Could You Quit Your Day Job?

You hate the sound of the alarm clock.  You tell yourself you just need 5 more minutes but really meant 5 more hours of sleep.  Then you take a shower and drive to this thing you call work.  On weekends, coffee breaks, and sometimes while working, you think, “If only I could quit this freaking job…” And finally, you wake up from that daydream to the nagging voice of who else, your boss.  Sounds familiar?  Tell me about it.

Though some people may not admit it, sometimes at some point in our careers, we feel this way.  This situation usually happens when people stop trying to make things work and start looking for ways to make the horrible situation end.  I don’t like to criticize people’s choices if ever they felt that they needed to move on and go somewhere else.  But I was hoping I could help you in the thinking process before jumping off the ship.  I have a couple of questions here to help you decide, hopefully, before it’s too late.  Let’s get started.  If you quit your day job…

1. Where are you going? Why am I asking this question?  Because you’ve got to have a direction.  If you quit your day job and not know where to go, you might find yourself feeling the same after a month or two.  Don’t let your emotions blur your judgment.  I suggest you read on.
2. Are you taking a pay cut or will it result to a pay increase?  If it’s the latter, I bet quitting is a very tempting idea.  You’re one lucky person.  But to some, it will mean as a pay cut.  Some people care, some people don’t.  So if it’s a pay cut, would you care?
3. What are you going to do?  Are you joining another company? Will you become a freelancer?  Are you going back to school?  Or are you going to be unemployed for the mean time?  You’ve got to know what you’re going to do next because if you quit now and find yourself bored and penniless because you are doing nothing, this may be a tougher situation than where you are now.
4. Can you afford it?  One of the things that you need to be sure of is whether you could afford to quit.  I think it’s more advisable if you have at least 6 months worth of your salary stashed in the bank if you have no plans of transferring to a new employer.  If you are going to join the freelancers’ bandwagon, you have to understand that work is not constant in the freelance industry.
5. Is there a better opportunity waiting for you?  For some people, better opportunity means better pay.  For some, having the time for the family and friends.  To others, it may mean being able to do what they want do, i.e., photography, web design, blogging, entrepreneurship, etc.  If you do what you love to do, then work shouldn’t be such a drag.  Since you’re leaving, make the move worth it.

Now I’m going to ask you again.  Do you think you could quit your job?  Yes? No? Maybe?  But I hope these questions helped.  Let me know what you think.  Feel free to leave a comment.