted:

I knew it was a good idea to get out of that job. It was a horrible horrible job. Maybe you mean that I should have had another job lined up beforehand? Perhaps good advice, but I didn't, and that's that. I'm not saying I'll NEVER go back to engineering, just that I'm taking a break for now

I just think it's dangerous to have a potential gap in your resume. I do art for a living which is different so IDK.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 20:00

Randy Travesty: PHANTOM QUEEN

Putty posted:

I just think it's dangerous to have a potential gap in your resume. I do art for a living which is different so IDK.

i have major gaps in my resume and they're p easily explained away as "yeah i took some time away to visit family and work on personal projects so that when i went back to work i could focus fully on my objectives." fwiw, i'm also an artist.

congrats, blaise! i'm pumped for you to actually get out and do some badass poo poo with your life. :love:

swing through and visit anytime; we have extra rooms and the bunkhouse.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 20:15

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Putty posted:

I just think it's dangerous to have a potential gap in your resume. I do art for a living which is different so IDK.

I agree. It's also not ideal to have a gap as an engineer. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite me too much in the future!

hamjobs posted:

i have major gaps in my resume and they're p easily explained away as "yeah i took some time away to visit family and work on personal projects so that when i went back to work i could focus fully on my objectives." fwiw, i'm also an artist.

congrats, blaise! i'm pumped for you to actually get out and do some badass poo poo with your life.

swing through and visit anytime; we have extra rooms and the bunkhouse.

Thanks for the offer of a place to stay! It was a lot of fun having dinner with you when I was in STL. I look forward to "doing badass poo poo" which I think means "fecklessly puttering around accomplishing nothing." It's all I've ever wanted out of life

lol but posted:

ur method of quitting is much more sane & adult than mine

Hey man, we're all voyagers on this spaceship earth, trying to figure it all out. No one teaches you how to do stuff like quit a job! It can be tough!

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 20:29

Bo-Pepper: Want some rye?
Course ya do!

Go live with your parents in the meantime as long as they're okay with it. Hell maybe they'll be thrilled. Have no shame in it especially since you're mulling over a long stay away elsewhere. It's needless to finagle some few months long living situation when such a thing is on the horizon. And it will allow you to save money.

As for gaps in your resume are there part time gigs you can take on that you can dress up and make pretty on your resume to minimize the gap issue?

# ? Jun 12, 2019 20:36

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Bo-Pepper posted:

Go live with your parents in the meantime as long as they're okay with it. Hell maybe they'll be thrilled. Have no shame in it especially since you're mulling over a long stay away elsewhere. It's needless to finagle some few months long living situation when such a thing is on the horizon. And it will allow you to save money.

As for gaps in your resume are there part time gigs you can take on that you can dress up and make pretty on your resume to minimize the gap issue?

I think you're right, I should probably move in with my parents. Not that I'm thrilled by the idea, but they've told me I'm welcome in their house.

I don't know of any part time engineering work I can do, but I've already been offered a part time job at a coffee shop right next to my apartment. (Unfortunately, if I'm living with my parents, it'd be like an hour commute.) I'll bet that between that and a few other things, I can present a somewhat convincing argument during a future interview that I stayed very active during the gap.

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 12, 2019 21:08

Goons Are Gifts

I remember you talking about how much you have to travel and I'm glad you did what you wanted, getting out of there. It's true that it's not optimal to have a gap in your resume, but sometimes a break is needed and I don't think it's crazy to get one. Hell, if you talk about it in a future interview it does sound like a sane, adult decision to take a break for a few months until you reorientiate and see what you want to do, as long as you can afford it.

Your advice is good though. Even if a job sucks monkey rear end, one should plan ahead and carry on until the time is right. This doesn't go for emergency situations or if there is a breaking point because it's so unbearably terrible, but in general it's wise to not quit from one day to another.

Wish you the very best in the world, BR! I'm certain you'll find something fresh as soon as you're ready.

# ? Jun 12, 2019 22:46

Stoner Sloth

Just posting to say good luck and best wishes BR - sounds like you definitely needed a break and I hope Brazil is amazing!!

sigs by the awesome Manifisto, Vanisher, City of Glompton, Pot Smoke Phoenix, Nut, Heather Papps,Prof Crocodile, knuthgrush, Ohtori Akio, Teapot, Saosyhant, Dumb Sex Parrot, w4ddl3d33, and nesamdoom!! - ty friends!

# ? Jun 13, 2019 00:24

GODSPEED JOHN GLENN: I put my thumb up my bum and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.

I want to quit my job

# ? Jun 13, 2019 00:40

Randy Travesty: PHANTOM QUEEN

GODSPEED JOHN GLENN posted:

I want to quit my job

Get this:

You can but then money goes away

# ? Jun 13, 2019 02:34

GODSPEED JOHN GLENN: I put my thumb up my bum and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.

hamjobs posted:

Get this:

You can but then money goes away

hosed up

# ? Jun 13, 2019 02:35

Farecoal: There he go

GODSPEED JOHN GLENN posted:

I want to quit my job

Unfortunately NASA will never let you escape with their secrets... alive anyway

# ? Jun 13, 2019 02:37

alnilam

*listening to the tape of strongsad sayinf the word "job" over and over again all night*

_{ty manifisto}

# ? Jun 13, 2019 02:37

The Klowner: by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I'm in a similar situation. I quit my job a few months ago and I've been bumming around since. I'm running out of money and options and I don't know what to do with my life.

