FOMO v Putting up with Shit, Part 2

The other day I was talking to one of my co-workers about my impending departure from the company where I work, and I gained a new perspective on my career move. My friend was shocked that I was leaving, but not surprised. At the beginning of the conversation, she asked me if I had turned over every rock to see if I could have found any way to stay, to make it work.

"The group I was a part of no longer exists," I said, "and there really hasn't been a reasonable replacement that can offer any career growth."

"Maybe if you waited, the company will bring the group back. Maybe if you are patient," she said.

"The level of uncertainty with my position was increasing, not decreasing," I said. "I was hired to help design the data and determine how it should be structured. Now, I was likely going to get pushed to a data entry job."

She stopped her line of questioning and changed direction.

"Sometimes patience is bad," she said. "At my old job, they told me I needed to wait to get promoted, so I waited for a few years. I was content, but was that a good thing? Our company could recreate the Information Management team in a few months, or you could wait for a long time." She worked at a company using their legacy technology (read: old but still used), which in the market place is far less desirable. This is a challenge that has been around since I was in HR compensation consulting: Companies acquire a new software, but can't get rid of the old stuff. New people who know the new software are hired at a higher pay rate than the current employees who know the old software. To add insult to injury, the current employees have less value in the job market because they don't have the most up-to-date skills.

"You need to take care of yourself," my friend said. "You have to take care of yourself. It is good that you got a new job. You are ready. Even if this is fail and it doesn't work out, it is worth the risk. You will learn new skills and you will grow, and that will be better than waiting for something that may or may not happen."

What am I missing out on by staying in place?

"The current job is comfortable," I said. "I know how to do it. It isn't that demanding. I can coast."

"And you are ready for more," she said. "You want to grow, and now you have the time and energy."

Before I looked at FOMO with my current employer: they might change and then I would miss out. But what if they never did change? Then what? I could look at FOMO another way: What would I miss out by staying place?