Money would be the main reason. If you're a teen and money isn't really required at the moment then it is safe to just quit and not worry about it. However I usually only hear this said to adults who have bills to pay. Last thing you would want is to quit your job and not be able to find another one which would result in bills backing up and going unpaid.

Really?

Because quitting your job without another one lined up only makes sense if you know with absolute certainty that you’ll be able to find another job at all.

But of course there is no real way to know that with absolutely certainty, nor is there any guarantee that you will be able to find a job within a short enough span of time to avoid serious hardship and damage to your personal finances.

Quitting a job before you have another one lined up may be doable if you’re working as a part-time barista or you’re working a minimum-wage summer job without a mortgage and a family to feed, but it’s pretty damn stupid when you’re an attorney at a law firm or an engineer whose job supports a lifestyle that cannot be sustained without a similar job.

Unless you plan to live 100% on public assistance (which has its own notable downsides and tradeoffs), life costs money. You have no guarantee of getting another job/in any particular timeframe - what happens if you quit your job without another one lined up, then something happens like your car breaking down or getting evicted? Even if you did have the money saved up, good luck getting a loan or apartment without any income. And yeah, at this moment it's a hot job market but what happens if there's another financial crash or pandemic and everyone and their uncle gets laid off again? You're screwed.

Being unemployed is also quite expensive (especially if you don't get unemployment, as would be the case if you voluntarily quit) - If you're making $2000 a month now, that's $2000 a month you're not earning while you're looking for a new job.

Because it’s pretty dumb to make yourself jobless if you don’t have another job for you to jump into right after you quit or give your 2 weeks.

You can only do that if you’re well off enough to quit & take a few weeks to job search while still being able to pay your bills.

You owe your current job nothing if you want to find elsewhere to work. Using them for money until you find another job is the smartest thing to do.

People often underestimate how hard it is to get a better job. You might look in the job ads and see ten jobs you might be interested in promising better terms and better pay. But when you actually start applying for the jobs you might only get five interviews and then only one or two of them offer you a position, at worse terms then you expected. And the entire process might take over a month. It is even worse if they know you are not currently working as they know you are more desperate for a job. So even if you think you can get lots of better offers in a day then your current position it does pay off to stay in your current job and spend some time finding the job you want at the terms you want.

Please read this entire message

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

• Rule #2 - Questions must seek objective explanations

• ELI5 is not for subjective or speculative replies - only objective explanations are permitted here; your question is asking for subjective or speculative replies. (Rule 2).

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

Because absent a better job, your alternative is no job for an unforeseeable period. No job is, almost always, worse than your job

Once you have a better job lined up, your alternative is...that better job.

The longer any gaps are in your employment history, the more questions a potential employer may have about your judgment, your priorities, your desirability, and your skills stagnating. As long as quitting is not strictly necessary--like if you have an abusive boss or an unsafe working environment--it's better to search for a job while you are still employed and can prove that an employer sees you as valuable enough to keep on the payroll.