Please help!

Hello

I graduated in 2016 with a BA in IT and worked at a medium sized company as a desktop support for 2 years. Recently, I got a job as a systems engineer and have been working for a couple of months. But I really do not like the job and have been having anxiety issues. Long story short I would really like to quit. My plan is to quit and just start studying for certs (CCNA or MSCA) while applying - expecting a couple of months of unemployment. What would be the reaction of hiring managers if I can explain to them why I had to leave the job and that I used the time to study for certs for self-improvement?

Thank you.

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NetworkNewb

I think the first couple months at any job can be stressful... Everything is new and can be stressful trying learn everything while being the new person.

Unless the job is effecting your health due long hours or its a very toxic environment, I think quitting is the wrong answer and would say to suck it up and give it more time. Or at least talk to your manager or someone else there first before quitting. If they hired you they probably would want you to stick around and would probably want to know what is wrong before you just walked out.

If you were to quit, you better have a very good reason (besides anxiety) or I would leave this 2 month job off your resume. Looks horrible to leave a job only after 2 months imo.

scaredoftests

STAY where you for at least a year. Employers will not look kindly that you just quit just to study for certs since many people study for certs while working.

the_Grinch

Never quit if you don't have another job waiting for you. I totally understand stress and having anxiety about going to work in a job you dislike, but try another outlet besides quitting. Meditation and exercise will definitely make a world of difference for you. I was once a young guy who would quit jobs at a drop of a hat and jump around. You always have to explain it and often it gets very tough. One job, which would require a move, harped big time on the 9 months I spent at another company. Even explaining how poorly run the company as a whole was did not seem to satisfy them. Thankfully, when they contacted my boss at that job he gave them the full picture (saying the same things I had) and they actually apologized to me for questioning why I had left (no hard feelings on them then or now).

You only get stronger when you push yourself beyond your limits.

scaredoftests

Agree with the exercise and meditation part of the equation. Very important.

DatabaseHead

scaredoftests wrote: »

STAY where you for at least a year. Employers will not look kindly that you just quit just to study for certs since many people study for certs while working.

part of the growth process is to endure tough situations and thrive. Stay like SOT mentioned or you come off like a quitter and won't ever go anywhere.

JoJoCal19

DO NOT quit! It's much easier to find a new job when you already have one. Just spend all of your extra time (and any downtime at work) on studying for the CCNA. If you're in a systems engineer job now and hate it due to the nature of the work, I don't think a systems based cert is the best idea. Maybe look to networking.

iBrokeIT

"How do we know you aren't just going to quit this job too after a couple of months?"

^ Would be a difficult barrier to overcome in future interviews. Don't make it harder on yourself than necessary.

newtoIT3919

There are many many reasons as to why I would like to quit without anything lined up.. some are lack of communication within team but one of the bigger reason could be that I was not told that I would have to work every Sunday - unless I am on vacation, I am expected to work every Sunday.

Danielm7

Do you get off another day during the week to make up for it or did you enter into the job expecting to be paid for 5 days and are working 6?

Either way, take the advice of everyone else above you, find another job first. Just saying "I couldn't take the stress and quit" during an interview is going to do nothing good for your career.

LordQarlyn

If you tell potential employers you quit because you didn't really like the job, yeah, sorry, that doesn't bode well. At the very minimum, try to spin it that you were not a fit, if you even include it in your work history.
Now, look, if the work conditions are hostile or toxic, you may need to quit but leave the job off your work history. It's not healthy to say at a job like that, it's the death by a thousand cuts.

scaredoftests

part of the learning process of any job is to FIND a way to communicate with the team. Sorry about the Sunday work, that is something that you need to ask on the next interview you are on. Send out those resumes while you still have a job.

DatabaseHead

newtoIT3919 wrote: »

There are many many reasons as to why I would like to quit without anything lined up.. some are lack of communication within team but one of the bigger reason could be that I was not told that I would have to work every Sunday - unless I am on vacation, I am expected to work every Sunday.