# ? Jun 13, 2019 03:45

Randy Travesty: PHANTOM QUEEN

The Clowner posted:

I'm in a similar situation. I quit my job a few months ago and I've been bumming around since. I'm running out of money and options and I don't know what to do with my life.

Have you tried being a cereal killer?

# ? Jun 13, 2019 04:06

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Thank you for the well wishes, GAG and stoner sloth!

The Clowner posted:

I'm in a similar situation. I quit my job a few months ago and I've been bumming around since. I'm running out of money and options and I don't know what to do with my life.

Oh, no! If you don't mind me asking, are you applying for work? Do you have a job right now?

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 13, 2019 13:48

KaiserSchnitzel: Hey baby I think we Havel lot in common

You had me at "my Brazilian penpal" and I think we need to explore this issue.

# ? Jun 13, 2019 14:19

Farecoal: There he go

*yospos_brazil_penpal_story.txt*

# ? Jun 13, 2019 14:34

super sweet best pal

I don't blame you OP, even a short commute across town is too much for me.

# ? Jun 13, 2019 15:50

lmbo calrissian: i'm into fashion
men are my passion

Congratufuckinglations !

# ? Jun 13, 2019 17:58

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

KaiserSchnitzel posted:

You had me at "my Brazilian penpal" and I think we need to explore this issue.

I should mention that it's a platonic thing! About four years ago, I tried to learn how to speak Portuguese. With the help of a language interchange website, I found a woman twice my age living in southern Brazil trying to learn English, and we began exchanging correspondences.

This penpal and I have stayed in touch all these years, talking quite frequently. My friendship with her is probably the most wholesome, wonderful thing in my life. She introduced me to a bunch of stuff, including tango dancing, which have become very important to me. She and I have talked about meeting in person for a while now, and it looks like this December, we might finally get the chance.

(In case you're curious, the reason I initially tried to learn Portuguese is that I was trying to impress a Brazilian girl I was dating. The girl I dated is long since gone from my life, but I've kept up my Portuguese studies because my conversations with my penpal are so rewarding.)

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 13, 2019 18:52

blaise rascal: "Duke, Duke, Duke, Duke of Pearl...."

Well, it looks like the law has decided to ruin my plans. Twice!

I don't think I can legally make CBD candies in the US because CBD oil is not classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the FDA, so putting it into food is still a federal crime - even if CBD oil is no longer a controlled substance per the 2018 Farm Bill. So yes, those CBD gummies you can buy down the street and on a million websites appear to be against the law.

Also, I can't legally work or volunteer in Brazil without a temporary work/volunteer visa, which I can only get if, among other things, I have proof I have a job lined up before I leave. Not impossible, but certainly not easy - and definitely something I'd have to commit to. Considering this, it seems likely I'll just get a round trip ticket for like three weeks, and go on a tourist visa.

Anyway, I'll probably close this thread real soon. Thanks again for the congratulations

blaise rascal fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Jun 13, 2019

ty vanisher, ty khanstant

# ? Jun 13, 2019 19:09

Slush Garbo: FALSE SLACK
is
BETTER
than
NO SLACK

i bet you could find a volunteer thing or even a job! it is a big commitment, you've got a lot to think about

also seconding the very good advice to live with the folks and make us byob candies

i bet you can sell awesome handmade artisanal locally sourced image candies without the cbd gimmick, though it'd've been cool

# ? Jun 13, 2019 19:48

Randy Travesty: PHANTOM QUEEN

I'm really proud of you, Blaise. You made a decision and you went with it and you're handling things well. You seem happier already.

# ? Jun 13, 2019 20:39

Randy Travesty: PHANTOM QUEEN

Also I will legit overdose on sugar if you start making rock candy. Especially if they have tiny strawberry pictures in them. Strawberry rock candy is basically my favorite thing on this planet and I was sad when our goonfriend stopped making them. I'm pumped to see what you come up with!

# ? Jun 13, 2019 20:40

Stoner Sloth

Hey BR - might it be possible to find a volunteer org? Sounds like that might be a good way to score a temporary visa on that basis?

Either way good luck and hope things go well, even if Brazil is just a short visit it sounds v interesting and fun!

# ? Jun 14, 2019 01:48

Papa Was A Video Toaster

Farecoal posted:

*yospos_brazil_penpal_story.txt*

ur not allow to post
e:that

# ? Jun 14, 2019 06:07

sb hermit

just want to pop in here before it locks and say good job br and good luck

Stoner Sloth posted:

Hey BR - might it be possible to find a volunteer org? Sounds like that might be a good way to score a temporary visa on that basis?

Either way good luck and hope things go well, even if Brazil is just a short visit it sounds v interesting and fun!

would this work stateside to fill in resume gaps?

# ? Jun 14, 2019 07:13

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# ? May 31, 2024 07:17

Goons Are Gifts

So far I figured from various friends that had small or big gaps in their resume that you can overcome the negative image from it if you have a reasonable ground to argue that you did do something in between. Volunteer work is a great way, same for an internship to get the feeling into for a new field or even just traveling and learning a bit to combine a much needed break with the intention of further enhancing yourself.

I assume this drastically depends on the job and the guy that sits in front of you during the interview, but whenever you can provide some reason for why a gap happened and it's reasonable or even useful, it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

# ? Jun 14, 2019 10:53

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