Hey everyone!

So: a bit of background. I was living out west. Hated my job. Had quarterlife crisis. Quit my job and quit the Chartered Accountant program (like the American CPA) - total time elapsed between making the decision, quitting and moving being about three weeks. Moved cross-continent and bummed around visiting family and friends for a month and a half.

Mid June, I picked up a one year contract job at a great organization. It's focused on helping exporters, I have a great team, decent hours, lots of time to pursue other interests like languages and Sommelier school.

A permanent job opened up. As in one with benefits, pensions, stability, promise... and I finally applied. But I kept putting it off. And I guess I'm really anxious about it because they generally expect people to make a two year commitment (once they train you, etc.), especially if you make permanent. So right now, I'm at the six month and two day point... meaning I would be here for another year and a half, perhaps.

I know I should be excited about the opportunity I applied for... but I don't know if I really want it. And in this economy I know I should want it. I'm a month away from being 25 and I'm nowhere near as awesome or as cool as I thought I would be when I was still an impressionable teenager.

Anyway. I guess I just have anxiety about it? Maybe it's the fact that after spectacularly failing in public accounting I'm not ready to make another long term commitment to a job.

Would it be irresponsible of me to take the permanent job, negotiate a payraise and live off my current salary, using the pay raise to pay off the nasty debt I have accumulated with the idea of eventually quitting the job entirely to take off and follow my dreams? At what point does one get too old to run away and escape a cubicle?

hi meag! was wondering what happened to you.

i can kind of relate to you. back in uni, i was so burnt out and depressed because i felt like my schooling, though necessary, was holding me back from everything. i got the best job i could ever hope for straight out of college.. i was so excited for it!! i loved my job. it's a great stepping stone to my big career goals. but now.. 2.5 yrs later, it's not as rewarding as it used to be (even though the projects have changed and i'm doing different things). it's just a job. i feel like my eyes have glazed over, and the all-too-familiar feeling of burning out and claustrophobia is setting in. i'm starting to wonder if some people just have internal timers that go off once every couple of years and the only way it'll stop is if something big happens.

so, i duno.. what IS being irresponsible? if you feel miserable when you're boxed in, you shouldn't prolong that misery because making yourself wake up every single morning to do something you're hating more and more is not healthy. but on the other hand, if you don't have a job, you're being irresponsible in the traditional sense.. what about your rent? what about your retirement? what about saving for the future? what if an emergency happens and you need lots of $ to take care of it? there's gotta be a happy medium somewhere in there..

oh yeah, and DEBT SUCKS. i feel your pain.

BNA is a dreamers website... so I went through a very long period where I couldn't really see a way out of my job/situation, therefore I never really made it on here. I've never worked for a place that was so quick to put people down and trod all over them.

I mean, I don't even have this job yet. I'm just feeling anxious/boxed in already... but I have responsibilities, like rent and a car lease, that I should worry about. Which is why maybe I should really gun for it, get it and then play the game for a bit until I can really escape and do something I enjoy.

Debt totally sucks! School and living was expensive.

You don't want to be "spectacularly failing" at commitments either. Whilst there's obviously more to life than a career, you don't want your resume at 30 to look like that of the "impressionable teenager" you're moving onward from. Lots of short stints here & there doesn't exactly say "stability" to that great job that you want to land at some point, even if it's bartending in paradise somewhere.

Debt sucks. But so does unemployment. "Quarterlife Crisis" is a challenging time...but not nearly as challenging as a "Midlife Crisis" will be for sure if you've managed no means of being able & stable to sustain yourself over time.

None of us enjoy being in that job we just can't stand, wherein it saps every ounce of our emotional strength just to get out of bed & drag ourselves to work. But, there's thousands of people today who've just lost their jobs & would give anything to have that problem.

One really cool thing you've done is to broaden your skillsets whilst at the job your'e at. That makes you more marketable, and may open up more doors for you. Make sure you play as hard as you work, that you keep yourself connected, that you've got stuff to look forward to in your personal life at the end of the day & the end of the week, and that your complete frustration with your job doesn't somehow surface on your performance review.

There will simply be no greater feeling in the world than when your season in this difficulty is over, and you can look back on it with a sense of pride that you ran this part of the race well. The persistence, endurance, and perseverance that are refined in you thru this furnace will only help you better enjoy what life's got in it's next chapter for you.

Crap, that all sounds like an Oprah show on steroids...but, take heart & hang in there.

Well you've got to work doing something, right? So you might as well spend the time at a "good" job that has some decent benefits and pays well enough to pay off your debts. Sounds like it will make for some good experience and a nice entry to your resume, and two years isn't really that long. If you keep yourself busy and keep learning it will fly by.

And to answer your last question, you're never too old to run away and escape a cubicle! ;-)

I've had some thoughts about this that I've been trying to put in order...not sure how well I've done.

It sounds like you enjoy your current job, but are concerned about the commitment of taking a permanent position - that it will look bad if you leave in less than 18 months. Basically, what it comes down to in my mind that if you don't mind or, better yet, enjoy your job...you should keep it. Getting benefits and a bit of job security is certainly a bonus.

Even if it's not your dream job, I've come to the conclusion that endlessly seeking a dream job is a recipe for feeling like a failure. You have to work at something to keep the bills paid, and the vast majority of jobs are a bit (or a lot) dull, dream jobs are few and far between.

What's more, avoiding commitment to a job probably means spending a whole career in a constant stream of entry level jobs, which really doesn't sound like fun at all.

