What's Next.

To answer this post's question...

I don't know.

Making the decision to quit a stable, long term job with a 401k plan and good benefits may seem like a questionable one. It may end up being so. I don't have the answers yet. But I do know that the decision came down to some simple math based on some simple questions: 

-Was I happy?

No.

-Was the situation likely to improve?

No.

-Was being safe and secure even in a job I was growing to hate and resent worth it?

No.

So here I am. About to turn 50 and with a skill set that doesn't necessarily set the current world on fire. What I do have is a breadth of experience, in several different industries, but for the most part it's been as a manager of people in some form or another. There will always be a market for that. I'd prefer to find something working more or less solo, but running a small team is something I'd feel comfortable with.

I have no real preference on industry, I just want something long term and stable. Tech is great when it's going well but unless you work for a top tier company in a pretty much indispensable job (which I wouldn't be) you're open to layoffs or companies folding. Startups can be fun and exciting but relying on VC to keep a company running when the market could crash any day, cutting off that funding is also not a recipe for long-term stability. I'd love something work from home but I don't have the tech skills to pull that off. 

The good news is I have no ties to the Bay Area. No wife no kids no house no friends no nothing. So I think I'm going to seriously look at something in the casinos in Vegas. I can get a much bigger space for rent for the same price there than I can here, and if I could score getting into a union job in one of the big legacy casinos that could be the ticket to what I'm looking for. Which is, the last job I will ever have. I have 15 years or so until I hit retirement age, if I can get embedded in Vegas with something that pays well and has a decent pension plan I could be set. The interview process could be awkward but I would absolutely pay airfare for one that I thought was very promising. We'll see how things shake out, I start looking there and here in early January so I'll go from there. Luckily I don't have to jump at the first opportunity, since I have the savings. I'm not worried.

I'm actually more concerned about my Vegas future right now. Since 2013 I've almost always had a "next" Vegas trip on the calendar. Like, I would have the upcoming trip AND another one lined up for a few months down the line. Now in my situation I can't do that. I can't commit the funds for a Vegas trip for my birthday knowing that my UI will be running out around that time if I'm not jobbed up. THEN the worry would kick in because I'd then be living off of, and rapidly depleting, my savings.

My Vegas trips are part of what keep me hopeful and sane. It gives me something to look forward to and to plan for. When I come back from the December trip I will not have that. It seems superficial but it leaves a hole, that's how important these trips are to me. I'll be interested to see how I cope with that, for as long as it lasts. Hopefully I can get a good job hooked up in Jan/Feb and either be back on the Vegas trip train or...in Vegas.