Ever feel guilty for quitting a job?

I've been at my current job for 3 months and I've come to the realization that ths job is not for me so I plan on quitting sometime in the near future... my problem is that last month, even though I had only been there a short time, the head of mydept gave me a christmas bonus of $2k because she said that I was doing a great job.

Now, I feel guilty b/c I want to quit but I'm not sure when I should do it. I work in the apparel industry so it's always constant stress & craziness but in a few weeks will be chinese new year which means that I will be able to take a sick day to interview if I need to. If I pass up this chance during chinese new year, I'd have to wait until the last week of March because my supervisor is taking a 2 week vacation & there is no way i can quit right before she leaves.

I know that I should just do what is best for me but I feel so guilty 1- b/c I got such a large bonus & 2- because my office is so insanely busy & i'd be putting my huge workload onto my supervisor.

I totally understand how you feel - I had a job for almost 3 years with people I LOVED but the job itself wasn't right for me. I hung around for that long, probably way longer than I should have, because I felt bad leaving them. It wasn't only because of dumping work on them either, we were all very close and I felt like I'd be 'missing out' if I left. In the end I realized I had to do what was right for me and my career but I waited until I had another job in place before I left.

IMO you might want to stick it out a little longer just for the sake of your resume and future job chances. Many potential employers want to see that people have been at their current job for at least 6 months. Also, since your supervisor is obviously impressed by you, you'll probaby get a great reference from her for your next job and you don't want to jeopardize that by leaving quickly esp if you don't have another job lined up.

It sounds like you're not at odds with the people there, you just know it's not the right job for you. If you had a horrible boss and every day was a struggle, I'd say get the heck out and move on - but since it sounds like you have a halfway decent relationship with your supervisor, I'd say hold on to it for now. This way you know you have a job that will pay the bills until you find a job you know you'll really love - you can afford to be a bit more selective if you allow yourself some more time. I also think that you shouldn't worry so much about taking an occasional sick day - you'd do it if you were actually sick, right? So cutting out for an afternoon 'dr appt' (interview) on more than one day, if it means landing a dream job, isn't so bad. You wouldn't be gone a whole day most likely anyway.

OK that was way longer than I intended - HTH and good luck!

The reason I decided to post this was because I am sitting here with an excel report open on my screen that I should have emaied friday night to our factory in hong kong .... a chart that they messed up & my boss asked me to correct but of course, i have no clue what the hell they did to it & I'm just so pissed because it's a situation simialr to this always everyday. I go in 1 hour early in the mornings so I can get a head start in reading the 50-60 (not exaggerating) emails that I walk into every morning & stay an hour late almost every night & I am just so fed up & unfulfilled.

I was actually thinking of a change in position & becoming an admin.... but I don't know anyone who does that so I have no clue about the day to day reposibilities... sorry so long.

I agree about keeping this job for the income, which we need right now

Is there a way you can speak to your supervisor to tell them how you feel? maybe they don't know how this is taking a toll on you. I been there done that with mine and they took care of it by hiring the help because I told them I wasn't doing it anymore. I was exhausted and fed up. i just flat out had it doing 4 peoples work. They didn't want to lose me because I am a few out of 15 who work in my dept and they were impressed with my numbers. I am not saying that your employer can or should hire a few more but I would just talk with a higher up person and see what happens. It sounds like you are happy there and not happy there. Like 50/50. Believe me I would feel guilty leaving where I am now but sometimes better things roll around that you can't pass up. Good luck with what you decide.

I would def consider speaking to my supervisor if it was a position that I intended to make a career our of. I just can't see myself doing this type of work long term.