Comments (42)

1. I quit my job as a mundane telemarketing physician recruiter. When I got home my new friend was waiting to congratulate me. She had moved in beside me 2 months earlier and we had begun dating 1 week prior. I was so excited to be free, I suggested to her that we get married. So, we did. She was my wife 1 week later. That was over 2 years ago and we have a wonderful little 15 month old kid. I’ll never look at quitting a job the same way!

   posted by Tommy on 2-8-2008 at 1:56 pm

2. I quit my mentally stressful job of an events and marketing coordinator at a winery. My main duties included meeting with brides that wanted to use the vineyard for their weddings and coordinating winery events such as a summer concert series. It was a very stressful job, which should have all along been broken into two or three positions. After a year of working there I couldn’t take it any longer and left to a find bigger and better career.

   Weeks after quitting I would wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming about people I needed to have meetings with or who needed to be contacted about paying there bill. It drove my boyfriend crazy when I would wander off in the middle of a conversation to mention someone else I felt that I had forgotten. I couldn’t get the brides out of my head because I had really formed a bond with each one during our communications. I was very relived that the stress of remembering so many things at once was gone but I really had forget how to function without the stress. It’s funny the things I still remember 7 months into my new job, like details of peoples events and which dates they will occur.

   I’m happy to be in a less stressful job, which I don’t have to be in 100 places at one time.

   posted by Karen on 2-8-2008 at 1:58 pm

3. well my story isnt really about quitting but i can relate to your “phases”. i few years back i worked for this company who didnt seem to know how to manage money well. to make a long story short they stopped paying us and finally closed the doors. anyways, i started off like you trying to adjust to not having to go to the office everyday. i kinda felt like i was on vacation and would sleep in and watch tv all day. then i realized that i had expenses and had better start looking for work. i spent most of my days looking for a job. i live in a small town and it is very hard to find a job in my line of work. by the end of the first month of not having a job i went through a kind of “guilty” stange. i was on unemployment (which didnt pay much) and my husband was working as many hours as possible to make up for lost wages. i felt guilty so the time i wasnt spending on looking for a job, i spent trying to be a good “house wife”. i cleaned and cooked like you wouldnt believe! by the end of the second month i went into panic mode. if i didnt find work soon i was going to lose everything. i finally did find work a couple of weeks later, but the short time without work seemed like an eternity!

   posted by nicole on 2-8-2008 at 2:06 pm

4. I quit a crap job at a law firm, I quit dating, I quit karate, I quit drinking Sunny D, I quit pretending to like people and all of it felt GREAT!

   posted by Paprika on 2-8-2008 at 2:13 pm

5. I led worship (music) for a young adult service at my church for almost two years. A new hire at the church who apparently had something to prove assumed format and venue control, moving the service to a smaller building with less resources. This was the last straw for me in an ongoing struggle with the leadership vacuum, and I submitted my end date. The service’s attendance dropped so drastically after the move that it was cancelled before my departure. I’m not used to quitting things – much less at my place of worship – so this was actually sort of gratifying in that it confirmed for me that the ship was sinking with or without my help.

   This wasn’t a sour grapes thing at all, just a desire on my part to be a part of things that work and make sense. I still play at the church almost every weekend.

   posted by Ira on 2-8-2008 at 2:21 pm

6. tues dec. 11th: i ask the people at work for part time b/c i’m signed up for classes. i tell them i need part time b/c i can’t work full time and go classes, but it’s only for 8 months. if i can’t get part time, then i need to leave b/c my education comes first.

   wed dec. 12th: they tell me there’s no way i can do the job part time

   thurs dec. 13th: i turn in my 2 weeks notice

   fri dec. 14th: they ask me if i would be interested in doing part time until they find someone else

   suddenly they can give me part time? i could have sworn they said no. so here i am, it’s feburary and i’m no longer an employee of the company but i’m still coming into work :-/

   posted by nancy on 2-8-2008 at 2:27 pm

7. I was an assistant DA, for very low pay. My boss hired me but it seemed like he was constantly trying to catch me making a mistake or failing to make a deadline because personally we could not stand each other. I had no respect for the man, and he had none for me. I just seemed that he just didn’t have the balls to straight out fire me. He needed an excuse. Although he and the other assistant could maintain private practices on the side I wasn’t allowed to. I filed a private lawsuit for a fried as local counsel. My boss was hired by the other side as local counsel and when he found out he went ballistic. It wasn’t until later that the hypocrisy of his outrage kicked in that he said he would get off the case as well but never did.

   I decided to run for office when he found out he told my I was out. I knew this would happen so I guess it was a passive aggressive kind of quitting. He did try to deny my unemployment benefits though.

