I Quit My Job, and it Was the Best Idea Ever Right???

I have always told myself I want a job that makes me happy. Money is great, stability is preferred, but happiness is essential. And I have found that I am willing to press the restart button on my life if that will make me happy.

Time For A Change

I was an English teacher for four years before deciding I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a combination of things, really. For one, I was over it. Not just your typical “gahh my job sucks, and I can’t wait until Friday” level of over it. I’m talking weekly anxiety attacks, “please don’t make me check my e-mail,” “I guess getting yelled at by parents it just part of my life now” level of over it.

I knew that I was going to become one of those teachers who is bitter and shows up to school angry. Nobody wants that teacher, and nobody wants to be that teacher. Shit, it was already happening. On one of the last days of school, a mom made an off-handed comment to me that I “hate” my class this year. I have had some rude comments thrown my way, but that hurt worse than anything I have ever heard in my teaching career. As much as I hated to admit defeat, I was done with teaching, and it was time for me to move on.

So I moved on. I moved to San Francisco with my boyfriend to begin a brand new life. I looked forward to starting fresh. New city. New career path. New apartment. I decided to pursue copywriting as my next career, and just couldn’t wait for my first job in the city!

Is Entry-Level a Thing?

Turns out getting into the tech industry in the most competitive city in the world is not as easy as one may think. As an English teacher, I figured that the transition into a career in writing would be simple. Employers would certainly connect that I had a strong background in language, plus I was responsible enough to handle a classroom full of students. Step aside for the most impressive candidate of 2018.

Well, apparently if you don’t have the 3-5 years of experience required for an entry-level copywriting role (whole other issue there), you get completely overlooked as a candidate. I had to start writing and “enhance” a few of my previous work ventures to make people see that I am, in fact, a viable candidate. I started getting interviews. They led nowhere.

The summer came to an end, and I had to make a choice. I hadn’t officially quit my teaching job yet, knowing that I needed the opportunity to return to it if absolutely necessary. I got a call from my principal in the beginning of August asking if I would be returning, and I told her I had to call her back. The overthinker in me thought I should go back. I didn’t have a job, or even really the prospect of one. I thought I would be swimming in work by August. Yet there I was, praying for jobs to get back to me, and crying every time something would fall through.

Restart

It would have been easier to tell her I would come back. I could return for another year, work hard to get a portfolio of side-projects going, live with my parents to save up some money, etc. etc… But I didn’t do that. I thought back to that mother who told me I hate my class. I thought back to those meetings where my skills as an educator were questioned. I thought back to the feeling of sheer exhaustion at the end of each and every day. I thought back to seeing myself through the eyes of someone jaded by her daily life. I chose to move towards something new.

It has been a learning process. Each interview I have had has gone a little smoother than the last, and I show a bit more confidence every time I talk about my skills as a writer. When companies ask me what I can do for them, I can give them an answer without fumbling over my words. Practice makes improvement. I’ve never had to work this hard for anything in my life, and I think that that means it is something worth having.

So, I quit my stable, respectable job. Was it the best idea ever? I have absolutely no idea. What I do know is that I was headed toward a life of unfulfillment. If I had returned, it would have been out of fear that nothing better would come along. Instead, I chose to press restart.