What I'd Do with a High-Paying, Unrewarding Job

Last week I offered a question in What Would You Do If You Had a High-Paying, Unrewarding Job? as follows:

What do you do with an unrewarding high-paying position? The so-called "Golden Handcuffs". I've got great benefits and a 401k in an industry where such things are very very rare. However, I have zero job satisfaction and zero potential for advancement. What next?

I let readers address the issue and there were many useful, helpful suggestions. I withheld giving my thoughts for the time being, but thought I'd give them now.

I've actually been in this situation a couple times: good pay but not really enjoying my job. The first time it happened, the job was actually fine for the most part, but I knew it was a dead end and I had to eventually leave. The second was torture. A new boss came in and he was a nightmare. But in both cases I used the same strategy and it worked out great. Here's what I did:

1. I started looking for opportunities immediately. I talked to a few (very few) trusted friends who I knew were connected and could keep quiet. I also contacted a couple executive recruiters I'd been in touch with through the years. I even looked at a few job websites off and on (though none of the job I ever applied for online even got me a call back.)

2. I toughed out the current job. I've seen many people hate a job/company/boss so much that they quit without having another job. I would NEVER do this (unless, I guess, my life was threatened or some very unusual circumstance occurred.) I have never seen this strategy work out well for those who did it and many have languished for a few years before finding something else to do. (And since your career is your biggest financial asset, this is a big kick in the gut to your finances.) For me, the pain of not having a job is greater than dealing with a good paying but miserable job.

3. I kept succeeding. In both cases, I had several big accomplishments during the time I decided to look for another job and when I actually took it. Some of these successes actually helped me secure my next position.

4. I took my time. In both cases, it was a two-year process before I got the new job. Yes, I had to deal with a lot in those two years (especially in the second case -- the first was not that bad actually) but it was worth it. I kept earning a decent salary, kept my career in tact, and ultimately ended up with a better-paying job that I liked far better.

Have you ever faced a situation like this? What did you do? Or maybe you're facing one now. What's your game plan for making a change?

Comments

[Cap]

Hmm. Other factors would definitely be age and responsibility too. If I have a family and I have to provide for them financially, it would make leaving a job rather difficult. Can't imagine being in a position with a difficult boss for two years though...

Never faced a situation like this before, but game plan would involve being proactive about the situation. Sitting around hoping it'll get better on its own probably won't be the key.

[Telemill]

Faced similar situation (I don't think my pay was as high as yours however) -- but I always advise my friends (especially single moms) to quickly save up to 6 months of expenses. This is your "I quit" money.

I've used this method before. I always have some "I quit" money set aside, so that if things get really bad (harassing boss, impossible situations) I can quit and look for something else.

Don't get me wrong, I agree to not be so "quick" with the "I quit" idea. If you can stay on the job and hunt for another job while you are there. But there has been two times where it was just psychologically brutal and I was NOT going to submit myself to the abuse.

Quitting also freed me up to making my job search a full-time job and thus I gained a job in a shorter time because I devoted 8-10 hours looking, applying, networking and interviewing each day.

[Michael Guzzo]

It's funny how our opinions vary so widely.

One of the main reasons that I live frugally, save and remain debt-free is so I have the option of quitting a job WITHOUT having anything else lined up.

But, I'm also lucky to be in an "in-demand" profession and don't have the added responsibilty of children, which makes my decisions easier.

[F. Morana]

I was stuck in this situation, too, for 15 years, and still maintain some contact with friends & former colleagues who have remained in the same boat. The majority, so far as I can see, are in a state of denial, that is, they try to savor an occasional pleasantry, and convince themselves thereby that things are not really that bad. Another escape is in professional idealism ("I will uphold my high standards irrespective of the impediments I encounter"), which is essentially just another form of denial, since high standards, as we all know, are usually quite irrelevant. My solution to this dilemma--where self-deception is not an option--would be in prayer. Sincere, fervent prayer may very well lead to the realization of previously unrecognized perspectives and possibilities, which, if acted upon, could serve to free the individual from the undesired condition.

[Oby Nwaogbe]

I am in the same situation right now. Prior to my current job, I was out of work for two months, which wasn't a problem because I had some money saved up untill the account was getting depleted. Needless to say, I took this job out of desperation and convinience. Plus I saw it as a stepping stone to get to where I really want to be, boy was I wrong. To make matters worse the job wasn't challenging and still isn't. Don't get me wrong, I have been looking for another job since I started this one two years ago. But it seems as if I got more calls from employers before I put this current job on my resume.
Right now, I have pretty much reached my growth cap in the company. Besides, everyone is leaving due to poor management,little pay and lack of growth.
My department that had 8 people when I started two years ago, now has only two people left, myself and the supervisor. I have taken on more responsiblities, which of course is more money. But, at this point, it is not about the money anymore. It's a dead end job, I'm bored to death and I am certainly not utilizing my full potential.
The good news, however, is that when the new fiscal year starts in July, my dept will be dissolved and new positions created. At that point I can decide to take the new position or leave with a severence pay. But honestly, I don't know how long I can be the last Indian standing. Can anyone offer any word of advice.

[FMF]

Oby --

I'll post your question for readers to answer sometime next week. Check the blog regularly to see what they have to say.

[escapee]

Same boat- in fact my entire blog is about my planned escape from said high paying but ultimately dead-end job.
I'm using my plotting time (my planned escape is this coming Oct- I hope I make it) to save up about 30k in an emergency fund and growing my small business so it could come close to supporting my family and paying for health insurance (one HUGE roadblock for me).

[escape007]

Hey Everyone, I am actually in the same situation, high paying dead end job, Originally I was going to quit on January 2009,I just don't stand it, I moved my quit date to July 16 this year... I have saved 12 months of my income so I will be fine, plus I am single...

Good luck everyone!

[financial freedom]

This is indeed food for thought. But shouldn't we stop working if we have no more passion. Should a job just be about a financial decision. What about time spent doing what one dislikes? That is something all the money in the world can't buy. Time.

[fff rob]

Great post to stumble upon. Like most of you, I am also in the same boat. I have been there for a year and a half. I am not challenged and I am bored out of my mind. As a young MBA with high standards and tons of aspiration, I am going nuts. However, as luck would have it, I currently work in the construction industry and would love to move into the financial industry. My timing for such a transfer couldn't be worse.

Recently, I had a defining moment. My mother (of all people) called me out. She vocalized how over the last 1.5 years of unhappiness, I had increasingly lost a lot of my defining characteristics. Thanks mom! I found myself convicted - I have become a big bottle of frustration & bitterness. My outlook on the world had changed and in many ways, I had become institutionalized. To steal a concept from the movie "You, Me, & Dupree", I had lost my Rob-ness.

My wife & I are debt-free newlyweds. She is happily employed and we have a substantial emergency fund. I am so thankful for being in this position, because it has awarded me the opportunity to quit my job. Previously I, like FMF, never intended on leaving this job until I had a firm next step in place. Although I have a few pseudo opportunities out there, I have nothing set in stone. I question whether I am making the right decision. But many of my respected friends have confirmed and encouraged this direction.

After leaving my current job (sometime in the next few weeks), I will have a lot of extra time on my hands. My objectives for that time include:
• get my '-ness' back.
• doing some self-reflection and establish a confident next career move (not just something better than what I had, but what I want)
• re-establish my network of friends & colleagues.
• detox from the bad habits I have formed during the last year

I am thankful for how God has blessed me with this opportunity and I am excited for what the future holds.