OT: How do you know when you should leave your job.

[rob101]

For about 2 months now I've been looking for a new job it looks like to get the one I really want I will have to wait at least another 3 or 4 months. I have lots of reasons for leaving but sometimes I worry that I am giving up too easy or something.

I mainly hate the culture of this company outside of where i work and I am very concerned that there is no possibility for developing my career at the rate that I am expected to by my peers and profession if I stay where I am(getting whats called a CP Eng).

My question is when do you know that you should leave your job and not and just stick it out? I mean a kind of question that you would have a straight yes or no answer to.

[yaofeng]

When you are not happy and you do not foresee changes coming.

[rob101]

Thanks for that, yeah I didn't want to turn this into one of those 5 pages long I hate my jobs rant that we've had here in the past. So thats the kind of simple answer I want, any other view points?

[BigKriss]

When you don't like it. When you start saying to yourself, "I hate this job", then it's time to leave.

[GJPinAU]

Rob, you're lucky not to have any "dependents" and you are still young enough to leave one place of employment and be accepted at another.
If you're unhappy where you are - CHANGE!

,
Greg

[Tiger]

Not a pro but this is how I see it. It is time to leave when your job pays leave you struggling to survive or barely making ends... this is more like leech job... they suck the life out of you.

But, you got to make the transition, seek other jobs before you leave. There is a protocol on how to leave your old job so beware of your position and what it takes to get out.

[markus]

you didnt mention how long u were at your current job. if you are still doing the shitty work and the company hasnt noticed then yea id start looking.

[rob101]

Not a pro but this is how I see it. It is time to leave when your job pays leave you struggling to survive or barely making ends... this is more like leech job... they suck the life out of you.

But, you got to make the transition, seek other jobs before you leave. There is a protocol on how to leave your old job so beware of your position and what it takes to get out.

yeah I have already checked up on that, I understand that I will probably have a month of hell, but i have no duties that could come back and bite me at a later date.... fortunately.
I once read that you should try and get paid what you're worth and not what you want. ie if you want to get paid more increase what you are worth to the company. I feel that I can't really make big steps to increase my worth where I am which is in stark contrast to the place where I am trying to get a job.

Yeah in response to markus it'll be two years in August. sure its not along time but friends of mine have made significant steps towards being a fully fledged professional engineer (and will probably be one in a year's time) I have not and when i've spoken to my boss about it he could give a rats. That and its costing me an extra $4k per year to drive to the other side of town when the other job is a 15 minute busride away. which leaves my e34 soaking up the garage ambience instead of being driven 400 km per week. Now I know for sure that I will break even or get more money even if my total income is less (because of the reduced transport costs). But the amount of opportunities to get extra training and skills at the other place which is a consultancy, is much larger. I also feel that when the resource boom stops the job market in engineering is going to tighten up so i need to develop myself otherwise i'd be up the creek without a paddle in 5 years time.

Guess the biggest problem is waiting 4 months and pretending everything is hunky dory at work. Because most morning I just don't want to be here. But at the same time i don't want to slack off either, but i find it hard to maintain motivation.

[LunatiC]

These are the factors that I consider to be vital to your decision Rob:

1) When you think to yourself "This job is taking me no-where" or when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel with the path that your employer has given you (I have experienced this myself)
2) When you think to yourself "This job is so crap"
3) When you think to yourself "This job is so crap and I'm not being paid enough to do it"
4) When you aren't happy with your job due to the points above, or any other reasons

Greg has made a very good point in that if you are unhappy now, it is easier to move onto bigger and better things than when (if?) you are married and have mouths to feed. If you don't make the move now to something better, it will be a lot harder down the track to do the same move -- also you would have had to put up with the same crap for longer, whilst minimising your chances of making a clean break and a smooth transition to a better job.

Good luck Robbo

[LunatiC]

I once read that you should try and get paid what you're worth and not what you want. ie if you want to get paid more increase what you are worth to the company.

This is a double-edged sword IMO. I have heard your little stories (and rants ) in MSN about your employer and how slack they are, if you go around trying your earnest to be the model employee and pick up whatever other people are leaving behind, you may drop into the bottomless pit of your employer thinking "Wow, rob is doing so much and I don't even have to give him a raise!"

Yes, what you said is right, but if you want to be paid more money you have to ask for it. Maybe if you are considering to stay where you are, do the hard yards now and then ask for more money. If they tell you to shove it, then leave and they will most certainly cry and beg for you to come back, since no slack-arse at your workplace is willing to do their job alongside yours.

Guess the biggest problem is waiting 4 months and pretending everything is hunky dory at work. Because most morning I just don't want to be here. But at the same time i don't want to slack off either, but i find it hard to maintain motivation.

Why do you have to wait 4 months?