Ask HN: Should I leave a high paying first job within the first 2 months?
I'm a recent graduate who managed to secure a high paying job at a Tier-1 Investment Bank doing entry level IT work (Graduates Program). Its been 2 weeks since I've joined my team at my desk after my 3 weeks of training and I don't like it at all.
The job is boring, the team is dysfunctional and the corporate systems and processes are just getting depressing.
During my undergraduate days, I've started a couple of businesses and was able to survive on doing freelance webdevelopment for startups. I have no idea why I applied for this current job, but I thought it was something I should do after all my peers all did.
I'm thinking of leaving my company perhaps to join a small startup or start my own freelance development business again but I'm not sure if its the right move. After all, I'll most likely be taking a significant paycut and I don't know if the new job will be any better.
I know most of my peers would kill to be in my current job, but I'm just not happy in it. HN, what should I do?
9 comments
[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 32.4 ms ] threadI was in a situation like you not so long ago : Right out of college I got a good paying job (probably not as good as a bank) but after a year I started to hate my job. I promptly switched to a small startup and I asked to work 4 days a week so I can do some freelance work on the side. I love my startup job and I love doing freelance work and I hope to be able to switch to full time freelance sometime in the coming years. Overall, it's been the best decision I have ever made in my life.
Not necessarily true. It's more important to be happy about your life than to have money. But sometimes working at a job you dislike can bring a net happiness increase. Two ways this can happen:
1. The income prevents a financial disaster.
2. The income allows you to save or pay down debt so that you can eventually achieve other important goals.
Also: if you're going to post a question like this, I'd suggest not doing it with a Hacker News handle that looks like a real name. Consider if your employer read this post before you told them you were leaving, or worse yet if you decided to stay.
One thing I learned over the years, there is no large company that truly depends on an employee. The machine will keep on ticking, even if it has a little bit of difficulty for a short (relatively) period of time.
To the OP: If you can handle your existing financial responsibilities with the change, then by all means go for it.
I wish I had followed it as much as I believe, but... if you do what you enjoy/love then enough money will follow.
Like you, I got sucked in to a job with the salary and then after getting married the spouse wasn't comfortable with taking the chance on leaving.
EDIT: As far as your friends go.. They are not the one's living your life. (yet another one of my mistakes).
That is rarely a good reason to do something. I would say leave now...jobs you hate now rarely get better later. I left a job after only 3 months even though it looked like a dream job - sexy startup, free fully-stocked kitchen, half-day Fridays, free "Cadillac" health insurance, 4 weeks vacation and bonuses in excess of 100% of base salary. I just didn't agree with how they ran their business. I just happened to immediately find a better job, but if I hadn't, I would have gone the freelance route until I started my own business.