You are looking for a group of people to tell you it's okay to quit your job..... Either take the advice or don't it's UP TO YOU.

newtoIT3919

Honestly yes... but I'm pretty surprised everyone's SO against it. I thought there would be at least a few people to say one time is okay cuz sometimes new jobs just don't work out. I would like to know people's personal experience if possible.

NetworkNewb

newtoIT3919 wrote: »

the bigger reason could be that I was not told that I would have to work every Sunday - unless I am on vacation, I am expected to work every Sunday.

You didn't know the days/hours you would work before accepting the offer?? Or did they change it right after? That is literally the first thing I would need to know when applying to a position.

(you'll find some lack of communication in every IT place it seems... Probably not just limited to IT either)

LordQarlyn

NetworkNewb wrote: »

You didn't know the days/hours you would work before accepting the offer?? Or did they change it right after? That is literally the first thing I would need to know when applying to a position.

(you'll find some lack of communication in every IT place it seems... Probably not just limited to IT either)

So true! When I was in telecommunications in the army, we had a slogan, "we are the Signal Corp, we can't communicate!".

NetworkNewb

newtoIT3919 wrote: »

Honestly yes... but I'm pretty surprised everyone's SO against it. I thought there would be at least a few people to say one time is okay cuz sometimes new jobs just don't work out. I would like to know people's personal experience if possible.

I've talked with HR people who hated I didn't stay longer than 2 years at previous places. You'd have to come up with a VERY good reason why you have a gap and why you quit your last position. Just kinda doesn't sound like you don't have those... Studying for certs wouldn't get you far.

Its just gonna be a huge red flag to HR

MeanDrunkR2D2

Having to work on Sundays isn't a big enough or good reason to quit without having something else lined up. Besides that and what you say is the lack of communication (you're new there and sometimes it takes people time to warm up to new guys) do you like the actual stuff you are doing? Are you learning anything? Do you have any downtime at the office to be able to study for certs?

If that sunday is an absolutely deal breaker for you, then you need to start looking for a new job. Use your day off during the week to interview for those new jobs that way you don't have to use vacation/sick/lie to interview. One can only have so many Dr appointments before they think you are dying or leaving.

But, if you are still learning I'd say to suck it up for another 10 months so you can take what you learn there and apply it to your next job which would pay you more.

I know, you want to hear "Yea, it's cool. Go ahead and quit with nothing lined up for work" but that isn't the right way to do it because it seems that when you don't have a job, especially early in your career, it is harder to find the next job and negotiate for better pay.

*edited to add. I have taken jobs working 3rd shift with 2 young kids and after 10 months was moved to days. I had to work on Sunday's as well and honestly I was fine with that because the office was very quiet and peaceful since most others weren't there. About a year later I got a much better job using the experience I gained at that role and got a 45% pay raise. Stick with it and it will pay off.

paul78

newtoIT3919 wrote: »

Honestly yes... but I'm pretty surprised everyone's SO against it. I thought there would be at least a few people to say one time is okay cuz sometimes new jobs just don't work out. I would like to know people's personal experience if possible.

If you hang around these forums, you'll probably notice that most of the people here are very passionate about their craft. And the advice given is usually very non-judgemental and based on various experiences and backgrounds. It's one of the big reasons why I often find myself coming back to this forum.

I bet that if you asked this question on other forums, you more likely to find more thoughtless and reckless advice.

As a hiring manager, I'm always willing to accept a candidate that may have quit or even be fired simply because it wasn't a good fit with a previous employer. But I would wonder if the candidate would be cut-out for the expectations that I may set for the team. A lot depends on why someone quit a job so if you can articulate clearly to a prospective employer why you quit, it may be ok. Saying that you quite to focus on certifications would be an odd reason to quit and I probably would not receive that reason positively.

If you are having to work every Sunday and that was not an expectation which was previously set with your current employer, have you asked them about it. It would be very odd that an employer would not discuss that requirement. And if you are working every Sunday, are you getting another day off?