   Once I was on my own it was scary but eventually you feel so much more in control. I ended up working less hours and making more money. But the health care and job security issues will always be there as a self-employed person. I will never go to work for the man again if I can help it.

   posted by TxExSpeedy on 2-8-2008 at 2:38 pm

8. I quit my energy-sucking black hole of a job in retail management after 15 years – didn’t have a job lined up and didn’t give any notice. Needless to say, burned a few bridges in the process. I was in shock for a couple of days, then a little panicky, then settled down and knew that I’d done the right thing – wish I hadn’t wasted that much time with them!

   Also quit my bad marriage after 18 months (no kids, thankfully) and never looked back.

   posted by Suzeo on 2-8-2008 at 2:42 pm

9. Out of respect for really stupid departures, I have to bring to everyone’s attention the stupid lady who worked for the architectural firm who thought she was getting fired. She saw a listing in the newspaper with her boss’s number for a job that was exactly like hers. Assuming he was finding a new person to replace her, she went in and erased several millions of dollars worth of blueprints. She later found out that he was trying to hire a secretary for his wife’s new company. You guys at mental floss should see if you can interview her to ask her how it feels to be so stupid and vindictive. I mean, come on! What an idiot!

   posted by Tommy on 2-8-2008 at 2:47 pm

10. Oddly enough I’m thinking of going part time to quit trying to get back on task with writing. I need to hold some hours for the benies until I can launch more full-time writing money. It’s scary, but I’m actually now motivated to do it since the work situation is getting worse and worse…

    posted by SM on 2-8-2008 at 2:49 pm

11. after nearly 22 years of a bad marriage, i decided that enough was finally enough. filed for divorce and it was over before christmas. best thing i ever did, and my ex thanked me for having the courage to do what he didn’t have the courage to do. i’m so much happier and making plans to move to england in a little over a year. i feel like someone put a helium balloon in my once heavy heart.

    posted by Shelly on 2-8-2008 at 2:58 pm

12. I went from working at a nursing home where my schedule was constantly changing and I would get called in for no good reason to a job with set hours. It was weird and hard to adjust at first, but now it’s second nature to me.

    posted by kitsana_d on 2-8-2008 at 2:59 pm

13. About three years ago I held a retail job for about three months, and each successive paycheck, regardless of value, was becoming less and less satisfying for my soul-sucking efforts.

    During my final week, in which I’d accrued the store’s highest number of customer Instant Credit applications, I stopped my boss during my break.

    “I can’t do this anymore. I’ll give you another two days to find a replacement,” I said.

    He said I could come back any time I wanted — “Y’know, once you’ve worked out whatever school arrangements you have, if that’s the problem.” — practically begging me to continue swindling customers out of more money.

    Two days later, I walked out of the store with my paid-out $400 in accrued wages. Said funds kept me afloat and chillaxing until the school year and financial aid rolled in. Happy ending for me.

    Then the store went bankrupt; for the sake of a better story, we’ll assume that my sales alone were keeping the store’s doors open.

    posted by Willie Z on 2-8-2008 at 3:05 pm

14. About two months ago I got fired from a job that was simply not working. It was my first job out of engineering school. I was getting paid a very low salary and was working 60+ hours a week. Every other design engineer at my place of employment was paid hourly and was making almost twice as much as I was, but I persisted and did not complain. You know, new guy and all.

    My boss was a tyrant and finally I decided that I could not continue to feel as absolutely awful as I did anymore, it just wasn’t working. So I stopped caring. Things started to not work properly, I didn’t care. Deadlines were not met, I was uninterested. It was a battle of wills between me and my boss on who caved first.

    The day finally came where he simply did not want to see me again. It fealt like a bad high school break up. He definitely came out on top in a number of ways. First I was made an example of, after I was fired there was a large number of people who quit, seeing just what was in store for them as well. Secondly he fought and won not paying me unemployment. This made me pretty mad at first but by the time the rejection went through I had already found a much better job with less hours that I had to work and better pay.

    I’m still friends with some poeple who I used to work with and they say that the place is a ticking time bomb.

    posted by Gary on 2-8-2008 at 3:09 pm

15. Did anyone else notice the irony of Higgins quitting his day job for writing and then spelling the word he used to describe the feeling, wrongly?

