thinking about quitting my job, but i want to be patient? help please!!

Q

quamen

New member
Ill try to make this as short as possible, but i really need your guys help. I have owned and operated my own detailing business for the last 5 years which has done extremelly well according to me. I would work part time days like 5-6 days a week and make about 600 dollars profit so i had time to do my school work and hit the gym etc. I ran the business while going through college and i recently graduated with a BA in criminal justice/sociology. I landed a job in a maxium security prison about 40 miles from my house, 90 miles round trip. I was happy and excited because in live in Pa, and we have bad winters and detailing started to slow down. Anyways i have been there since Nov and i have grown to be unhappy.



While people say that is normal, i know i had those ruff days of detailing where i just didnt want to do it anymore, but i always came back for more. I make 17 bucks/hr at the jail, have great benefits, work schedule sucks 3-11 never have a weekend off, super easy job i do pretty much nothing except talk to inmates all day as well. I took it as a stepping stone in order to use my degree to get into something else, but i am really not liking the job anymore. I keep thinking about going back to detailing and i cant seem not to be my own boss. Even though you bust your *** day in and day out, i keep thinking about going back.



Am i crazy for wanting to leave a secure job that can build my resume and secure possibly a well paying career job that would provide financial stability, in order to go full time again to my business? Any other kind of insight is well appreciated and i know people say i should think about the future, but i always seem to want to live the day being happy, not caring about 2 years from now. I have a steady flow of clientele including weekly's, so im not worried about making the money, just on what should i do? Its so weird and this is so irreverent, but i never had another feeling of accomplishment and respect for myself when i would walk to my work truck and trailer and just think, im doing okay, and i built this business myself. I never had a problem paying a bill, getting what i needed or wanted, every time i wanted to quit, i would try another job part time and end back up to full time detailing. I got so stressed alot with so many customers i had to learn how to manage time better, with school and for myself in order to relax.



Rich.
 
quamen said:
Ill try to make this as short as possible, but i really need your guys help. I have owned and operated my own detailing business for the last 5 years which has done extremelly well according to me. I would work part time days like 5-6 days a week and make about 600 dollars profit so i had time to do my school work and hit the gym etc. I ran the business while going through college and i recently graduated with a BA in criminal justice/sociology. I landed a job in a maxium security prison about 40 miles from my house, 90 miles round trip. I was happy and excited because in live in Pa, and we have bad winters and detailing started to slow down. Anyways i have been there since Nov and i have grown to be unhappy.



While people say that is normal, i know i had those ruff days of detailing where i just didnt want to do it anymore, but i always came back for more. I make 17 bucks/hr at the jail, have great benefits, work schedule sucks 3-11 never have a weekend off, super easy job i do pretty much nothing except talk to inmates all day as well. I took it as a stepping stone in order to use my degree to get into something else, but i am really not liking the job anymore. I keep thinking about going back to detailing and i cant seem not to be my own boss. Even though you bust your *** day in and day out, i keep thinking about going back.



Am i crazy for wanting to leave a secure job that can build my resume and secure possibly a well paying career job that would provide financial stability, in order to go full time again to my business? Any other kind of insight is well appreciated and i know people say i should think about the future, but i always seem to want to live the day being happy, not caring about 2 years from now. I have a steady flow of clientele including weekly's, so im not worried about making the money, just on what should i do? Its so weird and this is so irreverent, but i never had another feeling of accomplishment and respect for myself when i would walk to my work truck and trailer and just think, im doing okay, and i built this business myself. I never had a problem paying a bill, getting what i needed or wanted, every time i wanted to quit, i would try another job part time and end back up to full time detailing. I got so stressed alot with so many customers i had to learn how to manage time better, with school and for myself in order to relax.



Rich.
Click to expand...





Rich,



I will not give you a long elaborate reply. I will simply say this. If your heart isnt in it it will never make you happy. There is money in this industry and if it is your true passion you can make it work! It is not an easy decision. Good Luck!!
 
bufferbarry said:
can you ask youself thing and think about for mr then repost this! Are you truley happy?
Click to expand...







Im not happy and maybe i am just being so immature about this according to friends and family. they all keep telling me i have a great job with benefits that is very secure and why would i want to go clean other peoples mess up, that is not a respectful job as a correctional officer or as easy. Maybe i am being to much of a cry baby, because i do work every weekend, they have me on 7-3 so i wake up 430 which is ruff, but i will go to 3-11 permanently again in about 2 months.



Maybe i was just to spoiled about saying hey, ill work extra long this day so i can go to that bday party, or concert on Saturday night and take off Sunday. I am older now 27, and friends and family feel those days of worrying what days you have off are over with, and you have to do what you have to do. More or less i am just so confused over the whole situation.
 
i say go back to detailing and continue education at a slow/moderate pace. do what you love and build your resume at the same time. Let your heart guide you.
 
quamen said:
They all keep telling me i have a great job with benefits that is very secure and why would i want to go clean other peoples mess up, that is not a respectful job as a correctional officer or as easy.
Click to expand...



I can't tell you what to do, but don't do anything based on that, that's BS.



EDIT: It's attitudes like that that have destroyed certain industries in this country. I used to work with a guy who told me he told his son not to follow in his footsteps, "it's a rotten business". The idea that making something or doing honest work is not "respectable" employment is just such BS...
 
The decision to ultimately follow another calling is up to you. It takes a a lot of courage and hard work to leave one profession that has steady hours, paycheck and benefits to another where you hang out your own shingle.



The one thing I do want to raise is the current state of our economy and the short term outlook. Is this the best time for you to be hanging your own shingle? Will you be able to drum up enough business to support yourself?



If switching careers is something you want to do, by all means follow your heart. Particularly when you are young(er).



