I was nodding my head up until your last point, about staying in touch. Chances are, not everything (and more important, everyone) at your job has been terrible

I was nodding my head up until your last point, about staying in touch. Chances are, not everything (and more important, everyone) at your job has been terrible. I've seen too many people leave a job and then sort of isolate themselves from it entirely, as though it never existed. (And I've been guilty of this myself, especially early on in my career). You never want to burn a bridge, or leave on bad terms, or fade away entirely. Especially since there is so much fluidity in this industry, and you never really know a) who knows whom, and b) when someone you used to work with will be working with you again. The ability to compartmentalize -- to separate the negative emotions evoked by a terrible job from the aspects of the job that may have been worthwhile -- is not easy to master. But it's a great skill to have.