Current Events > How do you know when you should look for a "better" job?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like what if I leave this job and the new one sucks even more. Main perk is that I work from home. So any other job needs to somehow outweigh that. Probably through pay and overall job satisfaction.

Anyone ever been in a situation where they hated their job, but was afraid to leave due to uncertainty?
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Need more money

If you hate your job it's time to find a new one imo.
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I do need more money, but I feel like any other job would increase my income by a negligible amount. I'd be trading comfort for pennies.
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Always be looking for a better job and always try to have offers so your job has no power over you.
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when you need more money, feel burnt out, feel there is nothing new to learn and challenge you, etc.

for me it was when i went to work one day and felt like i was kind of on autopilot. i dont hate my job but i just feel like at a certain point my work life turned a bit into Groundhog Day and I realized I could do more than what I am doing now
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I guess I'm just bummed because I applied internally for another position that would better utilize my skills, but I got denied.

I need advice or something to pick me up.
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3khc posted...

I guess I'm just bummed because I applied internally for another position that would better utilize my skills, but I got denied.

I need advice or something to pick me up.

start looking externally, sounds like there's no opportunities for you at your current place
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Yeah I suppose. I had a chance to keep my work-from-home office with that new position, but since that dream is officially squashed, I have to risk going elsewhere.

Fuck I really don't want to have to drive to work everyday. Tell me it'll be worth it. I'm just scared I'll be making the wrong decision.
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3khc posted...

Yeah I suppose. I had a chance to keep my work-from-home office with that new position, but since that dream is officially squashed, I have to risk going elsewhere.

Fuck I really don't want to have to drive to work everyday. Tell me it'll be worth it. I'm just scared I'll be making the wrong decision.

Assuming the promotion you got denied for was a realistic move for you (meaning that you didn't apply to become the CFO with entry-level experience or something) , the writing is on the wall that there is not opportunity to move up at your current company.

Maybe in the future there will be a position open for you, but you're ready to move now, and every second you spend there is going to just be you with your wheels spinning and your skills stagnating. And even then, there's no guarantee there is a future for you at this company and that a position might even open up.

So you have to do what's best for you. I commute about an hour each way to work and honestly I don't mind it much. It sucks once in a while when there's an accident and I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, but most of the time it's tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable. I listen to music or podcasts in the car, sometimes I'll stop for coffee or bring some to drink on the car ride, etc. It gives me time to also transition from being half awake to ready to work in the morning, and it gives me time to decompress after work.

Not saying commuting is great or anything but it's not really a big deal. I'd rather be in an office than work from home anyway.
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Just depends. Here are some of my experiences:

1. At my first job, I was working salary but stiff expected to keep regular bysiness hours. So I worked 45 hours a week because I didn't have anything else to do during lunch. Got a new manager who told me 45 wasn't good enough. No thank you sir, I will not exchange time with Mrs. DevsBro for lining your pockets without compensation. Of course I said "sir yes sir" but I found a new job ASAP. I definitely made the right call.

2. Second job I left mostly because I was faced with a problem I found I couldn't solve. I was supposed to find a memory leak in the softeare and after several weeks of reviewing the code over and over it started driving me crazy that I just couldn't beat this stupid problem. Especially since my boss was expecting reaults and starting to get irritated at the timeframe. Also partially because of asshole clients. I dunno if I really made the right call on that one tbh but it did land me in a much better job in pretty much every way.

3. Current company I can pretty much never leave until retirement age. The benefits are too good. So I've had some rough times... especially lately... but it'll take a while lot to get me to quit.
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working from home is overrated. it's nice to have the option to telecommute if necessary, like if you have medical appointments or other external obligations that interfere with your normal office schedule. the thought of staying at home all week makes me cringe though - I HAVE to get out of the house, and I HAVE to have that bare minimum of social interaction with coworkers

I never telecommute. I did it once at that first job when we got iced in but never again.

My home is my sanctuary. I'm not bringing work into it.
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Go to www.payscale.com and enter all that information and see how you are paid in relation to others for your skills.

I am, of course, at the low end ;_;
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treewojima posted...

working from home is overrated. it's nice to have the option to telecommute if necessary, like if you have medical appointments or other external obligations that interfere with your normal office schedule. the thought of staying at home all week makes me cringe though - I HAVE to get out of the house, and I HAVE to have that bare minimum of social interaction with coworkers

my company gives employees 3 work from home days a month and i think that's a pretty good balance. it's nice to have a day when you can just chill in your PJs and answer emails while eating snacks on the couch, but my productivity goes waaay down when i'm at home and i end up just playing playstation while tapping my mouse every few minutes to avoid my laptop going to sleep.
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Romulox28 posted...

my company gives employees 3 work from home days a month and i think that's a pretty good balance. it's nice to have a day when you can just chill in your PJs and answer emails while eating snacks on the couch, but my productivity goes waaay down when i'm at home and i end up just playing playstation while tapping my mouse every few minutes to avoid my laptop going to sleep.

that's what my mom did when she had her knee replaced. she had no substantial work due but had to VPN in anyway, so she spent most of her days watching TV while mindlessly swiping her laptop trackpad just to keep the monitoring software happy

Romulox28 posted...

Assuming the promotion you got denied for was a realistic move for you (meaning that you didn't apply to become the CFO with entry-level experience or something) , the writing is on the wall that there is not opportunity to move up at your current company.

Maybe in the future there will be a position open for you, but you're ready to move now, and every second you spend there is going to just be you with your wheels spinning and your skills stagnating. And even then, there's no guarantee there is a future for you at this company and that a position might even open up.

So you have to do what's best for you. I commute about an hour each way to work and honestly I don't mind it much. It sucks once in a while when there's an accident and I'm stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, but most of the time it's tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable. I listen to music or podcasts in the car, sometimes I'll stop for coffee or bring some to drink on the car ride, etc. It gives me time to also transition from being half awake to ready to work in the morning, and it gives me time to decompress after work.

Not saying commuting is great or anything but it's not really a big deal. I'd rather be in an office than work from home anyway.

I really enjoy what you said about me being ready to move now and not waiting for my current company. Been trying to look at myself like an asset. Honestly, they fucked up by not hiring me for that position because I know I would have excelled there.

But yeah, those words of wisdom is what I'm looking for. Hypes me back up so I'm not all depressed. Thanks.

DevsBro posted...

Just depends. Here are some of my experiences:

1. At my first job, I was working salary but stiff expected to keep regular bysiness hours. So I worked 45 hours a week because I didn't have anything else to do during lunch. Got a new manager who told me 45 wasn't good enough. No thank you sir, I will not exchange time with Mrs. DevsBro for lining your pockets without compensation. Of course I said "sir yes sir" but I found a new job ASAP. I definitely made the right call.

2. Second job I left mostly because I was faced with a problem I found I couldn't solve. I was supposed to find a memory leak in the softeare and after several weeks of reviewing the code over and over it started driving me crazy that I just couldn't beat this stupid problem. Especially since my boss was expecting reaults and starting to get irritated at the timeframe. Also partially because of asshole clients. I dunno if I really made the right call on that one tbh but it did land me in a much better job in pretty much every way.

3. Current company I can pretty much never leave until retirement age. The benefits are too good. So I've had some rough times... especially lately... but it'll take a while lot to get me to quit.

Currently trying to go back to college to finish a degree, so all my job prospects would be burger flipping tier. Where should I focus my attention?
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