How I Knew it Was Time to Quit My Job After 5 Years

Underpaid? Sure. But the reason I left was a reevaluation of my priorities.

When I tell you how much I was underpaid, and how long I was underpaid, I’m sure many of you would think “It’s a no-brainer you quit.” But, the story is much more complex than that.

It’s a story of extra cash in my pocket, a job I was passionate about, minimal hours (minimal commitment), a promise of better pay, and my own capabilities as a human with limited time on my hand.

It’s a story of navigating priorities.

This is the story of why I quit my freelance writing job after 5 years. It’s also the story of how I feel about the decision now.

I started at this company as an intern in 2017. I was offered $12.50/hour and I was so grateful. I was gaining experience as a writer and making some extra cash on the side.

Then, they started asking me to attend conferences, paying my travel, lodging, and meals, to report on various events. I loved it. I went to Austria, Scotland, Utah, New York, and more.

I transitioned into a contract position at the same pay rate in 2018. To date, I’ve written more than 1,700 articles for the company.

But since 2017, the pay has never changed.

For a while, I was still content. As I started graduate school, I waned my hours down to 5 a week (writing a minimum of 4 articles). It was extra cash in my pocket (around $300 a month or $15 an article), and I was writing about a topic I truly cared about. It didn’t take much effort and it didn’t take much time. It was a small commitment.

Then, the pandemic hit, and the travel ended. This was a huge appeal for the job and two years later, despite conferences moving back in person, writers weren’t sent to cover them anymore.

I asked for a raise and they said they would work on it. But, in the meantime, I was applying to other positions. I got one, much more comparable to the compensation at my other writing jobs (I work four), at a pay rate of $30/hour.

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