Don't Quit Your Day Jobby Hava Lyon | More from this Blogger 09 Jan 2007 12:00 PM Here's my sage piece of advice for the day: Don't quit your day job just yet. Work-at-home jobs typically take a while to send out that first paycheck (if you missed the reasoning behind that, please check this article out for more info) and so if you leave your steady office job counting on the paychecks from your work-at-home job to kick in quickly, you could hit a rough patch. But there is also the fact that although the work-at-home job seems like perfection personified, some people end up really not liking it. Strange, I know, and I wouldn't believe it myself if it hadn't happened to me. I thought I had it made. I had gone to school to become a medical transcriptionist (MT) but about 75% of the way through my schooling, I realized that I really didn't love the medical world enough to deal with it day-in-day-out. Nothing against the medical world, it's just that for me and my personality, it wasn't a good fit. So I began the hunt for a job doing general transcription (GT), and was lucky enough to find a job as a GT within a week. Perfect! I was doing exactly what I wanted to do, using the training I had spent thousands of dollars to obtain--things were going my way. A month later, I had reached the end of my rope. I was slowly going crazy inside. My husband came home each day at lunch, and for that hour, I was a talking maniac. I had no children (only two dogs) and the loneliness was incredible. When my husband got home in the evening, I almost attacked him, I was so starving for attention and human contact. He was always tired from a hard day's work and not really in the mood to talk to me for two hours straight, so I was left feeling like I had been left behind by the rest of the human race. Part of the problem was that I would only leave the house every couple of days--when your job is at home, and you have nothing pulling you to leave the house, it's easy to just stay home all day. I used to walk outside and blink about 10 times because the sunlight was hurting my eyes so badly. I turned a lovely pasty white color and my husband began making jokes about how I could pass as a sheet of paper. I ended up quiting my jobs that I did from home, and went back to work in an office, exactly where I started out at. I now have a great balance--I work the typical office hours (Monday through Friday 9-5) and blog from home in the evenings and weekends to earn extra money. I get my social time in, and my personal time in too. So my suggestion is, don't quit your day job. You may miss it more than you realize. If possible, I would try doing some work-at-home jobs on the side (like I am doing currently) just to see if the job is a good fit for you. If it is, you can make that transition gradually. Just make sure to keep some human contact going even after you work at home in your jammies. You'll thank yourself later, I promise. And if you do decide to make that transition to a home career, make sure to check out my blog tomorrow: How to Stay Sane While Working From Home. Learn more about Hava Lyon  Hello, my name is Hava or Havs (depending on my mood and yours!) I am a freelance writer who writes for several blogs, both paid ones such as this one, and personal blogs. Relevantemployment tags User Comments  Jeff Bogle (1022) 09 Jan 2007 11:23 AMgood advice! I lot of folks get very in-love with the idea of working from home and are quick to ditch the full time gig a bit early. I am eying that day, but realize it is still far off. My little writing career and tee shirt/gift shop is not quite ready to replace 100% of the "real" income source.  Anna Glendenning (4234) 09 Jan 2007 01:41 PMHow funny! Your Blog amazes me because everything you write is exactly the opposite of my own feelings and experience!!!!!! I love staying home, and try to only leave the house if I have at least 3-things to do! I cannot stand being stuck working most of my waking hours with people I wouldn't eat lunch with on Saturday... After 20 years working in an office I would nearly rather die then return... My favorite thing in life is playing a game with a 4-year old when I should be doing the laundry... I don't feel trapped because, I also love to grow roses...and this year I am planting a Christmas Tree Garden.... The best part of my day is when I am alone and have time to think.... When my family is at work or school--I don't have to be a night-owl in order to do what I love the most...Spend time with my words...work... I think that most people feel the way you do in your Blog, so I would advise people to follow your advice until the can be sure they like being alone, working on their own time, and take joy in the world around them, even if it does mean cleaning a toilet for fun on a boring Tuesday morning!!!!  Hava Lyon (1545) 09 Jan 2007 08:39 PMThanks for the feedback, Jeff and Anna! I know that it seems a bit strange that I would have had such a hard time adjusting to being at home all the time, but for me, it was very confining and I had a hard staying sane, truly. I like the regularity of an office job, and am very content working the 9-5. We are lucky enough to work in a time where we can choose whether we want to work at home or in the office. :-) Thank heavens, eh? Thanks for reading! Havs Hava Lyon (1545) 12 Jan 2007 09:18 PMLOL! That's one way of dealing with it! I am not much of a shopper--actually, my husband is more likely to want to go to the mall to "look around" than I am. I think I have a defective gene in me or something. I really like being home, but not for days on end, and certainly not without ever stepping outside at all during that time. The human body needs fresh air and sunshine, I've decided! Thanks for the feedback! Havs  Michele Thorne (461) 24 Jan 2007 10:41 PMThis is great advice, especially the "if you leave your steady office job ... you could hit a rough patch." A lot of people think they've found their dream job, quit their "day job," don't have the money to pay bills when they need it, and get too far behind to get caught up, then decide they don't like their "dream job" any more. I am also like Anna, where I don't like to have a lot of time out of my house, that's where I'm comfortable, but know a lot of people who always want to be somewhere other than home, and work at home jobs wouldn't be a good fit for them. Hava Lyon (1545) 25 Jan 2007 01:11 PMYes, I like being at home and I enjoy my weekends when I can just laze around the house, but for me, it just wasn't a good fit for me to be home full-time. I still read the WAHM forums and still dream about being able to sleep in until ten whenever I want, but then I shake myself and remind myself: I don't want to do this! LOL! Thanks for feedback ~ Have a good one! Havs Community Tags advice, sanity, transcription, working at home, work at home Discuss this article
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