Excellent "I quit my job" speech

[Htown Harry]

From Tess Vigeland, who left Weekend Marketplace on NPR without another job lined up.

Speaking | TESS VIGELAND

She's a young woman (32), and she didn't E-R, but much of what she says would apply.

How do I get back to remarkable?


The ONLY way… is by redefining it.


And I think this is an exercise that’s going to take some time. We all know we’re not supposed to define ourselves, and our success, by money, by page views, by Twitter followers, by fan mail, by audience size. But if you have a job, it does define you in many ways. You spend a good chunk of your day at that job – whether that’s at home or in an office or out in the field. Your lifestyle is sometimes determined by how much that job compensates you. I’m on track right now to make one third of what I made last year. One third. I know that doesn’t define me… but it does contribute to how I see my own value. I like what money allows me to do in my life.

So I need to redefine what success means to me...

 

[Spanky]

Thanks for the link. It's very inspiring to quit a job that you do not want to do even though you have no idea of what is next.

 

[Al in Ohio]

She definitely seems like someone who has her act together and knows whats important to her. Good for her.

 

[CH]

From Tess Vigeland, who left Weekend Marketplace on NPR without another job lined up.

Speaking | TESS VIGELAND

She's a young woman (32), and she didn't E-R, but much of what she says would apply.

It is nice to stand on principle, but from a practical point of view, voluntarily quitting your job without having another one is not a good decision in most cases. Most basically, most people need income to meet their basic needs, and, at least in PA, you cannot collect unemployment insurance when you voluntarily quit your job. Additionally, it has been reported that some employers will not consider you if you are not employed. As a minimum, there is going to be suspicion about the reason for employment gaps. Finally, in many fields, jobs are not easy to find today, so you could potentially be unemployed for some time and your skills deteriorate in the mean time.

 

[akck]

I've actually done it, three times. My reason was different than hers, but was about the same for each job.

Of the three times I quit, the first I had a plan to get a MBA degree. Mind you, I quit before I had even applied and been accepted. The second time, I did have a new job lined up, but I knew I'd be leaving before I even applied for it. The third time I had nothing lined up. Planned to do temp work until something permanent came along.

Each new job was a cut in pay and we struggled for a period, almost as bad as between jobs. In the end, each new job's pay exceeded the last. In thinking back, I'm probably where I'd have been pay wise, had I stayed in the prior job (hit max ceiling).

I've thought I'm a person who could only work at a place for 10-12 years before moving on. Maybe not so surprisingly, the start of the process was a change in upper management each time. I last about 1-2 years after the change. I'm coming up on a new 1-2 year period, but this time I have a plan. I'd guess though that even if I wasn't retiring shortly, I'd be leaving about the same time.

So, I can understand what she's going through. Change is hard. The unknown is hard. Being where you don't want to be is worse.

 

[Gumby]

From Tess Vigeland, who left Weekend Marketplace on NPR without another job lined up.

Speaking | TESS VIGELAND

She's a young woman (32), and she didn't E-R, but much of what she says would apply.

Her speech was a little too solipsistic for my taste.

 

[Al in Ohio]

It is nice to stand on principle, but from a practical point of view, voluntarily quitting your job without having another one is not a good decision in most cases. Most basically, most people need income to meet their basic needs, and, at least in PA, you cannot collect unemployment insurance when you voluntarily quit your job. Additionally, it has been reported that some employers will not consider you if you are not employed. As a minimum, there is going to be suspicion about the reason for employment gaps. Finally, in many fields, jobs are not easy to find today, so you could potentially be unemployed for some time and your skills deteriorate in the mean time.

I did it in my twenties and I'd do it again. I did not yet have a family and I had confidence in my self worth. I also had over 12 months living expenses saved up. It became the stepping stone for my professional career vs a factory job. In your 20's and 30's you can take risks that can yield big rewards. You have to be confident and have guts.

 

[Focus]

She's a young woman (32), and she didn't E-R, but much of what she says would apply.

Actually, she may be closer to ER age than you think. I believe, putting two and two together, that she's saying she was 32 when she got the Marketplace Money job in 2001. So she's at least in midlife crisis territory, which helps explain all the self-questioning she's going through.

Count me among those (perhaps few) who weren't sorry when she left the show. I thought it was apparent her heart wasn't in personal finance, and I sometimes found myself disagreeing with the program's approach and assumptions. Hopefully, she'll find her true passion soon.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

meh

 

[RunningBum]

It is nice to stand on principle, but from a practical point of view, voluntarily quitting your job without having another one is not a good decision in most cases. Most basically, most people need income to meet their basic needs, and, at least in PA, you cannot collect unemployment insurance when you voluntarily quit your job. Additionally, it has been reported that some employers will not consider you if you are not employed. As a minimum, there is going to be suspicion about the reason for employment gaps. Finally, in many fields, jobs are not easy to find today, so you could potentially be unemployed for some time and your skills deteriorate in the mean time.

I agree with this. It may work out for some, but generally you are in a better position to get jobs, or be picky about your next job, if you already have one. Plus from an ER perspective you are better off continuing to accumulate rather than dipping into retirement funds.

Of course there are times when you just have to get out, if your sanity requires it, or the job is just wrong. And sometimes taking some time off to reset and reassess can be valuable. I don't know if that was really the case here, but it's her life, not mine.

 

[Fred123]

She seems very self absorbed. And a little editing would have been good.