    No, ok. Well, good luck anyway.

    posted by m0le on 2-8-2008 at 3:11 pm

16. Two years ago, after much careful planning and saving of money, I finally quit my day job as an Administrative Assistant to move to New York City and pursue my dream of singing in a Broadway show. Having a degree in vocal performance and being rather talented, this is not as far fetched as it sounds.
    Two years later, I have temped at many an office as an administrative assistant and now have a decent full-time job in New York City as an administrative assistant. I left behind all of my friends and family and know very few if any people in NY. In the meantime, I’ve managed to go on about 4 auditions, which averages out to about 1 every 6 months. I am fearful and lack the confidence to break away from my current job and feel I have nowhere else to go from here, because I already made the big move to the center of the theatrical world. Sometimes, I wish I had stayed put.
    Inspiring, huh?

    posted by Mett on 2-8-2008 at 3:21 pm

17. Higgins, I want to be like you when I grow up. Wait… how old am I? Dammit…

    posted by TMo on 2-8-2008 at 3:24 pm

18. m0le – Ouch. And…fixed. :)

    posted by Higgins on 2-8-2008 at 3:29 pm

19. One of my best friends and I quit in 2006 to spend three months in Europe, mostly inspired by the urge to travel more before we turned 30, but also inspired by the dread of an 8 to 5 desk job for years to come. The trip was of course amazing and never a dull moment. But even just the quitting part was one of the best moments in my life – it felt good to say “I’m outta here” and yet none of my colleagues hated me for it, they just envied me, in fact they respected me, for it.

    When I came back I took a new job in the non-profit industry for a little less pay but I love my work and my colleagues. I think the most important result of my time off was realizing that it’s not so hard to put your personal interests ahead of your career or ahead of your checkbook. Your job should not define you. There is so much more to life.

    posted by Lara on 2-8-2008 at 3:44 pm

20. Tuesday of this week I told my boss that I’m quitting my job for Peace Corps… I, for one, am still in the horrified phase. There’s this weird freefall feeling that I still can’t shake. As a side note, consulting is an evil soul sucking profession.

    posted by PeaceCorpsGuy on 2-8-2008 at 3:56 pm

21. Quitting can be awesome. I quit a relationship with my best friend last year. Best decision I ever made. We were completely incompatible, but had remained friends (to our emotional detriment) because we thought we were supposed to. I felt so free afterwards, much like leaving a bad boyfriend. I’ve learned to pick friends that are better suited to my personality.

    posted by a quitter! on 2-8-2008 at 4:21 pm

22. I’ve quit me a few jobs, and every experience has been a little drama, a lot of joy.

    As for hobbies, I spent years as a gamer. Not video- board, card, and war. Stopped gaming regularly about seven years ago. But then last year I remembered how much I enjoyed Warhammer 40K back in the 90s…

    posted by Joe Maz on 2-8-2008 at 4:33 pm

23. I quit my job on my 40th birthday and have been very happy! the past 5 years I’ve been self employed, and what you must do is have self-discipline…you’ll want to get sidetracked cleaning, fixing loose rafters, organizing bills, etc…DON’T! You must set aside time and ‘go to work’ in a room you designate as your office…I have my own studio and the kitchen doesn’t get cleaned until after 5:00 when I’m ‘off work’…I also take weekends for myself…

    One of the things I rememeber clearly was it took me 6-8 months to get over that ‘Sunday Night Dread’ of going back to work on Monday…it did wear off eventually and now I enjoy Sundays cause I look forward to going to work on Monday…the commute is good, the peanut butter sandwiches for lunch are cheap and I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself…there are stresses, but they are MUCH better than working for ‘the man’…

    posted by donner on 2-8-2008 at 5:01 pm

24. I quit a publishing job a few weeks before I was going to get canned. Now, I should mention that I was the company’s second choice for this position, which I held relatively briefly. Their first choice quit after two days (WARINING, WILL ROGERS!). I have a pretty solid idea why. As part of the job, you get to manage the most unmanageable, unfireable, and obnoxious bitch in the state of Maryland.

    In addition to being lazy and incompetent, she was utterly hostile on daily basis for the eight months I was there, other than my first day (I think that’s how my predecessor made it to day 2). Unlike that lucky jerk, I couldn’t quit. I had a wife and new baby in tow. And I couldn’t fire her. First off, I was brand-new, as was my boss, and neither of us wanted to make waves. Second, the only person in the world who could tolerate this person’s vomit-inducing personality was one of the owners. He loved her. He thought she was hilarious. I think that in the office sitcom of his mind, she was the sassy broad who doesn’t listen to anyone and always gets the best zingers. In real life, that person is a cancerous, soul-sucking pariah.

    I sought council from the rest of the staff, and with pity they told me she had always been this way and, more importantly, always would be. She had been the source of many shouting matches and countless formal complaints, but she always survived unscathed. The rank and file sort of walked on eggshells around her, like that omnipotent brat in The Twighlight Zone: The Movie.

