When to Leave Your Soul Sucking Day Job

I’ve been back and forth over the last little while, wavering on the breech of a huge decision that will impact not only my career, but my family. Two things have happened:  I’ve found a second job that I love to do; and my day job continues to suck my soul right out of my body.  I can feel myself shrinking even as I find myself growing with the new job.  I’m consistently finding that it takes more and more effort just to keep my mouth shut, because open mouths are not valued in my day job. In order to better prepare myself for a potential career revolution (because it won’t just be a job change), I’ve decided to write a pro/con list.

CON

If I leave, my soul sucking day job, my pension contributions stop.  I’ll still have a pension when I retire, but it will be much less than if I stayed.

PRO

If I do it right, I can more than cover the losses in an IRA if I’m disciplined enough.

CON

If I leave and don’t make it work, it will be difficult to get back into another job like this one.  I’ll have to start from square one as far as pension, benefits and vacation go.

PRO

If I don’t leave, I’ll never know if I could have made it work.

[tweetthis]If I don’t leave, I’ll never know if I could have made it work.[/tweetthis]

CON

I may have to reduce daycare costs to make ends meet.

PRO

If I’m working from home, I won’t need as much in the way of daycare. I  can arrange my schedule to be flexible to their needs, instead of the way it is now. I can also put Bae in a more structured program (which he needs because of his continued speech issues).

CON

As I’ve never worked from home full time before, I might experience issues with discipline.

PRO

A) I seem to be keeping up with two jobs, a university course and life right now – with commitment I can probably make it work.

B) I don’t know if I have enough discipline not to get fired fairly soon (see above re closed mouths).

Decision?

Well…going through the list…it appears that I’ve made my decision.  All I’ve got left now is planning.  I’m going to have to figure out:

A) How much replacement income I NEED to have; and

B) How to make it.

Easy peasy, right?

Have you ever considered a huge career change? How did you manage it?

Want Live By Surprise in your inbox?  Click here to join our mailing list or follow Live by Surprise on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, InstagramPinterest and Bloglovin for the latest updates!

13 Comments


  1. I’m starting a part time job after being at home for almost 10 years, Liv and I’m worried at how I’ll do. Your situtation seems more complicated. Having said that, when we give up things that suck our soul it gives us so much more energy to do what we love with more passion.

    1. Author

      Here’s hoping Corinne.

      Good luck with your new job. Knowing your positive outlook on life, I’m sure that you’ll find rainbows in every corner.

  2. Yes! I am embarking on a career change right now. It’s not my choice since the whole division was laid off. However, it’s just the spark I need to make make some good things happen. I can’t wait! Good luck!

  3. I took the leap from a corporate job into self-employment in 1995 and haven’t looked back. While I understand the practicalities of needing a salary to keep the wolf from the door, (I was a single woman with a mortgage), life is short–and shouldn’t be spent having the soul sucked from your body, IMO. You obviously know the pros and cons/risks and rewards of leaving vs. staying–a thoughtful process that I think will serve you well. Good luck in this next chapter!

  4. Yes. YES! and Yes.

    It sounds really a LOT as though you need to do this. If you feel relief, having made the decision, it’s the right one.

    And yeeeeahhh – I never really had a career. I’m now embarking upon a journey which I hope will give me one.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *