First, I realized that there are two types of happiness relevant to a job. There is happiness through satisfaction in what you have, and happiness through great

First, I realized that there are two types of happiness relevant to a job. There is happiness through satisfaction in what you have, and happiness through greater achievement. I suspect these are actually personality traits. Some people are good at being happy with what they've got. I'm not. Then I realized I would never have happiness through satisfaction in my current job. Even if I succeeded wildly and became a VP or CEO one day. At a very deep level, I hate the feeling of disdain from entrepreneurs. Larry and Sergey won't respect you in the morning, indeed. Then I convinced myself that my full-time employment was not on a trajectory that would bring me full happiness ever. And life is short. Thus, the logical conclusion. Change is necessary. I don't have cofounders, so I'll strike out on my own for a while and see what I can build. I'll go to grad school and find cofounders. Now, details. I talked my way into a good school long after application deadlines. This satisfies important stakeholders such as my parents. I gave myself enough unemployed time before school to be able to hack something and test out how I work when I am my boss. I saved a year's living expenses while employed. I moved to 50% less expensive housing and cut other expenses. I was diplomatic at work about my departure. I didn't burn bridges. I resisted the temptation to vent about everything I thought was wrong about the company and the job. If everything fails, I have a safety net that is only slightly worse than if I didn't take the plunge. I gave my manager notice. I told him my end date was flexible so he had a chance to deal with staffing issues and I could wrap up work. It ended up being a month's notice. Not so long that I waste a lot of time checked out, but long enough that it is a happy parting. My last day is Friday.