How do I quit my job when I'm the only developer?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5806397

by wannabegamedev • 13 years ago

7 10 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have been working for a company building a product from the ground up for the past year. I've created something pretty awesome but the huge bureaucratic force keeps pushing changes down my throat I don't agree with or care about, so my product is left as a kind of "meh". There are still loads of features in the pipeline that could keep me busy for months and they indeed want to keep me for at least another year, but I'm not really interested anymore.

While I've learned a lot, I've also realized that I did this whole thing by myself. I want to build apps outside of this stuffy company environment, but as the only developer, if I leave I'd be leaving the company with no one to continue development.

What is the etiquette? Do I give a month's notice? 2 months notice? How do I approach the situation without burning any bridges?

wallflower2• 13 years ago

Ask for a 2 month sabbatical, do not go and tell them you are quitting straight away.

They will most likely ask for some time to consider (perhaps a week)

If they give you the sabbatical - kudos.

If not (they turn it down), then state that you really appreciate them considering your request and respectfully resign with 2 weeks notice.

kaoD• 13 years ago

Don't do this unless you're prepared to return to work after the sabbatical (which I assume you don't).

wallflower2• 13 years ago

Good point. In that case, ask for a ridiculous sabbatical (6 or 9 months)

tanepiper• 13 years ago

Get your resume together - start approaching other companies in your area looking for developers, or start taking on freelance clients and spend your free time building up a small client base that you can comfortably live off.

Once you know you have something that you can jump off to, give in your notice.

Something similar happened to me as a sole developer (I wrote about it here: https://medium.com/this-happened-to-me/86b9d27f9962)

gumballhead• 13 years ago

This is about identical to where I was a few months ago. I started working in a very corporate environment (like, no casual Fridays even) out of college as a Business Analyst. They hired me to maintain and manage an off-the-shelf vendor system, which had all of the problems people usually associate with enterprise software. I thought I could do way better and wrote the app myself. After seeing the prototype, management agreed and green-lighted it.

I learned a ton, because I was doing the full stack from database to css. But a place that doesn't employ developers doesn't usually provide a good environment for developers to work in. I felt like http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell all the time. Not to mention they never adjusted my pay. So I grew unhappy, but was not necessarily in a hurry to leave.

It's really not a bad position to be in. You have a job after all. Update your resume, and take your time finding your next position. I applied to my dream job with a startup and somehow got it and I couldn't be happier. It's awesome working with other developers.

As for my previous employer, they weren't happy to let me go, but they didn't hire a developer to replace me -- too expensive. So my project is stagnant. They still use it and I learned a lot making it so it's no loss to anyone really.

jamesjguthrie• 13 years ago

> It's really not a bad position to be in. You have a job after all.

This! When we get into positions like the OP we really should remember this, as it's not easy for every developer to find new work straight away. We're not all head-hunted etc. and we don't all live in SV.

So yeah, take your time to line up something else and only when you have the job offer should you jump ship.

evanwolf• 13 years ago

The kindest offer you can make is to give long notice of your intent to leave, to offer to help them recruit a fit replacement and stay for a short transition.

Just mentioning the possibility of leaving can feel like betrayal or the risk of a disgruntled employee. Second worst case: you'd be asked to box your things and leave immediately. Worst: you'd be asked to stay.

Unless this is a three-person startup and you're a co-founder, you don't owe the company anything beyond courtesy. Their loyalty to you is conditional.

Generic advice:

- Don't bring up leaving until you have a new job ready.

- Notice is a nicety. Give two week's notice or whatever notice you'd expect if they decide to kill your project and lay you off; often none.

- Be prepared to be leave the building forever once you bring up the subject. Pack first. You could be gone in minutes.

- Have reasonable expectations for your new gig. It's likely to have its own problems.

brudgers• 13 years ago

There's never really a great time to leave a busy company, and the suck it creates is just the normal suck of being in business. As an employee, they stop paying you when you stop showing up - that's the deal they signed on for.

But I think what makes for a good decision depends on a couple of things:

a) If you are completely miserable, go.

b) If you meaningful experience bringing similar projects, to market, go.

c) If you don't have significant experience bringing projects like the one you are working on to completion/market/whatever the deadline is, consider staying because the experience you gain may be worth it. So might the reputation. It's just looking like a year, after all and you might get better at implementing other people's ideas in addition to your own.

If you leave, and you are the only developer, and there's real money on the line, hard feelings are pretty likely. Whether that's going to burn important bridges or not, depends on the players and what you wind up doing over the long run.

Good luck.

mcmire• 13 years ago

Look, here's the reality. You say they could keep you on for another year and yet they obviously see you as an employee who will do whatever they tell you to do. While this is far too common, it obviously means they don't care about your opinions or whether you are happy there.

At the same time you have to look at it from their perspective. You don't want to suddenly leave. I think two weeks is too short for this sort of situation. I worked with a guy who gave four months' notice; that's the agreement he made with my boss, and when those four months were over he left peaceably. Granted, we did have other developers to take over, but we also happened to hire more people in the meantime too.

Just be honest and tell management what you are feeling. You need to push them to hire another developer as good as you are ASAP (vet them personally). If they are not willing to do this, then they do not care about their product -- but that is their problem and not yours. But if they are willing, when the new person comes in, teach them what you've built. This is going to take time. I don't think one or even two months is enough time, you might consider more like four months. You can start now by writing up all the stuff you know.

If you are concerned about not burning any bridges (and believe me I would be too) then this is a surefire way of doing that. You just have to make sure they agree you will no longer be working with them after the allotted amount of time... and then stick to it.

xauronx• 13 years ago

I went through something similar. 6 years at a company, ended up being the only developer on a pretty giant software package. I fretted for months, almost a year over how I could possibly do it without screwing them over. I tried to get them to hire someone to help and they refused... well, they went through the process and offered a good dev $7.50 an hour. So, basically.

Anyhow, much like a shitty relationship, the day comes when you just realize that you've had enough and you want out. You have to be selfish, you have to realize it's business. If you run a company that hedges on one person you damn well better be making sure they're happy and AT LEAST compensated to area averages.

How do I quit my job when I'm the only developer?

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