An alternative and compromise in the current economy would be to see if you could work less at your current employer but still enough to retain benefits which would allow you to get back into the detailing business.



Again, I tip my hat to those who give up a steady paycheck with benefits to follow something they enjoy which is completely different, but from what I have seen and read not many people in the detailing profession have a steady stream of clients who's "detailing budget" is not affected by the state of the country.



EDIT: on the lighter side (but not to make light of the question asked or the situation of the OP), you are asking this on detailing board. It is like going onto a corvette forum and saying "I"m not sure if I like my GT500...should I get a Z06?" Obviously, the profession decision is much more involved and intricate...
 
Your degree kind of dictated your job. Can your present job be a stepping stone to something that you would enjoy? If so, stick with it and do detailing on the side for enjoyment and extra income. Set a time goal for a different job and if you don't reach that goal then you can alway's fall back on detailing. If a BA can't get you the type of job your after, then get a master's.
 
I am not a professional detailer, so my response is a little more general. I am also finding the urge to leave the relative security of what I do and work for myself. At least for the moment, this is a country that has the greatest rewards for those who create their own way and build their own opportunities.



If you choose to start your own business because you don't like your job, you will continue to be frustrated. If you are drawn to detailing because you truly want to create a business that supports you and possibly others, then do not wait.



There will always be opportunities where you work now. Leave on good terms, maintain friendships that you have with the people you work with, and you could probably always find your way back in if you want.



Nothing sucks worse than looking back and wondering what you could have done. You can start your business any time, but it gets harder to do as time goes on and you get used to doing "just well enough" at your current job.
 
Premium said:
Rich,



I will not give you a long elaborate reply. I will simply say this. If your heart isnt in it it will never make you happy. There is money in this industry and if it is your true passion you can make it work! It is not an easy decision. Good Luck!!
Click to expand...

You have to like what you do because the money may not make you happy. I also work fulltime. I like my job and it is not hard work. I've done enough of that. But I refuse to leave $25 an hour,unless I'm forced to leave. I detail partime and on my off days , (Thur, Fri) all day. I am Happy,and that's what really matters to me.
 
There is a lot of good avice in this post.







If I am not taking calculated risks on a regular basis, I feel like I am dead or dying. I look in the mirror and feel I am cheating my family out of a better life. I'm also very direct and blunt so brace yourself.



Make sure you calculate your risks, and jump when its right. You will know.



The only great job I know of is not having a job.



If you think your job sucks, it does. Dont worry about it, they all suck. Misery loves company, so the co-workers instinctively tell you hang in there with them. It doesn magcally "work out", trust me. People that always leave things up to fate arent sitting in first class or on their own private jets.



Dont let the "sheep" at work drag you down into depression. Dont listen to them, there is a way out. This a case where, "The grass is greener".



Dont be afraid to fail, its OK. Just recover quickly and be learn from it. Those are two key traits of a successful person. (And on the flip-side, two of an un-successful one)



Dont let the "benefits and retirement" fear loom over your head that all people try to burn into your self-worth. A good individual health plan in NY cost me $14k per year, add my wife it bumped to $19k. Figure a decent starting point for retirement at $10k per year. Break it down and you are looking at about $500 per week that your business needs to make above and beyond its current expenses. Just go out and find the business, it will happen if you make it happen.
 
The fact that you went to college all the way to get a BA degree and are only making $17 kind of blows my mind. Where's the pay off in that? We each have to follow our own path but I was a design engineer for GM for 10 years making substantially more money than what you are and I walked away from all that to Open up my own shop. Best descion I've ever made and Haven't regreted a second of it.
 
Jakerooni said:
The fact that you went to college all the way to get a BA degree and are only making $17 kind of blows my mind. Where's the pay off in that? We each have to follow our own path but I was a design engineer for GM for 10 years making substantially more money than what you are and I walked away from all that to Open up my own shop. Best descion I've ever made and Haven't regreted a second of it.
Click to expand...



I have paid people with only a high school diploma $60 per hour to do trading floor support. (high pressure desktop support) They hit a minumum of 50 hours per week doing this. I'd say 50% of them got hired by the company I placed them at in the $115-125k range with "benefits". Add their bonus, which is part of the comp, and some could pull in $175k.



That position requires no outrageous technology skills but demands a good personality.



But I have also paid guys with a BA/BS $25 per hour to conduct trading floor moves. Pure physical labor.



Practical experience seems to win in the end. Richard Branson anyone?
 
Take a look at the hollywood gang and you'll notice that higher education is NOT required to pull in big bucks, same with the guys that quit school to play in the Pro's. My advice is to plan carefully and go into your own business, even if you fail, you'll never sit in a rocking chair with the rest of the old folks and talk about the "coulda-shoulda's" in your life. Good luck!
 
I quit my job, and I am transitioning to self employed. I figure I would be a casualty of the auto industry anyways so I took a buyout. Last year I made over 90000 at my job but I still made the decision. Best of luck in whatever you decide
 
(My two cents) I am an almost 39 years old. I chased money for many years, finally had it and was miserable. Why? I valued money over what was really important in my life. The things that are important to me played second string to money. I was fortunate to realize this before it was too late and saved my marriage and my sanity. I do work full time at a position that I like (at considerably less money than before but with less stress and a workable schedule), detail for a select group of clients, and make time for my family. It does not matter how much money you make or the security of the position. If you are unhappy, you will remain unhappy( regardless of career advancement, schedules, et al). BTW, I was a former LEO, so I can relate to your dilemma.
 
I've heard two interesting quotes about money. Both people who made the comments are people I'd personally consider successful at their work.



"The only thing money doesn't buy is poverty"



"Rich or poor, it's good to have money"





I've never had any real money so I cant comment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top