A good friend of mine told me that, the minute I start affecting my personal brand and reputation negatively at a job, I need to start thinking about what to do

A good friend of mine told me that, the minute I start affecting my personal brand and reputation negatively at a job, I need to start thinking about what to do next. The worst thing is to leave on a low note than a high note. If you think leaving the job is inevitable, then you should start preparing for that - i.e. work hard, because the last memories in their minds will be the ones that stick the most. I've been through this, and I have an open invitation to return to an old job because of it. For now I've left it all and I'm building my own company. Just make sure you understand your costs, and make sure you have health insurance. Don't buy into all the crap about - i'm young, i'll just buy the cheapest insurance on the market. The insurance is for the things you don't expect. Not being able to eat or pay rent are small problems, but neither can bankrupt you. Medical costs can. My buddy broke his leg on a mountain; fortunately he has insurance, but if he didn't the costs would have bankrupted him. He's a young and healthy guy otherwise Also, people start their own companies with far less than 1 year of savings. You'll find, even if you have 5 years of runway, the prospect of jumping the safety of your paycheck is going to be terrifying. Once you do it though, you'll stop thinking about it very quickly. Look at it differently - 1 year of runway may force you to work harder than ever; you know, necessity is the mother of all invention.