Hey all, I've been lurking here a while so I know the broad strokes of how this stuff works out, but I could use some better advice.
I've been at my current company for almost 9 years. I fucking hate it. My most recent boss of about 3 years is a narcissistic pig who won't give you any time or recognition unless you've kissed every square inch of his ass. He barely works, spends the first few hours of each day talking about Diablo 4 to a coworker of mine and wanders the room the rest of the day telling bullshit stories of how great he is. The rest of the office is filled with bigots of every variety.
The last few years have taken a toll on my mental stability for certain, and the election next year isn't going to help.
I've made peace with it by coasting along and working my wage. I'm taking classes part time for my environmental science degree at 29, for whatever good that'll do me, and I wasn't going to quit until I was finished with school. $20 an hour isn't much but it's more than what most jobs in northwest Ohio pay and I need the income to pay for classes.
Now we have been short staffed for a while now, making it very easy to cost along, but the company just hired two new people and we have been outsourcing some of our CAD work so I kinda get the feeling there's an axe hanging over my head.
I've complained so much about this place to my co workers and have tried to point out flaws in the past to higher ups but at this point I'm all but blacklisted in this miserable hole. HR people won't a knowledge me in the hall and I haven't spoken to anyone in my department in weeks.
Don't get me wrong, I don't care if I get chopped, my mental health will improve drastically, but should I quit or let myself get fired? I've never messed with unemployment and this is only my third job I've ever worked, and I've been here almost a third of my life, not sure how to write that away on future job applications.
Sorry for the amount of text, and thank you if you have the time to offer opinions.