Today I did the unthinkable. I quit my job, with no notice. Even worse I did it over email on a Sunday.
I have been a perfectionist my whole life, a straight-A student chasing gold-star stickers. I was punctual, dependable, and a hard worker. And at 31, I just can’t do it anymore. I assume this is what they call burnout.
I have worked for the past year as a management consultant. Consulting is a high-stress, very demanding job. You are typically traveling 80-90% of the time, which seems great at the beginning with the free food, fancy hotels, and airline rewards programs, but quickly all I could think was:
“I just want to be at home.”
The problem was, I have just gotten married and moved to Silicon Valley in California. Money was tight, and I could not afford not to work. We just bought a f***ing Tesla for Christ's sake. I told myself to just keep going and focus on finding a new job even if it meant a pay cut. Anything to get me out of this job.
But, last week, I got sick. Some sort of cold/flu virus that kept me off work for 2 weeks. Well, to clarify, I wasn’t getting paid for my sick time away but I was still forced to join client calls and complete some deliverables.
This was the 4th fairly severe illness I had faced in the last year of working in consulting. I had heart problems, anxiety disorders, COVID, 2 miscarriages, and run-of-the-mill colds. Prior to this job, I had never had any serious health issues, I barely ever got sick, and was happy-go-luck, and full of energy.
I had enough, and although I didn’t have much in terms of savings I quit. Not only that, I quit with no notice and over email on a Sunday. At this point, I didn’t care about the fact I was supposed to start a new client project on Monday. All I cared about was getting my health back.
The company regularly fired employees with no notice, so I think it is just as fair that I leave with no notice.
I sent my resignation email indicating I was going to focus on healing my body and mind.
Then, I blocked my boss’s number from my cell phone.
What am I going to do for money? Well, I have about 2 months' runway (a.k.a. money from my last paycheck). I don't have emergency savings, because all that went to the wedding and cross-country move costs so basically, I'm starting from nothing.
My two options for making money are:
1) Start a business (work for myself)
2) Find another traditional job
Option number 1 is what I really want to do. I have spent my career building other people’s businesses, but I would rather spend that energy building my own business. The problem is that it takes time to build a business, and I need to bring in income now.
So let’s take a blended approach. I will apply to at least 10 traditional jobs that are typically 9-to-5 jobs instead of 80+ hr work weeks plus travel like I was doing. The rest of my day will be spent building my businesses.
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The Working Girl Struggles Blog follows one lost millennial trying to navigate this crazy working world.
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