Key factors to consider
Runway, not salary
The number that matters is how many months you can cover fixed costs without income, not what you currently earn. Three months feels different from twelve.
What specifically is wrong
Manager, work, comp, growth, culture or commute. Some of these travel with you to the next job; others are genuinely local to this one.
The reversible version
A team change, a role change, a sabbatical or a conversation with your manager may test the same hypothesis at a fraction of the cost.
Market timing
Hiring in your niche moves in cycles. Leaving without an offer in a slow market is a different bet than leaving in a hot one.
What you lose on exit
Unvested equity, bonus timing, notice period, visa sponsorship and healthcare continuity are all quantifiable — put real numbers on them.
Common mistakes
- Deciding on the worst day of the quarter rather than an average week.
- Treating the new job's best case against the current job's worst case.
- Ignoring the cost of the first ninety days of re-proving yourself somewhere new.
- Quitting to escape a person when a transfer would solve it.
- Confusing burnout, which rest can fix, with misfit, which rest cannot.
Questions to ask yourself
- 1.If my manager changed tomorrow, would I still want to leave?
- 2.How many months of expenses can I cover with no income?
- 3.What would need to be true here for me to happily stay another year?
- 4.What am I moving toward, not just away from?
- 5.Who would I want to talk to before I hand in notice?
Ready to decide?
ThatEcho turns this into your own workspace — goals, criteria, weighted options and a transparent recommendation you can question.