Leaving a job

[Happy Skunk]

Gatsby is Back

[Enough Exams Already]

I did. It was a mistake. The boss I wound up with...well, we didn't mesh as well as I had hoped. The money certainly didn't make up for it.

If I had to do it again, I still would have made the move--I needed the money. But maybe I wouldn't have jumped JUST for the money. Maybe I would have waited till I found a better place for me that paid as much.

[McUSA]

I think the biggest predictor of whether you will be happy at your next job is whether you are happy at your current job.

So, unless there is something very unique at your current company, you probably have a good attitude towards work and would likely be happy at your next job.

I think the worst thing about changing jobs is the initial period where you don't know very much, not sure what the boss expects, and not sure about the company culture.

[42]

I think the biggest predictor of whether you will be happy at your next job is whether you are happy at your current job.
I think this may be true for some people, like the top 10% of employees who will be happy with whatever job they're in no matter what and the bottom 10% who will constantly complain and find something to make themselves miserable no matter where they are. But for the 80% in between, I think the specific company and job can have a big impact on how happy you are. Every company/job has certain problems and certain perqs, but these problems and perqs vary from one company/job to the next. Every person has certain problems that they can tolerate and others that they can't, as well as certain perqs that are important and others that are not. The trick is to find a company and job that has the perqs that are important to you and where the problems are ones that you can tolerate.

I think the worst thing about changing jobs is the initial period where you don't know very much, not sure what the boss expects, and not sure about the company culture.These are all true. But let's not forget the best thing about the initial period: you're there because somebody specifically chose you (not just because you have hung around the company so long that they don't know how to get rid of you). The people that selected you for the job have a definite interest in seeing that you succeed, since this makes them look better for their decision to hire you. It's nice to have people biased in your favor for a while! :D

[AC]

I agree with 42. Your current job has nothing to do with your liking of the next job. I am speaking not only from my own experience, but also from speaking with other people. I can't say that my current job is prefect, but it is definitely more tolerable than my last job.

[McUSA]

"42" makes some wise points beyond his or her low number. 8)

However, I have seen people (both actuaries and non-actuaries) who are so "happy" in their current job they would never consider leaving. Most of that "happiness" revolves around their co-workers and bosses. Some of these people were really underpaid and not working to their potential.

My point is that if you have friends at your current job, you'll probably have friends at your new job as well. It might be a good thing to get out of your "comfort zone."

That said, there are some pretty terrible jobs and environments out there. If you are miserable, you could probably could do better, unless this is your 3rd job in 5 years and you are still miserable. Then I would do something else.

[Waylon]

I have changed jobs for money when I was content in my job. It was a hard decision. There were other benefits of changing such as commute time. No regrets.

[Lee Mellon]

McUSA - I really wish you had qualified your advice to include: "if working to your potential or best salary is your prime motivation." I've had good jobs that I would not have left for more money, but was willing to leave because the situation turned sour. I don't think I'm the only one that has found that a great work situation - good chemistry with coworkers etc, is much harder to replace than a fat salary.

[McUSA]

I suppose that every job has 3 aspects:

1. Environment - amount of work, corporate culture, type of boss, stress, etc.

2. Opportunity - Advancement potential, interesting work, networking potential, etc.

3. Money

Note that #1 and #2 overlap to some degree, but I am thinking of #1 as things good to you personally and #2 as things good for your career.

Now, when you take a new job, you can more easily ascertain #2 and #3 than #1. However, you should certainly try to learn about #1 as much as possible.

Gatsby's original question was basically should you leave a good situation in #1 for a better situation in #2 and #3. If there is no reason that you think #1 is different at your new job (other than the initial discomfort), then I think you should take the job, unless you really don't care about #2 and #3.

[WinnieThePooh]

I have never moved for salary, but now it is becoming a concern.

For me it depends on what stage of your career you are in. If I was relatively junior (less exams) I would try to get the proper experience and not worry so much about the money. As you try different things then you try to move to places you think are interesting for yourself. Once you know what you want to do then, I would just get the job that pays the best and have an environment, people, work hours etc... which I could handle.

You can usually ask to meet "the team" before getting hired, this will likely help you to decide if someone just rubs you the wrong way.
PoohBear

[SMOKIN' ACTUARY]

to switch to another company where I would be handling both pricing and reserving from a corporate level. It is pretty high profile.

My present job is good. I happy with the environment and my cooworkers are great, but the work is limited in scope. I prefer looking at the big picture.

I would be sacrificing a very nice job environment for a substantial increase in pay and a more challenging fulfilling job.


It is a tough decision.