I did it. I quit my “wonderful” job at a university.
I have a highly skilled trade under my belt. One college in the entire United States offers my degree.
I have a bachelors in chemistry, and shortly after attained an extremely specialized degree. There are approximately 40 people in the US that work at universities with my degree.
I am (was?) the only person in my field located in the entire state of Oklahoma. I moved there for the job in 2017. My husband quit his university job so I could accept my job.
Flash forward 5 years, and I find out (after a national conference) that I am the lowest paid person in my job, at a university, in the US. A person in our society did a technical paper on the wages of my field of work. All answers were anonymously submitted. I saw on the projector screen my wage, waaaaaaay at the bottom. Got to hear the old timer say that “whoever is making that much is ruining our trade” I am making as much as my mentor did (he retired after 35 years, when I accepted the position.)
I returned home from that conference (counted as a work trip)and immediately sent the paper to my boss. I told him it wasn’t fair that I was so under paid. I also included what my wage should be now, considering inflation. I also teach my highly specialized trade to senior chemistry students, yet I don’t get paid extra for teaching because it was “part of the job description”
I quit today. I QUIT TODAY! my husband and I are moving back home to the rust belt. Not to mention, I was the breadwinner for our family. I am sick of being underpaid for such a skilled trade. I can make more, anywhere else, independently for sure.
I will figure out insurance, I will figure out how to move us home, and where we will live. Thankfully we have 6 months of savings and our house is paid off. We are listing it tomorrow!!!!!
If mods want to check and verify me I will prove that this story is true. I don’t want to give out too much info since my trade is such a small group of people, and I don’t need to be found online, lol.
Thanks for listening and for all of the positive “I quit” stories. I feel better today than in a while.