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Should I quit my job?

1 points by martijn_himself ↗ HN
I would very much appreciate your views and own experience!

I have just recently joined a big company (I mean really big) in the financial services industry as a senior analyst/ .NET developer. We fix bugs and implement changes for an application used within the company. The changes and fixes are implemented in release cycles.

Just a couple of months in I already started to kind of dislike this routine, and the work is not really that creative (although it can be challenging and stressful). It is really quite boring, and I can not really see this changing soon, especially because of the scale of the company and the time it would take before I could move to a role that would be more creative. I have worked for smaller companies where this was better but I would still get bored quite quickly, which did not benefit my productivity.

I have started doing a bit of Android development in my spare time, this is much more rewarding (not in monetary terms) although it is frustrating at the same time, because I do not have time to really pursue this.

I am now considering leaving the job (I am 33, the salary and benefits package is good) to try to start up my own company. I am not sure though if I would be able to handle the stress! Does your tolerance to stress improve when you are doing things you enjoy doing? Should I just quit my job and go for it?

Thanks!

5 comments

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nickswan
How much savings do you have in place? If you have enough for 12 months - go for it. If not - continue the day job, do the minimum, and work on your startup in the evenings and weekends. You can always find an hour or two each day and have plenty of time at weekends. If you really want to start your own company you will find the time.
martijn_himself
Good point. I would have enough to see me through for 12 months. I suppose that is the kind of time you would need to find out if a start up could be successful.
adaptives
Doing something you enjoy is wonderful, but it may take a while for it to start generating revenue. I think if you persist then it certainly will generate revenues.

Since you mention Android development... I believe there are people who are making a good amount of money with Android apps. However, it may or may not come near what a large financial company pays you.

My basic thoughts are:

1. It will take some time to start generating decent revenues, so be prepared to have patience

2. Many people who work on Android apps report their monthly income on the Internet. You may find such articles very useful

3. If you enjoy teaching, you could teach Android courses on the Internet or in a local college. This will help pay your bills while you are making your apps.

4. Try and be cashflow positive. Even if you are not making a lot of money initially, try and make sure that you do not start eating your savings. This will increase the overall sustainability of your venture. Doing some consulting, teaching on the side can help.

martijn_himself
Thank you for the great advice. Especially your point about teaching is something I would not have thought of straight away.
adaptives
Good luck, and wish you success !