    While I was killing her with unrequited kindness, I was turning this trade publication into a pretty slick little rag on a shoestring budget. The sales team loved me because I squeezed in ads way beyond the deadline. Overall, I had cultivated a reputation as the flexible, reliable, and affable guy that I am. When it was time for my 6-month review, I was told by my boss to keep up the good work, and that no formal review was necessary.

    I had quite of enough of Ms. Mal, and I figured this was the time to use my leverage. I figured wrong. I gave her a textbook corporate reprimand, armed with the blessing of my boss and an HR witness. I didn’t know it then, but my days at this trade publication were numbered. A few weeks later, my boss suggested that a formal 6-month review would be a good idea, and as it turned out, I was doing a really, really bad job. I was blindsided. I had a month to fix some vaguely described shortcomings, or my young family and I would be losing our only source of income. This was a formality, of course. I was certainly going to be fired, and they were just going through the motions.

    Fortunately, several months previous, I was at a bar with a friend of my wife’s, politely answering some questions he had about advertising and publishing. It turned into further questions, an interview, and a job offer. Not only did they offer me a life preserver, but a new career in marketing and double my salary. As soon as the offer was locked down, I began daydreaming about going out in style, bridges blazing. In the end, I decided to take the high road, but I couldn’t totally resist. During my exit interview, I was asked why I was leaving. The kindly HR person quickly suggested, “Pursuing another opportunity, correct?” I paused for a bit and said, “No. The real reason I’m leaving, and everyone knows it, is because of Mal. Do me a favor: Every time a person leaves because of her, please tell them I understand and give them my phone number.”

    posted by Billy on 2-8-2008 at 5:02 pm

25. i plan to quit my job soon to attend graduate school.

    i’m terrified.

    not of school, but of the ohmygod-i’ll-be-a-poor-college-kid-again thing.

    **sigh**

    posted by the creature on 2-8-2008 at 5:36 pm

26. I quit running an after school program for at-risk kids. They all needed early intervention to have a chance of being successful in school. It sounded noble when it started and I tried to implement good strategies but most of the time, the kids were screaming, swearing and punching each other (ages 8-11). No thanks.

    posted by Beth on 2-8-2008 at 5:42 pm

27. In 2004 at age 29, I quit being a grown-up. I had a mortgage in Oklahoma, a failing marriage, and an IT job that would top out at middle management. I spent 6 months trying to save my marriage (but then I caught him cheating), trying to find a better career path at my job (but the company wasn’t willing to pay to further my education), and going to law school part time. Then I got divorced, moved into a small apartment, quit my job, and signed up for school full time. It was the best decision of my life.

    I spent one year of law school studying in Europe. Now I work for a wonderful law firm in Colorado (where I always wanted to live) making more than twice my old salary. Quitting can be good.

    posted by Shannon on 2-8-2008 at 6:07 pm

28. i weaned myself off carbonated, caffienated, calorie filled soda.

    i went from 2-3 cans of soda per day to 2-3 per month. it took about 6 months. the worst part is that Coca Cola (my old favorite!) doesn’t even taste good anymore. although i do enjoy a Vernors every so often.

    but now i’m addicted to coffee.

    trade one addiction for another?

    posted by redhead on 2-8-2008 at 8:51 pm

29. To answer the original question –

    All of them.

    How did I feel? Better than getting fired from all of them.

    posted by ramon on 2-8-2008 at 10:34 pm

30. Near the end of my freshman year of high school, I quit my relationship with the girl I called my best friend. We had gone to elementary school together but went to different middle schools. She switched to my middle school after a year at hers, but she had been hanging with a bad crowd. She lied, cheated, stole, swore, threatened, and blackmailed. I tried to save the friendship in middle school and even tried to get her involved with my new friends, but she couldn’t accept that I had some new best friends and lashed out like a caged animal. Quite frankly, it sucked, and one of my friends from middle school (who is my closest friend to this day) got caught in the middle of the mess. When the girl told a lie about me over the phone to my mother (who knew it was a lie), I freaked out. My shaky trust was shattered, and when I confronted the girl the next day, she had some lame little excuse about not wanting to get in trouble with her mother over an internet profile or something like that.
    I still see this person around town, and occasionally I will give her a polite but curt hello. I cannot stand her, and I am glad that I dumped her friendship. While it may have been horrible at the time, I feel almost completely free (aside from my grudge), and the situation caused me to become closer to the girl who is now my dearest friend.

    posted by me, bitter? no... on 2-8-2008 at 10:42 pm

31. I quit my radio job two years ago. It was a scary decision, but it felt so good afterwards. I decided to take a few days off before looking for another job. Days turned to weeks and months, and my financial position did not change, which only highlighted how little money I had been making. I did not want to go look for a job. Six days a week, 51 weeks a year with no holidays off for 24 years was enough. But I had no other job skills to do something different.

