{Bu yazının Türkçe versiyonu için tıklayınız, veya bir yukarıdaki post'a gidiniz}I need some help from my insightful readers. Here is my dilemma:
I am 23, an industrial designer in a country which industrial design is extremely limited. I was a good student, and am generally pretty good at what I do. I have a passion for industrial design; not graphic, not web, not fashion, not interior, not textile. I don't need to work at the moment, I just wanted to work because I wanted to jumpstart my career. But money doesn't hurt as my family isn't rich and eventually I want to start my own design office or move abroad(both require money!). I have been in my current job for 8 months now and it is my first job ever. It is a very big retail company in home development and belongs to both Turkish and foreign partners. I am the only designer in the company, which means I don't have an experienced designer to learn from, and I really need to learn how the design process works in the business world and about production and project finalization. My dilemma is that I have been fantasizing about quitting my job for months now, had been noticing skills that I am missing and need to learn but can't learn here, had decided on a schedule for the following few months to accomplish my goals, and had set the first week of February to give my notice. But before I had a chance to state I wanted to quit, I got a raise! A small one, but you can't just say "I quit" to a boss who just gave you a raise. My dilemma is should I quit or should I wait some more? Because I KNOW I don't want to spend years here, and had planned in the very beginning to quit when I completed my first year here. I'll list the pros and cons of the job:
First, pros:
-It is a respectable company.
-The boss is extremely nice, sweet, smart and understanding. I do not want to burn bridges with her.
-I'm earning some money, not that much but I am able to put 100% of it to bank. Most entry level design jobs in Turkey don't even pay.
-Work hours are 8:30-6:00. It doesn't stretch any longer into the evening for me(I am not that busy), although everyone else in my department(the buyers) stay late despite not getting paid for extra hours.
-There is always a shortage of design jobs in Turkey, now there's the recession on top of that.
-I'm not learning anything but it is work experience on my resumé.
-The days I can see my boyfriend are so rare that he feels like a new man every day, like "50 First Dates".
-My boss said we can come up with a balance between work and my school (master's).
Now, cons:
-Although it is a design job on paper, I don't really get to do actualy design work, I am not learning anything related to design & production that I have to learn in order to have a career in industrial design. I find myself struggling to design textiles and boy, it ain't workin'.
-I feel like I should have been working as an underling to an experienced designer in order to learn things that I need if I want the freelance designing career of my dreams.
-The company has a suppressive websense policy, my web access is limited to blogspot and typepad, I can only do a fraction of the daily research I used to do. You can tell by the lack of blog posts!
-The office is in the middle of nowhere, it is ugly as hell, the whole neighbourhood is ugly and unsafe and I can't even go for a walk in my lunch hour. The windows don't open either. I feel like I am suffocating.
-Because it is in the middle of nowhere, my commute takes nearly one hour in the morning, and another one in the evening. No public transport comes here, we are collected by the company bus which feels like a rodeo. So as a result I leave at 7:30, come home at 7:00, Work takes approx. 12 hours everyday and I have no life. Haha.
-No proper web surfing and being stuck in an ugly office means inspiration is hard to come by.
-The food is so crappy and unhealthy, I have to pack my breakfast, lunch and snacks every day. That takes time!
-I see what I am missing in order to become a more sought-after designer, and some of those are things that I have to take time to learn outside of work.
-I miss my boyfriend, my family, my dog, running in the morning, sleeping, not cursing in the morning, having a life I enjoy.
-I really have to work on my thesis and go to school frequently if I want to get my master's degree!
-There are only 2 weeks of vacation per year. The remaining 50 weeks are all work. That sucks, but that's how it is in Turkey.
-I am only 23 and don't have any responsibilities, if this isn't the time to take risks and start anew, when is??
I have a meeting with my boss next Monday, should I:
a- Tell the boss I want to quit anyway (how do I tell her?)
b- Linger here for another month and tell the boss it isn't working for me
c- Stay here for 3-4 months and finish the year
d-Do I not make sense at all and should stick to this job (and die inside)?
Which option makes more sense?
