Christian @christian_r: when should you stick to your job because things might turn better?
Answer:
First off, after 2 years, apply for new jobs. Right now today.
Not because you are going to quit. Or because you need more money or because you hate your job. But trust me, look at the job market and apply. Or quit anyway.
Because the job market is a marketplace like anywhere else. And in every marketplace since the dawn of time, price is determined by supply and demand (mixed with a little bit of government regulation depending on the country).
So what are you worth? Is it more than you thought? Or less. It’s good to know. Find out right now. Today.
Now, let’s add an overlay to that: things aren’t going well (implied in your question where you ask: “things might turn better”).
That’s one more reason you need to find your value in the marketplace.
One time I was frustrated at HBO. I wanted to be able to implement my ideas on HBO’s soon-to-be website. I had already made their intraneet but they were just beginning to think about a website. There was a lot of politics involved. Every department had their two cents. It was frustrating. So I went across the street to Time Warner (same company) and spoke with the people in the interactive division for the whole company. I knew them because my company on the side, Reset, had already made websites for other divisions within Time Warner. They liked me and offered me ajob on the spot. It was 50% higher than my salary at HBO.
So I quit HBO. A few days later, HBO gave me the responsibilities I wanted, the 50% raise, and a bonus to get me to stay. At the time I was making a website for them based on a movie they were doing thatwas based on the book “The Late Shift” by Bill Carter about the late-night wars between Letterman and Leno. It made me think I wanted to have my own talk show so that’s when I pitched the idea of doing a website where I would interview people that were out at 3 in the morning. I write about that site here.
So all of that mixed together and I decided to stay at HBO. I went out with my parents to celebrate. I was really happy. 20 months later I quit again to run fulltime my own business. And 17 years later, despite being broke several times in between, I never went back to having a job.