For 2 consecutive years, I’ve tossed in the towel and quit my job right before the holidays. Was it a smart move? Financially, it’s probably the most idiotic step a fresh grad could make. Holiday season is the most expensive time of the year and you push away the only income generator you have. Yeah, you deserve a medal. Good job!
“I stand on principle where other people stand on money.” said Paula Abdul. I’m not gonna be all self-righteous and say that I don’t give a rat’s ass about earning money but the former Idol judge does have a point. Heck it would be nice to get as much cash as I can but there are just some things that would push me off the bandwagon.
I may not have a lot of experience yet, but I thought I might share some good points to consider when it is time for you to move on. At least, these were MY reasons for deciding a full-on freelance life.
If you are working for any company here in the Philippines, you’d have to be prepared to hand in your freedom. The corporate world is where people get paid for the hours instead of the amount of work you do. Waking up early in the morning, battling with morning traffic, staying inside your small cubicle for how many hours, dealing with annoying officemates, rush hour, overtime. Sounds fun, right?
The moment you sign that contract, you’ll get slapped with all the company rules. It’s worse if your boss is a big prick in the ass and you have no choice but to follow his orders. He’s the king and you’re just one of the loyal servants in his kingdom. I’ve always had trouble with people in authority. Basically, if I’ve lost respect for them there’s no chance I can bring myself to obey.
If you realize that there’s no internal growth that will happen within the succeeding months or years then it may be time to move on. Why get stuck in a job where you’ve been doing the same stuff when you can try to branch out and explore other things? There are so many other options of earning money, even college dropouts make it big.
I just couldn’t allow myself to continue a dead-end job. I knew deep inside that if I didn’t leave at that moment, 2 years would pass and it would still be the same thing. So if I had to choose between a year of experience on my own, making mistakes, taking risks, trying different things AND 3 years of experience doing the same crap over and over again, following someone else’s goal… without a doubt, I’ll pick the former.
Say goodbye to your social life. Unless, of course, your idea of having a social life is by the number of friends you have on Facebook playing Pet Society or Farmville with you. Almost everyone I know who’s working for a company right now have had an inactive social life because of work, and it sucks because I don’t get to hang out with them anymore.
Bottom line for me is Freedom weighs more than Security. Passion over Practicality. I know it’s probably not the most popular opinion here but I stand by it. If it’s slowly sucking out joy from your life, then it’s not good for you.
Would I work for another company again? It’s hard to say. For now, I’ll have to get by being a full time freelancer and making the most out of it.