I would echo everyone else that you are better off if you either stick it out to try to make it work. Or find a job first before quitting.

thedudeabides

Can't tell you if you should quit or not. But if you do quit and have to explain the unemployment, either say you had some health issues you had to attend to (you mentioned anxiety), but you're better now, or you had some personal family matters that required attending (family time on Sundays?), but they're now resolved. Just make sure you don't make quitting quickly a habit.

DatabaseHead

You are a System Engineer, not for the faint of heart and that is really awesome.

If you make it work, you'll end up building coping skills, technical skills and an objective outlook. You'll be able to pay it forward and hopefully positively effect someone else who is going through what you are going through now.

EANx

There are two types of employees, those who leave because of little issues and those who stick it out. A big issue is a woman who gets sexually harassed or a guy whose boss uses negative racial terms. What you're talking about doesn't fall into the category of "morally repugnant" so it's really your choice to leave. And if you leave and I asked you why you did and you say because you didn't want to work on Sundays", I'll say "who's next?"

It sounds like two areas here:
1) People in IT sometimes work long hours. Consistently. Over several weeks at a time.
2) Did you ask what the expected working hours were? Too many times, I've interviewed people and asked if they had any questions and the answer was "no".

You're also fighting against the image of millennials being lazy and entitled. I don't don't know you or your history but the broad view of managers is that the average millennial isn't willing to go the extra mile. It's unfortunate for those millenials that are highly engaged but there it is. It might be unfair but it's an uphill climb for those that want to show they work hard and are reliable. The question is, which camp are you in?

Sheiko37

newtoIT3919 wrote: »

I would like to know people's personal experience if possible.

My personal experience was having anxiety in a job I didn't like and not quitting. I got a new job 18 months later that I love.

newtoIT3919

Thank you all so much for your sincere and helpful responses, I really appreciate them. I guess it was my fault for not clearly explaining why I would like to leave this place. The biggest reason is my team - I would say this is 90% of my reason. I just really don't think I fit well with this team (how they communicate, how they work, how they talk to each other). Everyone on this team is a little aggressive in their own ways - two guys are passive aggressive who always say things indirectly, two guys just straight up like to say things they want to without any filters. So when we have meetings, it's really an hour of the guys arguing about everything they know (very very smart individuals) and talking each other down when they seem to know better about a certain topic. But because they all have this "aggressive" personalities, they can literally argue like that for an hour and 10 minutes later start joking around and laughing about ordering lunch or something. They all fit so well with other in this way because they all have this kind of personality. Me on the other hand, am not like this at all. I like to collaborate, work together and help each other out when needed (also came from this environment). So because of this team dynamic, I really come in to the office everyday and notice sometimes the smallest things and just makes me say "I really dont fit well here.." in my head - this is what makes me so anxious and miserable. I would really like to explain more in detail but overall, I just don't fit well here and it's mentally affecting me. I've been here for almost 5 months now so I got to say I am pretty accustomed to the environment.

paul78

@OP - ultimately it's up to you as you whether you should quit or not. Most people here are going to encourage you to stick it out or at least find a job first.

And others may even be envious that you have been able to land a job as a systems engineer early in your career and don't understand why you wouldn't want to stick it out.

There's no shame in quitting if it really is effecting your mental health. Everyone is different and maybe you just need more time to gain the confidence. It sounds like you are still early in your career. You probably have another 30-40 years of your career to find your groove.

I was looking back and trying to remember if I've ever quit a job without having one lined-up. And there was one time when I did do that. But the job market was different decades ago and I had a good network and I had prospective consulting engagements already lined up.

Good luck in whatever you decide. But whatever you decide, just keep moving forward so that you don't look back in 20 years and regret the decision.

cshkuru

While, I would probably try and stretch the job out to at least 6 months, if you do quit it's not going to be the end of the world. Right now there are more jobs available in the states than there are workers to fill them so you are in a good position employment wise.