Should I quit my job?
What people in these threads say
The three threads behind this topic come from r/jobs and share one tension: a job that has become unpleasant, set against the fear of being left with nothing. In the most-discussed thread a 19-year-old earning $20 an hour for about 30 hours a week, working alongside family, says the job turned stressful after everyone on the other shift was fired and new management arrived. She knows the setup is good for her age and worries she will not find similar pay without similar stress. In the second thread a part-time event marketing manager at a startup, paid minimum wage, has been pushed into graphic design and midnight deadline work, and cannot leave before moving abroad in February. The third poster, 21 and not planning on college, is asking which jobs start around $20 an hour and can grow toward $100k.
The causes posters describe are concrete: a change of management, workload that grew while hours and pay did not, tasks outside the role they were hired for, and being always reachable on messaging. What they have already tried is limited. The startup worker raised the workload with her boss, who said he hoped the coming months would be calmer; the 19-year-old has not started looking yet.
The replies agree on one rule far more than anything else: do not quit until another job is lined up, and start applying while still employed. One commenter who quit in July says it took until October to find work. The disagreements are about everything around that rule. Some say all jobs are stressful and pushing through builds experience and a stable work history; others argue there is a difference between stressful and toxic, and that firing an entire shift is a warning sign about management. A few say 19 is exactly the age to try different jobs. For the person who cannot leave yet, the practical advice is to treat the exit date as a finish line: a low-effort job search, a fixed cutoff time for messages, polite pushback on design work, a log of extra hours, and one protected non-work activity each day. For the career-starter question, the one detailed reply points to union apprenticeships in the trades and dealership auto mechanic work.
“There’s a difference between stressful and toxic.”
u/P8RF8CT on Reddit
“You do not need to love the job to survive four more months of it. You need a plan and a boundary.”
u/admin_tailr on Reddit
At a glance
This is a recurring careers question: 3 separate Reddit threads asked a version of it between Oct 21, 2026 and Oct 22, 2026, in r/jobs. It has appeared in the daily top list on 2 different days, peaking at #253. The threads keep coming back to the same themes: cannot, continue, currently, hate, quit. That repetition is the signal — many people are hitting the same wall, so it's worth understanding before you post your own version.
How often does it come up?
| Date | Daily rank |
|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2026 | #253 |
| Oct 22, 2026 | #491 |
Where is it being discussed?
- r/jobs: what kind of job can i get into
- r/jobs: how do i continue with the job that i hate and
- r/jobs: should i quit my job
What's a sensible first step?
General careers checklist (not specific advice for this thread):
- Clarify the real constraint: money, skills, network, burnout, or a specific person.
- Document your achievements with numbers - they fuel raises, resumes and interviews.
- Talk to three people already doing the role you want; ask what they'd do in your position.
Related problems
- I can’t afford to live with the job I currently have, and I’m doing the work of multiple people each day. I do
- How do I increase my salary if I like my job?
- 26, CS degree, no job exp. What do I do?
- So is the job market officially dead right now?
- Stay in my secure job of 10 years, or new opportunity at this startup?