Angry Boss - Post Bacc Decision

[Ol' Blue Eyes]

To the Applying Post Bacc / Leaving Their Jobs Community:

Is anyone else a career changer, applied and ready for Fall '04 post bacc, still working in the entirely wrong career just to pay the bills in the meantime, and wondering what and when to tell an employer? My boss will most certainly be outraged. Any relative experiences or thoughts would be great.

Will something like an unexpected 2-week's notice--this far in advance of med school--have a major effect with adcomms?

Ol' Blue Eyes

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[maishaldan]

Ol' Blue,

I feel for your situation, I'm a career changer too. I just told my employer, he understood. Besides, this is your career we're talking about. My "higher ups" only cared about meeting revenue goals and would drop me the second they think I couldn't meet them. If you think you'll get let go after giving notice, play at your own risk. If not, let him/her know; it gives your boss time to find a replacement; perhaps avoiding the anger issue. In terms of admissions committees, give them a call and voice your concerns. The DO school offices I called were all really supportive. Besides, you're going to a post-bac program; just do well, your instructors there will give you the Letters of Rec you need (what Med schools really want). Any questions, shoot me a PM. I wish you the best

 

[Trismegistus4]

I don't understand. Isn't 2 weeks notice standard for leaving a job? How could your boss possibly justify being "outraged" about your leaving? Did you sign your soul over to him in blood or something? Unless you'd be breaking a contract, you're not doing anything wrong by quitting. I mean, it's expected that everyone will leave every job at some point in their lives, whether by taking a new job, going back to school, or retiring.

Also, why would AdComs care? Are you worried your boss is going to put in a nasty word about you when it's time to apply to med school? If that's the case, I'd think the AdComs should side with you. Why would they be swayed by the opinions of a lunatic employer who thinks it's a crime to quit a job?

 

[Ol' Blue Eyes]

...this is your career we're talking about. My "higher ups" only cared about meeting revenue goals and would drop me the second they think I couldn't meet them. If you think you'll get let go after giving notice, play at your own risk.

How could your boss possibly justify being "outraged" about your leaving? Did you sign your soul over to him in blood or something? Unless you'd be breaking a contract, you're not doing anything wrong by quitting.

Thanks for your responses.

Maishalden, I can agree with your sentiments and am aware of the fact that my higher ups, like many out there, are concerned solely with revenues, productivity, etc. However, while some of the greatest employees of many companies are seen merely as pawns, other employees (from my experience) are given interesting career-advancing opportunities for little or no apparent reason. Although I positively dislike my line of work, I am being trained--which has necessitated travel and expenses--to become a fairly high-up decision-maker. What's more, the travel and expenses will continue right up until my departure. What would anyone else have done upon being given a great opportunity like this to get out of a much lowlier position?

Trismegistus4, I haven't sold my soul and haven't signed any contracts (yet); but I have continued to talk the talk / walk the walk while knowing full well that I will need to leave when Fall arrives, which is misleading and from my point of view unfair. I can only justify my departure by taking a good look at the mismatch that is made by the industry and me.

I suppose it is always conceivable that someone will "up and decide" to go back to school; however--is it fair to plan for Fall 2004 while pursuing all of this training?



Ol' Blue Eyes

 

[bonez318ti]

I too am a post bacc.. i have about 1 year head start to you (i started in june 2003)

don't feel too bad about your situation. it really depends on your relationship with your boss. on one hand, it does leave them in a bind if there is knowledge that you have that is really hard to hand off to someone (in that case, start looking for ways to ease the transition).. but on the other hand, you are making a business decision as much as anything.

when i quit, i accepted the fact that they could fire me before my 2 weeks was up.. (my relationship with my bosses was pretty good.. but afterall, business is business) in the end, it didnt come to that..

before i quit, i spent alot of time tying up loose ends and putting together transition documents and spreadsheets of all the projects i was managing and had a hand in... and put a status along with what else needed to be done in the future, as well as a list of contacts relevant to each project.. my boss appreciated the fact that i made the transition smooth..

good luck with your job and with your post bacc program!

 

[aec563]

Ole- Blue Eyes

I was in a similar situation until earlier this week. What you have to think about is whether you are feeling anxious over telling your employer b/c of a personal situation (ie you have a great relationship), b/c you are truly afraid of what might happen if you leave with two weeks notice, or b/c you are actually anxious about starting post-bacc in the fall.

In the first scenario, your future is your future and if your employer truly cared about you more so than the next drone (or perhaps is merely invested in you as a worker whom he/she has taken the time to groom for a higher position), he/she would encourage you to persue what you feel is you calling, or at least a more suitable career for your temperment and abilities.

In the second scenario, two weeks is definitely the standard, although your HR might try to convince you otherwise, that you are much more valued that the next guy and that your position is much harder to fill. I don't know if I'd necessarily fall for this one. By the way, after investing myself entirely in my job, giving a one month notice (b/c I fell it), being told that I was the best X my employer ever had (and I couldn't agree more, hehe), I asked for a recommendation but was then denied b'c it wasn't "firm policy." After some research, I found out that there was a grain of truth in this b/c one could potentially sue over a bad charcter reference which deters one from getting a future job, position, etc. So, if you're really hankering after the rec, do your research first and make sure that your employer would be willing to write you one at all.

In the third scenario, I had pangs of doubt (pretty brief but pretty intense) over starting on the long road to med school. What triggered this, was thinking about how I was going to give my notice and when. In the end, I got over it, quit and now being more relieved and relaxed, I can focus my attentions on waht truly matter: investing in myself voer the long run, not worrying about what a few people think of me now.

I hope this helps in your decision making.

Alice