    Now I work more hours than ever, but they are hours I choose, so I can manage my life and family a lot better.

    posted by Miss Cellania on 2-8-2008 at 11:56 pm

32. I just quit myself today, though I gave them a weeks notice.

    A great company to work for, but pretty much zero room for true advancement unless you’re completely committed to kissing posteriors, which I am not.

    I was working with a great bunch of guys, who were , for the most part, extremely knowledgeable. But despite the knowledge level required for the job, and the friendships acquired, it was (and is) essentially the Tech version of McDonalds. A wage cap ensured that only those dedicated to the job or truly masochistic individuals would put up with the cranky customers and the bureaucratic bovine excrement and stay for any length of time. Suffice it to say, I have gone through my phase.

    I got offered a job with another company, in the same field, and though I don’t start until Monday, I’ve got the jitters. I know that it’s a good choice for me in the long run, and the steep learning curve will keep me on my toes.

    Good luck, Higgins!

    posted by Sean on 2-9-2008 at 12:19 am

33. I don’t really have a story, just that I quit a really bad waitressing job a couple of years ago (felt *amazing*) and quit drinking dairy (first step to vegetarianism/veganism but it’s taking some time. But after reading some comments, and especially a quitter! and me bitter?’s comments about quitting a bad friendship I am really thinking about one of my friendships with a ‘close’ friend. We’ve been close since school and now in our mid-twenties we still see each other often, but there is very little common ground left. I feel like I have moved in a different direction with my life but she’s still stuck in the past. A lot of passive-aggression. I do admit I call her much less now and have enjoyed building new friendships. I know this makes me a bad friend but I hope that it doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. :(

    posted by leanbeans on 2-9-2008 at 4:07 am

34. I gave my six week notice at my current job. I had been agonizing over this job for the past six months. It just wasn’t working for me. I’d wake up at night terrified about going into work, I couldn’t take it anymore so I gave my notice. What am I doing afterwards? Hopefully, not going insane that I don’t have a job.

    posted by paperback writer on 2-9-2008 at 7:09 am

35. I quit smoking in 1990.

    posted by fixedgear on 2-9-2008 at 8:04 am

36. Oh wow and holy crap. Secondly, congratulations! oh wow and holy crap.

    Boy, you are living the life I dream of; kudos for you!

    I have never done such an inspiring, frightening think like that in my entire life. perspectives of course.

    Good luck. I’ll keep reading.

    posted by c.a. Marks on 2-9-2008 at 8:40 am

37. After 12 years I quite being a child protection social Worker. I quit because I was moving to another province and getting married. Both things (quitting and getting married) were good decisions. I have been out of the business long enough now I will never get back in….which suits me fine. It was a job I loved, but very stressful…..

    posted by Sandie on 2-9-2008 at 10:08 am

38. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW, TERRIFYING CAREER! You have pluck!! I know you will be a stupendous success!!

    posted by Mrs. RIGGS on 2-9-2008 at 11:36 am

39. I quit my part-time college job, and focused on playing as a freelance bass player. It worked out great for awhile. I was making more money doing something fun and had more free time to rest and focus on school. All was good until I went through a dry spell with no gigs. I was not prepared for this. I ended up getting a new job to pay the rent. I still get play however, so it s not that bad.

    posted by Jonathan on 2-9-2008 at 11:39 am

40. I got married last year on the 7th july (7/7/07..well timed huh?) and about 3 weeks before i quit my job as a chef. It was a brilliant relief, no more worrys about menu’s, chef whites, cooking times…what a relief. I still continued to do my other job as a DJ through the summer but only after spending 3 weeks on honeymoon in Paris. Oh yeah, I also moved to the City of Lincoln about 3 weeks after getting back from Paris, So the quitting of my job triggered the biggest upheaval in my life so far.

    posted by Martyn on 2-10-2008 at 5:43 am

41. Quitting made me feel like I had MY life back!!!! I enjoyed nearly 8 years in public accounting and then went to work in internal audit for a very large US bank. In not even 2 years, that place quite nearly managed to destroy my sense of humor, my personal self-esteem, and any confidence I had in myself as a professional. My last day there ranks quite high amongst the happiest days of my life!!!! Quitters DO WIN!!!

    posted by kary on 2-10-2008 at 5:06 pm

42. I quit taking birth control and I felt like a mother. It was the best thing I ever quit.

    posted by Julie on 2-10-2008 at 6:06 pm

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