When to quit a job?

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I quit working at a toy store after nine days, when I was 21. They were vile to me on account of the fact I had a degree. I was not diagnosed at the time so it wasn't disability discrimination, they just had this thing about the fact I'd been to uni (even though I NEVER MENTIONED IT, it was just on my CV).

So yeah, nine days .

If you have hard evidence of disability discrimination and its illegal in the geographical area you work, then you should be taking that to your boss or getting in contact with someone who can do that for you (like a union representative).

But the best thing is to find another job and then you can quit and move on without any guilt.

want something done, do it yourself.
sorry but that's what I've gathered, the likelyhood of these changes occuring are far too low unless you yourself can make them happen.
Another thing is that I have this ability to push myself far beyond my own limit, and I suffer afterwards as a result (3 years after, almost severe depression), just to keep in mind.


My advice is, look for something else, if you find it, consider your own current situation vs the new one (with the info you have) and decide what's best for you

Thanks a lot for all the replies, much good advice.

My job is part-time, but it's stressful in the aspect that I'm supposed to be creative on my own, and I haven't gotten the support I need to do my job well. It's a successful company with a lot of type A personalities. Most people are nice, but they create a sort of collective high-stress environment.

Part-time jobs in my field are very hard to come by, so it sounded very good "on paper".

I think I'd need to get to the bottom of my AS traits before starting any new job working for someone else though....I have a really hard time with new workplaces, getting to know people. I work best on my own without too much people contact.

Ever considered freelance work? That's worked well for me. I do better in isolation, though I do like to come up for air from time to time. I had a tough time as a teacher with classroom management. Working with kids (and adults, too) one-on-one has been a real game-changer for me--not that I'm raking in millions of $ or rolling in cash, but I'm certainly a lot happier than I was.

The only organization that "owns" me is the church I work for--and that's a part-time job, and I have plenty of room creatively to do ALMOST whatever I want. I also teach piano and violin privately on a college extension campus as non-credit courses. And just so you have an idea of exactly how much a commitment it is, I'm still "hired" on a month-to-month even though I've been there for, I dunno, maybe 5 years now. I have to sign a form every month asking for "permission" to work. However, I can cancel lesson for no other reason than "I feel like it" (I don't, but unavoidable things do come up from time to time, and I do get sick sometimes, or a small child has been puking all day, etc.). The perk about working there is someone else handles the money and the publicity. The down side is they take $5 out of my fees. Despite that, I still make $40/hr.

That puts me at having 2 part-time jobs, and I get paying gigs with a couple of local bands besides that.

I'm also working on a side project that could potentially be worth mega-bucks. I just need to start working a LOT faster than I currently am; otherwise I miss a deadline and will have to put it off until next year.

Point is: If you're only working part-time, and this particular type of work is hard to get other than part-time, it might be best to swallow the crap they feed you for the short time you're on the job. Also, I assume that if you're part time, you're not under some exclusive deal that would prevent you from doing freelance work for competitors--as long as you're transparent with your supervisors and not inadvertently engaging in corporate espionage. Technically what you do outside their time is none of their business, but you win more friends by displaying integrity. It's just the nice thing to do. With me, for example, I go from loading up gear at 3 a.m. after a bar gig to setting up and rehearsing at 9 a.m. for Sunday worship. As long as I'm alert and sober (I don't drink, especially not at gigs), nobody really cares. It's not a secret sometimes I skip worship services (that I get paid for) to play at other churches...and usually the church staff is fully aware of when and why. I'm not needed for Sunday night services, so I might play at another church in the evenings as a volunteer. It's all good. And the best part is getting out, doing some volunteer work, playing any/every gig I can get, paid or not, helps with networking that can help get more gigs or even more regular students.

Same thing works in principle for whatever freelance work you do. There's tons of money to be made in part-time, freelance work for the right person who's smart and determined.

Sounds like a good setup work-wise.

I have some form of fear of work commitment, which is strange as I can be very devoted and have high work morale under the right circumstances. There's something happening in me whenever people make me responsible that does not make me feel good.

I have a hobby project that I work on in my extra time that could also potentially make for an income further on. That part of my time is working great! It's the part where I sit in an office environment supposed to be productive more or less out of the blue, for someone else, that is not so great - and ideally this could be replaced by some form of freelance job, with more clear-defined tasks hopefully.

I work as a self-employed contractor currently (hired part-time on a long term project), so there is nothing preventing me from trying out freelance work at any time, apart from my own mind. I get some anxiety from the thought of this transition, though. I think it's because I'm not comfortable selling myself to gain new freelance contracts. Also, I too need to "come up for air" with some social interaction now and then.

Yeah, sounds like we're roughly in the same boat. If I were you, I'd just tough it out for as long as there's pay involved UNLESS you just get a better deal somewhere and you have no other choice than to quit.

I used to teach lessons in-house at a private k12 school. I loved the kids, but it was hard to get money out of their parents. That, plus the fact that the parents refused to work with their kids to make them practice was highly demotivational, so I felt like I was just spinning wheels with most of them, and the actual good ones lost interest after a year or two. And then there were the kids who tended to excel but just had mental/emotional issues and eventually dropped out and went off to rot in the public system... I wanted to keep trying, but we had a new baby we couldn't afford daycare for and I was forced to quit. Cutting that dead weight made me feel a LOT better and I became more productive at things I genuinely want to do.

While you have the time, get plenty of exercise. That will keep your mind from going numb. I found that reading books by motivational authors is helpful, too. I recommend Start by Jon Acuff. I like that book because I have similar kinds of anxiety that you seem to deal with, and much of the Acuff book deals with handling fear/anxiety. I'm not really into feel-good literature, but I think if it helps me feel better, just go with it!