Hey Megan,
I was wondering where on earth you had disappeared. I did disappear from these boards, have appeared again, after what seems like ages. Fine, so CPA course sucked. Good you decided to ditch it, early on, if you felt it did not suit you.
I would now say take up this job. Work at it for two years and then you can flee the cubicle again. After all, you have just about finished a round of travels.
Don't be too concerned, I've done this job hop, job quit, travel thing till I was well into my thirties. The only difference, the economy was great and jobs always available. For now, the sensible thing is to take up this job.
Good luck

Here's a couple of thoughts I'd like to add:

1) A permanent job is just a temporary job that continues longer.

I told myself that when I was worried about settling into a job I didn't love but which seemed to be the right one at the time. I had been working there as a temp for six months, then I was told that I had to be made permanent to stay. So, I decided to look at it as 'very long term temporary' and I ended up being at the company 13 years. Not always loving it, but mostly enjoying it and being able to make good money, travel, and work with good people.

2) Trust your feelings.

When I finally left the job (see above) after 13 years due to being layed off. I immediately was offered a "great" job in another company. Great salary, great benefits. But even though I knew I should be happy about the opportunity I went home and ended up getting depressed. So, I turned it down. Instead I took a different job and loved loved loved it. So, it's good I trusted my feelings.

So, my advice to all, is don't feel a job is a forever commitment but don't sign up for something that feels like a jail sentence either.

I agree with what everyone else is saying; take the job and work for two years, pay things off, etc. You never know, maybe they'll be willing to give you a leave of absence or something when you decide to start traveling again. Besides, the economy will probably pick up before then, if you decide to change jobs again down the road.

On a side note, don't worry about age; it's never too late to escape the cubicle! I've had to put off long-term traveling several times (and will now probably be pushing 30 by the time I get to go), but don't regret having the opportunity to save and build a decent resume.

When we have it we dont want it. When we dont , we want it.
Ha, human nature,. I finished Uni in 2003 and havent had the permanent job with benefits, pension etc etc since. But I would say stick it out, save some money (if u can after debts) and think. Think deply about what you want from life. What makes you happy. Implication for the future etc. Its a tough world we live in now. Some say you should stay in the job and are lucky to have one. Others may say do what makes you happy.

Take some holidays to places you dream of. You are NOT restricted to a job for any amount of time. They say 2 years... blah blah blah. Well when your ready take off around the world or whatever. Cos its only you that lives your life. Why ruin it for a job.
Of course jobs are important....,.....
do what you feel is right

There are some old Booties on here!!! Good stuff.

I am always an advocate of just liking your job. Like it where you feel gratified and accomplished but not enough to let it take over your life and define you as a person.

If you LOVE LOVE LOVE your job and are willing to put in insane amounts of hours, chances are you are neglecting another area of your life, be it interpersonal, personal growth, hobbies, travel, random experiences, TIME TO RELAX, balance. I know, if you "LOVE" your job it isn't work, but when you are about to crap out one day and look back on your life, I doubt you are going to want your life to be defined by anything that resembles work, no matter how much you loved it. It will be the time with people that really will have mattered.

If you take the job, you will be able to work off your debt and spend time on other pursuits. When you've paid it off, you will have the freedom to get out there again and do what you love. Don't look at it as being caged into a cubicle but as a way to debt freedom.

PhotoChick

Off topic, but I tallied up the total number of posts by people on this thread.... 11514!!! Not too shabby!

PC

quote:

Originally posted by Liforce:
Well you've got to work doing something, right? So you might as well spend the time at a "good" job that has some decent benefits and pays well enough to pay off your debts. Sounds like it will make for some good experience and a nice entry to your resume, and two years isn't really that long. If you keep yourself busy and keep learning it will fly by.

And to answer your last question, you're never too old to run away and escape a cubicle! ;-)

This is the BEST board for hanging out on when you hate your job - I know I spent the whole 2006 on this board LOL! I quit the cubicle at 45 - that old enough for you?

Unfortunately it took me 20 years to figure out that any job was going to be a prison for me. I just can't do the hold corpate scene anymore I walked away from 6 figures to earn not even 10% working for myself. Freedom is wonderful.

Get rid of the debt. Check out how little you can live on in most of the world- take action. Live your life - get out of the cubicle.
Oh and there is no such thing as a permanent job!

Thats right dont let a job dictate the story of your life. Have one, if you can enjoy it thats great after all we have to spend considerable amount of time in a job. but letting a job rule you, and interfere with your personal life is bad.
i agree this board is good for people who hate their jobs, lol. I was on here during 2005 befoe i took off to mexico. its good to know that you arent the only one with these feelings.

Looks like people on the board have been spying on my life the past few weeks/months and come up with the content.
My 2 cents...

I seem to relate with some part of almost every poster.
Agreed with one of the earlier replies, that a job that helps pay for travel is a trade-off between how much (you think) you hate vs. the speed with which it helps you do your 'fun' stuff.
I am currently in a not-so-great situation in my current place but think I need to stick it out too...ride the wave while I can given the circumstances.
My original RTW departure for March/April 2009 has now been pushed to a tentative Mar/April 2010.
Hopefully I will make it then... or at least out of my current position.

Coming back to the OP though, agreed with the other repliers, you should probly stick it out... work hard, play hard and you'll "know" when the time is right (or the suffering too much as the case may be) to look beyond.